THE REMINISCENCES OF MR J. E. HANSON

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19812, 2 December 1919, Page 6

THE REMINISCENCES OF MR J. E. HANSON

i mm me huiist NEW CHUMS’ EXPERIENCES ON THE GOLDFIELDS. RICCARTON IN THE ’SIXTIES. (Specially written for the :{^iar. n )

Noa uso wantin' Time wi’ freeatin’. That's noa way to get along! Bolter far when worn an’ swee-atin' Leiden labour wi’ a song. Things worth havin’ tha man tow for, Let this alius be thi plan, To work and win is what lhart made for— Tako thi stand and bo a Mian! So runs a verse of an old Yorkshire composition addressed to “ One Daanhearted.” Mr John Edward Hanson, of lliccarton store, has an unending fund of songs and sayings of “Yorkshor” at ready command, and with various titbits from these he frequently broke the thread of his reminiscences of early colonial life. In the first part of his interview with the ‘'Star’' man, the “ laad from Yorkshor had completed the narrative of bis voyaging to Canterbury, and was waiting at the old Ferrymead station for the arrival of the train to himself and his fellow passengers to Christchurch. ARRIVAL. IN CHRISTCHURCH. “ Well,” continued Mr Hanson, “ as 1 have told you, we had readied J) orrymead, alter our varied experiences, and presently a very little train came pulling in. There were nuout fifty of us waiting for it altogether, mostly women and ciiildren. On arrival iu Christchurch we found a few of our shipmates waiting at the White HartHotel. We had not been there long bclore Mr William Wilson came along and inquired: ‘ Ho any of you men want to do any work; it so I wish some of you to go ’down to my threshing machine.’ 1, among others, toon on the job. The threshing was done with three horses, m the old-fashioned hurdy-gurdy way. as 1 call it. 'the place where we threshed was where the Christchurch Railway Station is now standing. When a wet day uippened along wo were sent to do weeding in Mr Wilson’s garden, then localedjjpposite liio position of the present Clock Tower WORKING ON COMMISSION, “ When L lett Homo ray employer had given me a letter to Mr T. R. lusner, ol Usher and Co., who had a big provision shop for those days at the corner of High and Hereford Streets, right opposite tho Bank of I\ ew Zealand T ho shop ran . down Hereford Street, and continued on the angle along High Street. »Yhtn I saw Mr Fisher he ottered me a billet at once, starting at HID per year. My duties were various. Ouo time Mr Fisher bought a lot of sheep from Mr Overton, of Lake Ellesmere, mid just afterwards sheep fell m value. To meet tho position he built a slaughteryard at Windmill Road, and I wa.s given the task of retailing the mutton among his customers or wherever 1. could lind a purchaser. For this I received a commission of threepence per quarter, making a shilling lor each carcase. It was to me a protitable proposition. A LIFE PARTNER. 11 One day Mr Fisher camo to mo, and said, ‘ I see you have got tae lever, John.’ At tho moment I did outguess what he meant, but 1 soon a as acquainted with tho fact that tno gold rusii to the West Coast had broken out, and ho did not want mo to join tho band of gold-soekers. He then ottered me 10 per cent on the business I, did, and as i left my earnings with compound interest which Mr Fisher allowed me i ultimately bad a tidy sum to draw. Soon afterwards 1 married a young lady who was also in service at xMr Fisher’s, and wo were united in the bonds of holy matrimony in ibo drawing-room of Mr Fisher’s residence m Durham Street south by the Rev J. U. Habeas, My wife proved one of the most exemplary women it was ever man’s fortune to marry, ami during 'dir many years’ residence in Riccarton she was ever willing to answer tho call of any neighbours who needed womanly assistance. TERRIFIC COMBAT I “ At various times in the early days very peculiar ideas were held at Home as .to the sort of the colony was, and many young lellows who came ouo here sent Home to their relatives greatly exaggerated accounts of the place. They painted it as being overrun with savages, and iu this connection 1 recollect the highly-coloured lam which two young remittance men wrote Home to their mother. They told her that they had to go on a journey to Luke Ellesmere, and while on their wa.y they met a fierce band of Maoris. The natives at once attacked them, but the younii colonists put up such a great light that they drove the Maoris olf. Naturally the mother was greatly pleased at the* valour winch her sous hatj

