The Emancipation of the Far North.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVIII, Issue XVIII, 3 May 1902, Page 862

The Emancipation of the Far North.

(By

G.L.P.)

A PUBLIC MEETING. The company then adjourned to the Ball, where Mr Yarborough, as chairman, explained that the leading residents of the district would first be called upon to speak, so that the visiting members might, gather from what was said what were the chief matters of public interest to the settlers of Hokianga, and on what points they desired to have the views of their visitors. This was an excellent plan, and might well have been adopted at other centres where we had to address meetings without knowing what was specially in the minds of our audience. THE GRIEVANCES OF THE NORTH.

The chairman opened the proceedings in an interesting speech, in .which he said that he had been a settler in Hokianga since 1872, and now claimed to be almost the oldest settler in Kohukohu. He referred to the fact that although Hokianga was often spoken of as one of the oldest settled districts in New Zealand, yet it could only be considered so in a very limited sense. Real settlement, in the sense of people coming into the district to take up and cultivate land, was really only in its infancy, and therefore it was not fair to argue that the want of progress for all the years since white people first came to Hokianga, showed that there was not much to recommend the district for settlement purposes. He dwelt upon the evils of locked-up native lands, and how such a state of things hampered settlement and progress, and referred to the grievance everywhere brought under our notice, viz., the fact that grants voted by Parliament for urgent local works were not allowed to be expended by the Government. “ ROADS, ROADS, ROADS! ” Mr Andrews, the manager of Mr Trapp’s new sawmill, just erected near Opononi, also spoke, pointing out how handicapped they were by their isolation, as respects proper road communication with the larger centres. As regards the non-expendi-ture of Parliamentary grants, he spoke very strongly, giving as an instance the grant of £250 for the Utakura road, where, after the local body had actually called for tenders for the work, the money was kept back by the Public Works Department, so that this urgently needed work was brought to a standstill. He concluded by saying that the burden of the appeals to Parliament of the struggling sett lers of the North would and must be “Give us roads —roads— roads!” ISOLATION. Mr Lester, as a member of the Farmers’ Union, welcomed the visitors heartily to Kohukohu and the district, and said he looked upon the visit as the turning point in the history of Hokianga. He referred to the erroneous idea, too generally held, that the North could only produce gum and timber. He claimed that iij view of the large areas of good land to be found in the North their country was as much entitled to have roads and railways constructed as the Waikato or the King Country was. He blamed the apathy and neglect of Auckland merchants for much of the backwardness of the Northern peninsula, not one in fifty of them ever taking the trouble to visit the country storekeepers, with whom for half a century they had been dealing, to see how these customers of theirs managed to get together the money or produce with which they paid them their accounts. Kohukohu, he said, was “a town of some 300 inhabitants, connected with nowhere by road.” Out of 365 days in the year, the people there had just 24 chances only of getting their produce to market, and that was by sea to Onehunga. They only had a mail once a week via the East Coast, and this constituted all the existing- communication there was for a steadily increasing population, no further from Auckland than was the Waikato. 6YMPATHY FROM THE VISITORS. After the local speakers had finishltd their very justifiable complaints

