GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY

Opunake Times, 30 May 1947, Page 3

GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY

EGMONT COUNTY Thesis by Miss Gwen Dawson 'M.A. (Hons.) • Aquisiton of Maori Land In 1881 the West Coast Settlement Reserves Act was passed. A survey of the district was carried out and several sections on the seaward side of the Main road were sold for cash. Selections on the inland side of the road were let on behalf of the Maori owners. The lease was for '*o years with a £5 per acre allowance for improvements at the end of the lease. The rentals were 2/io 5/- an acre per annum. In 1892 an Amendment Act was passed providing for other leases on a twenty-one year period with right of renewal and full compensations for improvements. The rents were collected and distributed by the Native trustee. The anciant Maori custom of commercial lands belonging to the whole tribe made it very difficult for land to be purchased by the Europeans. The ways of present-day land tenure emphasises this fact. In 1911 a committee was formed and approached the Government with the intention of obtaining an amendment to the Settlement Act. An amendment was passed.,extending the 1882 lease for 10 years at a net valuation, minus the £5 per acre for improvements but with full compensation for all improvements at the end of the lease, and the right of renewal. The Europeans were given permission to purchase the land at the end of the lease if they obtained the Maori owners' consent. Certain blocks of land were kept as Maori Reserves Early Settlement Difficulties After the 1881 Act European settlement began in earnest and the land was steadily opened up. Leaseholds were rapidly taken up and the pioneers began the difficult task of felling the forest and cleaning the land. It must have appeared a formidable task to those accustomed to the cultivation of open well-hedged fields in England. In the absence of modern machinery available today, the pioneers had to fell the forest giants with axes ana 1 clear the land with bullock teams. After a bush burn the fond was surface sown with English and Australian grasses, and cattle and sheep were grazed to prevent the land from reverting io second growth. In 1883 the Opunake "Courier" reported, that Mr. John Stevenson had the honour of being the first white setter in the Rahotu district to take off a wool clip. Not only were there the difficulties of carving out a farm fiom the heavily forested country, but lack of communications, marketing centres and education facilities also added to the difficulties of early settlement. The farmers kept a few cows which thev milked by hand, setting their milk in shallow pans and skimming and churning by hand. The butter was packed into 561 b kegs for the Australian market. The average price received by the farmers was 4d per lb. Opunake and New Plymouth both had at this time an open roadstead but anchorage at both ports was unreliable, as a result produce had to be transported overland to Wanganui and Wellington. Roadino- and bridging was costly because of the dense forest, the innumerable streams and the heavy rainfall. The isolated farmsteads had no amenities and the forest supplemented many needs of the families. Heifers and steers that had es aped into the forest and wild pigs were often hunted for food. The Maoris were still sullen and distrustful and would often visit an isolated home, demanding food or any article of furniture that,took their fancy. Early Industries The first industry to be established in the district round Opunake was that of flax-milling. The flax was found in abundance in the swamp areas. It is a perennial growing to a height of 10-12 feet. The leaves are broad and emerge from the base of the plant. When settlement began in the district the-market for New Zealand hemp was promising and several mills were established at Opunake, Rahotu and Pungarel;u. There would probably be a dozen flax-mills in the district, none of which remain today. The flax was out. by hand,, retted in pools or streams, dried and scutched. There would be perhaps a dozen to 20 men working ir. ;a mill. When dressed the flax was shipped to Europe, probabTy fo England. In 1883 a rope and twine factory was in operation in Opunake and the quality of the products was of a high standard.