A HOLIDAY TRTP TO THE CATLIN'S DISTRICT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9383, 24 March 1892, Page 3

A HOLIDAY TRTP TO THE CATLIN'S DISTRICT.

(By T. M. H. and G. F.) No. I.

Seaside resorts within tolerably easy reach of Dunedm arc every your being added to in number. For r. very long time Broad Bay, Portobello, Brighton, and Taieri Mouth were about

tho only places at all generally visited for a

week or two in summer; but more recently Longbeach, Moeraki, mid the Nuggets have claimed their share of attention, and the two latter particularly arc increasing in favour year by year. There is, however, a new locality, so far as holiday-makers are concerned, which will inevitably come to tho front as a claimant for public favour. We allude to the magnificent district of Catlins ltiver, which is already within easy reach by rail and coach, and will be more so on completion of the section of railway now in course of construction between Glenomaru, the present termmus, and Catlins. A description of a recent trip made to this district, taking the Nuggets en route, may not be without interest to readers of the Times and Witness. We—a party of three—booked for Romabapa by tho 4.20 train, and arriving there at 8.30, were met by a trap from the Nuggets. This is by arrangement which requires to be made in advance by visitors. There are two houses at Nugget Bay at which comfortable accommodation can be obtained—Mrs Campbell's and Mrs Ottaway's— and a letter or telegram addressed to cither will ensure a conveyance being sent to meet the train at JRoniabapa. After leaving Romahapa the road strikes eastward, and three-quarters of an hour's drive brought our trap to the township of Port Molyneux. In the darkness which had now enveloped us, but little could be seen of this sleepy little hamlet, formerly situated, as its name betokens, at the mouth of the Molyneux, but now deserted by that erratic river, which some years siuce cut for itself a uew channel, and now flows into the sea a mile or two northward of its former mouth. Such activity as "theport" ever had has long since vanished, its shipping trade is of course a thing of the past, its erstwhile hotel no longer dispenses refreshment to the weary traveller, and those of its inhabitants who remain have apparently settled down to agricultural pursuits in a quiet and peaceful kind of way, roused out of their lethargy in the holiday season by the frequent-passing of visitors to the Nuggets, but otherwise unstimulated by the activity of the business world. Turning sharply to the south, we leave Port Molyneux behind us, and skirting the sea for a few miles, driving alternately on road arid beach, we at 10.15 p.m. reach our destination for the night—Mrs Ottaway's house at Nugget Bay, about three miles on the Dunedin side of the Nugget Point lighthouse,—more than ready for the bright wood lire and the comfortable supper which awaited us.

