THROUGH THE KING COUNTRY WITH THE CAMERA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7314, 25 July 1885, Page 1 (Supplement)

THROUGH THE KING COUNTRY WITH THE CAMERA.

A PHOTOGRAPHER'S DIARY,

■-'•■' N°- m. I _ June I.—To-day we began the second stage of our. journey—that by land. What with horsemen and packhorses—six of each—we formed rather ah imposing cavalcade as we filed out of the village at 11 o'clock, bidding good-bye and cordiallyshakinghandswith all—now,as ever before, judiciously ignoring the antecedents of the tattooed and truculent-looking fellows who crowded to see the last of us.

In Tauraaranui—a little opposition at first once overcome—l and my camera had got along so well that I almost forgot where I was—now m the very centre of Maoridom—and having beeu struck with: a fine whare-puni at the village of Ta. RingamotUjWi.th some capital "specimens " bf both sexes grouped round, Tasked our leader if tie could-give me "just 10 minutes "—hesitatingly, for.l knew the valuo of time and that we had a very long ride still before us. He assented, and the photographic "fixins" were speedily off tne packhorse, the camera was put together, and 1 was proceeding to fdcuswhen I became conscious tliat somethmg was wrong. An ancient beldame, with excited.mien, her eyes flashing fury, set upon Mr Rochfort, and, flinging her arms about like a modern Cassandra, and pouring forth her words with a volubility worthy of Mrs Moriarty, inflicted upon our leader an infuriated harangue lasting a quarter of an hour. Mr Ro-Mort listened with that imperturbability that has so frequently stood him in good stead, and, turning to the rest of us, quietly » boiled down" the old girl s speech as follows :—" What is the pakeha up to now?■': What new trick is he trying upon the guileless Maori? • This makes the third of his little dodges. First, there was the Petition (this referred to some land-selling arrangement)second, the RaUway; and now, thirdly, this •Photographing business. The Maori has already put up with far too much, and he'll be 'hardlye/ered'if he will stand any more! So there, nowl" Seeing that the "group" was out -of -the question, I took advantage ot the noise the old lady was making— for she had "broken out in a fresh place"—and ot the admiring interest in her " gift' of the gab" shown by-all the rest of the villagers, slipt on | one side, secured two lovely little landscapes, working in-"a'raupo swamp most characteris- | tieallymoneofthem; then packed up my traps agam with a martyr-like air of resignation, and we went, our way. 'What with a later start trom laumarahui than was intended, and the delay at Ta Ringamotu, we had, with Banquo to " become a borrower of the night for a dark hourortwain"; sothatwhenwfireached Waimiha, our stopping place, we found everyone had gone to bed. The- dogs, however, soon gave notice of our arrival, and half the village cut their night's rest in two aiid^came out to welcome us. Soon a fire was made* and the women prepared us the most appetising-Maori meal, we had eaten onthe: trip. In some villages, after a special dish qf food had been placed before us, some villain-ous-looking scoundrel, whose morning toilette had not included- a very thorough ablution, would coolly walk, up and, thrusting his hand into our dish, turn over the food until he found a morsel to his taste, and as he ate it would turn upon us a look intended to convey that he thought, that one man was as good as another—"and better 1" This was not appetising, and unless one were very hungry would end in " I pass !" On the other hand, in other places, the.iiistinctive politeness of the people would have made such an act impossible. And of this latter^lass were the people of Waimiha. Mr: Catlin, whose travels among and works, upon the North American Indians created such a. sensation in England some (I, leave this blank purposely) years ago, describes very graphically the characteristics of the many tribes' among whom he had lived-and worked (for he was an artist. There were no "machine men" in those remote days, ye ken). One tribe-he especially distinguishes as the," gentlemanly Mandans." Well, here I think, at Waimiha have we found the Maori representatives of Catlin's Mandans. The principalpersonage in the place is Kaho Tapune.a lady who is fair, fat,andsay4o(with a discount of five-and-twenty per cent, off the last" line "), and tall into the bargain. Her husband is in physical contrast to his mate.; He would pass as a model husband even froma.pakeha standpoint, for he is full of those lover-like attentions which white ladies of mature-age^appreciate so highly, and often, alas, look for-in' vain from their spouses. He' will, without remark, quietly bring a mat and place it: over, the shoulders of his wife if he thinks.the -weather has become colder; and as for the Maori custom of the men eating alone, leaving to- the--,wives the scraps, that is, by Ngapara, "a custom more honoured in the breach^ than the' observance."- (One must indulge in a -hackneyed quotation now and then; it helps'-to "white out" the article—if one may be allowed to 'Halk printer.")

