[Appendix (A).
Observations on the Chatham Islands as a Field of Colonization]
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APPENDIX (A).
OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHATHAM ISLANDS AS A FIELD FOR COLONIZATION.
TO THE GOVERNOR AND DIRECTORS OF THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.
GENTLEMEN :--The rapid colonization of the shores of Cook's Straits, which is at present taking place, shows that at no distant period the selection of proper and suitable localities, for the further operations of the Company, will be a subject demanding its increased consideration and attention.
The peculiar circumstances which have attended the progress of the Company's settlements,--the hostility and rivalry of the local government,--the secular interest of the missionaries,--and the spirit of detraction and opposition displayed by the landowners in the northern parts of the island, render it necessary that the field of the Company's operations should be so concentrated that its several settlements should mutually support and contribute to the advancement of each other. The location of the settlement of Nelson, in Cook's Strait, has added much to the importance and value of Wellington; and even the adherents of Government acknowledge, that if any more settlements be established on the south or middle islands, Auckland must be abandoned as the seat of government,
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and Wellington eventually become the capital of New Zealand. The speedy settlement of the most fitting places to the southward of Cook's Strait is consequently an object of much importance.
The frame-work, as it were, of the colonization of the central portion of New Zealand may be termed completed. All the localities around Cook's Strait combining a sufficiency of good land with easy water communication have been selected, and are now in their various stages of settlement. An abundance of fine land, unoccupied, exists on the shores of the Strait, but, on account of the absence of harbours, can only be brought into use by the extension and growth of the settlements already planted. The districts of the rivers Wainerapa, Manewatu, Wairoa, and Patea, all of them extensive and fertile, must be settled by the spread of the population of Wellington, Petre, and Nelson. The suitability of the land around the rivers above mentioned for grazing, aided by the introduction of steam communication on the coast, will materially facilitate and hasten its settlement.
The prejudice which has, until lately, existed--fostered as it has been by the missionaries and land claimants to the northward,--has retarded the settlement of the middle island, but at present that portion of New Zealand appears to be most adapted for colonization.
The idea that the middle island is of too mountainous a nature to form a proper field for colonization has now given way to the knowledge of the existence of extensive tracts of excellent land in that country, and the attention of the Sydney and Port Nicholson merchants has been drawn towards it by the valuable produce of its numerous fisheries.
The places reported as being the best adapted for settlement, are Port Cooper, on Banks' Peninsula, and Molineux Harbour, near Otago; both of which are said to be surrounded with extensive plains of rich land, and
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are described as secure harbours. The Knowsley River, in Foveaux Straits, has been said by some to present many attractions for settlement, and to communicate with an extensive and fertile inland district: and lastly the Chatham Islands, though not included in the New Zealand group, are yet not further removed from Port Nicholson than some of the harbours above named, and present advantages superior to those of any other unsettled part of the Company's purchase.
To obtain accurate information on the capabilities of the southern portions of New Zealand, it is extremely desirable that some attempt should be made to explore thoroughly its coast, as but very little is known respecting it, and but a small portion of what is known has been made public. Many good harbours have been discovered within the last two years; and it is more than probable that many more exist, possessing all the requisites for settlement.
Several sealers, and persons engaged on the coast, have repeatedly assured me that many bays and inlets exist which would afford good shelter for vessels, and are in every way adapted for settlement, but which are not generally known. The discovery of the harbour and capabilities of the fine district now occupied by the Nelson settlement, affords an example of what benefit may accrue, even from a partial examination of the coast.
Not having seen any of the southern districts, before alluded to, I must confine my notice to those parts with which I am acquainted, and shall now make some observations on the merits of the Chatham Islands, as an intended site for one of the Company's settlements.
The position of the Chatham Islands certainly points them out as a suitable locality for colonization. Lying, as they do, in the centre of the whaling ground of the southern fishery, within two or three days' sail of the
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settlements in Cook's Strait, and in the direct homeward bound track of vessels from the adjacent colonies--possessing a fertile soil, equable climate, and safe harbours, of easy access,-- they must, ere long, become of considerable importance.
