Past Impressions.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 998, 17 April 1891, Page 11

Past Impressions.

No 4. (by MR JOHN PLIHMER). Coming from an inland county (Shropshire) I had seen nothing of the sea or of ships before I started on my voyage to New Zealand, and had seen but few coloured people of any sort, and none that were tatooed. And though I had worked in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and in Bewdley forest in Worcestershire, as my father employed many men in felling and converting timber into all kinds of uses, and what was suitable for nothing else into charcoal; and as I had been a builder for many years, I had not forgotten my wood craft, which gave me a great advantage over most of my fellowsettlers, and by turning this to account I could make money where some would starve; and as there was no brick

buildings, and no materials or money to build them with, I had to consider what to do, and I came to the conclusion that as there was no work I must create some. So I set some labourers who came out with me to cub wood down lor different purposes. Some I made into shingles, some post and rails, and burned some into charcoal for blacksmiths, and a brewery, which commenced after a time on the site where the Wellington Club now stands, This turned out a profitable business. There was at that time very few money transactions, but as many wanted work done, I generally made the bargain to take one-third in money and two-thirds in goods, such as flour, sugar, and tea, and sometimes drapery, at wholesale prices, and paid the men in the same proportions, and this suited them well, as retail goods were very deai\ I had to carry on this kind of work for some years, oil and on, but as the space was limited where we were allowed to cut the bush down, this kind of business became limited also. I tried to deal with the Maoris for some wood they were felling to clear laud for gardens, but I found that I was no match for them. I had arranged with the chief, as I thought, for the felling of the bush of about 2 acres of land, and paid him £2 10s for it, but when 1 took some men next day there were nearly a hundred Maoris on the ground, each wanting £2 10s, so I was obliged to clear out with a loss of the £2 10s I had paid to the chief. Another time I had cut down a fine tree to saw up for timber for my house. The Maoris let me fall the tree, and then went and informed Major Richmond, who was A cting- Lieutenant Governor, that I had cut down a tapued tree. This caused a great row, and I was summoned before Major Richmond to answer for cutting down the tree. Now the tree happened to be within the boundaries set apart'for the purpose of cutting wood by the white people. I was sorry for the major, who was a good, quiet gentleman. And I was a good deal put about at losing the tree and the time, but after a good deal of talk the interpreter agreed with the Maoris that I should have the tree if I would pay a sovereign for it, so I paid the money, and there was no more said about the tapu ; and I cut about 3000 feet of timber and seven cords of wood out of it, and some of the timber is at present in the oldest house in W ellington, which I built of it in 1841, and still own, though it has gone through many vicissitudes in earthquakes and other ways.

At this time the Maori nature so puzzled me that I could not understand it, and it set me to think how I could commence to follow my legitimate trade of building. I found that in my first year I had made equal to £3OO, but I had no money, Now I saw that people could not get on with building for want of lime, and I was offered a large job if I could procure some to finish a house for Judge Halswell, at what was then called Martin’s Farm, at Ohiro. So I took a journey all round the bay to see if I could get any limestone, but could find none : but I found two men burning shells in Oriental Bay, and I asked them if they could supply me with some to do this work with. I saw that they knew nothing of the business they were engaged in, and to test their knowledge I asked them to tell me their method of working, which showed they were quite ignorant of what they pretended to do. ' So I saw that if I would have any I must make it myself. I asked their price, it was 3s fid per bushel. So I took an apprentice I brought out from England with me on the Wednesday morning, and by Saturday evening I had got lime burned that at their price would have cost £7.' So I thought I would turn limeburner on a large scale. So I marched off to Evans Bay on Monday morning and found plenty of shells. Then I went to Martin’s Farm, and as he had a good team of bullocks I agreed with him to draw me shells from Evans Bay and wood from his farm, and I would get the Judge s house finished at once without exchanging any money, but having no money to begin with I borrowed £2O from Doctor Butler, which I promised to pay back in a month, and though I dropped the price to Is 6d per bushel, I was quite able to pay him ; and I followed up the lime-burning and building till the first earthquake in 1848. By this time I had made a profit of at least £SOOO ; but the earthquake put a stop to the lime trade. In the mean time I had bought the land from Mr, now Sir Frederick Weld, where Barrett’s hotel now stands, and had built an eight roomed house on it, and had let it for Government offices, And it was