;..: June 2.^Before the ladies! left us last night it hid been-ascertained that they" would not object to "sit" oh the morrow. So, before starting 'on the" .day's ride I took the portraits of Kahu _Topurie: in flill Maori fig, with korowai and mere; as a chieftess of her rank ought to be represented./ Then her husband.- After, a young woman likmed Amohaere, who was "still attractive; ;a;hd: ah old one, Ramarihi, who doubtless had-been;'' Then a fine stout young warrior, named Hu'rinui, presented himself, was duly taken,-" and for very shame sake I felt bound: to declare.that-I could detain the expedition no longer. -Some three miles on, aud we reach the: railway survey, camp at Ohiuemoa. After a brief conference with the officer-in-charge, ouri leader ambmices'-tp us"; that he fears we cannot get further, than this; camp to-day. He does not realise how unnecessary, is any apology for this announcement as > far as one member of the party is^qneerned. Nearly 30 miles yesterday on a Maori horse with no'" paces "—at least no civilised paces—to one who had, not-been in the saddle for years, and who never had the ambition to_ "witph the world with noble horsemanship," ; ; but whose deeds in that 'line are rather': akin ■'• to those-of- that other knight who!- was-'besides " a linen draper bold," gave to the chance of ii'resttilltb-morrow all the charm of a reprieve. While seated •' by the cainp> kitchen fire my eye is caught by a batch of new " Graphics," and I am at once " buried," only' to be dug up to partake ,of a meal, at recollection of which I smack my lips even now-Oh,-that.cook,! 'But has not his fame gone forth into all the camps ? For myself, I say, may his shadow (and it is a long one, for he is a stalwart ex-Armed 'Constabulary man) never be less! -The packhorses and their attendants had been sent on, so we horsemen found ourselves just swagless. However, our hosts, going " one better:"" than St. Martin, divided—not their cloaks, but—their blankets with us, and we slept soundly therein until we were roused out, as per arrangement, long before daylight on

. June, 3.—Early as it was the breakfast was ready—[oh! that curry! bless the cook one? more!]—and we were soon in the saddle, for the word had gone forth, "We must reach Te Kuiti to-night, mind ye." "When our leader told us that we should, early in the day's ride, find the bush track "rather rough," we at once traced ourselves' "up for something quite, out of the common, and truly that two hours' ride through the forest was "a caution." Now, I. confess I begin to appreciate my-Maori steed, for no pakeha horse, surely, could.have carried his rider over a track almost as steep and winding.as the tower stairs of Christchurch' Cathedral. Then, to relieve the monotony, we would plunge through a clayey slough, as clinging as a poor relation, and nearly as deep.as a Colonial bookmaker. Here, be it known, my mates can relieve their horses and secure their own safety by dismounting atall ." pinches," butmy accident in the "Forty-mile" perforce glues me to the saddle—that is, at least, as long as I can. stick," for it is with some astonishment, and as much devout thankfulness, that I find lam still "there" when we reach the summit bf the dividing range, and are informed that we are now just above the middle of what .will be the longest, tunnel in the Central railroad, which is to pierce the hill we have just climbed .many hundreds of feet below us. A brief " wind," and down again on the other side we go, our experiences in descent being a fitting complement to those in ascent. I find that my.hasty.notes, pencilled at the time, say: "We passed by a diabolical road through a celestial .bush." And that's so. In common,fairness, as a sort of Colonial Dr Syntax, in perpetual pursuit of the picturesque, I must say that—though it is undeniable that as far as - mountains arid lakes are' concerned the South can give "points"' to the. North-^-we cannot "play them even" on hush. No; there they lick us, ami we had better admit it. For hours we ride along—now through valley, now over little ridges,-each one as we top it giving us extended views of new country, where not a sign testifies to human presence, save the " rangingrods"of the railway survey; but the climaxboth cesthetic and utilitarian—is reached when we emerge from another magnificent bush, and ■thebeauteous valley of Waiteti gradually unfolds itself before us; for here the soil, I learn, is every bit as good as the scenery is lovely. We have made such' good progress to-day that we reach our stopping-place, Te Kuiti, by 3 o'clock, in time for the camera to do some useful work. This place was formerly the headquarters of 1 King Tawhiao,' [and-here is the most elaboratelycarved whare-puni we: have yet seen. It was built expressly for the dingy monarch, and is quito a- show-place, a fee of half-a-crowh being exacted for admission-

June 4.—Rambling out this morning early into the Maori graveyard, in the course of my "meditations among the tombs," I came across one erected to the memory of some chief, no doubt, of super-excellent ferocity, that seized my fancy so. much so that I felt I could not leave it behind;—that is, unless I had its " counterfeit presentment" to console me; so as the light was still "non-actinic," it was arranged that our leader and my other friend, the artist, should push on towards civilisation, while the packhorse train and self should follow on in due course.