The quantity of land in Chatham's Island has been estimated at 200,000 acres; this, from the recent accounts of persons who have been resident in the island for a considerable period, and who have had the best opportunities of judging, I believe to be far short of the real amount. 300,000 acres is more probably a nearer estimate of the quantity, exclusive of the lagoons, which, when at their height, cover about 50,000 acres. Out of the extent of land above mentioned, about 120,000 acres are available for immediate agricultural purposes, and an extra 50,000 might be made available by a small outlay in draining. The remainder would afford excellent pasturage for sheep, at the rate of two or three to the acre, and in the low grounds for a proportionate number of cattle.
The relative position of the Chatham Islands, would, in event of their colonization, conduce materially to the final supremacy of Wellington over the more northern settlements. The distance of Port Wakefield from Port Nicholson is 360 miles, the voyage may be performed in two or three days with a fair wind, and the straight course from one harbour to the other renders the distance virtually less from Wellington, than from that port to either Auckland or the Bay of Islands.
The Chatham Islands first attracted the attention of the Sydney merchants in 1828, when a number of small vessels were fitted out by them to cruise in the vicinity of the Chatham and Auckland groups, in the pursuit of the seals which abounded on the coast and on the reefs and islands situate near those places. Shore parties were also left on the principal islands, and for some time the trade proved very profitable, the numbers captured being very
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great. About 1832, however, from the increasing scarcity of the seals, the pursuit was abandoned.
Soon after the termination of the seal-fishing, the French and American whalers began to resort to the harbours of the Chathams in consequence of the number of whales which were found in their vicinity. They preferred the Chathams as a place to refit at, in consequence of the mildness of the winter season, as also on account of the abundance of provisions which could at all times be obtained there by traffic with the natives. As many as thirty whalers, French and American, have lain in Port Wakefield in one winter, engaged in stowing their oil and provisioning for the ensuing season ; while their boats would lie off the heads of the harbour, occasionally capturing "fish" there. The French ships have, however, lately been deterred from visiting the islands from the circumstance of one of them having, at Poata or Ocean Bay, been seized by the natives in consequence of some misunderstanding having arisen between them and the crew. The Americans continue to visit the islands, not being so easily intimidated as the French, and are always able to maintain a friendly intercourse with the natives.
During the stay of the Cuba , there were not fewer than five or six vessels always in the two principal harbours, and ships were continually arriving and departing. A colonial vessel also left a shore-party to whale at Oinga, near the south-eastern corner of the island. Mr. Hanson established also a whaling party at Waikerri, likewise on the eastern side, where great numbers of whales had been seen. These parties, captured but few whales that year, in consequence of the fishing season having almost terminated ere they were established. Mr. Hanson's party obtained only fifteen tons of oil, and at the other station they met with about the same success. During the next season, however, they were more fortunate, and the party at Waikerri secured between thirty and forty tons of oil,
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and a considerable quantity of bone. This was considered a fair quantity, taking into account the small number of boats employed, and the circumstances of the parties having been neglected by the owners, and left entirely to their own resources. Had these parties been properly supplied with the necessary stores and implements, the returns would doubtless have been highly profitable to those engaged in the speculation. The whalers speak in high terms of their localities, and much prefer them to the Cook's Strait stations.
The climate of the Chathams is equal to that of New Zealand in point of salubrity, and possesses the advantage of not being subject to such boisterous winds as prevail in some parts of that country. Though Port Wakefield is situated several degrees of latitude to the southward of Wellington, the winter season is there equally as mild as in the latter place; and the health which our party enjoyed, while subject to much exposure in exploring the country in the coldest season, sufficiently proves the congeniality of the climate.
The soil is fully equal in richness and fertility to that in New Zealand, and the natives say, that their plantations are more productive by one-third than they were in Port Nicholson or Taranake,--the countries from whence they originally emigrated,--and when the capability of the soil in those places is considered, an idea may be formed of the advantages which would attend farming in the Chathams.
About Port Wakefield, potatoes grown in the native method yield sixteeen tons per acre, and in every cultivated part of the island the produce has been immense. In two or three cases where the natives had attempted the English method of culture, it was found that the luxuriance of the soil was too great, and the potatoes ran to stalk. Mr. McClatchie, the superintendent of the fishery at Waikerri, cleared and planted about twenty acres of woodland, close
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to the beach at that place, and the produce of the portion planted with corn exceeded all expectation as to quantity.
