“WORTHYVALE ” A PIONEER HOME.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18009, 20 November 1926, Page 21

“WORTHYVALE ” A PIONEER HOME.

SHIPMATES OF THE SMITHY FOLK, WHO HAILED FROM CORNWALL.

[By

L.B.H.

IX this article, L.B.H. brings to a close the very fascinating anecdotes connected with the old Dux-ham Street smithy, but “ Star ” x-eaders will learn with pleasui-e that further scraps of old history will still be forthcoming from the same pen.

Mr and Mrs Hawken, and family were shipmates of the Smithy’s people, and ever since they have been friend-

ly. They used to drive there early on Sunday and stay for dinner and tea. The writer went several times, but the first memory was after a heavy rain. I think the vehicle was a buggy (hired from stables at £1 for the day) and it was awfully bad on the North Road; but? Preston’s Road was out of one rut and into another. They had dinner there but had to leave at once; it took four or five hours for each journey that day. They always used a bullock and dray themselves to go to town in. Other times they went on horseback. Their place was thick with nigger heads. The boys got them out and packed them up in large stacks to dryfor firing. They had a ship's biscuit hanging up from the ceiling for eight years. The writer was warned not to touch it, but had a desire just to make it move, and could reach it standing on a chair.

At first the house was two rooms, sod, earth floor. In bad-weather that fireplace was used, but in hot weather they cooked out of doors. After tea was when they swept up for the day. Then they sprinkled nigger-head dust over the floor and took bucketfuls of ashes out and made a roaring fire with nigger-heads, and all were comfortable and happy. Generally two of the men would argue about a newspaper event. They would get heated and quarrelsome about it. The others did nothing but listen. They each would then have their say about it.

The writer was there to stay one week, but the weather got worse and it was necessary to stay three or four weeks. The young folk felt it very much. They had to stay in the house and by the fire, as it was x:okl weather. We got to the barnyard a time or two to see the fowls fed in the afternoon and that was such a grateful change. The children went a time or two into the dairy. Mark had a top and the others could not spin one, and that was a change. lie also made a ring on the ground and we each threw a penny to a centre*. That was another change. That was the most monotonous holiday there ever was. They ail said: “Poor children, they can’t get out.” They had a white horse, “Old Charley.” and another ‘that walked in a circle to drive the machine for cutting chaff. In their barn people gathered Sunday afternoons for church service. This was the first church service in Marshland. They had a white wood pulpit made. Later on it was given to the Marshland Church. Their daughter-in-law played the organ or harmonium at church. She was the first organist at Papanui and Marshland.

After a time a long kitchen was added to the back and the dairy moved away, arid a lean-to at the side built.

It was built by Noah Philpot, a remarkably fair complexioned and fairhaired young person. There had been a party in "Christchurch. The youngest girl stayed for it and she returned home with a little mate, who asked if he was the man who built the Ark. They did laugh about it. The place was pretty well built but there was a sea of water outside and that helped the idea of Noah and the Ark.

Old Mrs Hawken was the best of cooks. ->She seemed as if it was her religion to cook everything to perfection. Her pasties, cakes and game are spoken of to this day. The}' hailed from Cornwall and were great Cousin Jacks, especially in speech. The old

lady’s speech was wonderfully pretty. In Cornwall there was a place named Worthy-vale. Old Mr Hawken considered this a wonderful name and his- farm took its name from it.

The sod house was built and occupied before their time. It was built in a hollow. It was the men’s opinion that that spot had been used by Maories. for ages before. Although in a hollow, in the wettest weather it was dry. They say the site must have been selected ages before, for being always dry. The house now there is in the same position.

