A TRIP TO TAITAPU, NELSON.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12471, 23 February 1909, Page 4

A TRIP TO TAITAPU, NELSON.

A RISING DISTRICT. . ] A -representative of this paper having attended, in response to an mvi- ( tation Bent him, the festivities re- ( cently held at Mangarakau in hon- , our of the visit of the Hon R. McKenzie, his impressions of the ]our- j ney, and of what is still, to a very large extent, ~ the fl?aitapu Estate, ( may he of interest to many of our readers, especially as that northern corner of "The Coast" has. hitherto been "something of a terra incognita . to most Nelsonians. Arriving at Collingwood in the very early morning of Friday, the 29th January, our representative put up- at the Post Office Hotel, kept by Mr T. C. Madge, formerly of the Union S.S. Company's service. Here really excellent accommodation was provided and every attention was received from Mr and Mrs Madge. Next morning the weather was so atrooious that it was .impossible to proceed, but Saturday, the 30th, dawned fair and promising, arid our 'representative, in the company of the LMinister for Public Woi'ks and Mines, and his Secretary (Mr C. E. Matthews) \vas_soon- under way in a. comfortable buggy supplied by Messrs Scott and McGrane, the enterprising livery stable keepers oi Collingwood, a, large contingent of visitors to: Mangarakau, in a heavier and more coach like conveyance; also taking the road. This leads at first almost due north along the shore of Golden Bay as far as Pakawau, once named (at a time when the powers that dispose such things, - were not so wedded to difficult Maori names, as has more lately been the case) Sea--ford, though this name is rarely Used. ■Here the road turns to the west, and the traveller, after passing the coal workings itnd miners' village of the Seaford Colliery Coy, . and 7 Mr G._ B. "Watson's sawmill, finds himself-, after about two and a half miles of a gentle rise; descending' from a low saddle to the west coast Of ihe island, reaching shortly, the shore of the large inlet hitherto" known as "West Wanganui. It is understood that the, necessary steps are nearly completed to have this name altered to Westhaven, a name in itself descriptive and euphonious, and also one whose adoption is Calculated to abolish a good deal L of inconvenience which has been caused by the existence of another, so much better known, Wanganui. To return; After striking the -shore of Westhaven, no formed road is found, except certain stretches of corduroy, father' r'6ußh td travel overt but Still far 'preferable to the deep and sticky mud which travellers were obliged to plough through a few years ago. The track traverses' the shores of. Westhaven for about ten miles, abont three quarters of the distance being over good firm sand, which, since", it was first much 'used has, jt is stated steadily became harder, more sandy, and less muddy. Travellers proceed along the eastern side 8t trie inlet; which is somewhat in the shape of the letter T., with short stalk forming- the entrance from the open sea, and a long arm extending on each side to the north and south, thje T. being reversed, the track following the arms and the stalk pointing to the sea. On the north arm almost the whole peninsula, between Westhaven and the sea, is cleared and grassed, presenting a vbi'y pleasing Hhd homely appearance.' Again, on the eastern shore, Messrs Shaw and Flowers have a grazing farm, and are also working .with a perseverance and hopefulness, which, . in these times of poor prices, deserve ro;yard; a ■ small flax dressing' plant. Alindsfc ogpfl&ite the entrance, there runs into the iiilet the largest of the rivers which drains the surrounding -hills — one of the numerous "Wairoas" that are -found in the Dominion. On this one is situated the sawmill of Messrs Bassett and Co and the telephone station of Ea-Kopi which name .may mean "sun shut out;", and,: 'if so, the appellation is apt, as the situation is much closed in from the afternoon sun. Soon t after passing this- place; the track : varies from rock, sand" and mud, nee- '■' essitating a -good deal of the afore- * said corduroy, and, on the opposite- . side of Westhaveu's. southern arm, mcty be seen Messrs Prbuse and Sauny ders's substantial wharf and goodsf. shed, from which a tramway extends { to and" beyond their sawmill, which stands between four and five miles further south. It was leached that close to the .wharf there is a depth of thirty feet of water, . with excellent shelter,, while the bar, which '-.' it is believed is shortly to be resuri yeyed and beaconed, can be crossed ) safely at considerably less than high tide by vessels of 250't0 300 tons. - On arrival at the southern end of Westhaven (West -Wanganui), the terminus of the' buggy journeyj the travellers found a large truck, fitted with impromptu seats, waiting to convey the Minister, his secretary, and the other visitors, to the sawmill ; and I your representative was" at once tj struck with the fine quality and cori- (! ditio'n of the team of four draught *| horses harnessed to the truck. These I would do credit to the most up-to- '! date farm in the Dominion, and they i were, he learnt, only so many out of < 13 or 14 of equal quality used by. il Messrs Prouse and Saunders in their \ business as sawmillers and. flaxmill- £ ers. Your representative did not wait /{ for