Three miles: or thereabouts from Te Kuiti is Te Kumi. This place and its people made some stir in our little world rather over two years ago.: It will be remembered that three routes were suggested for the line to take that should connect Auckland with Wellington and the other centres of population. One was known as the Napier route, another as the New Plymouth, aud the third as tho Central. It was the last one—passing, as has been noted in this " Diary " through the very heart of the King Country—that' was ultimately adopted; but in March 1883 Mr C. W. Hursthouse was instruc- I ted by the i Government to loave Kihikihi, and proceeding byway, of Te Kumi to ascertain if a practical course for" the second of these lines' could be found. Just before reaching Te --Kumi Mr Hursthouse, who was accompanied by one white man and a number of friendly Maoris, was stopped by a band led by Te Mahuki, pulled from his horse, carried to the I village -and ;. there shut>in a. cookhouse,- together

with his white companion. Their hands were securely tied and trace-chains wound round their Ankles. In a short time a disturbance was heard outside, and, the door suddenly opening for a moment, a Maori named Te Haerae, one of the. friendlies,. was hurled in. Nearly 48 hours they lay there, clothed only in shirts and drawers; without food, and for the greater part of the time without fire and subject to indignities I need not write, but which make my blood boil to hear of. On the third day friendly Maoris came in such force to the rescue that Te Mahuki dared not resist. Very shortly after, however, he gathered his followers together, and marched to Alexandra, announcing to his, people that as soon as they reacted the township their pakeha enemies would fall down before him. They made a brave show as they entered Alexandra; but they made rather a pitiful one when the Armed Constabulary quickly surrounded them and made prisoners of the whole band and conveyed them to Auckland, when they were duly tried before Judge Gillies, and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. I secured a view of the village, showing the whare where air Hursthouse was imprisoned; and afterwards, after some demur, induced' the archscoundrel Te Mahuki himself, and his henchman, Paru Kau, to make a picture for the Our last stopping place before reaching Kihikihi and civilisation was to have been a place called Marae-o-hine, but calling at Haerenuka, some four miles short thereof, and finding a gathering of great Maori swells there, was easily induced to accede to a pressing mvitation..to stay' the night. - Haerehuka, it may be noted, is close to Otorahanga, on the Waipa, where a telegram (ill-spelt as to names), appearing a few days after my return home, told _the public that shotty gold had been tound A polite request that;! would come mto the whare-komiti to "4 o'clock tea," gavo me an opportunity of meeting a number of the Maori.aristocracy, some of them men who have made their mark in colonial history. Here were Rem (Manga), the great NgatimaniaPoto nhief; Wetere te Reringa and Te Ranptuataka,. chiefs of Moklu- Tainui, our bost; Te Haerae, companion of Mr Hurstbouse s_ imprisonment, who now enjoys a pension from Government, awarded as a solatium for his sufferings on that occasion; le Naunau, Whitmui,'Tawhana, and others of greater or-less celebrity. It is unnecessary to say that in my introduction to these gentlemen i teit no uneasiness as to their past record, government has condoned, by, I believe, an allmcluding amnesty, any little over-zealous acts that -Tyere done in the now dim past; and where a Native Minister can shake hands and he . Hail, fellow, well met!" it does not become a-bumble photographer to hold aloof, for although years ago .

