“Swagging” in New Zealand.

Fair Play, Volume I, Issue 12, 20 January 1894, Page 17

“Swagging” in New Zealand.

(Written'sperially/for Fair Play.)

By T.J.

To many worthy .citizens the term “ swagger is synonymous with “ loafer,” “ idler/’ and“ vagabond.” This is a deep rooted dictum, and;has enlisted the aid of reiteiation ,to secure:the endorsement of truth, it has floated itself on the testimony of those strange ■> beings who designate themselves “toorists,” it has rejoiced in the utterance of “land magnates” and unbiassed “ squatocracy,” therefore it must be true. Therefore, continue oh ye gilded saloon proprietors to reject them from your mansions; ye' proprietors of so many bedrooms, “exclusive of those required for the use of'the. family,”,ye. suave smiling hypocrites, move, them'on, and .keep your own fabricated idsage for the edification of complacent “fat men," yclept licensing committees. s These “ swaggers ” .are not for you,, they come not withm the scope of your observation. But stay, yes, they do sometimes.. Sometimes in an out-of-the-way corner appears, a,brief tale of a .way-: side death or the treachery of a swollen stream. . Thus is there a contact, thus do extremes meet. How many readers allow their imagination to wander to those scenes, to that. in j particular - where, forsaken by hope, . they , laid him down full in the sight of the most inspiring picturesque'scenery of this island, a solitary;swagger'. .By- his side.he, who followed in’his. wake j found, the: evidence of his .exit, a: small phial;; no word, of farewell written,, his farewell was burnt. A little pile of blackened. ashes suggested a history while :it ? withheld, a detail. , It 'that; secrecy which; prevails at the death of a pauper. He preferred to die alone without ceremony and .without the grace of a record. How many think of these nameless endings, unwept, .unhonoured, and alone. “ Peace hath her victories, no less renowned than: war.” Does she ever have a brilliant. defeat ? - Circumstances and. an Insatiable desire of acquiring experience forced me. to adopt the customs of “ swagging ” .for about six weeks; in the course of such meanderings I underwent some: strange adventures, and arrived at conclusions.;which may be found interesting and worthy of transient regard. - It is a singular fact that very few native bom are;, found ..in the ranks of swaggers; they, seem’ either, colloquially speaking, to'know a trick worth more, or else prefer the comforts: incidental to a city llfe. I am; inclined tobelieve that all nations are representedianclall varieties of such. /Many-juser it only , as a temporary stop-gap toiprovide .funds for.{prosecuting research f6r-employmehtin,their>bwn-par-ticular lineji many.f6llow:itiinf, aihalfhearted floating; style /but the majority; are regular : customers I seeking evenoat- the uttermost. extremity' .that, work; which; is unobtainable > bn" the outskirts of civilisation. iyl :f-j r.wl’ -'/it'A V;-• utMyselfapd mate.belbhgeditocthe primal category. We started from Taradale,

near Napier, .on the 19th Aprildast, and armed swith: the inevitable; blankets, ,ete., euphemistically termed “ bluey,”; directed ourselvesctowardsrßussell’a t Station, Tuna Nui; :with; the> lidea ?of Imspeoting jsome manuka ' scrub'; for the ; cutting.s of which tenders^had been nailed. Calling at Lowry’s and then Shrimpton’s;stations;e» route wewere received in the way-usually extended to travellers?(by.the way, a true “ swagger ” invariably alludes to his peregrinations ;as travelling, .and his occupation as. traveller) i that is to.. say the life of the “ fatted calf” was hot jeopardised in the least. At the latter station we were joined by one of the;greatest “ travellers ” surely New Zealand has ever seen,: at. any rate'l should like, to hear of any greater, his narrative would be interesting indeed. A fine stalwart fellow, one of the “ men of Devon,” something over 40 years of age, inclined to be sandy, and with the most curious-, impediment in his speeoh; which gave origin. to some ludicrous combinations. Such impediment consisted of the interpolation between the syllables of the little words “ in’-a.” Now I leave it to you, curious reader, • to try the effect of such in the description say of a horse race for Frank, our friend was christened Frank G—y, was very’fond of narrating stories of the gay old English turf of 20 odd years back. Excitement choked his utterance at these times, and several seoonds elapsed before the result of the race really became known. It did not require much musing to locate the cause of his vicissitude. He had : drifted into the vortex of that wild gambling fever of our fathers, and had enjoyed to the full all its oonoomitant attractions. We were indeed glad of his company, for he knew every track in the province, or I believe in New Zealand for that matter. The reflection occurred to me what an extraordinarily good soldier he would have made, uniting as he did the wonderful skill of the Australian black tracker with that indomitable English pluck—the admiration of the world. Needless to say we were disappointed over our contract, as were likewise a good many others. : The accepted tender, which “ happened” to be the lowest (what a farce that fiction of “ the lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted” is become) was the munificent sum of 2s;fid. per acre and as the scrub to be operated upon was far from being light, 1 that “ successful tenderer” would have to be a problem as relentless as the sphinx’s, and end probably by “ skipping by the light of the moon” to the detriment of the long suffering laborer. - Thank goodness the -wisdom of : our Parliament is becoming alive to the injustice inflicted on’these men through the criminal incapacity iof contractors. The- owners are-to be held in future directly responsible for any remissness on the contractor’s; part •< to pay- wages. Bravo* Democracy 1 "There •was ' nothing' before ; us now- but) stern tramping. However, it' > came on -wet, - very wet/ and 1 our departure; was ; deferred circumßtances/ and made a start- for 'Waterhouse’s bThe/rain - Btdrm G overtb6klus, j and by : the reached our destination we were in; that

