A FEW OLD TARANAKI SETTLERS

New Zealand Graphic, Volume VIII, Issue 42, 17 October 1891, Page 480

A FEW OLD TARANAKI SETTLERS

a HOSE who took part in the early settlement of Taranaki are fast passing away from s earth, and old age has set its ible impress on those who are 11 spared ; and in course of nature is to be expected that every year 11 witness the departure of incasing numbers to that new counr from whence no travellers re■u. In a very few years the mbers of those who took part in ! early settlement of the colony ,vho bore the heat and burden of _ 1 day, and of whose brave deeds and steady perseverance all later comers have reaped or are reaping the benefits—will be very small indeed. Already those living belong to a past generation, and a new generation is arising, and fast replacing their successors. Yet the history of the early days of their settlement, of the stirring events, strange scenes, startling incidents, ludicrous occurrences, great difficulties, brave efforts, hair-breadth escapes, and heroic steadiness of purpose remains practically unwritten. We give on another page the portraits of a few of the pioneer settlers who took part in founding the settle ment of Taranaki, who are still living, and who we hope will remain hale and hearty for many years to come : — MR F. A. CARRINGTON, The • Father of the Settlement,’ as Mr Frederic Alonzo •Carrington is very appropriately called in Taranaki, is a gentleman verging on his eighty-fourth year, and is as hale, hearty, and cheery as he was forty years ago. Mr Carrington’s life has been' a very eventful one, but our limited space prevents us giving more than a brief outline of his adventurous career. When a young man he entered the Ordnance Survey Department of England, being appointed to that position in January 1826, by the Duke of Wellington. Showing a natural ability for topographical delineation and survey work he soon attracted the attention of the eminent engineers of the day, and when the Reform Bill was passed in 1832, he was selected by the Parliamentary Commissioners to describe the boundaries of the boroughs in the districts from Bristol to Manchester. For his services on that occasion he received the special thanks of the Commissioners. His several acquirements and the particular gift he possessed of being able to accurately delineate a country, was the reason he was selected by the Plymouth Company as its chief surveyor to go to New Zealand to choose a site for the settlement the Company proposed forming there. On his arrival at Wellington he interviewed Colonel Wakefield, and obtained from him all the information possible for the furtherance of the duties he had to

perform ; and after securing the services of ‘ Dickey Barrett (the well known and experienced whaler) to act as pilot and interpreter, he left Port Nicholson for Taranaki with the view of selecting a site for the new settlement, the pioneers of which were then making arrangements in England for emigrating to New Zealand. On February 12, 1841, Mr F. A. Carrington and family together with his brother Mr Octa-

vius Carrington (who was his chief assistant) and the survey party arrived off Taranaki. The ferns and undergrowth were thick over the land at the time, reaching even to the sea shore, so it was a difficult matter to obtain a knowledge of the features of the country which is so essential when having to fix the site of a township. With great labour lines were cut through the dense vegetation, and a spot cleared—and after much difficulty the site for the Town of New Plymouth was laid out and surveyed under Mr. F. A. Carrington’s directions. In September, 1843, Mr Carrington returned to England and on his arrival in London he found that the Directors of the New Zealand Company (which had absorbed the Plymouth Company) were thinking

of ceasing their functions for a time, and accordingly Mr Carrington retired from their services, receiving a very complimentary testimonial from the Directors. MrF. A. Carrington was soon engaged in connection with the railways, a mania for making them having about that time commenced in England. He surveyed lines, prepared plans, and made models of engineering works where difficulties occurred on the ground, so as to elucidate the same before the Railway Committees in the Houses of Parliament; and some of these models, at the request of the Prince Consort, were sent to Buckingham Palace, and Mr Carrington was personally thanked and complimented by His Royal Highness. During the time he was in England (1844-51) Mr Carrington gave a good deal of his time and attention to New Zealand matters, and tried to make Taranaki better known to the British public. Mr Carrington took with him to England a quantity of the Taranaki iron sand, and after having a very careful analysis made of some of the sand by Messrs Dymond of Holborn, he requested the same firm to have a bar of iron cast under their immediate inspection. He then took a sample of the sand and the bar of iron to the metalbrokers in the Royal Exchange, London, and desired them to give him a report upon it. Some days afterwards Mr Carrington called to hear the result, and one of the brokers —for there were two in the room—said, ‘ this iron is as good as Sykes’ iron,’ and the other added, ‘ it is better.’ Mr Carrington asked them what was the value of Sykes’ iron, and was told that if he wanted that information for the purpose of forminga company he had better get the market pricefrom the agent for Sykes’ iron who had offices at Charing Cross. Mr Carrington followed the broker’s advice, and he learnt from the agent that the price in the market for Sykes’ iron varied from £37 to £42 a ton. At this time Scotch pig iron was £2 10s a ton. Mr Carrington then saw one of the gentlemen he was negotiating with on the matter and having told him respecting the enquiries he had been making respecting the value of the iron, the gentleman remarked to Mr Carrington, ‘You must have made a mistake, I never heard of such a price for iron. You must mean first-class steel.’ Mr Carrington assured his friend that he had made no mistake but to make doubly certain he determined to see Sykes’ agent again. He did so ; when that gentleman expressed himself strongly on the matter, saying : * There are only five thousand tons of “ Sykes’monopolised iron” allowed to come into England per annum, and it is used for making all the finest steel ornaments, surgeons’instruments, etc. Most of the trade are ignorant of this matter. Sykes’ iron (not steel, as I told you before) varies in price from £37 to £42 a ton.’ On Mr Carrington returning to the gentleman he was negotiating with he found with him Mr John Bethel, brother of Lord Westbury, the Lord Chancellor, and Mr Bethel said that the statement

