MANAIA TOWER

Taranaki Daily News, 24 October 1924, Page 17 (Supplement)

MANAIA TOWER

REBGUBT M<O IJLO2KH3USE. AN UIS COR I CM. Standing on an eminence in (lie and-, ovortdoldng a wide expanse of the Waimate Plaimi U an iiufKiHing- concrete tower, the suceeahor to a - aoHieaAat -ainMbir structure/ which wan oucw the wateh tower ajidcentral figure of the Manaia Redoubt.

■/itmind i«. a* ill, forming a Mpiore, are the ••lout' oartlien wall* thrown up by No. Z Company of the Aini'*d Constohiilary towards the eml'of JB*h). At the ; corner* th? two old wooden block honn<*»j remain, tinscarred by (lie shot of battle, lmt reining eloquent in their silence of the- day* when their gun porta looked ou( defiantly aero** th? rpiain* -where* th? Maoris, arFU untamed, met to tribal korero, reb.dluus in their .riM-iMtment- of the jiakcha’i? jAjpriei: ir ship of tb<» land i th?y thought th’*’)' own Tho story of the reikmbi and other happening* in-.Houth Tarnuaki of (h»i( period was told by Mr. Michael Frank Im to the writer hr Gctbber of he said,-No % .Company of the Armed (kinfttatoiter y, of v/hM.h be-was a metti 4rer,”W«nte down to-Mawaia from Cup - Egrnont. Th'* find; - detachment had already arrived in the locality, having left Wolliagton in January of that year. The detachment was put to w irk con rtriicimg a - road to Opunake The Maori*,- though -tint/ openly hostile, showed their resentment of the advance of the- rood to to: what they believed to be theh own -territory by creeling a Imrrier across-its moat advanced point every-Might XachrUMrton*-tlii.i barrier was taken down and the work p-o cceded. BtHI.DING THIC RF,DOriBT In the last, month.l of <lBBO the 2nd Gwmpauy -built- the redoubt by throwing up four stout earthen walls. In three corners of the square heavily protected block-houses were- constructed, and in the centre (he carpenters of the com .puny erected a wooden tower about 50 feet high, with a>crow‘s nest at the top. The timber for .this-and severs] other buildings, suclu a» -Ism racks-,- workshops •and canteens-was pit-sawn in the hush by mem hors of the company The natives did not seriously interfere with the work, and many of (hem were, in fact, quite friendly. It frequently happened that the Maoris would come to the canteens in the redoubt for a friendly drink of the pakehas’ good liquor, while the wahines also came into, the stronghold selling vegetables and such wares. For about two years Hu* -Company occupied the redoubt, also main fa in ing a watchful guard, but the natives quietened down. One morning the company was called out to disarm the natives in (he vicinity, but they

submitted .quietly and gave up their old muzzle-loading, guns without trouble. Several volunteer units were formed as a precautionary measure, and- the 42nd ' Company abandoned the redoubt at the end of the- year of its existence. : ■ Fm a time -it was maintained in- good but it soon became -amnecesfUßy and three of the buildings were romoyed, one forming pari of the Manaia Magistrate’s Court of- to-day, another making an - Addition toA-Uie’-' police station of that time, while it is believed (he third still stand.*-., on -Mr. .1. J. Patterson’s' farm down by the lK:» .h.. MAORIS ASSORT RIGHTS. Te Whiti, the big chief of those dayAj had great sway over the native*, and

(hey di • ck-1 tly as lie told (hem. Had !>«• ordered them (.0 fight, they would have fought, but Te Whiti was regirded * i a shrewd man ioo shrewd to fight •a- hopeless battle. When (he redoubt wan abandoned and the (hid Company was ordered northward along the Taranaki coast, Michael bianklin left the company and took up po)i<‘<‘ iu-y at Nlanaia, in which capacity he served for about, nine years. During Hi is period £he incident of which \lr< Franklin has (he most lively recol-le*-t.ion was the disturbance on Hastie’s (arm, near Manaia, where th? natives took posses lion of a piece of land, and bloodshed was only averted by tactful handling of th? situation. Angered with the pakeha’s division of the land, tin various chiefs strenuously declared their title to certain tracts, of which a ■pibhlock on Hastin’* farm was -one. (Hs iiie’a farm is tbe property sitruated on the Main South end tnaha road*, about, two miles south of Matntia.) At dawn on? morning, acting on a pr<j?«-mc-/»ivod plan, i»- large number of Maori** converged suddenly from the virions roads leading to tire farm, on foot., on horseback, and in a variety of vehicles About 200 -.Maori* - swarmed into th? paddock, turned their horse* out to gra<e and* by noon they had built a lions” from materials Irrought with them