condition, dear to the imagination of irreverent Arabs, when theiy tell eaoh other with appropriate accompaniment, that they ’ll make ’ein so / their “own mother - won’t knqw ’em-" It.may bo mentioned that‘at this.season of.the-year this ably. Bound, a bickering , fire in an /old shearers’ whare, with /the rain , pelting down in torrents, and the wind madly howling, through the crevices, we listened to as a graphic an account 6f th6*oiyil wftr of America as ever *1 oi|r r ! gave birth to. Frank /had Idono/a lot/of travelling in America, and in a variety pt ways, the most “ unusual” being on .‘a oowoatoher, a mode of, progression about as novel as the whale-back adventure of our ancient mariner, Captain Jookeon Barry. This particular trip extended for forty miles, and was the oonoluding/part of a journey from ’Frisco to Chicago. Our mend did not oome. out scatheless, as his .cheeks were torn and shredded by the gravel stirred up. The next day iny mato and I derided to push on to Kuripapanga, en route for Inland Patea. Frank had long ago determined never to leave Hawke’s Bay, and so we were reluctantly compelled: to separate. We were destined to meet many queer characters in our wanderings, but none of the stamp and individuality of Frank G——y. Suoh a one on the stage would strike a ohord of sympathetic humour. Good natured. happy-go-lucky, high-minded, dare devt he was never meant for a narrow prejudiced robbing city. life; a very typo of the all prevailing Englishmen that nas built up our British Empire. Civilisation was not for you; you .ore. its pioneer. Fraud and sham and cant, the embodiment of the second stage, are not for. you. Farewell, and may your shadow never grow less. Work on, these stations in winter is not required, many of them carrying about 80,000 sheep, employ about five hands on on average. Such a state of affairs must intensify, the conviction that a hundred smaller, stations would be more conducive to the Colony's,welfare. We managed to seoure work at Moawhango after a tramp of nearly a hundred miles from Napier. Moawhango is a native settlement,; which prohibitionists will be pleased to learn has closed its only pub; to say that drinking has consequently ceased, however,, would be a gross perversion of the truth. A tremendous quantity of whisky, is Imported through, the medium ,of the coach from Huripapanga, and apparently, the traffic is conducted in a. perfectly legal manner. . Orders are. sent down,, and the whisky is forwarded rjn xesponse. iSap. during, onr stay, natives in being present , from .Tappo, iWairoai i Bangitikei,Napier, j So.///Ao •amusing incident pcojuaroa R iocconnection ;withthriadyent.of the ? Taupo,contingent. -forwardtofor days/ aadwfictijwordcraae rfo handrthat .they were odenlyitfdevised ..honours were: put into motion, (mi