The natural resources of the islands are certainly great. The whale fisheries on its shores must prove a source of wealth to those engaged in them, when they are conducted in an efficient manner. Five shore stations, on the northern and eastern sides of the island, may be worked with advantage, and the produce of these, in an infant colony, would be of much importance in producing an immediate article of export.
A third fishery has been established this year; it is located at Kainga-roa Bay, on the north side of the island; the site appears well chosen, and the whalers are confident of its success.
In consequence of sperm-whales having been caught off the shores of the islands, two vessels have been fitted out from Sydney to whale in the vicinity of the Chat-hams, with instructions never to go out of sight of the islands; and it is expected that it will be found an advantageous station.
One cause of the indifferent success which has hitherto attended the fisheries in the Chathams, is the circumstance of the parties there having to contend with the crews of foreign vessels, which, as in New Zealand, lie at anchor in the bays, and intercept the whales as they come in towards the shore. The enforcement of the law for the protection of the British fisheries is therefore of much consequence.
The great number of whale-ships which are continually cruising in their vicinity, proves the Chathams to be a fit locality for shore-fishing, and that that pursuit would be attended with many advantages, were it conducted on regular and efficient principles, as the expence of establishing a shore-party is not to be compared with that of the purchase and equipment of a whaling vessel.
The "phormium tenax," or New Zealand flax, in the
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Chathams, grows with the greatest luxuriance, and is very plentiful: there can be no doubt that, ere long, this will become a valuable export from New Zealand, and, when it does, will certainly supersede every other branch of agriculture.
The forests in the Chathams abound with the same birds as are indigenous to New Zealand. Pigeons and water-fowl are in abundance, and the latter especially are numerous. Myriads of water-fowl are to be seen in the lagoons at all seasons; and in the moulting time, the birds being incapacitated for flight, the whalers and natives obtain great quantities of them by killing them with dogs and sticks.
The same fish that are found on the coast of New Zealand may be caught in plenty in Port Wakefield, and all the bays. The great apuko, the snapper, and the crayfish, are very numerous, and are cured at the whaling stations for winter provisions.
The existence of coal in these islands will be a matter of much importance, in the event of a line of steam communication being established between New Zealand and South America; and, in other respects, the Chathams form an excellent station for homeward bound vessels to touch at in their voyage from the Australian colonies or New Zealand.
As in New Zealand, the natives of the Chathams evince a great desire for the settlement of their land by white people: they, however, object to the missionaries. It would be an interesting experiment, by colonizing this place, to ascertain whether the physical condition of savages improves most rapidly by instructing them in doctrine; or by showing them, and creating in them a desire for, the comforts of a civilized life.
Although a war, vainly endeavoured to be brought to a termination by Mr. Hanson, the Company's agent, exists amongst the New Zealand natives of the Chathams, they
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do not allow their private feud to interfere with the security of the English resident in the islands, to whom they have always shown the greatest kindness. The belligerent tribes say, that in event of the settlement of their place by Europeans, they would be content to relinquish the expression of their mutual hostility, and follow the white man in his regular manner of life. It is, therefore, to be considered whether, to prevent their extirpation,--the sure result of the present system of massacre which they practise,--it would not be humanely advisable to encourage them to industry and civilization, which desiderata will, amongst New Zealanders, always follow the regular colonization of their country.
A great facility to the advancement of a settlement, should one he formed at the Chathams, is in the nature of the country being such as to allow of its cultivation at a very small comparative outlay. In this respect it is similar to the Nelson district, at the head of Tasman's Gulf.
The expense attendant on clearing bush-land, as in the Port Nicholson district, always forms a serious drawback and impediment to the rapid advancement of an infant colony: and although the extraordinary fertility of that kind of land may far more than repay the agriculturist in his first year's crop, the apparent difficulties deter many small capitalists from farming, and cause them to turn their attention to mercantile affairs, while agriculture is their only certain source of wealth.
Much of the land in the Chathams is pre-eminently adapted for pasturage; and this, again, is an advantage of no trifling moment in the first days of a small community.
Should the Chatham Islands become the seat of one of the Company's settlements, Port Wakefield, being a harbour of easy access and considerable security, would be the most fitting place for the location of the township.