displayed in the terrific conflict, and sin- handed tin, letter tor publication to a county newspaper m tho Old Lana. Subsequently a copy of this paper found its way out to Christchurch, and the article was reprinted in the local Press. As a consequence the two young fellows were so frequently badgered about their bravery that the town hecnm» too hot for them, and they left 'I alking about newspapers reminds m* that about this time there was a notorions highwayman who went by the name of Gentleman Jack, at work in Australia, and so much interest was taken in his doings that there was always a rush for papers so as to see what was his latest prank. TO THE GOLDFIELDS. “When I loft Mr Fisher’s I went to reside in Tnam Street, and hero 1 became acquainted with a gentleman named Thomas Blackball Shaftcr. Tinhouse was a little four-roomed cottage which I subsequently bought, Mr Shatter occupying the two front rooms. Latc-i lie got an appointment in an official capacity when the diggings broke out at tli© Thames. Like many other Canterbury people the Thames goldfields also attracted me, ‘and I went there to try my luck as a digger. I might, hero remark that a, great number of ns who joined in that rush didn’t know gold from mica, and didn’t even knoiv quartz from kauri gum. TAKING DOWN THE NEW CHUMS. 11 There were on tho field a good number of diggers from Victoria, and they took down tho new chums. They would got a piece of kauri gum, and by nibbing a gold ring on it give it the appearance of the real metal. This they would say they had found in such-and-such a place, and the inexperienced were readily taken in. Many a ono was duped by having a regular dummy of a. claim sold to him in that way. I had a half share in a claim at Karaka Creek, and also a working half share. I went up to the Thames with Tettley, the butcher, and James Triggs also wont with us. We camped on tho Karaka Flat. Among thoso who rushed .to thc Thames in quest of gold were a. good round dozen of Canterbury publicans, but we all came back broke. Wo went out up north in the same boat that took the colonial contingent to lick To Kooti and Titokowaru into shape at Poverty Bay. after their escape from the Chatham Islands. THE HORROR OF THE TOLL BAR. “ After my return to Christchurch 1 decided to start business in Riccarton, That was in 18tio. At that time all tho way down from the Riccarton Church towards town on both sides of the road there was not an inch of ground to be got. I obtained my first ten acres, the block where the present store stands, from Sir Charles Bowen. When wo were knocking the gorso fence down preparatory to erecting the-buildings, everybody thought that a toll-house was going to be put up, and during thc course of our work we received more than blessings from tlic passersby. Their fear was quite natural, ami caused us some fun, for just at that period there had been a toll bar started at Papaniii, and another on the Lincoln Road. It had also been published in the paper that the Riccarton Board was likely to start one near the church, and this the users of the road thought was tho building that was being erectod. I can tell yon when I undertook Ihe starting of this store I never expected to get the amount of trade that we did. At the time this was the furt c<t- point out of Christchurch at 'vnufli there could be obtained a newspaper, a loaf of bread or a quarter of mutton. Poeiiliai; to state, the meat which could he obtained within the neighbourhood of Christchurch was principally mutton, hut during the time we spent in quarantine at Camp Bay wc were most liberally supplied with beef. EARLY RICCARTON NOTABLES. ' When I first came to Riccarton the chief people who had settled in tin. district wore Colonel Packe, the Rev Mr Bowen, Air Charles Bowen, Air Leonard Harper, Air Harry Lance, Air 11. F. Grey, Mr John Deans, Captain Clogstoun, Air Henry Hall and Air Shand. KING OP ALL HE SURVEYED. “There is one little bit of ancient history that 1 must tell you about. Long ago, I cannot tell yon how many vears ago now, a pure-bred Shorthorn bull was imported from England by a Canterbury station-owner. I cannot recollect the gentleman's name now. \\ iien tlie. vessel with the bull on board arrived in Lyttelton there was no suitab.e je.tj on which it could be landed, i-.i it was decided to put the animal ashore at Gollan’s Bay. While this was heme done tho bull jumped on the rocks and smashed the hoof of the near loroleg. (t looked like a hopeless case