crammed full of officers when the earthquake came on. There were two sets of stairs, but how they all escaped without any accident I cannot tell; but they were terribly scared and the building was very much damaged. The Government valuation of my loss was £1750, but I consoled myself that I was not quite ruined, and set to work in repairing as soon as I could ; but I lost my tenants and my business together, so I sold what stock of lime I had and began to look out for something else to do. Now it happened that a man we called Dicky Barrett had bu.lt an hotel on the land where the old Government printing office was bux-ned down lately, and the Government got him to give it up, or rather the landlord who was in it, then aMr Suisted. And he came to me and said he would bring the license to my house if I would let it to him, and he agreed that with some alteration I was making to give me £l5O per annum for it, so I let it to him. This >vas in 1848, and this was the origin of Barrett’s Hotel.

At that time I rebuilt a great many of the houses that were shook down, and some new ones, in wood, as the people were afraid of living in brick houses, and things became quite settled again; and in 1850 something happened which quite changed my occupation. An American ship was wrecked in the harbour. She had struck on the l-ocks at the entrance of the harbour, and was leaking very bad, so the captain run her on the Te Aro shore, and she was sold to a ship builder for a small sum. And I gave the ship builder £BO for the hull on condition that he would deliver her opposite Barrett’s Hotel. And I asked Sir George Grey, who was then governor, to allow me to put her there and to make a wharf, and he gave me leave to do so. But when the merchants, who Avere all located on Te Aro shore, saw what I was going to do with the ship, they persuaded the man not to deliver her, but as I had paid him part of the money he could not get out of it well, but made the excuse that he could not get her off the beach; and thinking I could not do it, he agreed to give me some £lO of the price to deliver it myself. Now it happened that there was an American ship in the harbour waiting for a load of potatoes and other things to take to California; and the captain lived on shoi’e at Barrett’s Hotel, and I asked him to let his crew get the ship off the shore and I would pay him- what he thought was right for doing it, and he referred me to the first mate and the men, and they agreed to deliver it for £ls, and I was to supply them with what they wanted to do the work with. So when the tide was down they fastened empty oil barrels and hogsheads all round hex', and laid out a large anchor away in deep water, and all the crew were employed with a good many of my own men. As soon as it was high water they began to haul on the anchor, and the ship began to move, and was soon in deep water; but she began to leak fast, and a strong south-easter came on suddenly, and I thought all our labour was lost, but Captain Sharp, who was harboui’-master, seeing the px-edica-ment we wei'e in immediately sent off his crew in the harbour-master’s boat with another anchor, and made all safe, for which I was veiy thankful. And then the men got pumping gear, and so kept her afloat for five days and nights, when the south-easter broke, and the wind veered to east, which was very favourable to remove the hulk into the position I had prepared for her last resting place. Meanwhile I had taken out a large gutter up to high-water mark for the keel to run in, and had put posts in the rock, and had double blocks with ropes fastened to each bow of the ship, and at high water began to haul on the ropes with about forty men, and the ship came rolling in on the top of the water, and right into the channel I had prepared to receive her. And all the people passing came to lend a hand, and in Barrett’s Hotel she was christened the Noah’s Ark, which name she retained till the end of her existence. She was a sound good ship, save where the bottom had been in contact with the rocks in coming into the harbour. The captain stopped at Barrett's Hotel till everything was settled with the insurance offices in London and A mei'ica and then the captain sai 1 to me he had wrecked her on purpose, as she was insured for twice her worth. She was a ship of 650 tons, and her name was the Inconstant. She was built at St. John s, New Brunswick. And this is the history of the Noah’s Ark. When I had got her upright I cut the upper woi'ks off level, and having propped her up well, I built a large

building over the hull, 68f’t by 30ft, which took some time and money to accomplish, but it answex-ed my purpose very well, and the Government allowed me to make a bonded store of the lower part, and gave me a license for it, and as it was the best wharf in the harbour, till the Queen’s Wharf was built, I made money by my speculation. (To be Continued.)