of public neglect, the members of Parliament and representatives of the Railway League and Chamber of Commerce spoke in sympathetic accord with the sentiments expressed by the local residents. The Southern members again expressed their pleasure and enjoyment of the trip, and their surprise at the excellent character of a great part of the country they had already seen. Mr McGuire insisted upon the public crime, as he held it to be, of expending large sums in the purchase of private estates in the South Island for settlement purposes, while both Government and native land, in thousands of acres, was lying locked up here and in other parts of the North Island, unutilised, and not even paying rates. Mr Lethbridge explained how under the system pursued as regards the expenditure of Parliamentary votes for local works, the mere passing of an item on the estimates for a certain work was no guarantee whatever that the money would be expended for the purpose for which it was ostensibly voted. If it came under the classification of votes for bridges, the money might be spent on any bridge in the colony at the discretion of the officials in Wellington. THE RAILWAY QUESTION. Mr Peacocke, for the Railway League, urged upon the settlers, however far North, to agitate for the extension of the Northern Main Trunk Line, although it must reach and benefit the districts in the southern end of the peninsula before it reached them. The idea he had heard expressed that, because it must be many years before it reached Hokianga, the extension of the railway was a question of little practical interest to them, was very short-sighted, as all purely selfish ideas were. The more the settlers of the far North supported the League to get the line pushed on throug-h Maungaturoto, and gradually farther North, the sooner the terminus of the line would get near enough for them to make use of the railway for many purposes. He contended that to construct the line at once right through, if the money were available, would certainly prove a profitable public work to the colony, apart altogether from the just claims of the people of the North to their fair share of public works expenditure. Altogether the meeting was a pronounced success, convincing the settlers that Auckland was at last taking a genuine and active interest in the progress and welfare of the too long neglected North with its infinitely varied resources and magnificent climate. Thus ended a long and varied day of travel by land and water, feasting and speechifying. The next day was Sunday, and we all became Sabbatarians in our objection to continuing- our working programme on that day. A TERRACED ORCHARD. Tn the morning, after breakfast, we paid a visit to Mr Lester’s terraced orchard and vineyard, close to the township. Kohukohu is situated close to the sea, which here is the Hokianga Harbour, along a narrow strip of foreshore, behind which the hills rise abruptly, in some places being almost cliffs. Mr Lester’s orchard is planted on the face of one of these steep hills, whose clay face has been ingeniously terraced from top to bottom, with paths zig-zag-ging between the terraces. The soil looks for the most part like common yellow clay, but the appearance of the young peach trees, apples, vines, and, more surprising still, patches . of maize here and there where the slope is less steep, show that the ground is full of natural fertility, for without any manure the growth of everything is luxuriant and healthy. The maize grew with tall, thick stalks, bearing fine large ears of corn. The Sea Eagle peach throve and bore well, and a lot of young trees of the Wheatfield variety were promising well, with bright green foliage, and clean, unspotted young wood of this season. Several kinds of vines were growing well, some of the older ones bearing well developed bunches of grapes. The Isabella vine, of course, was flourishing away in its hardy straggling fashion, as it does everywhere in the. North out of doors, and bearing abundantly. But

no choice wines will ever be made from this American grape, although it is well worth planting for its hardiness and prolific production of sweet and refreshing fruit.

Mr Lester, with the aid of a French workman, has achieved wonders on this originally rough hill-side, and I have little doubt that in a few years large quantities of fruit and wine will be produced from what many people would have called a patch of waste ground. TO HOKIANGA HEADS. The rest of the day was spent most pleasantly in a trip down the harbour in the steamer, the excursion being specially arranged for our benefit by our hospitable entertainers. The pleasures of the trip were much enhanced by the presence of Mrs Yarborough. Mrs Stewart, and Mrs Aoung on board, who added the charms of their society to the other enjoyments of the day. Mrs Yarborough’s intimate knowledge of the various points of interest, and her charming courtesy in giving us the benefit of that knowledge in the most interesting way. I for one shall always gratefully remember. The day was a mixture of sunshine and flying showers, and rather windy, but nevertheless the beauties of this land-locked harbour impressed me very much. For miles we steamed along past lovely little bays' and beaches, carved out of a sheltering background of hills, while from behind jutting headlands we would come upon glimpses of the lower reaches of beautiful winding tidal rivers like the Mangamuka or the Taheke, both of which we were later on to explore. On every hand the sparkling sea was enclosed by a farstretching prospect of hills and valleys. Range beyond range, green, or grey, or brown, carried the gaze to the far-off Isky line, where the “ many-folded hills ” ended in the misty purple of the furthest range of all.

MR. JOHN WEBSTER, OF OPONONI.

