IN SEARCH OF FRESH AIR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9337, 30 January 1892, Page 5 (Supplement)

IN SEARCH OF FRESH AIR

(By AV. L.)

Hut I iniisn'l. forget the greenstone episode. There is situated a little to the south of Ik

entrance to Mil ford Hound a pebbly beach

where we had been told we could pick up greenstone pebbles smuoth and water-worn.

-As some of us had been shown specimens from the place, some of us concluded — with a sanguine, idiocy that seems inseparable from .some people—that it was a sort of greenstone

Tom Tiddler's ground. So we besieged the captain and prayed to be landed for an hour or two on the beach. The captain, having consulted his private lime table -- (he never minds taking any amount of (rouble, provided that lime will allow)- consented to the expenditure of an

afternoon at the place. Ho also informed us that high upon the range above the beach was a regular greenstone quarry, which had fallen into disuse. Then some of those enterprising hoys, who always think they are going to do something jolly clever, put their heads together, borrowed all the bags and kits and sacks thoy could lay hands on, all the pick-axes and crowbars on the ship, and set off up an almost perpendicular creek to find the reef. In the meantime the others, amidst nasty remarks nbout being "too jolly lazy to do am/thing," wandered aimlessly about the beach." AVell, we got some 2000 or 3000 feet up the range without finding anything but the most inferior and slaty greenstone, and then we found that a huge slip had come d-jwn the side of the hill and completely covered with some aces of fMifi.i the place where the quarry should have been. Slowly and sadly we sloped down the creek to lind, on our return to the beach, that the last had been first, and the loafers on the beach had their pockets full of specimens of the real "tangiwai." AVe didn't say much— aloud—but we privately resolved that if we ever got the captain alone in a dark place we would remind him of that greenstone reef. To return, however, to where 1, somewhat erratically, left off. AVo got back to "Wellington on a lovely morning, and when we got to the wharf you would have thought we were a cross between a travelling circus, a museum, and a horticultural show. Such a production of birds in cages and beasts in boxes, plants in cases, geological specimens in anything you could get, abominations in spirit jars, sticks in bundles, and—more especially—penguins—penguins everywhere, alive, dead, stuffed, s'.-.innod, caged, loose, anywhere and anyhow—you never saw in your life. I never knew for certain— because it took all my attention for two days to discharge my part of this curious cargo—but I have reason to believe that, after exhausting all the ordinary "express" accommodation in the city, it took seven drays and three lorries— (what is a lorry ?)—to empty the " curios " out of that ship.

