CANTERBURY IN 1851.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17182, 27 October 1923, Page 5 (Supplement)

CANTERBURY IN 1851.

A VISITOR’S IMPRESSIONS. “A SPRING IN THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT.” A very rare old book, “A Spring in the Canterbury Settlement.” has been lent to “ The Star ” by Mr Arthur T Eaton, of Christchurch, who obtained it from his grandmother. It was published in London in 1853 by Mr C. Warren Adams, as an account of his sojourn in the Canterbury Settlement, at the end of a sea voyage in the ship Canterbury in 1851, taken for health reasons. The story will be published in weekly instalments, with occasional plates.

CHAPTER VII. SHEEP FARMS. It must be evident to every one who has passed even a few r weeks in a new colony, that sheep farming is the real and in truth the only source of its prosperity. The heavy expense of reclaiming wholly uncultivated land, together with the want of a ready and certain market, render tillage a most hazardous experiment, especially in a colony isolated as Canterbury is. A knowledge of sheep farming is also more easily acquired; and the wisest course for a young colonist to pursue is to leave his money with his banker, join some experienced farmer, and remain with him for a year or two, until he has thoroughly learned his business; by which I mean not only the acquirement of theoretical knowledge, but the manual labours and habits of a fanning man. This knowledge and these habits once obtained, he nia}/ then safely expend his capital in sheep, and as his means may permit, either rent and stock a large run, or place his sheep “on thirds,” as it is called; that is to say, may enter into an arrangement with the owner of some large sheep farm, to receive a certain proportion of the wool and of the increase, in lieu of rent. The charter of the Canterbury Association has most unfortunately been framed with a view to discouraging sheep farming in that settlement; and the sheep farmer there labours of course under serious disadvantages. But the land beyond the Canterbury block is equal in quality, and equally benefited by its vicinity to Port Lyttelton, and sheep runs may there be had from the Government upon very advantageous terms. A lease of forty or fifty thousand acres may be obtained upon a rental merely nominal, the tenant contracting to place a certain quantity of stock upon the run before the expiration of a given period, and from that time to pay, in addition to the rent, a small annual sum per head for the stock upon the run. At the expiration of the lease, if the same be not renewed, the tenant has the right of priority of purchase over the whole run at the rate of £1 per acre; or (if he prefers leaving the station) he receives an equivalent for any buildings or improvements he may have made upon the property. I do not, of course, mean to say that this is the only road to success in a colony, but it is assuredly the most safe and secure, if not always the most rapid: and it may be fairly said that the colonist who adheres steadily to sheep farming is certain of ultimate success; while the speculator is liable at any moment to irretrievable ruin. Tht station at which I found myself at the conclusion of the last chapter, and where I continued to reside with the hospitable owner for some weeks, was a large sheep farm, extending over twelve square miles of pasture land, and which lying beyond the Canterbury block was not subject to the restrictions of the charter. The homestation was situated at the mouth of the River Motunau, a small stream which affords considerable facilities for the important operation of sheep-wash-ing, and the mouth of which makes an excellent harbour for the small vessels that bring stores from the port, and carry away the produce. This homestead much resembles a small English farmhouse, save that the sleeping loft had seldom fewer than ten occupants, and was frequently occupied, during shearing time, by double that number. A dairy and stockyard is also attached to this station; and although a dairy farm is by no means an invariable accompaniment of a sheep run, for cattle ire attended with less profit and greater risk than sheep, it is a valuable appendage to it, as affording an unimited supply of milk and butter. ;hose otherwise unattainable luxuries In the bush, and of which the depriva;ion is very severe. In addition to the buildings upon -hese sheep farms, there is usually a •mall piece of cultivated ground at:ached to the home station, sufficient .o supply the wants of those employed ipon the run. At Motunau there had ..ieen only a kitchen garden; but a oiece of ground was at that time under the plough, by which the owner loped to effect a considerable saving n the supply of flour for the use of his nen. The licenses granted to sheep .armers by the Governmnet of Austra-