bold spirit suggested a military salute. That suggestion was carried out, but the consequences had not been foreseen. When the signal was given the whole available battery “fired a volley.” Instantly the Taupo contingent misinterpreting the motive of such demonstration, valiantly made a hostile charge, and seemed somewhat intent on gore. It took a 'lot of palaver to convince them that the intentions had been strictly of a friendly nature; in fact the female members ranged themselves in irregular lines, and blubbered unceasingly for about five hours. Facility in weeping has always been a leading female virtue; it is intensely cultivated amongst the Maoris. There must have been fully 1500 Natives at the gathering. The greatest hospitality was extended to the handful of Europeans present; several enterprising Natives conducted with great success, a shooting gallery and a spielers “wheel of fortune,’’ with all the patter and “business” complete ; another ran a shaving saloon, a candle box and the back of a statwart youth doing duty as the “ chair.” The operator however was very expert but of surpassing ugliness and creepy ferocity. The haka was danced by about 300 male and female; the vocal part being performed by a perfect Stentor, with limbs throwing into the shade a Dinnie or a Miller. These functions show clearly the transition of the Maori into civilisation. The presence of the old fighting men, the fiery enthusiasm of the ancient dames rouse the dancers at times to a pitch of frenzy and paroxysm of horrible contortion, but then comes the remembrance of the present, and the comic aspect never before of course visible, strikes them, added to which are heard irreverant remarks from Maori outsiders called by footballers “ barrack,' which is sometimes excruciatingly funny. The Maoris are now in a very interesting stage ; very willing to assume the habits and manners of their European neighbours and yet loth to part with their old traditions and customs. These conflicting emotions constantly at work produoe at times some queer results. Most of the land round Moawhango belongs to the Natives. I am afraid their extravagance will compel them very shortly to realise extensively; it has already had that effect in a small way. This is a rare district for wild horses, a splendid trade being done with Napier, etc. The crack rough rider is a deaf and dump Maori known far and wide as “dummy.” There are undoubtedly many elevated traits in the character of a Maori but, as a rule, beware of the half-caste. He saems to inherit the worst qualities of his parents and his father is as often as not a very “ rough diamond.” Gunning and -jealousy Beem to be their prevailing • characteristics, We severed our connection with Moawhango, through dearth of work, with a certain amount ofreluct- ; ano'e, and once more; though with lighter hearts, strode forth on the “broad highway.” The road between here and Huhterville is the worst, I should imagine, in New Zealand; we were upl to our knees :: ih mud .’ and at times oould travelno

more than at the rate of 1£ miles per hour. The scenery, however, is sublime, and the route will no doubt be a favourite one for tourists travelling to the Hot Lakes when the roads are. improved. Government could with advantage spend a few thousands on this road. We made straight for Wellington by train, discouraging accounts having reached us as. to the condition of the labour market at Palmerston, etc., arriving here on" the Bth June. We were not long in the ranks of the “ unemployed," though the occupation was somewhat ■ precarious, resembling that of the famous coster “up and down, round the town, its anything to earn an honest brown.” The nature of the labour requirements of New Zealand conduces to heavy congestion of surplus: labour in winter time, and there will despite all reformatory changes be always a certain amount of “ swagging,” but the recognition of the immortal tenet of divine Liberalism that “every man, woman, and child, has a right to live” is daily becoming more apparent, and its fruition will be the emancipation of those who are struggling for a bare pittance. I cannot close without a reference to that band of zealous reformers who have set themselves to cope with the octopus of drink. Had the working men of this colony, through whose hands the bulk of our National debt has. filtered, retained that which they dissipated in drink they would indeed be now the “ Kings of New Zealand.” When I speak of that “ band of zealous reformers,” I do not allude particularly to those who ostentatiously display their extravagant ideas in the cause of ultra temperance, but I have in my mind those noble hearted men and women, who by the strength of example and the intense power of conviction, are every day in this our favored land changing the ideas of those misguided beings, who are in the habit of considering proficiency. in drinkiflg an indication of the assumption of manliness. Prohibition is the doctrine of the Draconians, of the unskilful, therefore the most voluble. Amputation can be avoided and a cure yet effected.. Young New Zealand has not yet acquired a just apprehension of the intensity of the situation ; the sooner it does so the better. Let us all rally round those who are, firstly, patriotic, for as Tennyson says, “ that man’s the best cosmopolite who loves his native country best: secondly, who have extensive knowledge of that which the country really does require; and, thirdly, the aptitude and determination to put into effect .that knowledge.” With these reflections I make my exit, satisfied if I have created a. single throb of interest, to be taken in the strange life of “ swaggers," and caused those who look down, as from an ampitheatre, upon the struggling masses below, to remember that generous impulses; and warm hearts beat there as well as amongst themselves, that the highest embodiment of noble attributes is represented there,, concurrent with all that is wretched . and; miserable and, vile in this , our peculiar : bodily , environment;, Life'is short. . Why not .endeavour to make it. happier;! ; New Zea-

land has a glorious destiny; it awaits willing; hands and brains to mould it into shape. ....