I thought that by this time I should have had enough of the sea, but I found I hadn't. I Tearing that the Hinemoa was going immediately to the northern lighthouses and the Kermadee Islands (with the accent on the second syllable, please), I wanted to go, too. And I went. (It was quite a unique experience—find myself able to do anything I really wanted to. I don't think it has ever happened before.) On this occasion, instead of a ship full, there were only three of us on board. And it was really a curiosity in philosophy to observe the demeanour of the two of us who had been on the other trip. We had hitherto been labouring under the delusion that we had been enjoying that southern trip, and the scenery, and the weather, and the novelty, and all that; but it turned out that we had in reality been enjoying each other's company. ' There could be no other explanation, for the hopeless manner in which we moped about the ship for the first 48 hours and could hardly speak a civil word to each other. However, by the time we got to the Portland Island lighthouse, which was our first call, we lmil naturally forgotten all about everyone else, and were wholly absorbed in our three selves —and the captain. The captain absorbed a good deal of us with his yarns, more especially as we were on an altogether fresh track. Portland Island is, as I suppose anyone who has passed the Fourth Standard will know— I haven't passed it myself, and I don't believe I could if I tried —situated at the end of the Mahia Peuinsula. Somebody told us about there being an ancient Maori ;::-nvcyard there, so while the ship's w jrk was going on we visited the place and found it even as was said. AYe raked about and got some skulls and bones and thing.-; which we carried away with customary desecration, and amongst the really interesting relics were found some whalebone, peed'u s. From inquiry I have made, no Maoris hive been known to be anywhere about there for over half a century, and the "graveyard" is supposed to be an old battlefield perhaps a century old. At a point on the coast a little farther on, we picked up another passenger, hailing from the Napier district, who had bought a piece of land in the Kermadecs and must needs go and see it. We now sailed straight for the Kermadee group, and it w:n not very long before we found it necessary t) adopt "a rather different style of costume from that we affected at Campbell Island. One of us was !he fortunate possessor—at least he thought himself fortunate to begin with —of a gorgeous piece of raiment, constructed evidently for ihe tennis ground, of a light and airy texture peculiarly good for hot weather, and beside which Joseph's celebrated harlequin costume wasn't "in it." This was now brought into use by the owner, who began to go about as if the ship belonged to him. Perhaps this exasperated the captain ; but, anyhow, lie incontinently dubbed it the '•Onslow coat,"' and the unfortunate owner never appeared in it afterwards without some rasping reference to it from someone about. The Onslow tMal occupied most of our attention till we sighted the first of the. Kermadee group. Espcrance Island, more commonly known amongst sailors as French Rook, came into view e ifly one morning, and of course we were all up like a shot to look at it. We looked, and rubbed, our eyes, and looked again : and then stole furtive glances at each other till someone asked what was the matter. One of the boys said he thought he must have s;>m .'t'lbg wrong with his liver, because the i-!and looked all colours of the rainbow ; then the rest- bp^an to look uncomfortable about thi-ir livers, and said that was just; how it appeared to them ; but presently the captain set us all right by saying that it was the island was oat of oi-il.t—not our livers. And so it turned out. The gorgeous colouring of that French Hock must be seen to be believed. Scoria of nearly every colour, ranging throue'i greens, purples and reds; of wonderfully graduated shades—sulphur "flowers" of the most brilliant yellow—are patched all over that island in an exquisiie confusion. An extinct crater occupies a considerable portion of the rock, which is only ;■- fe.v acres in extent, and at one side of that crater had been erected a castaways' depot. This was new found to be a complete wreck, but whether blasted by lightning or shattered by the tremendous seas that must break almost clean over it :ib times, it was impossible to say. At any re.te, the captain, after some consideration, concluded that it was not worth while to rebuild a depot on so inhospitable a rock. While lying oil' this island, whose sides are so stee;> that the steamer could go right alongside, we were surrounded by hundreds of sharks, and saw several shoals of a fair-sized fish of a dazzling gold and copper colour.

We went away the same day for Curtis Island, the next of tho group, to our visit to which we looked forward with considerable interest not unmixed with

some, trepidation about landing, as we were regaled with descriptions of burning sulphur, boiling mud, and trembling surface enough to make one shake in one's shoes. On the way between Esperancc mid Curtis Island, we were all down stairs at breakfast or luncheon, or dinner, or tea, or something—(ii is astonishing how one always seem to be eating on board ship)—when the mate came .'town and asked the captain to come on ,!eck ; we didn't hear exactly what he said afterwards, ami from his manner you would not have judged that it was anything pariicuhir, but there wa-: snmelhin." about a "shoal," or a -'reel,'" or ''ashore." or something that made us make up our minds, with a simultaneity quite e>:tr;v.>r Unary, that we had finished our meal, and wauled to gel on deck. The devil-may-care nonchalance, however, we tried to assume, was considerably shaken on finding tho steamer in tho middle of what appeared to be a sea of me. I stirred up by the propeller. A short survey by the captain explained (he phenomenon. ' We were steaming right over a submarine volcano. In one spot, quite, close to the ship, the s-a was bubbling up like a hot spring, and jets of mud could l)o distinctly seen ' all round thrown up f,- om the" bottom of the sea—which was by no means "deep blue."' but the colour of pea soup. I believe even the skipper was a bit relieved, as a shoal or reef is reported to exist somewhere in this very neighbourhood. This little occurrence by no means lessened our curiosity about Curtis Island, and the man with (he diary made a dive into the saloon and wrote in it for exactly three hours and a-quartc- by the clock. I don't think 1 have mentioned (hat wonderful diary before. I never kept a. diary mys -If—yes, by the way, I did, once, for 12 hours, but I found then; were so many things I wanted to say about that 12 hours, that I oaU-ulai-.-d I should want an extra two months in ov.-ry year to "write up" my diary, so I concluded to let it slide. " Our diary," as we used soim-timestoeall him on board, had some of the most extraordinary practices possible. Tie would be struck with some scene, and would take it in sections as if he was a photographic plate. Having taken in one section be would dive down at once to j his diary and record what he culled his "impressions." Then he'd eome;:gain. impress the next section on his diary, and *■> c,:>_, according to the extent of the scenery. You. never saw such a man. lie used to bau!;rup! cv,-i-y small ■ town wo called at in wntin- jki|w;-, and nv.uUi the steward's life a burden to limi with his j insatiable thirst for ink. We used to wonder | why he didn't wear out all the puns in the | c-o'.iutr,, till we discovered that he had a j diamond-pointed gold nib.

