IN PIONEER DAYS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXV, Issue 11785, 23 September 1913, Page 6

IN PIONEER DAYS.

SOME EARLY MASTERTON HISTORY.

EXCITING AND STRENUOUS

TIMES

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE

MAORI WAX SCARE

The Masterfcon resident of to-day who eaiJy trips a la Monte Carlo Wells altn" fine asphalt paths, or whirls away por motor or other vehicle over fine macadamised roads, and grumbles if perchance ho kicks a protruding stono on the path, or receives a jolt when passing through a rut in the road, should have lived in Master ton iv the early days in order to appreciate the wisdom of our city fathers in providing the town with its present paths and roads. He should have been in Masterton when Mr J. Nicol, of Church street, first set eyes on the spot which was destined to be the capital of Wairarapa; lonjj before, there was settlement, and when what is now the town of Masterton was. ncLl:iug but a belt of bush. This is just a matter of 65 years. ''I was then working for a Mr John Drummond dow-> by the Wairarapa Lake," said Mr Nicol to a Daily Times reporter. "It was in 1848. Yes, it is a long period to look back over. There was no settlement in Mastevton then, though, of course, settlers had taken up land in South Wairarapa and in close proximity to Masterton. What is Masterton now, was then dense bush, with bogs here and there, and thick undergrowth everywhere; with nothiug but a rough track through to the Coast. And when I see such a line street as Queen street, with its asphalt road and paths, and its beautiful buildings, the fine thoroughfares throughout, the borough, and the good roads in tho country, 1 marvel at the change. '' Continuing, Mr Nicol said that year after year the pioneers of settlement as they arrived in Wellington struck inland, and gradually the country round Masterton became settled, and then in 1855 Masterton itself became a settlement. Then, when roads were made, coaches commented to run to Wellington. Often it took three days to reach Masterton from Wellington; the journey from the Empire City to Greytown usually took twelve hours in Haswell's old mail cart. Of course, in those days there was only a track northwards from Masterton —through very rough country. A journey on horseback from Masterton to Taueru would occupy from eight o'clock in the morning till six o'clock at night. In the early days Mr and Mrs Nicol had property at the Upper Tauoru, and all the pioneers oi" the North Wairaraa p—-with the exception of the Burling family, who camped close by--made their homestead the stopping X»lace for the nijiht. The cheery lights of the honntead T \ ••aided a haven of rest for tr" ivciv. ; .Ivors—men, women, and cnildren —who were struggling northwards i- order to carve out homes in the bush. Ilr and Mrs Nicol 'b hospital it} was known far and wide, and m.aiy a worn-out pioneer blessed they. for their kindness in providing food, drink and .shelter for him for the night.

Mr Nieol stated th'it to bring stores from Masterton to Taueru cost £16 per ton, and every ton of wool sent in to Masterton cost a like amount. A Mr Collins resided at Te Ore Ore theu, and he was the first white man to have stock in the district. There were, ;;o hotels in Masterton then, 'nit Dixon : s Accommodation House was eventually built, and later there was another f ccommodation house erected out towards the Taueru. Mr Niool remarked that the John Drummond for whom he had worked in IS4S was subsequently drowned in the lake. The Greatest Flood. Coming down to comparatively modem times —about 1883 —both Mr.and Mrs Nicol remembered well the biggest flood which has ever been experienced in Masterton. The railway bridge "caught up" trees and other debris during a Hood in the Waipoua river, and caused, the river to divert its course down through the centre of the town. The whole of Masterton was under water, and at Minto Villa in Chape L street, where they then reside-d, there was three feet of water. One of the Waipoua bridges was washed away by the flood. Church street was like a lake, and a rather amusing incident occurred in the street during the flood. Two brothers (one of whom is now a popular doctor in Masterton) launched a canvas boat in the water and pulled wp Church street as far as where the old courthouse building now stands. They manoeuvred their craft with the skill of a Searle, but on the return journey they met with a mishap, and were capsized into the water. The Great Earthquake. Mrs Cave, of Masterton, has a vivid memory of the great earthquake in Wellington in 1855, when so much damage was done. With her mother and grandfather (Mr J. Masters, after ■whom Masterton is called) she came up to Masterton to live, her father (Mr lornsj having gone to Masterton previously in order to arrange for their coming. The party had a perilous trip from Wellington, especially over the Eimutakas, as the road in places had been shaken down the hillside by the earthquake. From the vicinity of Papawai to the Taratahi plains everything had to be packed, as there was only a track through the bush.—and a very rough track at that, boggy in places, and strewn with dead trees. Mr Masters had with him a gig which he

had brought from Wellington, and he packed this on coming to the, bush, and went ahead of the party. By tho time they reached the plains, Mr Masters had made a dray from bush timber, using the gig wheels as wheels for the dray. In this they came on to Masterton, which they reached a few weeks after Mr Dixon had arrivod. Mr lorus, the father of Mrs Cave, died in January, 1856, and was the first person buried in the Masterton Cemetery. Maori War Scare. In a graphic manner, Mrs Cave described the hardships of the pioneer settlors, and many strenuous months they had when the Maori war broke' out. When the news came that the Maoris had risen in revolt in tho north, the settlers all round Masterton formed themselves into a volunteer corps. Great strategy had to be exercised in order to obtain arms without exciting the suspicion of the natives —for the settlers were badly armed at the tinio, and had the Maoris attacked them then it would have gone hard with the pioneers. But Mr Bannister, Mrs Cave's stepfather, smuggled arms and ammunition into Masterton among sacks of flour and other produce he brought from Wellington for his store. A big stockade was built in what is now the Masterton Park, and it was decided that iv the event of trouble all the settlers should gather there to defend themselves. A heavy penalty was to be inflicted upon anyone who fired a gun at night, as this had been decided upon as the signal notifying the settlors that the Maoris were coming to attack them. When . the trouble occurred in Taranald many Maoris in the Wairar:vpa came to Masterton and claimed tho protection of the British flag in the event of hostilities breaking out in Wairarapa. But fortunately wiser counsels prevailed, and the settlers and Maoris in Wairarapa did not come into conflict.