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The district which surrounds it is the best in the islands, and the communication between the harbour and the various parts of the country would be materially facilitated by the line of the Nairn River, and the several approximating lagoons.
Port Wakefield, also, has the advantage of possessing on its shores an excellent site for a town, with facilities for communication, at all times, between the shore and the shipping.
I would respectfully submit, that, in event of the Chathams attracting the attention of the Company, as a proper locality for any of its future operations, the most advantageous and convenient way of settling the place would be, by following, in a measure, the method adopted in the formation of the New Plymouth settlement.
The town should comprise, in the first instance, five hundred acres, and two hundred and fifty acres might be reserved as extension land, to be subdivided and sold when most desirable, in the colony.
The five hundred acres of town land might be laid out and sold in quarter or half acre allotments; and the reserved land might be sold in any way that might appear desirable to subsequent purchasers. The town land should be sold separately, for the convenience of those who might be inclined to purchase it alone; as also for that of the agricultural settler, to whom it would be an inducement to purchase, as he would know that the speculation of absentees would be almost entirely confined to the town lands; and that the country in the vicinity of this farm would not be lying waste, and forming an obstruction to communication, but would be occupied by those, who, like himself, were immediately interested in the agricultural progress of the colony.
Round the town, about ten or twelve thousand acres might be laid out as accommodation land, in allotments of fifty acres each. To these sections I am inclined to
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attach more value than they have hitherto been calculated to possess, as from their relative position to the town, they derive peculiar advantages; and in the Chathams, while each section in that block would have the facilities of communication of either river, or sea frontage, every acre in the section might be guaranteed as available land. The minimum price of these sections, I am of opinion, should be five pounds per acre.
The price at which land in the valley of the Hutt, which is the same as suburban or accommodation land, was purchased as soon as selected, proves the great value of such sections; and if from nine hundred to one thousand five hundred pounds could be given in the colony, where money is in such demand, for these sections, many of which were swampy, and all heavily timbered, the equivalent land, if equally rich, surrounding the chief town in any new settlement, ought certainly to fetch in England the price above calculated.
For one hundred thousand acres of rural land the usual price of thirty shillings per acre might be obtained, and this, I am of opinion, would meet with a ready sale, in consequence of its being already known that this quantity of land, in every way available for immediate agricultural purposes, exists ; and also from the circumstances of the district having been explored, and the nature and advantages of each portion of it being understood.
At the time of the sale of the land in the four settlements which the Company has founded, the purchasers had not any idea as to the locality to be settled; and while many purchased their land, fully confident in the propriety of the selection which would be made by the Company's agent, to whom it was intrusted, yet, probably, an equal number (especially in the instance of the Nelson settlement) deferred purchasing until some account should be received of the location of the colony; and by the time that that intelligence was received, had
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lost their first speculative impulse, and had abandoned their ideas of becoming landowners or settlers.
Through the security of the Company by its charter of incorporation, as well as through the substantial situation which it has attained in public opinion, and more especially by its large amount of capital, it is now in a position to act with less immediate dependence on its necessarily fluctuating annual receipts, and it is no longer requisite the preparation of a district, for the location of settlers upon it, should be deferred until after the proceeds of its sale had been obtained.
If that portion of the Chatham Islands, which it might be the intention of the Company to colonize, were surveyed preparatory to its sale and selection, a different spirit would actuate the purchasers, and the confidence and safety which they would feel in the investment, (which would be made after every requisite information had been laid before them,) would cause an emulation and competition amongst them, which has not as yet been experienced.
The quantity of land sold would, on this plan, be one hundred and ten thousand acres, including the town, but, of course, exclusive of the reserves, and its proceeds would be two hundred and twelve thousand five hundred pounds.
Allowing the area of Chatham Island to be two hundred and fifty thousand acres, the quantity of land sold by the Company, in the first instance, would not be more than half the extent of the island, but the quantity would be sufficient for the wants of the first settlement, and the smallness of it would insure the preliminary purchasers gaining the best land in the country.
In various parts of the island it would be expedient, and almost necessary, to establish smaller towns within a short time after the founding of the principal one. At Port Hutt, the chief harbour in the grazing district; at Long's Bay, or Coal Haven, and at the various whaling
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stations the sites of small towns, of about two hundred acres each, should be reserved: three of them might be sufficient, and would be of great convenience to the settlers in their vicinity.
