THE EARLY SETTLERS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12604, 6 March 1903, Page 2

THE EARLY SETTLERS.

GATHERING AT WAIKOUAITI; The sixty-third anniversary of the settlement of Waikouaiti was celebrated at that historic place yesterday by a gathering; of old identities, their descendants, and friends. . The afternoon, unfortunately, turned out wet, and an adjournment wai> made to the i schoolroom. The Waikouaiti Band was in I attendance. | An apology was received from Mr Donald Reid, wiio regretted not being present 011 account of unavoidable business arrangements; also from' Mr Peter Duncan, on account of.the arrival of a brother, whom lie had not seen for 2d years, and whose stay tvas limited to three days There were only two of tho original passengers of the Magnet 011 the ground—.Mrs Darden (Beal), Waikouaiti, and Mrs Shanks (Coleman), Port Chalmers,—but a number of descendants, ancl a general gathering of about 800. Mr John Eeid, chairman of committee, addressed the assemblage as follows:— Ladies and gentlemen,. fellow early settlers and descendants of early settlors,—lt affords mo the greatest pleasure to bo privileged to once more meet you at cur annual gathering. On this occasion we are met to celebrate the sixty-third anniversary of the settlement of Waikouaiti. Waikouaiti, as you aro aware, was settled eight yeare before the arrival of. the first settlers under tho Otago scheme, and I think it fitting that we should keep alive tho names as well as the ciKjumstances which led those hardy pioneers to our shores, and if you will bear with me., for five minutes I will endeavour briefly to summarise them. Whaling, which' was con-'-duoted ehiofly by shore parties, organised mostly by Sydney traders, was the primary cause leading our countrymen thitherwards; and amongst' them was the late Mr. John Jones, whose' headquarters was then at Waikouaiti. Being a shrewd, far-seeing man, Mr Jones purchased land from the Maoris, and with the view of turning it to the best account from an agricultural and pastoral point of view he engaged for that purpose in Sydney the following, who arrived by the brig Slagnct era 16th March, 1840: —Hir' brother Jflios. Jones, wife, son, and daughter; David Carey, wife, and daughter; Joseph Boal, wife, and daughter; Tlios. Pascoe, wife, and son; Tlios. Hawkins a;d v.'ifo; Wm. Kenrard, wife, two daughters, and son; Wm. Stirling and wife; Mr Trotter; Benj. Coleman, wife, and two daughters; Wm. Cclc- i man and wife; John Fuller, wife, and eon; Geo. Glover, wife, son, and daughter; and i Fred. Prior and wife. It is extremely grati- ; fying to be able to 6ay that of those 38 . souls landed here 63 years ago the following ' still survive, and some of them at anyrate 1 I liojie are wilh us to-day;— Mrs Joseph Beal and her daughter Mrs Burden; Mrs ' Konna-rd, her son "Wiliam. and her daughter 1 Mrs Burns; Mrs Benj. Coleman, now Mre 1 Williams; Miss Mary Coleman, now Mrs ! Wolsey; and Miss Phcobe Coleman, now Mrs ! Shanks; or eight of the original 38, after ( 65 years of the ups and downs of a pioneer s lifetime, and of these eight Mrs Beal, Mrs ' Kennard, and Mrs Williams, are the re- ! spected widows of three of the original band < —their ages ranging from 84- to 87,—tho 1 remaining five being five of the " little pil- i grime" of 63 years ago! Only Mr Wm. i Kennard of the "male persuasion" of the c pilgrims survive. At this distance of time f we arc apt to forget the great advantage s which Otago's early sstlers derived from j Mr.Jones's prior settlement at "Waikouaiti, I and especially was this so in their being able 1 to purchase from him, nt Cherry Farm, dairy. £ cows, • fat cattle, and working bullocks at reasonable prices Mr Jones was a strictly honourable man, .who _ never took an nndue advantage of his position. He had only one price for rich and poor, and ' during a. scarcity of . flour and salt in Dunedm in its very early ] day?, Mr .Tones being the only holder, lie > de'elnned'. to sell to the -storekeepers! and 1; instructed hi>i trusted storoman, the late v Mr .Tames Marshall, to allocate his stock J according to the requirements of the various t settlers, lay it aside to their several ad- c dresses, and charge them the usual rates! r Could anything be. more generous or ji thoughtful? His name well deserve 6to be 11 held in grateful remembrance. It was at his h instsmce that tho Rev. James Wat-kin was a appointed missionary at Waikouaiti—the fc first missionary in this island. In 18M, or a four years after tho arrival of the Magnet o referred to, Mr Frederick Tuckett, a. nil'- ll veyor in the New Zealand Company's Ber- « vice,' sent to select a site for the Otago tl settlement, accompanied by Sir David (then Dr) Mimro, visited Waikouaiti, and Dr Hoclcon in his book on early New Zealand, j| quoting from their diaries, says Waikouaiti was perhaps the most populous and thriving j" district in New Zealand, the European popu- "■ laticin numbering about 100 and the Natives c ' somoivhat more, all occupied either independently or on behalf of Mr Jones in farming. whaling, or scaling; that Mr Jones had about 600 acres enclosed, 100 acres in crop, 100 horses, 200 head of cattle, and 2000 .shoep. This, therefore, constituted the whole stock and agricultural improve-

nvents at that time from the Bluff to Nelson. Compare then and now, and what a change! I hopo my hurried sketch of early Wai? kouaiti has not wearied you. But before fitting down I would like to urge upcm you, both young and old, the - desirability of taking 'a lively, active interest in' the work and working of the Early Settlers' Association. It is doing' good—surely it does us nil good—in promotijij meetings like the present, where wo can keey alive old acquaintanceships, rcstU o'd memories, and make us older folk, feel quite young again in recounting with our old cronies our early experiences and " fighting our battles o'er again!" But our indefatigable secretary (Mr Langlands), who is head and front of the whole affair, in addition to a most valuable collection of early records of Otago, has a most interesting collection of other relies all reminisccmfc of olden times which h& is badly in need of a permanent home for, and to that end he is getting up a bazaar on an ambitious scale to help to raise the requisite funds, and I strongly commend it to your hearty and genorous support. In the evening a concert was held.