'•''^i anYi in? c *■?? niuvdfi« Ilave been performed . Too terrible for the ear; ■ ■and though eVen among those present there might be men who had "assisted" in more than the "French sense," I felt that such as these ; were questions of State, and that my business was just to take photographs, and to leave ;such weighty matters alone. Rewi was dressed^n a suit of grey dittos, with a shawl round his shoulders.; : The other chiefs had,' more ; or less, adopted European costume. Another sign of the times! For it is evident that the true Maori dress is doomed, and that tbe koroivai and: even the blanket must soon give place to shirt andpantsall over the country Having such noted personages as sitters, of course I was "at it" as long as light would serve. Phe usual Maori hospitality—that is, .when they are hospitably disposed—was shown, and we pakehas were comfortably hohfeed in & building that exhibited the advance of ideas in the Maori mind. The walls were of raupo, but there; were glazed windows, and the door was nearly high enough for a middle-sized man to enter stooping. There was a chimney and fireplace, as in the whare-komiti ; but I noticed that in the latter' building the good old Maori custom of a fire in a hole in the centre of the floor was preferred to the chimney. An iron bedstead—the, only one—was apportioned to me, but as therewas nothing between my hones and the laced iron bands under me except a blanket, I somewhat" sympathised with the countryman in London m the last century, who, treated to "a ride, in a Sedan chair without a bottom, declared that "if it were hot for the honour of the thing, he would as lief-walk." The Maori game of poi (ball) has been brought before the' public lately in connection with some utterances of the great Maori .prophet Te_ Whiti, and here for the first, tune we saw the girls playing -poi. ; The ball 'is., made of raupo, .is moderately soft, and is attached to a string. It is rather a "fetching" thing to see a pretty Maori lass—an adept in poi— throw the ball about in-all directions, now striking her hands, now her bosom; now jerking it over'one' shoulder, now over the other, then upon her lap, and all to the sound of music; same music being beaten out of a tin baking dish. There was to-night "some hint of a haka, but as the girls after a few steps—pretty "fairly suggestive of what the complete busmess.might have been —did not seem to get into the spirit of the thing, we wisely sought 'bur blankets", and prepared ourselves for a good "day's work and ride to-morrow, the last'before' we -should'; cross the Auka.ti line and get back among " oor-ain folk." .; June s.—Leaving Taonui's _ whare-komiti at ;Haerehuka, we pushed on without further stoppage, and in the course of a few hours, first * three-rail fences, and ' then ploughed fields, with glimpses of farms" and'farnflibuses: greeted our gladdened eyes., .The last few "miles we did •at a gallop -„jaiA so much had I improved in my horsemanship that a spin into Kihikihi as fast as my horse could go won for me encomiums from the dare : devil Maori guide, Henaki, who was the only one," in at:the death "when we drew rein at the Star Hotel, .in Kihikihi. How T enjoyed my first square meal, and- how I luxuriated in an English bed, need not be told. These 1 two: comforts ,can only.be-adequately described byan adjective which we had used as a test word of Maori pronunciation all through our journeyings with most laughable results in the various attempts made by. men, women and children—and that. word ,is " scrumptious " Should any of my readers' ever, travel in the heart of Maoriland, let them try it if they desire alittle fun.

June 6.—Kihikihi is a European township (this is information for Southern readers only) despite its ultra-Maori name. :.It boasts three' hotels, stores in abundance," and, above all, it is on the telegraph-line. But there is a special interest attaching to it, for it is in view (as the camera can prove if called as a witness) bf the battlefield of Orakau. Here, the combined Waikatos andNgatimaniapotos made their grand final stand under the .fighting chief Rewi, on which occasion he declared that he would never surrender, adding emphatically, in his native tongue " aks .' fake ! ake.l " which very freely translated may mean ; that "he would see the Pakeha Sir Joseph' Portered first." He, now enjoys a finehouse. opposite the Star' Hotel, provided by a considerate Government, together with a pension uf £210 a year. Ahem ! -.-