was quite correct; that Sykes’ iron—not steel—varied in price from £37 to £42 a ton. Mr Carrington then entered into a lengthy correspondence with the Colonial Office, endeavouring to obtain a grant of the beach on the Taranaki shore, which resulted in his being requested to call at the office to receive the Secretary for the Colonies’ (Lord Grey’s) decision on the matter. Mr Carrington was then informed that his request could not be granted, but Lord Grey had instructed the chief clerk to say that his lordship would give Mr Carrington a letter to the Governor of New Zealand, which on arrival there would ensure a grant of the beach being given to him,?provided it had not been leased to any one before. As it would have taken too long in those days to have visited New Zealand and return home again with the desired infoi mation, the matter was for the time abandoned ; but Mr Carrington exhibited the bar of iron and some of the Taranaki ironsand at the Exhibition of 1851, when he called the attention of the Master-General of the Ordnance Department (Sir H. De la Beche) to it. Mr Carrington also had a map engraved from his drawings showing the topographical features of the country around Taranaki. After visiting California three different times from London, in connection with mines, water-races, railways, etc., Mr Carrington again returned to New Zealand, having been absent nearly fourteen years, his object being the utilisation of the ironsand and other matters in connection with the district; and being backed by men of capital and standing, who took great interest in the colony, hoped to start the iron industry in Taranaki. The North Island was in a very unsettled state at the time owing to the natives showing an antagonistic attitude towards the Europeans, which in 1860 ended in hostilities which lasted for ten years. In 1862 Mr Carrington was appointed Government Engineering Surveyor for Taranaki, and in that capacity carried out in connection with the military authorities the road construction necessary io the district. On peace being restored Mr Carrington turned his attention'to local matters, and consenting to be nominated as Superintendent of the province of Taranaki in 1869, he was returned by the electors and held that position till the provinces were abolished in 1876. He was also elected to a seat in the House of Representatives and held the position for several years. He retired from politics in 1880 finding that the late hours and the excitement of Parliamentary life were not conducive to his health. Seeing the necessity there was tor Harbour accommodation at New Plymouth, Mr Carrington has for years agitated in the hope of getting protective works built that shipping might visit the port in safety. During the time he was in London in 1844 57, he was always urging the matter on those who had an interest in the district; and both as Superintendent and member of the House he was persistent in his advocacy for a harbour being built at Taranaki. It was chiefly through his exertions that a fourth of the land revenue of the district was set aside for Harbour purposes and a Harbour Board created which raised the money to carry out the work. On February 7th, 1881, Mr F. A. Carrington laid the first stone of the present structure thus crowning his labours as the founder of the Settlement of Taranaki. MR OCTAVIUS CARRINGTON. When the Plymouth Company in 1840 sent as its Chief Surveyor Mr F. A. Carrington to superintend the formation of the New Plymouth settlement, they chose his youngest brother Mr Octavius Carrington as Chief-Assistant Surveyor ; and prudently dispatched these two gentlemen by different ships, so that if disaster should overtake one of the vessels and not the other the affairs of the Company might not be necessarily brought to a standstill. Mr Carrington was a pupil of the celebrated George Hennet, M.1.C.E., London, then in very extensive practice, and who, associated with the eminent engineer Robert Stephenson, laid out the London and Birmingham railway line, and subsequently, associated with the equally eminent engineer Brunel, laid out the Great Western Railway line from London to Bristol. Mr Carrington was employed on both these works during his pupilage. After acquiring a thorough knowledge of his profession he received the appointment of Assistant-Surveyor on the Ordnance Survey, which position he held under Major-General Colby, R.A., during the years 1835-37. Previous to leaving home for New Zealand he was also engaged in the survey of the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway line (under Hennet and Brunel), and the Salis-

bury and Exeter Railway line (under Hennet and Stephenson) ; and was Assistant to the Engineer ■ in - Chief of the South Eastern Railway. He was specially offered the office of assistant to the Surveyor-General of South Australia, which he declined. Mr Carrington arrived at Wellington in the Slaines Castle in January, 1841, and at New Plymouth in the Brougham on February lltb, 1841. He belonged to the staff of the New Zealand Company until

