A TRIP TO THE FAR NORTH.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15447, 16 February 1921, Page 9

A TRIP TO THE FAR NORTH.

Having ferried our cm' oeross fron Auckland to Uevonpyrl tIIO previous evening, my (wo companions iilid I left tli'o.latter place <n fi beautiful morning ii few weeks ago on a motor toui which led us into tuuiiy pklctts seldom if ever heard of by the average settlei in Poverty Bay. "North of Takapuna wo travelled for ninny miles through bare-looking gum country, which »<ppeart'd perfectly useless fl'-uin ;l fltt'ml'r's point (.'!' vieAw It is true tliei'e ate a few habitations in tin's region, but there are certainly ho signs of prosperity. Hopes avi! entertained; however. Unit with improved treatment tlili ialld vyfil become suitable for fruitgrowing. The monotony of this part of the journey was occasionally relieved when the road led over hill-top.", and we obtained charming glimpses of inlets of the sea on the east cons'. Passing through Silverdule, which is likely to become tt fairly important dairying centre in the near' future, we reached Waiwera, a pretty seaside, township fast becoming a popular holiday resort of the .Auckland people. A fe.w miles further north we passed through Pnhoi, prettily situated on a tidal river navigable [or small craft. This was founded by Bohemians some sixty years ago. and hi Dow the centre of a prosperous grazing and fruitgrowing district. Having taken the wrong road here, we were redirected by a s.talwait elderly gentle : man whose foreign nccuilt procinimed him one of ilie original settlers. Continuing, our course along the main east coast road we soon reached Warkworth, a prosperous (own.-hip with a population of over 7CO. Fruitgrowing is extensively carried on' in the surrounding district-, and there is actually an orchard in the neighborhood with an area of 135 acres. Like many other townships on the east coast, it is situated on a tidal river, and tin- steamers of the Northern S.S. Company call (here regularly, Proceeding in a north-westerly direction 'fflt' nearly 40 miles through very poor man country, we at length reached Maungaturoto. a veritable oasis in the desert. On our way we passed several river-like arms of Kaipara harbor running in from the writ coast as far as the North Auckland Main Trunk railway line, and 'beautifully wooded right down to tlie water's edge. Maungaturoto is an old settlement, and the land around is of good quality and afford'; excellent- pasturage for sheep and cattle. The railway line is, within two miles of the village, and small steamers run from Helensville up one of the wins of Kaipara harbor already mentioned. Following the rond through the beautiful Wnipu tforge we reached the interesting Highland settlement, of Wnipu, on the east coast. This is one of the oldest townships in North Auckland. and was originally settled by Scottish Highlander,-- from Nova Scotia in 1852. These people emigrated from Scotland to Nova Scotia, bid being dissatisfied with the soil and climate theit they decided to seek a land where the conditions of life would be easier. Having prepared the timber themselves they built a barque known as the Margaret, 236 lons, and under the leadership of the Rev. Norman McLeod, set sail for Adelaide. South Australia at that time was experiencing a period of depression, and in consequence these sturdy people once more set sail ami continued their pilgrimage to New Zealand, finally settling on the banks of the Wnipu river. Later five other shiploads of Highlanders arrived from Nova Scotia, one boat, the Spray, a brigantino, being only 99 tons. 'Most of these Once stalwart pioneers are now lying peacefully in the loc-il cemetery, "situated on a rise overlooking the sen. which they loved so well. The inscriptions on the tombstones show that many of them lived to a ureal, age. several, of them attaining the ripe old stge of 90 and 100 years. There is at present living in the district an old lady of 107 years who was one. of these pioneers from Nova' Scotia, lit the main thoroughfare' of the village stands a monument, one of the highest- in New Zealand, to commemorate the arrival, of these people', and _alongside of ft is a fine obelisk in memory of their descendants who fell in the gteat European- war. Between Wnipu and Whaugarei wo found that the laud varied considerably in quality. Much of it is poor gum country, but here and there we passed through thriving settlements where grazing and dairying are carried on. Whaugarei itself is too well known to justify a description of it here. 'Suffice it to say that we were favorably impressed both with the town and district. We visited several farms in the neighborhood, and found the land of good, quality. It is, however, only second-class land from a Poverty Hay settler's point of view. Soon after leaving Whaugarei and spinning through the thriving settlement of Kamb we passed Hikurangi, where there are coal mines and lime works in close proximity. Here agricultural lime should be cheaper than anywhere else in New Zealand, as there is plenty of coal at hand to burn the limestone. - On our way to Kawakawa we again passed through a large extent, of very >oor ;ruin country, the dull monotony of which was very oppressive. We stayed for two hours at Kawakawa and conversed with several of the residents. One gentleman living there spoke of it as "a God-forsaken hole.'' We thought the description somewhat exaggerated, but it certainly appeared to us a decaying settlement, and we came to the conclusion that an infusion of new blood was, needed to restore the vitality which we were told characterised the place some 50 years ago. Three miles, further on we saw good grazing country, and noticed considerable signs of progress at Waipuna, where large freezing works are being elected. " - North-west of Kawakawa Wj3 passed through Pakaraka and Waimate North, 'he latter being the centre of an excels lent grazing district. This neighborhood was the .scene ' of some of the earliest missionary efforts, and evetf now appears to be well supplied with churches. In the grounds surrounding -he pretty little .Anglican Church at Pakaraka we noticed the graves of two generations of the well-known Williams missionary family. Continuing in a north-easterly direction we travelled over a large"area of easy country of volcanic origin,, covered ou_ both sides of -the load with hitch prickly shrubs. Descending . info Hie Kaeo Valley', where the lirs't -Wcsh-yan Mission Station in New. Zealand was

