DEATH OF AN EARLY WANAKA RESIDENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3590, 2 January 1923, Page 62

DEATH OF AN EARLY WANAKA RESIDENT.

Mr Richard Norman writes from Oamaru: —mrs Jane died at Tern ilka on the sth inst., aged 78 years. The kite Mrs M'Callum and her husband were \\ unaka, pioneers, and details of her story there she furnished in a letter to Mr G. M. Hassing last year, which letter he forwarded on to me in the usual way, and I now enclose a copy of it for publication. It is very interesting reading, and is fragrant with the spirit of pioneer days, when life was a big picnic, and everyone had cheerful, hopeful views of their future. Mrs M‘Galium. did not take long to acquire a very elegant accent. Mr 0. P. McCallum died suddenly in December, 1902. A big family are left who are all doing well, and there are grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. I spent three weeks with Mrs M'Callum over five years ago. The Docherty mentioned was the Preservation Inlet prospector for years till he died, and Merrifees was latterly farming at Otautau. The late Mr O. P. M'Callum was manager of Wanaka station for the last seven years of his residence there.

The. copy of the letter referred to reads:—“l was married in the first week of January, 1860, in Dumfries, I being in my 17th year at the time. My husband. Oswald Pagan M'Callum knew then we were going to New Zealand, and on to the Wanaka. When we' landed from the Stormbird the diggings had broken out; Tuapeka first. We went down from Christchurch in the p.s. Geelong to Oamaru, on our way to Wanaka., but we had to stay near Oamaru owing to winter and show for three months (with Mr Hassall at Gave Valley), until Yorkey came down with the bullock team from Wanaka to take back stores for the shearing. The two brothers Merrilees came up with us, also one Docherty, also one named Joseph B. Ewing, aged about 15 years. I thought him a smart boy ; he had the sawmills there afterwards. So there was 10 of us. Mr Robert Wilkin, Wanaka station owner, sent with Thos. Anderson (afterwards the flourmill owner at Luggate) down from Christchurch, a horse and side saddle for me to ride to Wanaka station — it was 150 mile journey—and so we were a very happy company going to the land of our adoption. 1 well remem,ber when we got to the Upper Clutha River. Mr John Heuchan, also from Dumfries, the first station manager, and some other men came to take us across the river, and I was verv much afraid. There was no Albert Town at this time. Then, when we got to the station, I had to stand- a lot of remarks when Mr H. S. Thomson and his cousin, Mr M'Alister, came frorn West Wanaka station for their mail. They all had to come and have a talk to me, to hear me speak, as I was young and very Scotch. Mr Candy, of East Wanaka "station (father and uncle of the Canterbury. Candys) called to &ee me, also Henry and Mr Norman from Roy’s Bav. lie said he did not know a word I said. When the shearing was over we were sent to a sod hut up the Cardrona Valley, until Jimmie the Mason Dewar built the stone thatched hut for us in the Cardrona Valley, the walls of which now only remain. W 7 e were flooded out of this in the middle of the night in 62, and had to ride across the flooded stream and ta-K© shelter in a digger’s tent. I had a baby then. One day I was standing outside the house when a man came, and after talking to me. awhile, he took a pound note out of his pocket and gave it to my little girl, and said he always liked children I felt rather afraid and distressed, as I did not know him. I afterwards found out that was the first time I bad seen Henry Maidman, who, with his wife, threw in his lot with vVanaka till they died. Then we went to live at Roy’s Bay There was no Pembroke then, but two thatched cottages, built bv Mr Norman. Mrs Broughton lived there. Her husband was formerly a lieutenant in the Roval Navy, and she was formerly a governess. We always spent the evenings in my house, as our husbands were always out on the hills nine months in the year, keeping the sheep from, straying. One night we found my house was on fire, v, e took out my two children and tried to save something. When the house was burnt down I went away out in the darkness and found my horse, and then rode over to the homestead to tel] them what had happened. It was twelve o’clock then. Six months after that Mrs Broughton s house was burnt down, and they lost everything When I lived in the Cardrona Valley they gave me a loaded revolver and told me to use it if needful, but no one interfered with me. When we left the lake we went to the Wanaka homestead, and lived in Mr Wilkin’-s first temporary residence, a thatched wooden whare near the garden. When I was living there, the men°l knew used to bring their gold for me to keep, as they were afraid to keep it themselves, and I never let on. Sometimes I had as much as A3OO worth, they told me to just put it in the big box 1 brought from bonnie Scotland. 1 here was just the one compartment Anyone could have come down tho sod chimney quite easily. Sometimes I tied up a kangaroo dog at the door. Every one was very kind to me. I like to look hack on the earlv days when we travelled up first. We stayed a few days for a rest at the I indis " 4. digger named M‘Donald gave me a nugget. When I lived in the whare, Docherty and Merrilees came to me one Saturday and asked me to bake them a birr batch of bread. I got it ready for them on the Sunday afternoon. I have never baked on a Sunday since. -They went away in haste to look for Hartley and Riley’s claim down the Clutha River, vne time it blew a gale for two days, and I was very much afraid the whare would blow down. In the evening A. E. Farquhar (late Stirling) called, and recognising the situation, persuaded me to go°to Albert Town to Mr Norman’s, and he would help me with the two children. I staved here till my husband came home. The whare fell down eventually. I had three trials —flooded out, burnt out, and last blown out. Then we shifted to one

of the three stone houses with iron roofs These have since been pulled down: the whole homestead, in fact, abandoned. For two seasons Mrs Norman and I went to Wanaka West, per whaleboat, to make Mr 'Thomson’s jam. Once we had a head wind, and had to land and cant}) till the weather moderated. After being in Wanaka fourteen years, wp left for Temuka, and went to Dunedin on Peter MTntosh’s ten-horse waggon. We had six children at the time.”