HOW NEW ZEALAND IS COLONISED.

New Zealand Graphic, 25 December 1909, Page 20

HOW NEW ZEALAND IS COLONISED.

The life of the backblocks in New Zealand is both healthy and hardy, as the young pioneers in the above photos, show. They live in a world of their own —picturesque, strenuous, and sunlit. They are, in a phrase often used by the late Mr. Seddon, the backbone of the country. The photos, are as follows:— 1.-A Crown Land’s Ranger, an Influential factor in colonisation. S.-A happy disciple of Isaak Walton. 8.-Children in the backblocks arc never backward in having a swim. 4,-Sundny Morning at a typical back block’s slab hut. Note the concertina. S.-A School built by the Settlers, which is visited three or four times a week by a travelling teacher. «.— A novel mount. 7.—“ Dear Old Dobbin,” the mainstay of the family, otherwise the backblock's omnibus. 8. —The call of the cow. 9. —Milking-time is never done. 10. —A feather-weight up. 11. Dressed in their ‘‘Sunday best.” 12. Taking cream to the factory -a home-made cart. 13.-The family coach. 11.—A typical backblock’s accommodation house. The tent is occupied by the proprietor and his wife, the slab hut being the kitchen and dining-room. 15.—Visitors at the sleeping house, on the opposite side of the road, who have “packed through” virgin country.