f established; we soon reached the beau'tiful land-locked harbor of Whangaroa. Here in 1809 the crew of Hie Boyd were i 1 massacred by the .Maoris, and till re- ' cr'titly tlie remains of the ship could be ' seen ill (In! harbor. Leaving Whanga- [ roa we passed great areas of dreary mango swamps in which in many places ; cattle, were standing up to their knees in mud feeding on the leaves of the young trees, l' From Maugonui, on Doubtless Bay, : wb"iv, we were told, if was no iincom- ' mon sight in the early days to set; 3t) or 40 whaling .-hips i>( one time, wo turned westward, across the Peninsula, and passing through the fertile. Victoria Valley "we reached the much-boomed township of Iv.otain. Jt was sale day when Ve arrived, aild we had the satisfaction of meeting many of the pushful settlers who inhabit this part, of flu;. North Island. This town is built on » rich flat, of considerable area, and being within 4.'. miles of its port, Awanui, itwill goon lie regarded as the metropolis of the fin north, i On reaching Ahi para Bay to the west of Kaitaia. we had to employ Maoris to help us in pushing the car through 16 or J 4 chains of loose sand on to the Ninety Mile Beach, which is the best place in New Zealand for a long exhilarating motor-car ride. We rushed along the firm sand in a practically straight line for nearly sixty miles at i the .rate of forty miles an hour. At the i northern end oi the beach we were met ; bs the sou of the manager of Te Paki . ■ station and guided to tlie homestead, j where we wen- hospitably received by 'the- manager, Mr. Hill, and his wife. The wav to the homestead led partly j up the 'bed of a stream, and ou each side was a range of hills of pure white j sand utterly destitute of vegetation. I So strange • was the scene to us that - we could almost imagine ourselves in a j foreign land. Further on we charged : up a- steep and rugged incline on to a plateau, and then motored through , paddocks grassed with paspalum and; ■ datithouia tiii we reached our dost inn-j Hon. In this remote part of the Dominion a stranger is seldom seen,! and the mail arrives only twice a I month. j j Next morning out genial host provided us with horses, and we rode out to Spirits Bay and Cape Reiliga. A Maori j acquaintance solemnly assured us that ; the spirits of departed .Maoris glide I along the shores of the bay till they j reach Cape'Reiuga. There they climb down to a ledge of rock by means of the exposed roots of a pohutukawa tree. jThoy then take a headei into the wave; and' travelling along a subteranncim passage reach the Three Kings Islands. What become.- of thein alter that we were, not informed. Qli our return journey we kept well in the west of 'the peninsula, travelling through Hcrokino and Kohukohu. In ! this district we passed through some excellent country, far superior in grazing qualities to anything we, had seen in the east. From Kohukohu, a township 'beautifully situated on the northern shore of Hokianga Harbor, and twenty miles from tlie mouth, we punted our car across to Horeke, a distance ;' of four miles. Neur the latter place is. a cemetery said to be probably the oldest, in New Zealand, interments bay.-; ing taken place then' as early as 181?. |At Horeke we learned that the direct' road to Dargavillo was impassable for; vehicles, and impelled by force of cir- I eunistnnces we directed our course J along the northern sliore of Lake Omapero towards the east coast, passing ' through Kawakawa, en route for Whaugarei. - From the latter place we motored in pelting rain across to Dargavillo oiMhe Northern Wairua. In a clay cutting on this route we had some sad experiencewhich need uol be recorded here. We admired the rich Hats near Dargavillo,and saw there some fields of red clover, equal to an) we had ever seen in Poverty Hay. We learned thai thi-- desirable result was obtained by applyinglime liberally to the soi'l. At this stage of the journey the writer, having to return hurriedly to Auckland. parted temporarily from his (ravelling "companions and pro eeeded by steamer 40 miles down the Wairoa North river, crossed Kaipara •Harbor and reached Helensville. He then travelled bv train to Auckland. where he was rejoined by his friends a few days later. Of recent years a sreat deal has been heard of the "roadless" north, As a - matter of fact the arterial roads at- this time of the year are very good indeed. There are of course some roads which are almost impassable in winter, but. . so. are many other roads in various-parts j of the Dominion. North Auckland is specially, favored with good harbors, j and there-are few places which havenot comparatively easy access to the ,*' sea. The climate is genial, and with j improved methods of agriculture much of the pumice, land, at present a drearv waste, will be made productive ami will become an imuortant asset to the! Dominion.—-Contributed by J. McLeod,-.