THE HISTORY OF JACKSON'S BAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22830, 14 March 1936, Page 20

THE HISTORY OF JACKSON'S BAY

By C. H. Gordon,

; There is .a likelihood that the :hanie' ; Jackson's Bay. will-shortly,. be,eome.-wsl known; at present; few are* aware.'oi 1 its' being on the Yet—thoughoisolated in South' Westland —Jackson's * Bay•'• his a history—a history in which;'romance and .tragedy mingle. Sixty it was a settlement, cheerful in the'expectation of becoming a centre bf. compierce;., and long; before', was founded goldminers, follo'wing ih the wake of explorer and prospector, were seeking their fortunes there. But the history of Jackson's Bay, as far as is known, goes back nearly 200 years to the time when the bay was inhabited by a Maori tribe, the Ngatimamoes. The Ngatimamoes, who came from Wanganui, by degrees exterminated the ancient South Island tribe of Waitaha. Later on, two kindred tribes, also from the North Island, joined forces and took the name of Ngatitahu. They waged a. long and terrible war on the Ngati'v mamoes, driving them from their pa.s in Nelson as far south as Jackson's Bay. The chief of the Ngatimamoes was a famous warrior, well named Te Uira ("The Lightning"). He possessed a particularly beautiful greenstone mere, the pride and inspiration of the whole tribe. Again and again the Ngatitahus tried to seize Te Uira and his battleaxe. At laßt, by strategy, they succeeded' and carried him off to their pa on the Awarua River. He was doomed to a terrible death, but his captors delayed execution till their friends from Mawhera Pa should come to rejoice with ■them. In the meantime, Te Uira was securely bound to a tree and left unguarded. The greatness of his strength was not known;. Te Uira ("The Lightning") burst bis bonds; and fled into the heart of the bush.. .'But he would not return to his tribe without having made an effort,to recover tlje treasured mere. At nightfall, creeping stealthily up to the enemy's pa, he watched for his opportunity. The Maoris were seated round the watchfire, handing the mere from one to another, admiring its beauty. Presently one of them left the Are to walk up and down in the cool night air. In a flash, Te'Uira fell on him, strangled him, donned his cloak as a disguise, and calmly walking over to: the. flre, sat down among his enemies. Knowing that the man wjiom he bad just killed stuttered :in his. speech, Te Uira, imitating this ; defect, asked that the mere be handed •to him. No sooner did he feel it in his 'hand than with a lightning blow to left land right he struck down men sitting on either side of him, and with a bound was away, speeding toward the bush. • i The angry Ngatitahus at once hurried down the coast to prevent the escape of To Uira and his. people from their pa at Jackson's Bay. Bat arriving there, they found- the pa too well fortified to be taken immediately; and the next day, noiselessly, at dead of night, the Ngatimamoes stole away into the interior of the country, taking with them the mere, sole relic of their former greatness. The Ngatimamoes were never seen again, though many years later it was rumoured that a remnant of the tribe, still inhabited the country between i Lake Wanaka and Milford Sound. It is not a matter for wonder that in an emergency the Ngatimamoes should have been able to find their way over from the coast to Wakatipu. Probably •this district was familiar ground, for the Maoris were fearless explorers. The mountains formed no barrier to them; they found passes over the great alpine chain, and carried on trade across the South/Island from coist to coast. One of those passes, now known as the Haast,'was particularly important because it led directly to the greenstone country'in the westi' "V • Over this route generations of Maoris must have travelled, carrying with them greenstone and other valuable things to barter with the cast coast tribes. As late at 1836, Te Puoho, head chief of the Ngati-Tama tribe, led a band of warriors through Westland as far as Jackson's Bay; and from the Haast River, which flows into this bay, struck the ancient track leading over the mountain and down to Lake Wanaka. Unfortunately, the purpose of this journey was not one of peaceful trading, but to make a raid on the Maori settlements of Southland. It is said that out of this ill-fated expedition only four of the Ngati-Tamas survived. Jackson's Bay and the Haast Pass seem to be linked together. The early explorers of th« South Island sought from the first to find practicable, routes across the country from east to west. Dr Julius von Haast, hearing from some Maoris on the West Coast of a pass which led over the Southern Alps to the head of Lake Wanaka, left Wanaka on January 13, 1863, to seek for it. He was accompanied by four others, and all were greatly hampered by. _heavy loads, four weeks' provisions having to be carried. But probably fatigue was temporarily forgotten when on January 23 the pass was discovered. The extraordinary thing about this passage is that its highest point is only 1716 feet above sea level. Writing of it, Haast says: "Thus a remarkable pass was found, which in a chain of such magnitude as the Southern Alps of New Zealand is probably without parallel in the known world." Pushin" on, the explorers reached a large stream—subsequently named the Haast River. Here they stayed, and the next day ascended the mountain above the camp, which Haast named Mount Brewster.

"It gives one a pleasant feeling of being on common ground with the noted geologist, when, the scientist giving place to the lover of Nature, Haast breaks into praise of the wonderful scenery around him. He says: "From the slopes of this grand mountain, from an altitude of about 0500 feet, we had a most magnificent view of the Southern Alps. Lake Wanaka appeared far in the south, its blue, mirror-like surface set amongst wild, rugged muntains. All - around us rose peak above peak, their rocky pinnacles towering in grand majesty above the snow and ice upon their flanks; whilst deep below us in narrow gorges we could look upon the foaming waters of the torrents almost at our foot. The wholo formed a picture of such wild beauty that' it can never be effaced from my memory." The party moved on through frightful, almost overwhelming, difficulties. At last, on February 20, they reached the West Coast, and gave three hearty cheers to express their relief and satisfaction. The journey from Lake Wanaka to the coast had taken 30 days to accomplish. On a good road, four days would have been enough in which to cover the distance. In his report of this expedition Haast stated that Jackson's Bay, from Arnot Point and south for about 35 miles, was an extensive plain, stretching from the sea to the base of the coast ranges, and containing about 80,000 acres of level land; this plain was the united delta of four different rivers which flow into the bay. Haast was not, at this time, able to'stay more than a very short time, on the coast. Provisions were so low that the party was compelled to return to Wanaka by the way it had come, reaching the lake at last after an absence of six weeks.

About this time courageous menalone or in small groups—found their way by sea or overland to Jackson's Bav. Their object primarily was to find gold; but their labours should not on this account be lightly treated. Dr von

Haast pleaded their cause, speaking: of them as " pioneers of civilisation"; and those of their number who fought through perils to Jackson's Bay. certainly deserve a place in its history. •