this - conveyance, some of whose { passengers had not yet arrived, but i went on at once, on a saddle horse, Ji under competent guidance, to see as fc much, of the neighbourhood; as posj| sible in the time at his disposal. ; 5 The drainage operations in the large V swamp of. about -1200 acres, at the $ head of Westhaven, are .improving ,|. that part of the \Taitapu Company's ». property, and part of Messrs James ' -and Richard Prouse's purchase, greatly, if one can judge from accounts ■ : of the swamp before the drains were begun. - Then it was equally impossible to walk, or to swim, over the ■ -greater part of the area referred to, - whereas now, one saw firm' land, where men, though not yet cattle, can walk dryshod anywhere, and ; : where -the few stunted flax plants forTmerly struggled for existence with the ; stagnant water,* seem to have increased a. hundredfold, besides burgeoning : ; but . into fine ..-healthy bushes., This '.whilom swamp now promises fine' crops of flax ready for "use as soon as this industry recovers from the present - ; stagnation, and, eventually, clover '■'"• -and farm products, equal to •; .any in the DominionPassing on along the tram lin<3, Messrs- Prouse and Saunders' sawmill ;■ is fsoon- rbached. This fine modern plant ia capable -of turning out '300,000; superficial feet of timber per month,— and is fitted .with much la-bour-saving gear for handling the logs, and for other purposes. Around the main ; machine house are scatter-; y ed numerous small dwellings, forming .;"■■ quite -V little" village, and the .office : and store, combined with post .office -■ and telephone station , are conveniently situated for the use of all. A ' short distance from these stands the fine, - substantial. 12-stall stahle, with a roomy" loft • above, comfortably seated all the gathering, . numbering about Bp : people,at the reception tendered to the Hon. R. McKenzie in the evening.; \ : _ After looking through the mill, we proceeded further along the tramway, .noticing, a short distance on, a commodious little school; house ]ust receiving the finishing touches from the " carpenters,' and it was learnt that a school mistress was even then on her - way x o take charge ;of 12 or 13young- ■ ■ pi-tars;. "•■;.■ ' ■~ : .* . your correapqndent much regretted that time. did. not fallow him to visit what was described as a very. curious 1 and spacious cave in the range of hills which" runs between the mill site and the shore of the Tasman Sea. He was informed- that .this • cavo , -the entrance to which is about' a mile distant from "Ahe ■ mill, • consists". of, three or four, fine,) lofty chambers,, forming jan almbst^continuous ircade ten to 'twelve feet wide, ' and for long, stretches at least "4D'feet high, nowhere, for psrhaps,4oo yards, so low as to oblige one to stoop. There are; numerous fine collections of stalactites of curious and beautiful forms, and the cave can be followed, through alternately narrow and low passages and

3hambers of good size, for an estima-' ted distance of three-quarters of a mile, eventually opening out on the western side of the previously mentioned range of hills,, a short distance ibove the sea. This cave is one of the many points jf interest, and beauty spots, within s, short distance of Westhaven, and when communication is easier and more regular, as it is sure to become before long, we have no 4oubt that the, fine air and beautiful scenery of the district, apart from the material advantages, will attract shoals, of visitors. •After passing the school, the tramway enters upon a stretch of about two miles of virgin forest, comprising part of the freehold of Messrs Prouse, which has been left untouched for the present, as the sawmilling firm of which they are members is now, and is expected to be. for a number of years, occupied in converting the timber growing on the Taitapu Company's land, over a considerable area of which the firm holds a concession. This part of the forest consists of kahikatea (white pine), pukatea, and the large rata, commonly called the North Island rata> though it is seen here in great perfection. Among these arge trees are interspersed others of smaller growth, gohniles, of numerous ( kinds, and- beautiful foliage, tree ferns and nikau palms, all laced together and festooned with suppleacks, kie-kie, and climbers of which the names are unknown to your representative. - A very conspicuous feature at this time of the year is a fine, bold-foli-aged shrub, lavishly displaying large pinnacles of white flowers with yellow centres, whence its colloquial name of "bush daisy." v To a city man, a ride through the bush on a brght day along a level and nicely ballasted tramway' is a pleasure not soon to be forgoten. Presently, following the timber tramway we reached the Paturau river, at the time of our visit a bright clear stream of, perhaps, slightly Jarger volume than the Maitai near itsmouth, and here we halted awhile to admire the scenejry, and partake' ol -lunch.