1845, when he was appointed, by Governor Fitzroy, an officer in the Land Purchase and Native Department. He was in this capacity entrusted by Governor Eyre with the task of surveying the claims of the Nanto Bordelaise Company, which had taken up land at Banks’ Peninsula, in the South Island. Upon the surveys being placed under the Provincial Government control Mr Carrington received the appointment of Chief Surveyor for the province of Taranaki, which he held (together with his offices in the Land and Native Departments) until 1871, when he joined the Public Works Department as Engineer-in-Charge for Taranaki. This office he continued to fill until the year 1878, when he retired from the Public Service upon a pension earned by active service extending over a period of thirty • seven years. Mr Carrington has been through many hardships and dangers in the early days—frequently travelling on foot or on horseback among the hostile natives. He was in charge of a survey party at Waitara, the firing on which by the natives was the commencement of the war of 1860; and he was frequently under fire afterwards, but although he has had several narrow escapes he lias never been wounded. Probably it was his popularity with the natives contributed to this, for ‘ E Oki ’ (as he was called by the Maoris) was permitted to move about through the country during the most troublesome times, unarmed and alone, without molestation. Mr O. Carrington has lived to see many of his pupils attain a high position in the profession ; among whom may be named his son, Mr Wellington Carrington, A.1.C.E., Sydney; MrS. Percy Smith, F. K. G. S., Surveyor-General of New Zealand ; Mr Thomas Humphries, Chief Surveyor, Hawke’s Bay ; and Mr C. W. Hursthouse, Besident Engineer, Waikato. MR THOMAS KING. The ‘Pilgrim Fathers’ who came from England in the first ship to form the New Plymouth Settlement in New Zealand, have nearly all joined the * great majority,’ but amongst those who survive is Mi Thomas King, whose portrait forms one of the group of ‘ Old Taranaki Settlers ’ to be found on another page. When a young man of about twenty years of age, the ‘ Plymouth Company ’ was being formed for the purpose of colonising New Zealand from the West of England, and being of an adventurous disposition Mr T. King made up his mind to emigrate. He purchased two 50 acre sections from the Company, and made arrangements for leaving England by the first vessel for New Zealand. Mr King sailed from Plymouth with his friend Mr Richard Cbilman (whose sister he afterwards married) in the barque William Bryan on November 19, 1840, and they reached their destination on March 31,1841. Having brought out with him a small quantity of goods, which were soon sold, he got employment as opportunity offered, and in 1843 commenced importing from England on a considerable scale for that time. In 1844, in conjunction with the late Mr Dorsett, he engaged also in the coasting trade by chartering a small schooner called the ‘ Carbon ’ a 12 ton boat. In this cockle-shell the two partners exported the produce of the district from New Plymouth toManukau, Nelson and Wellington, and with the proceeds brought return cargoes of such goods as were in demand in those primitive days. The first wheat grown in New Plymouth was threshed by Hail, or whipped across a cask ; and was ground by the late Mr Samuel Oliver in the mill he had erected on the Huatoki river, the stones of which were made out of boulders on the beach. In 1844 Hour was imported, but in the following year the partners, from the surplus produce grown in the place, exported a hundred tons in parcels of about ten tons. In 1848 Mr King took up some land in the Mangorei district, and commenced farming. It was here that Lord Robert Cecil (now the Marquis of Salisbury and Prime Minister of England), during his tour round the world in 1852, found Mr King, and where the two, seated on a log of a fallen tree, had a long chat respecting the state of the colonies and New Zealand in particular. When the Constitution Act was brought into force in 1852 Mr Thomas King was elected a member of the House of Representatives, and attended the first session of the General Assembly in Auckland in 1854, also the one held in 1855. During the years between 1856 and 1860 Mr King took part in the local politics of Taranaki, and represented the town of New Plymouth in the Provincial Council, and held the position of Provincial Treasurer. In 1860 he was again returned a member of the House of Representatives, and it was he who exposed in a letter to the Nelson Examiner what was known as the ‘ Royal Hotel Conspiracy.’ In it, he described a meeting that was held in the Royal Hotel, Auckland, by the * Peace at Any Price Party,’ to concoct a scheme to go down to Waikato unknown to the Government, and negotiate terms of peace with Wiremu Tamihana upon any terms whatever. The letter caused a great sensation at the time, and no doubt affected the result of the election, which was on the eve of coming off'. On the Bank of New Zealand being started in 1861, Mr King was appointed manager of the New Plymouth branch, which position he held for sixteen years with considerable ability and great advantage to that institution ; and on his retirement he was presented with a handsome silver service of plate by the customers. Since 1880, Mr King has occupied his time with local matters ; being a member of several of the local boards. He has always taken a great interest in the Harbour works at Moturoa, and for the last ten years has been Chairman of the New Plymouth Harbour Board. By his careful financing he succeeded in staving off for a considerable time the Board’s default in not meeting the coupons on its loan ; notwithstanding the endowment fund was being gradually confiscated by the central General Government. And when the Government refused to enquire into the merits of the case, of the relations of the Harbour Board with the bond-holders and the ratepayers, he strove to prevent the Taranaki district from being unjustly treated. Mr Thomas King has been a great reader in his time and he still keeps himself well posted up in all affairs going on at home and in the colonies. He is full of information, and his retentive memory enables him to relate numerous amusing anecdotes connected with the early settlement of New Zealand. Dr. Truby King, in charge of the Seacliff Lunatic Asylum, near Dunedin, Mr Newton King, the well known merchant and auctioneer of New Plymouth, and Mr Henry King, one of the successful farmers in Taranaki, are sons ; and the wife of Mr F. W. Marchant, C.E., of Timaru, is a daughter of the gentleman to whom we have been referring. MAJOR PARRIS. Major Parris’ name has become historical in connection with all matters appertaining to the native race. He was

