NINETY-ONE YEARS

Taranaki Daily News, 27 May 1933, Page 1 (Supplement)

NINETY-ONE YEARS

TALES OF TWO HORSES

(By

T.C.L.)

The month of May, 1842, was an important period in the infant settlement of Taranaki. Not only did it see the arrival of the newly-appointed Resident Agent of the New Zealand Company, Mr. J. T. Wicksteed, but in that month arrived the first two horses purchased for use in the settlement. They. were not the first horses seen in New Plymouth. When the ship William Bryan arrived in March, 1841, Dicky Barrett had a mare and foal at his Moturoa whaling station of which the origin is not recorded. . The marp feU into a Maori pit and was killed, and there is nothing further stated about the foal. Seven months later a horse was sent by vessel from Kawhia to New Plymouth for the use of the Methodist missionary, Mr.. Creed. The nature of the animal chosen seems to indicate that even in those early days the Maoris of the Kawhia mission had learnt some of the less likeable characteristics of trading in horses. “As soon as it reached the shore,” says an old record, William MarshaU leaped upon its- back and rode it. up and down the beach.” A few days later the animal being unwell it was brought to a settler for attention. “William MarshaU,” the record proceeds, “took hold of the animal’s foreleg, which caused it to paw at him and strike him in the abdomen. The. kick was so severe that the poor man died two days afterwards.” One can imagine the gloom such a. tragic happening would cause in the little settlement, and the distress of the missionary for whose assistance the horse had been sent. ine horse,” continues the narrative, “was a large awkward creature which had been spoilt by the Maoris in their' unskilful attempts to break'him in.” With a touch of unconscious humour that is delightful, the historian notes that the “horse was for many years attached to the mission station at Waimate (Manaia) where he died of old age.” Even missionaries, it would appear, knew the gentle art of passing on a minor trouble to a colleague more capable of dealing with it! Unfortunately before it died the horse was responsible for the death of another man, a Maori, at Waimate, so that the introduction of horse-power to the Taranaki settlement could scarcely have been less auspicious.

Progress, however, would not be denied, and about the time Mr. Wicksteed came to New Plymouth as Resident Agent the arrival is noted of a schooner from Port Nicholson “bringing eight working bullocks and a horse purchased by Captain Cooke in Wellington.” Apparently the bullocks were the most welcome, for we are told they were landed in admirable order and were soon to be seen ploughing every day. On the subject of the horse the same record is silent, so presumably the animal added only its presence to the history of the settlement.

The second horse to arrive in that busy mbnth of May created another sad story—if one not so .tragic as that of the missionary’s steed. The chief surveyor, Mr. F. A.. Carrington, as settlement extended, thought it would save his time and energy if he had a . horse to ride. One of the settlers, Captain King, was accompanying the blinded exResident Agent, Captain . Liardet, as far as Sydney Where Captain. King hoped to buy livestock for his Taranaki holding. Mr. Carrington asked him to buy a horse for use on survey ' work, and the animal arrived about the middle of May, 1842, by the barque Jupiter direct from Sydney, after a stormy passage lasting over. a' month, during which a number of the cattle aboard died. Mr. Carrington’s horse,, however, was duly landed, and when it had- recovered from its voyage was saddled ready for use.. Alas for the hopes of the Chief Sur? veyor! Once again the wiles of the horse-dealer;had prevailed. Captain Kinghad been deceived, “for,” adds the record, “the brute being full of wickedness objected to being ridden. Several attempts were made to mount him, but those who tried the experiment came to disaster.” Astonishing to relate, considering his former experience with the horse from Kawhia, the importation from Sydney was ultimately sol z to .Mr. Creed. Possibly he had some Maori pupils who were anxious to learn 'to ride, or needing a fresh interest .to • keep them out of mischief, and perhaps the old padre thought that th? proverb “pride goeth before a fall” might be better understood after an attempt had been made by his Maori adherents to ride the surveyor’s horse. At all events the brute was sold, and one can imagine the relief with which Mr. -Wicksteed reported the sale to Captain Wakefield, at Wellington. But if he thought the matter closed he was to be enlightened. In due course his report upon the horse—and other matters at' New Plymouth—came before the London board of directors of.the New Zealand Company. They saw no humour in the transaction. On the contrary, they advised Mr. Wicksteed that Mr. Carrington was “not entitled to a hors®, an indulgence not granted to the principal surveyors at either Wellington or Nelson, and you will please .retrench from his allowance the sum (stated to be about £7O) expended in the purchase and keep of that animal.”

. The record does not include Mr. Carrington’s observations when the directors’ decision was made known to him, but looking back to those old days the incident is just another indication of the impossibility of developing a colony from London. No department of State could have taken a more. hide-bound view of Mr. Carrington’s ' request , that did the board of directors. The board had nd conception of the lands to .be traversed, the swamps and rivers to. be crossed, and the-waste of time that must follow the supervision of the :survey work’ on foot. -Of course, the resources of the New Zealand Company were drying up and even a loss of £44 -by the sale of horse and harness needed a scapegoat ! But if the London board was autocratic and miserly, even though there had been trouble with the natives in June, the spring of 1842 found the settlement in good heart. On September 3 the first anniversary of the arrival of the ship Amelia Thompson was celebrated. There were boat races, foot races, and wrestling matches, and the day wound up with a ball in the hospital and a display of fireworks. Already the Henui River had been bridged and the contract let for a suspension bridge across the Waiwakaiho. The new Resident Agent had restored confidence in the future of the settlement, and the first “Anniversary Day” was full of hope. Just a month after it was celebrated Chief Justice Martin and Bishop Selwyn visited New Plymouth. The Taranaki settlers were to learn that State and Church were not unmindful of them.