THE POHANGINA VALLEY

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 4629, 7 April 1902, Page 3

THE POHANGINA VALLEY

PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT. THE MONGONUI CAVES. No district in tho great radius of country of which Palmerston North is the centre is more interesting than that through which the Pohangma river winds a changing course. Looking up tho valley from Ashhurst, where the Manawalu receives the more turgid water of its tributary, tho Pohangina, the banks of the latter are seen to rise from lowlying, marshy flats to high bluffs, protecting fertile jdateaux, which again give way to high bush-clad mountains, towering up almost straight from the river. The soil of the valley varies from a film of light earth on a gravel subsoil resting on sandy clay and papa to heavy rich loam, the former being found on the hills anti some of tho low-lying country, while tho latter is found in a lew fertile marshy flats. A great portion of the original bush was totara, aud this may give an indication of the value of the country. It was in journeying to see some strange natural wonders, the Vongonui caves at Piripiri, at the head of the valley, that these facts were noted. MODERN PIONEERS. A journey into such a district, much of which is still in its primeval state, gives an excellent idea of the great work which the pioneers of the colony set themselves when, without railways, bridges, or even roads, they turned their faces to the hush to create the many beautiful homesteads which now gladden the face of so much of this island. In the work of bringing the Pohangina Valley into cultivation settlers are experiencing much the same wearying toil which older pioneers-had' to bear, in felling, burning and slumping. The first settlers had to do all this while locked in their sections -by impassable roads. The settlers of tho Pohangina have now tho advantage of first-class roads, with a convenient railage depot at Ashhurst. The manner in which tho district is rdaded, considering the broken nature of the country, is distinctly creditable to tho Pohangina County Council. It is also complimentary to the settlers, who have allowed themselves to be rated for special loans for tho purpose. If the broken Pohangina country has its drawbacks, it also possesses compensating advantages. Chief of these is the plentiful rainfall. Sheep fescue does remarkably well on the Pohangina clearings. A weed, however, has been allowed to take root which demands that immediate remedial measures be taken. It is a spe'cies of the ox-eye daisy, and, if it is allowed to spread to hills whore ploughing is impossible, will be a continual source of trouble. Thanks to tho presence of several creameries in the valley, dairying is making rapid progress. It is being conducted in a very crude fashion, however, and considering the distance the cream has to travel to the manufacturing depot—in one ease ten miles by road and 90 by rail —it is remarkable that it can he made into a good quality butter, though it is certainly a good advertisement for the system of manufacture adopted. Some of the best buildings in the valley are the shearing sheds, while the worst are tho milking sheds. Great progress will have to be made in dairying methods by the settlers of the valley before their business will return them the true profit. POHANGINA TO PIRIPIRI.

It was 1 on a recent Sunday, the only day horses and men could be spared, that a party of four, including the writer, left the village of Pohangina at 5 a.m. to visit the Mougonui caves and other natural wonders, some fifteen miles up the river. The road follows a tortuous course, first on the Pohangina side of the river, then across the river bed, and on to tho right bank, winding up a hill and again on the bluffs above. After going some miles, the road—or, at least, the road travelled on—leads to the river bed, and skirts a large totara reserve, and thence through forest and bush on to another bluff. SIDE-LIGHTS ON CO-OPERATIVE LABOUR. Through the reserve the recently-form-ed deviation of the main road was seen, and attention was called to it by the Jehu, who skilfully managed the tandem. “That was my goldmine,” he remarked. In response to a request foran explanation, he stated that the road had been formed by co-operative labourers, and he was one of them. "Yes,” he said, reflectively, "That' was the besi job I ever struck; fifteen boh a day. including wet days and holidays. It was the extras that paid—7s 6d an hour I’ve made for clearing a tree off the track; but the boss was a good ’un." This made it clear why the work had cost the State .£I2OO. The County Council had offered to do it for a little over quarter that amount. PIETY COWS ON FIVE ACRES. Soon after leaving the "goldmine” of tho co-operator we chanced upon the goldmine of a dairyman. On a holding of five acres, a dairy-farmer was keeping a herd of fifty cows and converting their milk into butter. The State was again a generous god-father, for a section of Government bush land across the road provided excellent feed for the stock of the thrifty settler.