born at Tatworth, Chard, Somerset, of a family that has long been in the West of England—an ancestor of his, a Round head, having had his pro|>erty at Axminster confiscated in the reign of James 11. Fortunately William 111. was shortly afterwards able to restore the estate to its original owner. Major Parris came to New Zealand in 1842, arriving at New Plymouth in the barque Blenheim on November 7th, with his wife and family. On the Constitution Act coming into force, he took part in the early politics of the colony by standing for a seat in the Provincial Conncil of Taranaki, and was returned a member for the Grey and Bell district. Major Parris entered the Government service in 1857 as I.and Purchase Commissioner, and in 1859 was appointed Assistant Native Secretary, which he held till 1865, when

he was made Civil Commissioner for the district. During the whole of the war with the natives Major Parris was found by the military authorities and the Colonial Government to be of invaluable assistance, and it was during those troubled times that he more than once put his life in the hands of the natives in assisting the Government to carry on successfully their endeavour's to suppress the rebellion. In May, 1860, a plot was laid by a number of the Taranaki and Ngatiruanuis to take his life, and bnt for Wetine, a Mokau chief, who advised him of the diabolical intentions of these natives, and the protection given to him by the Waikatos, he would have been killed. On two other occasions also it was determined by the natives to murder him, but Major Parris escaped almost miraculously. During

the whole of the war Major Parris was attached to the Imperial troops and had command of the Native forces, also holding a commission as Major in the New Zealand Militia. There are few who know of the many nights of anxiety he has passed when danger threatened the district. The name of Major Pan is was often mentioned in the despatches sent home by Sir George Grey, Colonel (now General Sir H. J. Wane), and other military commanders, who acknowledged his services in the most complimentary terms, and in some instances gave him the full credit of their successes. Sir H. J. Warre, in a letter says, • When I recollect the valuable information you so freely afforded during that long and eventful period—dating, I

