Hanmer Hot Springs.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume VIII, Issue 469, 19 February 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

Hanmer Hot Springs.

A HOLIDAY VISIT

[By J. R. lUimor.l

(Continued.) Close to the swimming pool a tennis court is being laid out. Mr Rogers has had a e;ang of men busily engaged in planting on the south-west side of the springs, the quarter from which the keen winds come. The plantation is well advanced, as indeed are those on the other sides.of the grounds. Briefly put, it is the intention to surround the springs' grounds with a belt of : plantation, varying from one to one and a-half.chains wide. When or, how these springs were discovered; at the time, when they were but; rush and raupo-bordered mud pools oiit in the plains, is lost in the mists of antiquity. Out of the numerous stories told me at Hanmer the most feasible seems to be one,' that in the'"fifties" some men,: driving sheep over from Nelson i through Jollies' Pass, camped near them,, and were led to go to the; spot by seeing steam rising from; the mud holes. However, that may be, there they are ; and the Government some years ago took charge of them and instituted the present Sanatorium.

. Mr Norman Maef arlance, a gentleman resident at Olaremont, near Timaru, suggested a walk tack-to o.ur hotel, which we accomplished in three-quarters of an hour, feeling myself a new man, i; The Jollies' Pass Hotel, kept, as I have said before, by Mr Idle, is well in advance of the times as far as regards accommodation, etc., in .fftc.trfar better than I had expected when leaviug Culverdin. There is

a-good tennis court; the bed-rooms

are numerous, and, considering j^eTerytiling, well ventilated; a firstclass drawing-room containing piano and organ; nice cosy smokingroom, billiard-room, and private room, together with a large and exceedingly well-appointed diningroom—make uj) a really first-class hotel, where intoxicating liquors canr.be had- but are not unduly pressed-upon you. . A ..first-class table is;kept/and Mr Idle and his housekeeper (Mrs Oostello) are assiduous in their attention both to - tourists? and invalids. Conveyances are;atf;tlie;'disposal of guests, taking 1 them to, the springs twice a day free of charge. ;;J!h&.weather-during my stay of

11 days , was really splendid, - enabling ■•■■■mo, with a view to

forwarding this paper to my friends at Home, to see everything of interest in the neighbourhood. Amongst those staying at Jollies'

Pass was the Rev. Mr Seddon and his.,-wife, (an Anglican clergyman) from the -suburbs of London (a

brother to Mr Seddon of Ash wick Flat Station, McKenzie

..Country),-a gentleman of very advanced views in both theological questions and the nationalisation of the land. Mr Seddon preached en the Sunday at the Presbyterian Church' at Hamner, using the

Presbyteriaii form of worship and

the-;: Church Praise. . The church was-, well filled with visitors and station hands, and a real good ser-

moifx it: was, the text being- " the

earthis the Lord's, and the fullness thereof," showing Mr Seddon to be a y disciple of Henry George's. My paperwould be incomplete without special refereoce being made to the Key, Mr Campbell, the minister who officiates; at Hanmer once a fortnight, I believe, and who resides some' 20 or 30 miles away at Waiau. This gentleman is a great favourite in the distfictj beiilga man of unbounded charity with the gentleness of a child. It is recorded that on many occasions he has given the boots- from-- his. ■ feet to a poor swagger, whilst on other occasions he has-.walked home to allow some wayfarer,-the use of his horse. Some time-agora furious gale'at 'Hanmer unroofed the Jlittle: church and; did considerable damage to the interior. Mr..(Campbell, who, it must be mentioned, is a poor man, got it repaired, not knowing who was-to payr for. it, but the residents promptly stepped into the breach and have paid for it. The collections on. the Sunday I was at the church amounted to JELL On another occasion Mr Campbell's

horse died, and the residents hear-

ing of this subscribed sufficient to ..purchase a horse and buggy. Mr Low, of St. Helen's station, and the rabbit inspector;- were deputed toraake the- present in as quiet a manner as possible. . Somehow MrCampbell got wind of it, and when the trap and horse were taken to his house they found that gentleman very-indignant, and he absolutely refused it on the grounds that his •work';hiihcrto had been a ■ pleasure, and uutess he could do it in his own on» way-he -would leave the dis-

triefc. The deputation eventually got the better of Mr Campbell, but I am credibly informed he only v it a'trihjht, on the ground that o.d col mists do not require I'uxv!lies :I'id he feels ashamed to go wilt wall it in the daytime. I ic.-u-n that Mr Campbell is now on his way to Scotland, his health having Droken down,arid his various congregations having insisted upon providing the necessary funds for the purpose. I trust this gentleman will long be spared, as .he seems to me the right man in the right place for the settlers of the Anu'iri-

My paper would also be incomplete without special reference being imade to the Hurunui Rabbit Board, |who, "with thft assistance of the 'Government, have erected one of the 'most perfect rabbit fences in the Hvorld, commencing as it does, a few :mile's but of Culverdin, and inter[seefcing the whole of the Amuri, -Waiau'and Hanmer districts. The inspector;keeps no men here but Itliose whose ;work is well and ■thoroughly done, and the whole of ■the fences "for miles ou the line of |road are kept in such a state of [repair and efficiency as to be a 'credit alike to the inspector and His Board. The rabbits, I hear, are rapidly decreasing, owing, no doubt, to confining them in smaller areas and to their natural enemies the stoats and weasels. I saw a few of the silver grey rabbits during my stay at Hanmer, and a few were sliot by^ gentlemen from Christchurch, but you have to travel a long distance at times before meeting bunny now. Mr Tin line, who was staying at Jollies' Pass, told me he remembered in the " fifties " the rabbits being first introduced into the Nelson province. It appears one of the settlers had a few rabbits sent out from England, and this arousing the jealousy of other settlers who also wanted rabbits, it was agreed rather than disturb tlie peaceful relations which then existed to liberate them. Who shall contemplate the mischief thus done to runholders and to the colony ?

(To he Continued.J