The land which remained, probably about 100,000 acres, after the appropriation of the quantity first sold, might be holden by the Company, and leased by it to graziers, for whose pursuits it would be particularly applicable, alike with profit and advantage to either party. The revenue derived from this, together with the proceeds of the subsequent sales of the minor townships and of the extension land of the first settlement, would, probably, fully defray the contingent annual expense of the Company's local establishment.
It is extremely desirable that in the plan for the formation of any new settlement by the Company, a fund should be considered and set apart, out of the proceeds of the land sales, for the construction of roads, as the rapid progress of an agricultural colony is entirely dependent on, and in a measure caused by, the facilities given for inland communication.
The reservation of monies for the instruction and religious improvement of the newly formed community, is certainly a great desideratum, but of decided inferiority of importance to that of a road fund; for it has been proved, by experience, that in every instance of the formation of a colony, the settlers are for some time deterred by the difficulties, real or imaginary, which attend the commencement of agricultural pursuits, and finding that an apparently profitable employment for their capital is open to them in trading and commercial speculation, abandon all present ideas of cultivating their land.
At Port Nicholson, other and weighty circumstances have had their influence on the capitalists, and hindered their expenditure upon land, yet the difficulties of communication with the several surveyed districts have been a
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chief cause of the settlement of so small a number on the country lands: and although the Company has done much, and more than could have been expected of it, to remedy this defect, a great deal more must be done before the occupation of the rural sections can be extensive.
In the early days of a colony's existence it is a matter of impossibility for the resident landowners to form roads and the necessary public works by themselves, unassisted by the Government or any powerful body in the country which they have left, as, until by the successful cultivation of their land they begin to feel their substantiality, they will not expend money on an object, which improves, but does not form a part, of their property. The large number of non-resident landowners, which there must necessarily be connected with every new settlement, and who cannot be subject to immediate taxation, is also a serious impediment to the progress of internal improvements.
Government taxation for the formation of the means of internal communication may cause the existence of excellent roads, &c., six or eight years after the arrival of the first settlers; but at the first, when of all times it is most necessary that the settlers should betake themselves to agricultural pursuits, the population is small and the taxation must necessarily be inadequate to the purpose; and even at this time many of the settlers will have their land at some distance in the interior.
I am confident in the belief that with the guarantee on the part of the Company, of the construction of a road, however rough it might be so as not to be impassable, communicating with each country section, purchasers (and more particularly those intending to become settlers--to whom every encouragement should be given) would not object to the proportionate increase in the original price of the land.
In the Chatham Islands, in consequence of the con-
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tinuous line for communication by water afforded by the Nairn and the lagoons, the formation of roads of any considerable lengths would not be immediately requisite: a few short tram-roads formed of the felled timber, in the forest districts, connecting the water lines, as portages, would be sufficient for the colony in its early stage: an appropriation of half-a-crown per acre, of the purchase money would, I am of opinion, be sufficient to thoroughly open the country to the first settlers.
On the plan here recommended, the receipts and expenditure of the Company in the formation of a settlement at the Chatham Island, would be as follows.
The estimated quantity of land in the Chatham Island being 250,000 acres:--
Town to consist of 500 acres, which being sold separately and by auction, would fetch 25 pounds per acre, at an average £12,500
Accommodation land consisting of 10,000 acres and sold at a minimum price of 5l . per acre ..... 50,000
Rural land consisting of 100,000 acres at 1l . 10s. per acre .... 150,000
Total of land sold 110,500 acres; for 212,500
Contingent expenditure:
Emmigration fund at 15s. per acre . 82,875
Road fund at 2s. 6d. per acre . . 13,812 10
Cost of preliminary expedition . . 50,000
Total 146,687
Total receipts ..... 212,500
Total expenditure .... 146,687
Company's profit .... £65,813
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Extent of Native Reserves in the first instance, 11,000 acres.
Remaining land, to be let for grazing, and reserved for future minor towns 129,000 acres: the monies derived from which would defray the Company's subsequent expences in the Colony.
I am, Gentlemen,
Your most obedient and obliged servant,
CHARLES HEAPHY.