- This river drains a considerable basin, and in times of heavy rain rises rapidly, sometimes to a height of 12 or 14 feet above the normal,- but as soon runs down to a fprdable . condition. Whenin flood the river brings down many large trees, which may be seen at intervals along its course, where they have been stranded by the receding waters.. The sea shore at the river mouth is edged for a long distance with the drift logs, supplemented by others from rivers further south, for there is a marked northerly current along this point of the coast. ' Sometimes this current brings the coast settlers, at the expense of bush workers elsewhere, a welcome gift of- sawn timber, fencing, posts, etc., which have probably been stacked on river banks further south, and swept to the sea by the flood. After, refreshing themselves at the Paturau river bank, your representative'and his guide crossed by. the tramway '. line, which is carried through the river by, iron rails resting on sleepers iirmly anchored in the bed of the river at a natural ford, and this' crossing has withstood quite :; number of floods, and seems quite si'" cure. : ... ■■.'•■•"■•: "■Owing to the heavy timber coming down , the river occasionally, a bridge for the tramway would have had to be very high above normal water level,and Messrs Prouse and Saunders have, consequently, adopted the "level crossing" method of- passing the river."' ' . After riding across, we coritinuec our way along the tram lino to its prosent extremity, where the log haulinp apjtetfaius is now stationed, thrco miles, more' or less, from the sawmill. This, as those who are' iiet familiar with such matters may be interested to know, consists of a powerful winch, driven by steam, by means of which and a strong wire cable, large logs of rimu and white pine are dragged in from a radius of about. 400 yards r to the skids, or stage, built of substantial tree trunks, at the side of tho tramway. From this they are easily rolled on to the trucks, and with teams of four strong horses soon find -their way to the saws. . _ To anyone hot versed in bush work, it is a wonderful sight to 'see solid tree 'trunks, perhaps three feet in diameter and forty feet or upwards in length, sliding along, and by- an ingenious; arrangement of removable blocks, winding their way round quito sharp 1 corners to avoid stumps and standing trees, and finally jumping up a steep incline to the platform of the skids. _ t Some very fine timber of the two above-mentioned kinds is now being got from this part of the Taitapu estate, though the present "slump" in the timber market renders it inadvisable to keep the mill working full time. 'After inspecting the log-hauler, we went by another road to the registered office of the Taitapu Company at "Paturau," where their attorney, Mr Buchanan, has a neat cottage, very small, according to town ideas, but equally comfortable and- cpnvenient, and a pretty garden,, which adds a pleasant touch of civilization to the surrounding' rough, but well-gfrassed clearing, with its fringe of untouched bush: <tp " • A short rest here prepared -us for a ■return to the saw mill, a deputation to the Hon. the Minister for Public Works, and the business of the evening, the !'backbl6cks ; banquet," already reported in these columns. ; The time at his disposal prevented your representative from seeing the holdings ' of the various residents on the coast lands formerly belonging to the company, but from, several of the guests at the evening's entertainment he was able to- gather some information as to this outpost of civilization in the north-west of Nelson which may be of interest to many of your readers. Some 600 acres, of land. Have, been sold, mostly on easy deferred payferred payments, the "country being distributed among ten or twelve settlers, all- of whom have cleared and grassed large p'roportons : of their holdings, and find them excellently adapted to stock-raising of all sorts. Most of the farms are, as j-et, too newly reclaimed from the bush for a full idea of their capabilities to be realised, but all promise well, and in future years a large amount of dairying and^exporting of fat stock may confidently be reckorie.d upon.. In particular I was told that Mr I. H. Richards, the pioneer grazier, of the district, has paddocks of grass clover, worth a journey to see, and cattle in them to correspond. Messrs Prouse, Nicholls, and ~ Cowm also have rapidly improving pastures, and already maintain large flocks and -herds, and the changed appearance. of the country from what it presented four or five years ago, is said to be most encouraging to future settlers. To cater for the would-be freeholder, and distribute a further large block of land, -Mr Buchanan told me that the Taitapu Company is at present surveying ten thousand acres of good land into farms of. from three hundred to five hundred acres, and laying out a properly graded road to serve each section. These roads i mil be cleared and formed, sufficiently to allow access to each farm, and a proper inspection to be made by intending purchasers, and this work is now in hand, following close upon the survey. Shortly, I believe, full particulars of these lands will be made public, and a sale held, which, judging from the results of earlier settlers work now to be seen, should attract purchasers from all .parts of the Dominion. .'•■ -. .• -v j Altogether your representative naa a very enjoyable trip to Taitapu and, in view of the unexpected amount of settlement . and improvement found, a very informng one, andjie would conclude by expressing the hopethat the energy and enterprise exhibited by all "the settlers, and the initation-of a land distributing policy by the Tatapu Company, may meet with the success they deserve. .