A stop was made at Rawene, at one time known as Herd’s Point, where for many years a daughter of Mie famous New Zealander, Judge Mailing-, resided. Rawene, where we had not time to land, is a pretty little settlement, situated at the extremity of a narrow headland, jutting into the sea, and from the outer end of the wharf you see the whole township on each side of a road running straight up the face of a long slope, sweeping right down to the sea. Here we took on a passenger or two, and then went on to Opononi, where Mr Andrews, the proprietor of the hotel, and the manager of the newly-erected band-saw timber mills, most hospitably entertained the party at a wellappointed lunch, at which us usual grapes and other fruits were provided in profusion. After lunch we, as in duty bound, and no less for our own pleasure, visited Mr John Webster, the patriarch of pioneer settlement in New Zealand, and the hero and author of the “Cruise of the Wanderer,” a most interesting book of travel and adventure amongst the South Sea Islands, in the first half of the last century, a work better known to'the last than to the present generation. We were receieved by Mr Webster at the entrance of his charming residence with his well-known cordiality and courtesy, and it was pleasant to see him, at 84 years of age, as bright and alert as the youngest man of the party. We were conducted into a fine large dining-room, as best fitted to accommodate so large a number of guests. Here, assisted by his son, Mr —. Webster, who I forgot tn mention bad welcomed us when we first landed at Opononi, our kindly host entertained us with wine and fruit, the corks of several bottles of champagne being- made to pop for the purpose. Mr Webster takes a pleasure in showing- his visitors his store of pictures, books, and curiosities of great interest. We were much interested in a series of pictures painted by himself, and illustrating scenes and adventures associated with his own experiences during the cruise of the “Wanderer” amongst the islands of the Pacific, more than half a century ago. These paintings are most interesting- and valuable from an ethnological and historical point of

view, and stamp the painter of them as no mean artist. We noticed on the stairs a most life-like -portrait of Mr Webster’s old friend, long since departed, Tamati Waka Nene. I remember vividly the kindly old face of this famous Maori chieftain and warrior, when as a boy years ago, I met him at Russell, and shook hands with this “fine old Maori gentleman, all of the olden time." MR. WEBSTER’S CANNON. Mr Webster related to me several interesting incidents of Heke’s war, and the Style of fighting between the rebellious and the friendly natives of those days, which I have already recounted in the earlier part of this narrative. Mr Webster showed us also over his beautiful grounds, and the whole party, including himself, were’ photographed on his lawn, as depicted in one of our illustrations. On each side of his gate Mr Webster has mounted an old-fashioned cannon. obtained from some merchant ships, and these, I believe, have been fired sometimes when her late Majesty’s representative in the person of the Governor has paid a visit to Opononi. They are primitive looking old pieces of ordnance, and it is strange to think that Lord Nelson’s brilliant naval victories were fought and won for the most part with .guns like these. THE FIRST BAND SAW MILL IN THE NORTH-

After taking leave of Mr Webster some of us, at Mr Trapp’s invitation, got on board the steamer again, and paid a visit of inspection to the new mill recently erected by Mr Trapp’s firm. The chief feature of interest about this mill is the fact that it is the first mill in New Zealand fitted up with bandsaws to saw big kauri logs. The whole of the machinery is thoroughly up-to-date for the purpose of economising hand labour, including a carrying bench, by which the sawn timber is carried out by means of a series of iron rollers. The whole saw-mill and plant is erected upon a solid limestone rock foundation, which all experts will tell you is a great advantage in the working of the machinery. There is also a fine new wharf built, alongside of which there is plenty of water for big vessels to lie while loading up with timber. Mr Trapp has some valuable bushes to cut out, and hopes to prove the band-saws a success in connection with kauri timber, but many people seem rather sceptical on the point, and Mr Trapp avoids being dogmatic. At the same time we have a shrewd idea that he is not the man to be far out in bis conjectures on a matter - of this kind. GUM-DIGGING IN TIMBER BUSHES.

It is alleged by some of the settlers that the timber companies intend to close their bushes against gum-dig-gers; but Mr Trapp assured me that so far as he was concerned he was perfectly willing that his bushes should be open to diggers in winter, on the distinct understanding that if one fire occurred, the bushes would be immediately closed. The supply of timber used for gum boxes, he said, was part of his trade, and it was therefore his direct interest to encourage gum-digging as much as possible.

After a very pleasant and interesting day we got back to Kohukohu about nine o’clock, when we did ample justice to a late tea.

(To be Continued.)