on account of the injury, but the beast managed to crawl on to th o hills, and !" t-mie tho stump of the lcc healed. J lie bull wandered about the hill-tops between the lighthouse and Sumner' until it got more or less wild; in fact so savage did it become at times that no one dare face him. On one occasion tho brute took possession of the lighthouse, and so fierce was it that tho fcepors .wore afraid to venture out of doors. They were imprisoned until they were nearly starved. One of tho fceeiier3 told me this when he came (Town to iMsher's store in Christehurch to «et provisions. Then, again, the bull would pay a visit to Major Hornbrook's place overlooking Sumner, and take charge there. At last a way was found of frightening the bull .away. Th c people about would shoot at him with a fowling piece loaded with coarse salt After two or three times that the animal had been dealt with in this manner it only required the sight of a fcwlmv piero to make him quickly shift his quarters. | RESCUE AT SEA. | "Wo had been settled down in our new home same time when a number of the Brother's Pride people decided to pay a visit to two of our shipmates, who had taken up a piece of land in tho place of our old captivity ajt Camp Bay. One Sunday morning about a dozen of us set out on the journey. .Messrs Austin and Kirk, our shipmates, had sent their whaleboat across tho harbour to. meet us at Lyttelton. After spending a jolly day picnicking wo left again by the whaleboat in plenty of timo to catch the last tram back to Lyttelton. 1 was steering, and when about in the vicinity of Gollan's Hay, I. saw something lloating in the water, which 1 took to bo a woman. I called out, ' Lewk yonder Harry, there's a •voman in t\ wuaterl' Harry Kirk replied, 'lt's uowt o' t' sooart.' J. r«iUict'l that it was, because I had seen tho white petticoats Heating on the sea. Wo headed off in tho direction where the white object was seen to be '.looting, but it turned out not to be a woman's body, but a hundredweight of Hour. Wo at once hauled it on board, but had no sooner started again on our course, when I called out ' There's another.' This proved to bo a fifty pound bag. When we had taken it on board, Harry Kirk said to me: 'Nah, if tha seas onny mooar hod tin din,' Wo were down to the gunwale then, and he said if we took any more ilour on board we would soon bo at the bottom of the sea. We then pulled in to old Buckley's place—he was then living at /Sticking Point—and told him, and it was not long before ho and his son were off, and they put in a whole night's fishing! catching bags of flour. 1 think the flour came from a vessel which .had been wrecked on the Sumner Bar, and was Wood's silk dressed. The big'flooij washed the cargo out of the wreck, and later tho people on tho peninsula sido had a busy timo collecting it. TRAVELLING WITH ROYALTY. " Wo arrived at Lyttelton just in timo to see the last train go through the tunnel. It was tho snmo Sunday that the Duke of Edinburgh was to arrive in Lyttelton, and as the train to meet him was due through the tunnel we were not. allowed to enter it. As there were a couple of iufnnts in our party, we did not deem it advisable to make the tramp across the Bridle Path. It was not long though before our eyes wero gladdened by the signal going up that the Duke's vessel was in sight at Little Port Cooper, and it was not long then uefore the special train camo through. Jt was dark when the Duke came ashore. The railway authorities were very obliging as they put on an «xtra carriage to the ducal train for us, and we arrived in Christehurch with Royalty." ,(A further instalment will appear on Saturday next.)