may say, from 1860, but under my personal knowledge from the following year,—and from 1863 when our poor fellows were murdered at Wairau, until the end of 1866 when I left the country, 1 am more than ever thankful that I had so able an interpreter; the value of whose services were proved by the rejieated successes founded altogether upon the information afforded by which the hostile natives were driven from point to point, until at last the whole line of eoast from the White Ciifls to Stony River was so thoroughly cleared, that the settlers were able to return to their desolated farms and to permanently occupy their land, which has now become what Nature always intended it should, namely, * the Garden of New Zealand.’ The peaceful state of the Taranaki since I left the country, confirms my impression that owing to your skilful management of the natives, to your firm but judicious and conciliatory dealing with them, you have been able to maintain amicable relations between the Europeans and the natives, so that life and property are as safe now in your beautiful province as in any other part of New Zealand.’ After the war Major Parris proved himself to be a most valuable officer owing to his tact and prudent advice to the Ministry in power. The peace that has ensued since is largely owing to Major Parris’ diplomatic management of the natives. During the disturbances in 1868 9, it was through his inHuence that the natives north of Opunake abstained from joining the rebels occupying the southern portion of the district. Major Parris’ services on his retirement from the Civil Service in 1875, were acknowledged by the Government as they deserved to be, and the Native Minister (the late Sir Donald McLean), in announcing to him that his wish to retire had been acceded to, took the opportunity of expressing his deep sense of the valuable services he had rendered to the colony. In his letter he referred to Major Parris’ zeal and earnestness, as well as the personal courage displayed on occasions of great difficulty and danger, as deserving of the highest praise, and whilst regretting bis retirement, trusted that he might live long to enjoy the rest he had so well earned. That rest, however, was not accorded to him, for he was immediately requested to assist Sir William Fox and Sir F. Dillon Bell on the West Coast Native Commission. The Commission having completed its work the final report was sent to the Governor, and in it Sir W. Fox refers to Major Parris’ services in the following eulogistic language:—• Nor must I omit to record the grateful sense which I entertain of the invaluable assistance rendered by Major Parris (of whose services I was able, by an arrangement with the Government, to avail myself), in laboriously working out the practical details of a vast amount of very difficult business. His long experience in the service of the Government as Civil Commissioner in the Taranaki district; his extensive acquaintance with all the natives in it; his exact and minute acquaintance with the land titles and tribal relations ; the great personal respect deservedly entertained for him by the natives ; his entire abstinence all through a long career from all speculation in native lands ; these and many other qualifications which no other living person known to myself comibned in equal degree, were faithfully and zealously, during the whole period of my operations, brought to bear by him in contributing to their success.’ Major Parris is now living a retired life in New Plymouth enjoying the repose he is so fully entitled to. VEN. ARCHDEACON HENRY GOVETT, B.A. Archdeacon Henry Govett was educated at Sherborne and took his degree at Worcester College, Oxford, leaving England shortly afterwards with two friends for the purpose of farming together in the district of Auckland. The party —one of whom was Mr (afterwards the Rev.) W. Holland—arrived in Auckland early in 1843, and took land in partnership near the Tamaki, where Mr Govett remained for about two years. Mr Bolland, however, left after some months, and having taken Holy Orders was in 1844 given charge of the Taranaki district. Mr Govett’s first visit to Taranaki was to see his old friend, and in 1845, he followed his example by being ordained at Wellington by Dr. G. A. Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand. The Bishop placed Mr Govett in charge of the Maori settlement at Waikanae, where he remained for about a year, when he walked to New Plymouth and was then taken on to Auckland in H.M.S. Driver for the purpose of being ordained Priest; finding his way back to Waikanae on foot via Kawhia and the Coast. After ordination as Priest Mr Govett married and took duty at Nelson for a few months ; and in 1848 was placed in charge of the Taranaki District (in place of the Rev. W. Bolland who had died during the previous year), and excepting two trips to England in 1856 and 1884, the Archdeacon has been resident at New Plymouth ever since. He was appointed Archdeacon of Taranaki by Bishop Selwyn in 1859, and it appears from the ‘ Life of Bishop Selwyn ’ that the Archdeacon was one of those recommended by Dr. Selwyn for the Bishopric of Adelaide, when he was translated to the See of Lichfield in 1868. Archdeacon Govett has discharged his pastoral duties during the fortythree years he has had charge of the Taranaki district with devotional energy, gaining thereby the love of his people and the respect of all classes of the community. His pulpit utterances are dignified and earnest, and as he never obtrudes his religious opinions on those of a different way of thinking, the members of other denominations are always ready to ask him to preside at their social gatherings. The Archdeacon has always been fond of gardening and was, we believe, the first person to introduce into the Taranaki district, amongst ot her plants, the guava and Lisbon lemon, both now common fruits in Taranaki ; and it is inteiesting to know that on his first trip to England in 1856, owing to an exceptionally fast passage by the sailing vessel, the Archdeacon was able to take home some apples from St. Mary's Parsonage garden, which were eaten and enjoyed at his father’s vicarage, Staines, Middlesex, and were probably the first New Zealand grown fruit ever seen in England.

Lady Gymnasts.—Thirteen young Danish ladies have passed the requisite examination in gymnastics and dancing for becoming teachers in Danish female gymnasiums. An officer, two doctors, two teachers, and two ladies officiated as censors. The young ladies passed, on the whole, exceedingly well, three obtaining the greatest possible number of points in both theory and praxis. A class for lady teachers in gymnastics will commence in Christiania, the capital of Norway, the authorities having voted a sum for the purpose.