THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam." DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1863. Shipping Intelligence.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22234, 11 April 1934, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam aut faciam." DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1863. Shipping Intelligence.

SEVENTY-ONE YEARS AGO,

PORT CHALMERS, April 9th. The Malcolm, a lino new brigantine, arrived in the afternoon, bringing a largo general cargo from Melbourne, which she left on the 25th. , . . The schooner Cecilia, from the Chatham Islands, has brought another freight cf pigs and piotatocs. She left on Good Friday. , . .

The sale of the Benmore Station, by Messrs Wright, Robertson, and Co., at the long room of the Commercial Hotel, yesterday, created much excitement. A great many gentlemen interested in pastoral pursuits and the principal merchants and bankers in the town were present. The Benmore Station comprises some 200,000 acres of country, on the borders of the Upper Waitaki. Between 14,000 and 15,000 sheep were guaranteed, besides 30 head of cattle, 19 horses, 4 teams of working bullocks, 20 acres of freehold laud, and the statiou improvements. The property had been well advertised, and several bona fide competitors were present. The price commenced at L 25.000, from which it rose first in bids of thousands, then in five hundreds, and finally iu hundreds, to L 36.000, at which figure it was finally knocked down to Messrs Campbell and Lowe. Mr Robertson officiated as auctioneer. The terms were, one-third cash, the balauce by long bills bearing ten per cent, interest. After the sale, the company did justice to an excellent champagne luncheon provided by the auctioneers. The whole of the proceedings passed off very satisfactorily; the bidding was spirited, and amongst the bidders was a gentleman from Tasmania and one from Canterbury. The run is the largest, and one of the best, iu the Province; and although the price fully satisfied the expectations of the veuuors, it was not considered, by any means, that the buyers committed themselves to too large a figure. Mr Drake, who has recently discovered a route to the West Coast of Canterbury, by the Taramakau River, had to adopt the Maori plan of crossing several large rivers on a " mokihi," or a raft of flax stems. Mr Drake explains the mode of making these rafts as follows: —"As many persons may be ignorant of what a mokihi is like. 1 will endeavour by a description of making one,to give some kind of an idea of it. The flax stalks are laid on the ground overlapping one another so as to break joint the thick and thin ends together, according to the length you intend to have your craft. You continue adding flat stalks to the bottom tier until you have a round bundle some two feet in diameter, which you securely bind together with the flax leaves. 1 should mention, your bundle has to be tapered slightly at both ends, but far more towards the bow than the stern. Another similarly sized bundle has now to be formed and securely lashed. Those two bundles are now fastened together, not close together, but a foot apart, the vacancy being filled with more flax stalks, when the whole is securely bound together. Our mokihi was about fourteen feet m length, and three feet six inches in width at the stern, five feet in the w*.ist, and running to a point at the bows, where a small quantity of light scrub was bound to render the mokihi more substantial in case of running foul of a snag or a rock. A few flax stalks are bound to the sides of the mokihi, in form of a. bulwark, and the New Zealand craft is completed. They are buoyant and perfectly safe, it being almost impossible to capsize them. The only danger is that they may not be securely bound together, and may come asunder while you are navigating them. They are useful, however, only in floating down the stream. On our return from the south it took us just one hour to cross the River Taramakau at the bar with our flax vessel.

We hear that the Marsh troupe— an exceedingly clever body of pirl-actors in all sorts of pieces, and especially in burlesques and musical comediettaswill shortly appear in the Masonic Hall, Princes-street. The place is a miserable one; but the troupe may manage there for a time.