The name Molyneux Harbour was given in 1770 by Captain Cook, who so called it after the sailing master of his vessel the Endeavour. The Native name is Kureru. In 1838 a small whaling station was formed in one of its numerous bays, under the ownership or superintendence of William (better known as Bill) Palmer. But about this time whales became scarce, and the whaling industry began to decay, and so the station was soon abandoned. Then came the report that New Zealand was about to be colonised by the British, and to anticipate the good things that were likely to accrue the colonists of New South Wales instituted that huge system of land buying from the Natives which some persons were pleased to call land sharking; and thus it came to pass that a portion of the Molyneux Harbour and the adjoining country, in fact a block of land 20 miles square, was purchased by the late Mr John Jones, who in 1842 sent down one Wiltshire as his agent to hold possession against all comers. The last vestige of Wiltshire is his name, which yet lingers in the bay where he led his lonely life. Between 50 and 60 years ago there was quite a large Natire population iv the neighbourhood, numbering fully 2000. But a terrible plague of measles brought down from Sydney swept through the doomed race, leaving but a scanty few to tell the tale. Poor old Rakitapu is the sole survivor of that time. Iv May 1841- Mr Tuckett, the New Zealand Company's surveyor, visited the locality whilst on his search for a suitable block of land whereon to pitch the New Edinburgh, or Otago, settlement. He was highly pleased with its fertility, awd here doubtless would have lain his choice had the river mouth possessed sufficient depth for vessels. But he passed it by, and his good judgment received further confirmation when the treacherous river in full flood burst its hounds and excavated a new channel a mile or two away. It wasMr Tuckett who discovered at the north-east headland that cliff of coal known as Coal Point, which gave promise of the future Kaitangata mines. The southwest headland forms that bold promontory known as Tokata, or Nugget Point, whereon stands the well-built lighthouse, and our first morning's ramble was devoted to its inspection. Our arrangements did not admit of our spending more than a day in this interesting locality, so that we had to make the best use of our time on the following day. The walk to the lighthouse on the firm hard beach for portions of the distance, and then through the bush, gradually ascending until the point is reached, cannot fail to interest all who visit the locality. We were unfortunately too late to see the rata in bloom, and we regretted this the more because of the universal opinion of those we conversed with that never had it been seen in greater glory. All along the bush-clad slopes of the bay its crimson blossoms had arrested the attention even of those who had been accustomed to the sight. This has evidently been a "rata year," not only at the Nuggets, but as we subsequently learned, in every part of the bush where this noble tree is a prominent feature. The lighthouse being reached, we found the view to north and south of the bold escarpment on which it stands inspiriting and grand. Almost at our feet, the rolling waves dashing against their sides.were the small rocky islets from which the lighthouse derives its name ; stretching to the left was the coastline to the north of Port Molyneux, and to the right the precipitous cliffs of the lighthouse reserve with their bush clad tops, and yet further south various prominent headlands with which later on in our expedition we became more intimately acquainted, some of them under circumstances which deprived them of their charms and ourselves of any desire ever to • see them again—certainly from their seaward side. But of this more anon. Having made the acquaintance of the lighthouse keeper, of whose courtesy and intelligence we may here express our appreciation, we were shown over the spotlessly clean domain of which he is king. Everything was in the most perfect order, the brasswork bright and shining, the linoleum covered floor neat and clean, everything indeed betokening that watchfulness and sedulous attention which must be a characteristic of the lighthouse keeper and his assistants. It is after all, however, a lonely calling, doubtless with its full share of cares and anxietie?, although certainly not so bad in such a place as the Nuggets, which is not entirely out of the world and accessible only from the sea, as many of these friendly beacons of the mariner are. Truly our lighthouse keepers are deserving of the utmost consideration at the hands of the nation, and we may be permitted to express the hope that those of them who are located on the lonely promontories and islands of the New Zealand coast receive adequate payment and liberal treatment at the hands of the Government as some recompense for the anxieties, discomforts, and lack of opportunity for advancement in life which is their lot. Our inspection of the dioptric light, with the beautiful rainbow colours of its numerous prisms, and in them a remarkably beautiful reflection of the breakers and island " nuggets" off the point, being finished, we made our way back for lunch, well pleased with our first morning in this interesting coastal resort. Lunch over, we strolled along the beach in the direction of Port Molyneux, past the fast decaying remains of an old wreck, the Lloyd's Herald, lying high and dry near the roadline over the bridge at the Ahuriri creek, and on to the native reserve, where are located the remnant of what was doubtless a once numerous Maori population. Here we found the particular object of our visit—old Rakitapu, au ancient Maori octogenarian. Sunning himself at the end of his whare, the poor decrepit old man conjured up in our minds the far distant time when, as a young man, he, with his kith and kin, and with elastic tread, spent the fleeting days of his younger life. We entered into conversation with him, as well as his very imperfect knowledge of English permitted, but it was quickly manifest that no reliable information of the olden days could be obtained from him. We endeavoured to recall to his memory Te Rauparaha's visit to the south, the old whaling days, Wiltshire's visit to Port Molyneux and the bay which now bears his name, but the "memories of the past" were with Rakitapu sadly unreliable. Some of our local residents who take an interest in

he history of the early days of the colony telieve that Rakatipu was in his boyhood the sole survivor of a massacre which took place near Wauaka lake, when a band of Te Rauparaha's followers who were making their way overland from the West Coast surprised a number of Maoris located at Wanaka at the time, killing the whole of them with the exception of a boy. This boy managed to escape, and warned his father and some other members of the tribe who were away in another part of the district, and were thus enabled to save themselves from destruction at the hands of the marauders. It has, we believe, not been established that Rakatipu is identical with the boy who escaped, and his memory is now so far gone that no certainty of the truth can be arrived at.

We left Rakitapu to endeavour to find the site of Wiltshire's hut, and possibly its remains, and to see the other features of interest in the locality before our departure for Catliu's on the following day. There were one or two brokendown huts in the neighbourhood of that occupied by Rakitapu, one of winch, the old Maori declared to have been Wiltshire's, but we found that it was undoubtedly of more modern build, and a further search we made proved fruitless. We subsequently learned, however, that the remains of Wiltshire's hut are said to be in a paddock to the south of the

Ahuriri creek, and a short distanco from the beach. Having by this time returned to our accommodation house, and daylight being gone, we had no opportunity of proving whether this is so or not.