RUINS OF A STILL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16958, 23 May 1929, Page 12

RUINS OF A STILL

BIGGEST ILLICIT PLANT RELIC OF LAWLESS DAYS Snugged away in the Kaimanawa Ranges, remote from thctrail of anyone but an adventurous deer stalker, yet stands the decaying framework of a small building that was many years ago the scene of much illegal activity. Back in last century it was the centre of operations for the biggest illicit still in the Dominion. The remains of the substantial brick chimney, and the rotting rails of the old horse paddock give some indication of the extent of this risky but profitable industry. The bricks for the chimney were carted by pack horse from Wanganui, and the grain used, it is stated, came from the same source. At regular intervals long trains of .pack horses left this lonely Kaimanawa clearing, bound east or west, and many an early settler in .the Gisliorne, Napier and Rangitikei districts drank, unwittingly, alcohol that had never known a Customs ollicer. The location of the still was kept for years a close secret, and it was carefully guarded by men who would not hesitate to shoot in case of emergency. This a drover once discovered when he ventured towards the clearing for cattle which had strayed on the Waiouru Tokannu road. No raid upon the still was ever conducted, but with the approach of the railway line through the King Country its owners abandoned both it and their unlawful enterprise. The worm, that essential device in distillation, is supposed to lie hidden yet in the bush on the ranges.—Auckland Star.