OLD WANGANUI

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19359, 14 July 1925, Page 5

OLD WANGANUI

THE COMING OF THE PAKEHA LOOKING BACK TO THE EARLY DAYS INTERESTING ADDRESS BY MR FIRTH "In considering the history of Wanganui we need not search into remote antiquity amidst the myths of Maori legends, but satisfy ourselves with the first coming of the Europeans in 1831 for our beginning." Thus Mr R. G. Firth, custodian of the Museum, prefaced his re-marks in his address to yesterday’s Rotary Club gathering. The speaker referred to the first landing of a fishing party near Lh.ndguard Bluff and the fate that subsequently befel them—-with the exception, of one European and a negro who were spared—following on an altercation be-' tween a chief and the owner of the whaling boat that had come from a whaling establishment at Kapiti. "Out* poor countrymen were cooked bud eaten and their heads dried and preserved as moko mokais. Such was the commencement of the Europeans’ acquaintance with Wanganui—certainly not n, very propitious one,” said the speaker. “The natives were from Taupo and thither they carried their prisoners, the European being Andrew Powers, s Swede by birth, who subsequently became la. resident of Wanganui. Tlx Taupos carried him up into the intcrio; and then to Rotorua, where he w.-u ransomed by a countryman named Tap sail. The negro managed to effect hi escape and got back again to his com rades at Kapiti. "A party of the Ngatiruanui wrn killed Und eaten at Te Ahi, near Carlton Avenue, they having come to proclaim the Gospel. This cannibal fenst was nearly the last which disgraced our river. One more took place a few years later ht Te Karamu. or, ns it is now called, Churton’s Creek. A party of natives from the north arrived there to proclaim the Gospel to the Maoris of this place." Their mission, however, pointed out Mr Firth, was not understood and the natives killed find cooked the entire party. Anothot party from Taupo arrived later with « chief named Wircmn Tauri at then head. He took up his abode tit Putikj and had the honour of being the first preacher who made converts to the Christian faith in Wcnganui. In 1839 Rev. Henry Williams at the request of three young chiefs for a Christian teacher sent Mr Hadfield here. Mr Williams then visited Wanganui, where he met with a very kind reception, and was entrdated to send the natives a missionary. In 1840 the wish was ful filled and" Mr Mason arrived and tool up his abode at Putiki. Colonel Wakefield, the principal agent of the New Zealand Company, appeared to have visited Wanganui in 1839. He was genemlly known amongst the Maoris as Tiraweac ("wide awake"). He had previously met three local chiefs at Waikanac, (and there got two of them to sign a document professing to sell rill the land bewcen the Manawatu and Patea. After sending goods to the value of £360 to the chief Kurukanga of Rir<atepo (nearly 100 miles up-river) he professed to have purchased all Wanganui. He accordingly sent surveyors who, in spite of the opposition of tho owners, managed to survey, partly by moonlight, the portion of the IVanganui block. Shortly afterwards, J. Wakefield arrived here with surveyors, and they had a large raupo whare near the Commercial Hotel.

Soon after the first settlers arrived in the Surprise, the Jewess and Clydesdale. In 1842 the little Catherine Johnston began her trips to and from Wellington (Port Nicholson) and her then youthful owners —Messrs Taylor and Watt —erected a store at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Taupo Quay. In January, 1843, Mr Mason lost'his life in crossing the Turakina river. In April Rev. Richard Taylor arrived hs his successor and on the first Sunday in 1844 opened the church fox divine" worship. Tho total population (European) at that time was 1 JO. On March 16. 1846, tho Governor, Sir G. Grey, visited Wanganui, and during that summer another visit by hostile natives was successfully wkirded off with the aid of tho Putiki natives. In tho following month the Governor sent 200 men under Captain Leys for the defence of the place, and the natives resigned their trust in the commander and laided in the erection of the Rutland Stockade. The noble defence of this settlement bt Moutoa and Ohotahi, where Wiremu Tauri was fatally shot, proved that a large body of the natives made common cause with tho Europeans. After the war the little settlement was still in a bad state, and as far back as 1844 Governor Fitzroy recommended its abandonment, and offered the inhabitants free passage to Auckland. There was no response, although some settlors proceeded to Taranaki and Nelson. On May 29, 1848, tho land was finally paid for and the purchase completed, and from that time the settlement steadily progressed. The New Zealand Company had not. fulfilled its engagements contracted with tho purchases of land, but Sir George (tray rectified the wrong by giving 150 acres additional for every 100 acres purchased from the company. Another beneficial measure by Sir George was the reduction of the fixed price of land to 10s per acre. The 100,000 acres purchased found buyers, as the tide of immigration set in, and made it necessary to enlarge the borders of the district. The Rangitikei block was next purchased, then the Wtaitotara and Manawatu blocks. The speaker, after touching on Rev. Richard Taylor’s graphic description of the town of Wanganui in 1867, said that it might be interesting to note that the soundings taken during 185 f showed that the depth of water on the bar was between 5 and 8 feet low water spring tide; opposite Punta ereek from 30 to 40 feet; opposite the town 15 to 20 feet. The depth in 1924 was from 10 feet 6 inches to 25 feet and operations were in progress to deepen it to 30 feet. When Wanganui was declared a port of entry it December, 1851, the exports totallec £6OO (in 1923 the total was £2,000,000.)

At the conclusion of his interesting address Mr Firth was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.