EARLY REMINISENCES.

Waipa Post, Volume II, Issue 61, 14 November 1911, Page 2

EARLY REMINISENCES.

TE AWAMUTU AS IT m [By John Mandeno, Esq., croft, Hairini.] - Now • that universal military training is so'much before the public, it may be interesting to - remember that it is no neflkhing. In the years following the re- \ moval of the troops from Te Awamutu, every man capable of bear- J ing arms was supposed to be prepared to defend the country, either in the militia or the volunteers. At that time there Were a large number of Maoris living across the Punui Maungatautari who had been driven from* the Waikato lands, and who were - burning for revenge and for possession of the country. It was absolutely necessary, 'therefore, that there should be some system for the defence of the settlers, and for that purpose all were enlisted and armed in some way. The militia had to appear at Kihikihi for inspection and drill. The district was in charge of jj Major Jackson, Captain Bockett f in charge of the company, and Sergeant Kenedy of Kihikihi acted as Sergeant Major.-Inspec-tion of arms and appearance to answer names was pretty well the amount of training, but it was felt that this was not cient for the defence of the trict as settlement and propdß increased. Every now and h there would be a " panic," H as an example I remember Christmas Eve of 1870. I ■ returning from work in the e\« ing, when a neighbour rode and said that a strong force Maoris under Te Kooti was at Kopua, and prepared to come down.on Alexandra, or Pirongia as it is noWi and all hands with women and children repair to the _ redoubt at Kihikihi for protection* and defence. So there we spentj Christmas Eve, making as merry and as cir-M cumstances permitted, and keep-™ ing arstrong lookout through thfj night. However, nothing carrie. to cause alarm, and Christmas'* morning found us tired andsleepy but very well pleased to be able to return to our homes without further excitement., But this state of things was decidedly uncomfortable, so Major Jackson prevailed upon Sir Donald Maclean, who was then Native ter and Minister for Defences/to come up and try to devise some- . thing better. As the result of ; that visit the Major was commissioned to raise a troop of cavalry which would be ready at any time for action in case of need. There was to be fourteen days regular training in the year, and the troop was to be ready for active service at any time.' The pay was to be seven shillings per day for drill, and the men were to find horse and uniform. Some sixty men were at once enrolled and the number increased to about eighty. Major Jackson was in command, Mr Andrew Kay lieutenant, and Mr Rutherford second lieutenant. We were armed with Snider carbine, sword and revolver. Sergeant Fraser, a first-rate drill-master, who had been an officer in a regiment of lancers was instructor. The uniform was, blue tunic, Bedford cord breeches and leggings. Volunteers came from all parts of the district, some even as far as Hamilton, and our horses, well, when the Governor (Sir Hercules Robinson) came to inspect us," he told us that whatever might be said for our drill, at any rate we had a splendid lot of horses. Sir Hercules was a great lover of a good horse., In addition to the two weeks drill in the year, the troop was required to maintain a regular guard at the Te Awamutu redoubt. Eight men were constantly on duty, and during the night four of them were needed to patrol the district and watch ■"' the frontier lines. For this purpose we would leave the redoubt in the evening, the non-commis-sioned officers in charge having received instructions as to the road to be taken. The general opinion was that the principle clanger to be feared was that the Maoris might make a sudden raid for the purpose of burning and plunder, and thaC*the most likely time for them to do this would be in the very early morning with the first break of day or soon after. The practice, therefore, was for four of us to go out to the house of one of the settlers nearest the frontier, make * ourselves as comfortable as we could for a few v hours, and then turn out before dawn and visit the crossing ' places on the Puniu, or the tracks leading to the settlements, returning to the redoubt in time for breakfast.- The return journey • on a bright summer morning was much the best part of the night's work. As may be supposed, with a lot of fresh horses, and quite green in the matter of -

cavalry drill; there was a good Vdeal of arnusement as well as a danger in the early .days of ■■'the-■."troop. For instance, T re-, member the first time .we were to •fire on horseback. We were marched out to Drakati, somewhere o% Mr Hutchinson's farm, and seryed with blank cartridges-; Drawn tip iri line in Q%ke ordt-r ordered to fire a volley* and then the fun commenced P. riyb'r.e iri front would have been in danger from *rarnrods flying, and as for those in the ranks, it was of no use to please oneself with the idea that one's horse would stand fire. There was more danger by a good deal from the performance of one's neighbour and his horse. There were a few spills, but only a few, and before we left the tne" found out that no harm was intended. Happily we were never called upon for actual fighting, although on' different occasions we were hurriedly sen*.* tf ° a ---vneditions t*» Cambridge or Alexandra, when there was supposed to be Maoris in the district. But the existence of the force gave confidence in the place, and no doubt the Maoris were quite aware that we were on the alert, and the fact probably had something to do in preventing tiem from trying to do mischief,