Mr Wil-:w». hi- i",;.:: : ,:-er. : f I ;.„■.-:.!.■! r!i,,<,,,, p-e.-.-.1u.; •.■.■.,•'. :. '~■■.-! .. ; ...| -.1... ;.;. ;.,, ; ...,. , ; ,;;i linildin- fro! ,M! .!-,lin >■'! -iilan.-. and \\iM mnuedintely ;ii ir up ;!> a .•, ! :,;,;f u\ct,,;\

"bust.

There are now a large number of men at work on the railway works kith in Waikato and northward, aud, as was predicted, the result iu the former district has been to artificially raise the price of harvesting to the farmers, and in t'.ie northern district-; to harden the price of county works by 20 per cent, So many of the men in the Thames mining districts have gone on the Paoroa section that Auckland men are warned not to proceed thither, the works being fully manned. It is yet too soon to judge accurately as to the merits or demerits, of the co-operative principle as worked lion;, but as it is being keenly watched the result will soon be known.

H..U.S. Tauranga is still lying in our waters, and will remain over the anniversary regatta. The Government, after a laps-.' of 13 years, are again renovating Admiralty House* and improving and altering it. It commands a splendid view of the harbour, and it is anticipated that it will be occupied by Captain Buurke, of IT.M.S. Kingarooma, who has expressed his intention of remaining in Auckland for some months in the year. The Tauranga has received a thorough overhaul in the Calliope dock ; so that the port is benefiting by the expenditure in this way, ;:.s well as in the distribution of the pay of tin: mm. Nothing could be bs.-thT than the conduct and discipline of the Tauranga's men since her arrival in port,

'L'he animal assessments of the city property by the corporation show that Auckland is still progressing, slowly but steadily. Only a score of houses have been erected during the year, but the increased valuations have amounted up to from 1.4000 to LSOOO. Indeed so hopeful is the outlook that some of tlu; city officials who wei-e retrenched have been reinstated at their uld salaries. As the new Mayor (Mr (.Vowthiu-) was a eons'.-ntint; party to the increases, it is evident that he believes the growing revenue of the city will wan-ani: the step, am1, yet enable him to carry out his settled intention of materially rcduring the munieijnl -iverdraft. This month the City Council levies the rate for the Free Public Library—ami perhaps there, is no rate which is more cheerfully paid, as the eiciz-us feel a pi-ide in lit- institution, which is visited by ev.-ry stranger who comes lo our city. Tts value as ail educational agency can hardly he overestimated, and is availed of by ail classes of t!ii! •vjuniuiiilv. 'l'he extension of the Art Galie.y ;-t a cost of 1,2030 is being rapidly proceeded v,i!!i. in order that the art treasures of the jV.nekelvie collection may he suitably display, d ; and the council cf'the

A-i.-l;'. .li.' 7ii;i .-.'uin iin; also lsuildii'i; a l.ivyi

ji.iiu-.\i: 1.. t!;,' i.: !:-c::;n with a vie'.v u( furmili o -: i,'i'a:nl coilcctijii of Jlaori weapons, carvings.