GOVERNMENT AN IDEAL LANDLORD. Just three hours after leaving Pohangina we pulled up at the Piripiri post office, the hospitable rendezvous of sightseers to the strange natural Wonders of the locality, of which the Mongonui caves me the central attraction. The Piripiri post office is certainly one of the most quaint Government buildings in existence, being simply an ordinary slab hut with a galvanised iron chimney, but the great hospitality of its owner, Mr Enright, makes up for any lack of external show. A genial Irishman, who extends a warm welcome to all who honour his roof, the Piripiri postmaster is revered by the Pohangina settlers and by all with whom he comes in contact. The old man is a staunch Liberal, apd one of the visitors being an ardent Conservative, an Irishman in the party, who loved a row, worked up a political discussion. Tender ground was touched when the land question was raised. The'old man, who has a perpetual lease of 276 acres at a shilling an acre, said, "I have had landlords of all sorts—i landlords in Ireland and landlords in New Zealand—but I have never had a landlord like the Government. Some of mv neighbours were great Liberals when they got the laud like me, but now that they have a few pounds in the bank, with the cheap money and cheap everything, they’ve turned Conservative and have nothing good to say for the poor Liberals. But, said the old man; 'T suppose when I have a great bank balance I will be turning traitor, too! Sure, tbe Government—good luck to them—are just manufacturing Conservatives to vote against them.” Our Conservative blurted out: "Yes, and look at the Premier of the colony spending Die money of tbe country going home to ceremonies while the sellers are crying out for roads and bridges !’’ "Faith,-’ replied the old man. "I would give him a purse myself, if I had it!” He was too ardent in his cause, and the Opposition supporter retired to soothe his feelings with a pipe. THE MONGONUI CAVES. Before exploring the caves another .natural wonder was viewed. Situated on Mr Enright's property this is reached in about throe minutes. It is a remarkable natural bridge spanning a stream feeding the Pohangina. at a height of' ninety feet, and several chains in width. Viewed from below i£s strange nature is apparent, for it is riot merely formed by a displacement of earth or debris. The roof of Use tunnel is formed on the'principle of a Gothic arch. Leaving our hospitable Hibernian friend, and accompanied by one of bis sons as guide, a drive of about a mile through fine standing bush brought us to the track leading to the caves. To the practised eye of our friendly guide the way into the bush was alone discernible, the growth of fern on the fringe of the bush being very heavy. Once into the bush, however, the way was clear, and in about five minutes we were peering nervously down a chasm of over a hundred Jeet in depth through a break in the

fern. Near by was a remarkable well, perfectly cylindrical in form, and having the appearance on one side of having been chiselled out by human hands. Through tho heavy moss which fringed its edge water dripped down, to the stream below. The descent to the caves was then commenced. By the aid of a rope fastened to a stout tree the sloping lace of a limestone rock, in which convenient footholds were nicked, was easily negotiated, and a scramble down another rock brought us near to the bottom of w'hat appeared to-be a giant rent in the earth, which had been partly filled up with limestone and papa, and at the foot of which a small stream gurgled and plashed its way to the Pohangina. From all sides water trickled, and tho atmosphere was moist and the way was treacherous. After safely scrambling over large masses of rook and boulders, we came to the caves proper—caves, however, only in name, for they can scarcely be dignified by that title. They are merely small tunnels and deep ledges in the wall of limestone. The largest is a few feet square and about five feet high—what might be termed a miniatu-’a cave—and is encrusted with stalactites. In other niches in the wall stalactites are forming, and in one place the strange sight was seen of moss petrifying almost as it grows. A few yards further doweP the stream a small waterfall is formed by a break in the papa rock. To obtain a view of the fall a risky foothold has to be secured on a small natural bridge across the chasm, formed by bush debris. The whole of the. strange phenomena in this remarkable gorge is the result apparently of convulsions' of nature, assisted by the peculiar limestone and papa formation of the country, Apart from the caves the series of remarkable scenes disclosed in the descent to the bed of the stream and on the way down to the "caves” along tho subterranean waterway is unique enough to repay the adventurer, especially as the scenes on the road up the Pohangma Valley are of a charming description. As a show place the Mongonui caves cannot expect to become famous, but as a rendezvous for picnicking they must become very popular. They are situated on Government land, and an endeavour has been made to induce the State to conserve the property and to take some means to protect the caves from vandalism. Already larrikins have been at work. The caves are easily reached from Apiti, in a little over an hour’s drive, and many prefer that route from Palmerston. By way of the Pohangina river, however, is a beautiful drive, and well repays any extra inconvenience. Strangers visiting Mongonui should go prepared for some rather rough scrambles, and the oldest clothes in one’s wardrobe are the most suitable to wear. In two places a stream has to be waded knee-deep—that is providing a friendly guide is not there to carry one across. Ladies will find little difficulty, however, in the adventure. Large parties visit the caves regularly and an average of fifty people picnic at the caves on the last day of the week. The most pleasant remembrance of the visit described is that of the warm hospitality met with from the Pohangina people, who are ever ready to afford information and assistance to visitors to the district.