THE OLD MAORI TRACKS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18673, 30 September 1922, Page 18

THE OLD MAORI TRACKS

OTAHEITI BAY NORTHWARDS. By Murray G. Thomson. In my last article (publisher! on September 2) I described two Maori main tracks from the Heads to Purakanui; and before continuing northward I purpose picking up the track from the south at Otaheiti Bay, a small sandy beach on the upper side of Acheron Head and now popularly known as Grassy Point. Although the writer had many a time in the ’sixties walked from Koputai Bay, the Maori name for Port Chalmers, he had not struck anything that looked like a Maori track until reaching Otaheiti Bay, yet ho is convinced that there must have been one. The settlers in the locality had in places made clearings in the forest, and in other places, helped by fishermen and crows of vessels lying in the harbour. had cut out the best timber for firewood, and it can be easily understood how the resulting debris would conceal a track. Ibis part of the countryside being very rough, it is possible that the Maoris crossed in canoes from Koputai to Otaheiti and then continued on foot. Leaving Otaheiti, where the track was well marked, it wound its way to the top of the ridge through the dense virgin forest. Any attempt to leave this track was soon abandoned, for the density of the supplejacks made progress impossible. From tlic top of the ridge, the main track led down the hill along the line of the present Purakanui road to where the church stands, when it, turned off to the left through the late Mr J. Mawson’s property to the head of the bay, following its western side to the well-known sandy flat whore in my time was a small Maori settlement, all that was /eft of a once powerful hnpu. This track was in my time opened by the settlers at Purakanui, and all their supplies were carried from the harbour side along this track, either <sn pack horses or shouldered by the settlers themselves. From different points of the ndge branches struck off through the forest to Long Beach, Pilot Point, Purehurehu, and one that ran tbo whole length of the ridge to the clitls at Hayward Point is now the Hayward road, and was opened out a? a surveyors line by Mr Arthur and party in 1863 or 1864-. All four tracks have now mot at the Maori settlement at Purakanui Bay. The first of these, tracks—No. 1 of my previous article —which was not a mam track, took the hill at the end of Pura kanui Flat and crossed over the hill at the cliffs to the remains of the small settlement. The site of this settlement was for a mmv her of years a favourite hunting ground tor the more-ardent curio collectors, who did not object to a hard day s tramp for the chance of adding something to their collections Some very fine specimens secured from tins spot have found a resting place in our museum. This old settlement can still be picked out from the tram as it is leaving the top of the fhfts for W aitati. Place names and their origin are interesting. On this bay lived an old Moan who was so closely tattooed that he. was called py the old hands “Old Blueskm”: hence trie nain-fl of tho bay. * 4 1._ Now let us follow the continuation of the main track north from Purakanui Bay. This track left the western side of the flat near where Mrs Millar’s house now stands and after going through a very pretty belt of bush, emerged on tho clear at the bottom of tho ridsro that ran up towards the top of Moponui. Keeping cm this ridge « wound its way to the lowest saddle of three—tl.c one farthest to the right-pass-in" on its wav an old Maori settlernont. evidenced hv The fuel that the European owner a few years ago ploughed up the remains of cooking p aces, as well as a number of stone implements. The ti..ck then turned round this lowest height .of Moponui. and wound its way aown the other side to the head of Blueskm B;v, clo'O to the present, railway bridge at \\aitati Both sides of Moponui are now covered thickly with manuka scrub, but in ihe ’sixties .wrro quite clear, ana this tr?.c»c was the ordinary route by which the writer on two different occasions, as a lad, helped to drive'cattle from Murdering Beach to Dunedin From Blueskin we used the Main North road, which in 1863 was formed as far as Waikouaiti. . From the railway bridge at Yaitati the track wound round the head of the bay to Evan 'dale, then turned northwards, passing tho old Maori settlement at what is now Warrington, and entered the big hush just where Major Pitt took up land in the early days. If renders will now follow tho railway trank to Brinn’s Point at Puketeraki they will be on the old track trod bv the Maoris from time immemorial. The ’writer has never been on this latter part of the track, but at his Murdering Beach homo ho has listened to stories told by passing travellers of the hardships endured hv the way. tho nine miles through the bush from 'Evansdalo to Puketeraki being described ns equal to twice that distance in the open. Indeed, travellers have waited at Puketeraki for some days on tho off-chance of getting a lift across the bay in a whale boat. The late Mr Robert Bain, of Oamr.ru, once told roe that in 1T59 ho ran away from the ship Alpine at Deborah Bay, and followed this track all the way to Pukoteraki. He extolled the beauties of tho bush with its rippling streams, its ferns ■mil mosses, and (he choir of luis, liclllnnls, and canaries; hut he confessed the .delight he fell when Brian's Point canto into view, indicating .to him that this part of his arduous journey was over. My personal knowledge of tho (racks in this district is non- exhausted, but I should be delighted if some of your vendor:; could follow the track from Ihr- junction of the Purakanui road and the Hayward road, at which point I left it. I have been told that it '.vent to .Sawyer’s Bay, and to my mind this is the (rack that the Maori would naturally take.