The- local land- owner*, in their alarm and excitement, worried to call out the soldiery, lmt. wiser counsels prevailed, and serious trouble was averted. Oon*ial»h*s Michael Franklin. Mc.lvor. and Tapp, and, it is believed, -Sergeant An dersoii; hurried to the. farm and endeavoured- to prevent the Maori* from taking possession, but they were powerless in Hie face of so hrge a number. T>. was -learned that the natives had ■been iastrneted- -by Te Whiti to- take possession of the land for tlie purpose of -causing trouble and liecause they olaimed the land <is a native reserve. Ti toko warn arid other-influential oliiefs were amongst the raiders RESENTMENT TO THIS DAV, Tim settlers endeavoured to pull the Maori house down and to drive the horse* off the. farm,-but the natives resisted all efforts to eject them. Seeing the certainty of trouble by using forcofwl- methods, the pakehas resorted to cunning and let the- horses out at the back of the farm by cutting-a gap in the- hedge A. number of settler*

were gathered and sworn In as •special cons tables, and the ringleaders of the Maoris wore arrested and taken to the Opunake Court, where they -were com milted for trial by the Supremo Court, which sentenced (hem to banishment for a short term.

•Thus an ugly situation was peaceably, ended. It is worthy of note t'hat some of the land* claimed by the natives were later handed over to (hem. Not all that was chinned however, was handed ba**k. and even to-day the re sentment of the natives is manifested in (he refusal to accept rents or to pay rates on th? land they believe was wrongfully taken from them. Rents iu some cases arc still accumulating, and some Maoris on the Plains still refuse to pay their rales to the local- bodies. Only a short time ago a native of some standing was before the court for failing <0 pay Iris rales. He main laincd a stolid iWitTerence to the pro cesses of the law and calmly accepted imprisonment in preference to paying his rates. The land, he said, belonged to the Atua (Almighty),,and in any ease the Maoris possessed it before the pakehas, and he would pay no rates for it- But with (he passing of the gener aliens the prejudice Is breaking down and the great majority of the natives •arc accepting the position without op position, paying their rates and receiv ing modern facilities in return, aikl gladly collecting the rent* for the com •fori and luxury they brifig.

The old Mamiia redoubt now forms a. great attraction in the picturesque -Manaia Itemato. The-old tower has been -replaced by a new concrete one, and-by mouiriing its stairway a won dcrfiit view of the feilile Plains may obtained. Th? square within * th'* wall* has been laid out neatly, and .where-onee tlu* mart in I-din arose, all is now peace and quietness. OLD MANAIA REDOURT. Mr. W. J. Hili, of Manaia, flumriie* th? following particulars of the old re doubt and tower. When Mr. Hili flrstvibited the • locality some thirty-five years ago, the ramparts surxonnding tlx, tower were in a fine state of -pre nervation. -These were constructed oi layers of- fern and clay, but-cattle were - allowed into the ground* and soon de atroyed a great, portion of them. Inside •the redoubt many of - bhe -old record* of-th? doings of the Armed Oonstab idary could be read by visitors. • Mr. Hilf states that the information- h? has given of the building of -the stock ade was. supplied to him by Sergeant Major White, one of the few living member* of the old Armed (Monstab ulary. Sergeant-Major White liver, at Manaia. and although well advanced in years, he ha* a vivid recollection of the stirring times of early Taranaki affairs. Mr. Hill writes:

Of (he many historical places on the 'Aaimate Plains, perhaps none is ao held in the affectionate remembrance of the early settlers a-, the old redoubt, with it* lofty tower, which stood es a landmark for so many year* al Manaia. It owed it* existence to the test stage Oi the struggle between pakeha and Maori for supremacy on th? rich tends of the Waimate Plains. The (ide of settlement had flowed strongly for several year* when the natives’ again became troublesome. Te Whiti, the prophet, with Tiiokowaru {the ablest Maori- fighting general) again threat eried the security of (hr settlers in district, and the trouble came to « Waif on March _’l. IM, 8. by Titokowaru o« dering off the Government surveyors. The New Zealand, Government accepted the challenge and ordered a -concentration of its armed forces for active service.. •’At Waihi. near Hawora. in !87ff, a division consisting of companies 1. 2 and under the command of Colonel I’obcrl*. crossed (he Waiongongora. On airixing at Manaia Major Gudgeon, commanding No. 2 Company, was or--1 dered to build a strong redoubt with a tower for observation purpose* and «n I the crest of some high tend near 1 Manaia. Hie fort was built and there p* not the slightest doubt that thia strong work, with its flanking loop I holed block houses, its deep ditch run j niug round, and manned by a strong garrison of A.C. Force*, gave a. general J feeling of security to the people of the ■ district. "Some year* back the old tower. | winch had by this time fatten Into a state of decay, was blown down, arid the present and future geiieraj.ion* will owe a deep debt of gratitude to the public-spirited act ion of those men who worked so hard to rebuild (1k». present tower. Mr. J. Meuli, Mr. J. S. McKay and Mr. G. Glenn deserve special men t : on in this matter. If was decided- to erect -th? new tower (an ? v %ct copy of the old one) in concrete. The old block house* are still iti a fair state of preservation. Later, greatlv assisted by a legacy from the tele Lieutenant- W. Meuli (who was kilted leading hi* com pftny on the Somme, in France), the inside of the fort has been beautifully . laid out with concrete paths and flowerbed*. A Bn? flight of concrete steps tead dawn to the little stream that flow* round the-faot of the slope.”