One result of my little journeyiugs through the King Country has been to beget: the suspicion that, after all, the great Native difficulty question has been used very much as a bogey; that, in fact,, .had it; not been for ; certain interests involved in' its continuance, it'would have been solved long1 ere now. However this; may be, it is the opinion of all whose opinion is entitled to respect with whom I have come in contact, that tHe Maori difficulty is now ss." dead as' the Doges," and that it is: only by the.grossest'mismanagement that any further trouble cau ever arise; The only place where any mischief can be'brewed is Parihaka, and such can only he local and temporary, cut :qff as; this district is from the rest of Maoridom by the - • railwaiy. Besides, any" rising at all, even there, is directly opposed .to "Parihaka Tikauga"; or, in other words,: the;policy of Te Whiti. That astute old pseudo-prophet knows the weakness of his' countrymen and recognises also the strength of the pakeha. The knowing ones I met in Kihikihi ridiculed the idea of the old fox being such a fool as to embroil himself with the Government As a specimen of the'stuff with which he amuses his followers, I was. told that -he recently promulgated as a truth his discovery (after a course of Old Testament reading, I suppose) that " Abraham had actually landed at Patea, and, before leaving again, set np his son there in business." [In the " old clo' " fine I wonder ?] This, of course, proves, beyond cavil, the illustrious descent of the Maori race. It is the opinion, I gathered, of my informants,' that for some time to come alarmist articles may be expected to appear-in Northern newspapers, but that experts will be able in every case to trace them to the inspiration of jealousy or land-jobbing. My work being now done— having carried my camera through the whole length of the King Country—naturally I wanted to get back to my beloved Dunedin, but I felt that I must stay a little longer and secure some "subjects." in Whatiwhatihoe, the present location of the Court of the Maori King. Accordingly I drove over to Alexandra, which: is within a mile of the regal village. My companion was that very Mr Hursthouse who was chained up in Te Kumi, so I had the great advantage of the corroboration from his own lips of the account of that, business I had already learned. During the journey Tasked him if he were any relation to' the Mr Hursthouse whose name I had been familiar with as a lecturer and writer upon New Zealand more than a quarter of a century ago. He said, yes, he was, and: that same relationship had nearly brought him into trouble in Canterbury some year's back. He went on to relate the anecdote.. (It. may be premised that Mr Hursthouse is a gentleman "more than common tall," and of almost burly presence.) A cock-sparrow of a man came up to him and said, " Pray, are you any kin to that (First Lord—hem!) scoundrel who; wrote that (First Lord, again !) book? He pleaded guilty to the softimpeachment, when his interlocutor went on to say, " Then I have a great mind to smash you !" Mr H. good humouredly asked why ? when the irate Zaccheus said," Why! didn't he induce me to come out to this (First, lord, a"am') country, where I have been burnt out, and nearly drowned three times!" To which Mr Hursthouse replied, " Well, it seems to me that you are a wonderfully lucky fellow." " How's that? How's that?" excitedly asked the other. "Because, if you had remained in the Old Country you might: not have escaped hanging threo times, you know! Come ! Let's have a drink!". ■, The bellicose little . man's features relaxed, and peace was concluded on this basis. Withm 200 or 300 yards of Alexandra maybe seen to this day remains of the fortifications raised more than 60 years ago to resist the conquering progress of the chief Hongi. It .will be remembered that that worthy, early in the-twenties, visited England, and was duly introduced at Court. As a suitable present the king, George IV, of blessed memory, gave him a number of muskets. Hongi, on his return, armed his followers with them, and made a grand triumphal progress through the country; and this place—a pah situated at the. junction lof -.the .;Waipa- river iand a' creek• whose

name has escaped me—was the scene of one'of his exploits. Of course, in spite of the entrenchments and the valour of the defende;*, muskets carried the day. AVhat those entrench- . ment must have been originally, the .ruins of the triple line of earthworks still remaining after the destructive influence of more than 60 year* of wind and weather, give something like a faint: idea.- .-'-■ •■■■_•.

June 7.—Oh our way to Whatiwhatihoe we •_ | called at Wahanui's. This gentleman made ».. | public appearance in an entirely new character » few weeks ago, when he assisted the Premier in : the arduous'duty of cutting the first sod of the - Central railway, near Te Awamutu. Wahanui • is popularly supposed 'to be. rather .a Maori MachiaveUi; and though he.lives—like Rewi-r-..: in a house provided by a paternal Government,.' and enjoys, I believe, a pension, he is'veryjealous of the maintenance of his viana among •■• his own people. Hence, he felt constrained to '7 refusethe offor of a seat in the Legislative; Council.. But I must not be ledinto,pplitics: .'. out came the; camera, .and soon portraits of - Wahanui himself, his wife, his son, and allY his following were added to my series. '-AY; Whatiwhatihoe we interviewed Tawhiao,- who was clad in the earlier part of the day, more : v . Maori, in a blanket, but in the afternoon ap-? f peared in a pot hat and a suit of solemn bla_ck,T 'J We had to lament a falling off from our ideal cf'V the manners which should distinguish thedadit •- of a Court, for, truth to tell, the conduct on the t part of the Women we found so objectionable in - the Hauhau village of.Utapu—the salutation de' demere—-v/as repeated here' under the veiy shadow of the throne. '. ; '

June 10.—Now I think I may fairly consider my work to be done; so,'with a calai joy I take, a ticket at Te Awamatu for Auckland,-aiid OR June 17 I reach Dunedin again, after juist nine weeks' absence, to receive the congratulation of; my friends upon the Realization of adream of: years [What a small ambition suffices'some5, minds!] in the photographic illustration of " The Maori at Home/

Alfred H.'Buhton.