EARLY HISTORY OF THE WANAKA DISTRICT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3347, 8 May 1918, Page 53

EARLY HISTORY OF THE WANAKA DISTRICT.

By Geo. M. Hassing. Probably one of the first -white men v«:o viewed the unsurpassingly lovely scenery of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea, with the snow-clad Southern Alps in the far western distance, was the late Hon. John M'Lean, better known as "Big M'Lean of Redcastle," Oamaru. In 1858 Mr M'Lean, standing on the top of Mount Grandview, marked out roughly the boundaries of a block of countrv comprising 450,000 acres, known as the Morven Hills run, including the Tarras and Lindis country. This block -was bounded on the north by part of Lake Hawea and the Hawea River to its confluence with the Clutha; on the west, by the Clutha to the Kawarau Junction; on the south, by the Dunstan Range; and on the west/by the Omarama and LongsliD runs. This magnificent estate, nearly as large as Sutherlandshire, Mr M'Lean secured for himself and family on a 14 years' lease for a mere song from the Provincial Government and Otago Land Board. ♦

Mr M'Lean, who was a praetical pioneer squatter, made good use of the country in the way of judicious stocking, burning at the proper season, and the erection of substantial buildings, yards, and fences. Mr M'Lean, I think, was the only runholder within 100 miles' radius that retired from the business with a competency. Many of the old pioneers in the Hawea and Upper Clutha districts still cherish a vivid and kindly recollection of Big Jock M'Lean and his genial idiocyncrasies. In the "year following Messrs Robert Wilkin and Thomson, of Canterbury, took ud the country on the western side of the Upper Clutha River, extending from the foot of Lake Wanaka to the Kawarau River, including the whole of the Criffel and Mount Pisa block. At that period this was an ideal sheep run, carrying an abundance of nutritious native grasses; splendid winter country, with safe river boundaries

In the same year Messrs John Roy and H. S. Thomson came up together through Thomson's Gorge and followed up the eastern side of the. Clutha to its junction! with th e Hawea River. Here Mr Thomson made a raft with flax and korari sticks, crossed the Clutha, and roughly surveyed the country lying west of Lake Wanaka. Through a bit of sharp practice Mr Roy secured the choice of the country as far as the Maiatapo and Matukituki Rivers, while Mr Thomson had to content himself with the mountainous district lying north as far as the Albert Burn, and known as West Wanaka. About tltib time also Messrs Britain and Burke, of Canterbury, secured the Fork run, or East Wanaka, and Mr Jones, of Oamaru, took up the country adjoining the Upper Hawea, Hunter and Makarora Rivers, and a few years later Mr W. G. Stewart annexed the Wilkin run on the west side of the Makarora River.

In the early sixties Mr Roy sold his run to Messrs Wilkin and Thomson, who subsequently sold the Mount Pisa country to Messrs. Loughnan Bros. Mr Jones parted with his run to Captain Fraser, who later sold out to Messrs Shrirnpton Brds. About this period Mr Henry Campbell purchased for £65,000 the whole of the Wanaka run from Messrs Wilkin and Thomson.

Mr Campbell was a native of Tasmania, and brother-in-law of the late Matthew Holmes. In .partnership with his brother in the early fifties, they had a run on the Upper Murray in Victoria ; but when the Australian diggings broke out they gave uo the run and took up carting goods to the diggings. At this they cleared a small fortune, and both came across to New Zealand when the first rushes took place here. Henry Campbell ioined his brother-in-law in the Elderslie Estate, near Oamaru, where he cleared quite a fortune at cattle-dealing in the early digging days. His brother, Allan, settled in Hawke's Bay. After selling out of the Wanaka run Mr Campbell purchased the Henley Estate as a going concern; but an unprecedented big flood m the Taieri financially ruined him, and this, no doubt, hastened his death, which took place shortly afterwards in Dunedin. Mr Campbel was a fine specimen of a sterling, self-reliant pioneer—a man whose word was his bond.

I had the privilege of knowing all these early_ squatters, some, of them intimately, and it is with a feeling of pardonable pride that I now record mv admiration of the fine qualities and generous, openhearted liberality of every one of these gentlemen, bar one. who shall be unnamed. They all did splendid pioneer work in their generation, and should all have met with that success and reward so richly deserved. But, alas! most of them after years of toil and worry met in the end with financial disaster.

Though the whole of the Upper Clutha country was ideal sheen and cattle country, a perfect squatters' paradise, yet. there \vere_ at the beginning numbers of wild Maori-bred dogs roaming amongst mountain gullies. These soon started their depredations on the sheep, so that it became necessary for each station to maintain a pack of kangaroo dogs to exterminate the wild brutes. In a "couple of years the wild dogs became extinct, but the numerous keas in the mountain regions then became very destructive on the sheep, and these new enemies were difficult to deal with. Then, again, during the earlv digging days, the thus became the routes and camping-ground of thousands of 2'old-seekers, who burnt and devastated the luxurious native grasses during all seasons of the year, and whose numerous mongrel dogs worried the life out of thousands of sheep. Then came the bag drop in the price of wool immediately

following the American Civil war, and. finally, the rabbit plague. One of the squatters here named, a scholar, educated at St. Andrew's University, and a thorough gentleman in every sense of the word, who had refused £24,000 for his run and stock, left the station a few years subsequently with all his earthly belongings, consisting of a decent horse carrying his swag. He obtained a billet as rabbit inspector in Lake County, whence after some time he was removed and shifted to a station in Timaru, where he died. Indeed, of all those mentioned in this note, I think there are only two now living—one in Christchurch and the other in Hawke's Bay. These men, however, left such indelible footprints on the sands of time as have enabled most of those following in their steps to reap a rich harvest.