lia, and I believe those of New Zealand also, do not permit the cultivation of a larger quantity of land than is requisite to supply the wants of the people employed upon it. The farmers are thus restrained; because, as has been already observed, the rent reserved js merely nominal; the substantial return to the Government arising from stock upon the land. The simple and primitive mode of living at a sheep station affords scanty materials for the pen ; but a short account may not be uninteresting to such of my readers as may be contemplating a settlement in this new colony. The fare varies at different stations, but for the most part consists of indifferent salt beef, varied occasionally with wild pork, which forms excellent food. The only substitute for bread is “ damper.” namely, small cakes of flour and water, baked without leaven, upon the hearth. Tea and coarse brown sugar will be the substitute for fermented liquors and spirits, and unless the run contains with it a dairy farm, butter will be uknown. Thick boots, duck trousers, blue .sailor’s shirt, serge shirt, with a belt containing a pig-knife, and a broad-leaved cab-bage-tree hat, wiy form the dress. The settler must be his own handicraftinan and servant, and prepared to encounter all weathsr, to attend his stock from daylight to dusk, and to sleep soundly whether in the open air or on a bare plank. In a word, he will be thrown altogether upon his own resources, and must bear cheerfully any hardships that may happen to him. Ilis principal amusement will be pighunting, a sport by no means realising the expectations usually formed of it by enthusiastic colonists on this side of the globe; and possessing none of the glorious excitement of an Indian hear hunt. The animal is pursued by every variety of mongrel, and when one of them catches him by the ear, the hunter dismounts, sticks him with his long knife in a most businesslike manner, and then remounts and pursues the chase. The spoils are afterwards collected, and carried home for These animals are not natives of the country: indeed, there is no native animal larger than a rat. They are the descendants of the pigs turned loose by Captain Cook, and have increased and multiplied to an extraordinary extent. When taken young they return readily to the old domestic habits of their tribe. The breeds are various, but the flesh of all of them is delicate. Sheep-shearing is of course the most busy as well as the most expensive season of the year, but it is also one of much festivity. As far as regards the washing, the operation differs little from the English usage, but the English farmers would astonished at the roughness and rapidity of the shearing. The shearers travel in company from station to station.and are paid accord ing to the number of sheep shorn. If my memory be. correct, the price when I was in New Zealand was twenty-five shillings per hundred, with food and lodging. The shearer never sits or cr.eels, but stands erect, with the am mal between his knees, and snips and slashes at a furious rate. From two and an accomplished shearer has been known to operate upon four-score. The fleeces are rolled up and bound, and trodden down and packed in woolsacks, suspended for this purpose from the beams of the roof. The clip being completed, the woolpacks are conveyed to the port, when they are again compressed by powerful hydraulic presses, and ultimately packed by steam power into the hold of the vessel awaiting their reception. The principal enemies of the sheep farmer are the. rot. and the herds of wild dogs which infest the country. The former, however, may to a great .xtent be avoided by care and skill; and the latter are diminishing daily. That every adventurer in a young oiony must prepare himself to encounter difficulties and hardships seems a self-evident truth, but the vague ideas upon these points with which many settlers leave their combrtable English homes are most surprising. One of my fellow-voyagers took with him two carriages; man}' of die gentlemen were possessed of handome and well-furnished gun and dressng cases; and some, of the ladies had lot forgotten a full supply of kid doves and evening dresses. Now. if hoy expected to < ontinue the habits .if the Old Country in the new colony,

these adjuncts would be appropriate: but it is difficult, with such views, to comprehend the object for which they quitted England. An English life is fully as expensive in a colony as in the Mother Country; and it is only by conforming to colonial habits that expense car. be lessened or wealth increased. I haw endeavoured in the above simple sketch of a settler's life to give a faithful picture of his habits and pursuits; and I would advise no one to emigrate with a hope of making a fortune, who has not the prudence to appreciate and the courage to endure them. (To be continued next Saturday A