MOTUROA.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16547, 23 September 1919, Page 7

MOTUROA.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Your article descriptive of the work being done on Moturoa Sugar Loaf and of the nature of the rock is exceediii'Tlv interesting. 1 have read or been tcld'i it so long ago I cannot say which, that the Sugar Loaves are or diflorout formation, mi cl immcusui ably older than .Mount Egmont. _ The story, as far as 1 can remember it, is as follows: —Ages, thousands of centuries ago perhaps, before Mount Egmont and the present coast line existed, a. volcanic cone, of which the Sugar Loaves formed part existed, standing some miles out to sea. The coast line in that far-off time, commencing near Onaero, ran inland by Tarata, Toko, and so on. to the mouth’ of the present AVamgongoro River. Probably the vent of the cone had- become extinct and the forces of denudation had breached it to some, extout prior to tho titanic convulsions which threw up Mount Egmont and the coast line as wo now know it. Those fearsome happenings would cause violent disturbances —storms, lightning, tidal waves —when they occurred, and may have continued, with periods of quiescence, for a very long time, and would destroy all the softer parts of the eonc. Time lias done the rest, and all that remains are the Sugar Loaves as we know them to-day. Dr. Dicffcubach (Tbo9-40) describes the composition of tho rocks as traehytic porphyry, a little later on as greyish trachyte. On his return from the ascent of Mount Egmont, Dr. Dieffenbach, in consequence of a possible raid by the AVaikatos on the settlement at Ngamoiu, and by the advice of the Natives, took up his habitation on Moturoa Island for the remainder of his brief stay. He says: “The island is a conical rock extremely step, about a mile (- ) in circumference and 300 feet high. The formation is trachyte; tho rock contains much augite and feldspar. The angite often occurs in nests. . . . The summit is scarcely accessible, but the Native women, with their children on their backs, walked up and down the hill and along steep precipices with tho utmost unconcern. From time immemorial Moturoa has been a place of refuge and security for the Ngatiawa tribes, bub more so of lato, since tho departure of tho greater portion of them. Wherever there was a- platform or level space on the rock they had built dwelling-houses and stores, in which they kept wood and provisions. In case of an attack they could, if watchful, easily keep off an enemy. Wo tool; possession ol a, good house on the north-wese side of the island. about 190 foot above (lie water and placed in a dry niche, with the rock overhanging it. The vegetation of tho island is confined to flax, cabbage and parsley, which grow in the interstices of the rock.” Some of your contributors with a knowledge of geology which I do not possess might be able to supply you with a. fuller and more accurate account of Moturoa than I can hope to do; 1 hope thev will do so. —I am, etc., OMICRON.