The old one got destroyed by fire. There were fruit and other trees and remains of a garden when they' went there r to live. Before they had their

pump for water, they carried from the River Styx. The water was so scarce in dry weather that rats came boldly and drank it. Their pump was very hard to draw water from. The men got it most times. It was placed only a few yards from the edge of a bank. It seemed they could have saved ten feet of piping if they had gone down the bank to sink the well. There was a shute to run the wate'r down there for cattle. They had honey for their

own use only. One. time the honey was out of the wax in milk pahs. A cat had been shut in the dairy . and was drowned in the honey. Nearly all of its fur was off and in the honey. It looked as if it had been shaved. Often Mrs Hawken rode into town with a baker's basket on her arm with her butter and eggs. She took back groceries. When John Hawken .took up land, as his father had such an aristocratic name for his farm, everybody asked John what name he would give it. lie was very happy and his prospects were good. He spoke of it as “up there” or “up above,” then “up the hill.” There was an atmosphere there then that made people think they were on a hill. One time he had to go away and turned a horse or more into a paddock there. But he was anxious about it as there was no feed or grazing for them. The giris were told to go sometimes and see if the horses were getting, thin, but they were all right each time. lie went in great anxiety to see them, and they were in the best of condition and still nothing to eat there. lie said, “They must have eaten Scotch thistles.” Then the word “Scotch” seemed to tickle his fancy, and “Scotch Hill” was the result. This name was quite original and carefully thought out by John. It should cling to that property for all time.

To give you some idea of how a word would take his fancy, a young lady often spoke of a young man in'Christchurch named Dick. lie had a hack he thought was a “none such.” and

named it Dick. He put it in the cattle show and it got a prize, and he gave it the young man's full name (Richard Kent), which was printed oil the . catalogue. A friend was always

talking of two women relatives, and this took his fancy. He had two tomcats and he named them after them. “Susan” was. one name. No one liked the name of Scotch Hill and they tried to make him select a decent name as that had no meaning and sounded wrong. That seemed to decide him more for Scotch Hill. The eldest brother got a farm, but his place was very wet and boggy. It seemed much lower with being so wet. John named this place “Down Below,” his place was then “Up Above.” They had plenty of whitebait and eels. The Maoris gave them the eel traps, or showed them how to make them and near their house the}' got wild duck, swamp hens, bitterns, etc. When a law was about to be made prohibiting the shooting of bitterns, they caught one purposely and had it stuffed. I think pheasants must have been there, for some ladies had coats trimmed with their skin and muffs and hats made entirely' of the feathers and skins. They had pheasants penned up like poultry but thev were unsuccessful with them.

A little nephew had a holiday there. He had just recovered from a fever, and they thought the change would do him good. This was at Worthyvale. He took a relapse and died. The grandfather passed away' through it and Mark was ill many months with it.

One Sundav morning Mark took a young lady' on the river in a Maori canoe—he found it buried in mud. It leaked and was very long. The river was nearly closed with watercress. This canoe was a half tree sawn through the length and scooped out.

Tt was very shallow and unsafe in that stream (Styx). He .'bought a good boat afterwards and named it

“The little Lady.” He was very successful with the gun and prized his dogs. He named them the breed they were —“Retriever” Spaniel, etc.. He was first Clerk of the Course at New Brighton and a great boy for fun. At Scotch Ilill when they first got it there was fences and a paddock or two, gorse fenced. There were a few battered old pine or macrocarpa trees and a few worn out apple trees. John used a saw on them and grafted sticks on. Those trees bore well after. The apples were a different kind on each branch. They got a good flow of artesian water there.

When that bridge nearby leading to Chaney’s was built they' were the most surprised people about it. Nobody' seemed to go that way. John built a large 6-roomed house of two storeys. ’ Years after he left there it was burnt down.

The son Albert built a cottage on the corner of his father's farm, and many years after he had left it the Worthy-vale home wss 1 burnt down and that cottage was sawn in two and put on the site of the old sod one. Sam

A’Oourt did this job and repaired the building after shifting it. At William Henryks farm, when he went there, there was a large 3-roomed lean-to and porch, stables and a good orchard. They had plenty of fruit there. A novelty was crab apples. This farm held so much water that they used a boat about the paddocks. There was a lot of flax about there and the men were timid. Every night they put their guns handy. They did not get troubled with anyone. One winter there the family of six grown-ups started to learn the piano. Most of them left off learning when they had mastered “Draw the Sword of Scotland.” Their songs were “Jessie’s Dream,” “After the Opera,” “Temple Bar,” and “If Ever I Cease to Love.”