1873 - St. John, J. H. A. Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands - CHAPTER IX. BAY OF PLENTY

       
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  1873 - St. John, J. H. A. Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands - CHAPTER IX. BAY OF PLENTY
 
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CHAPTER IX. BAY OF PLENTY

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CHAPTER IX.

BAY OF PLENTY.

One of the discomforts of New Zealand travelling is that so much of the journey has, as a rule, to be performed along the coast line, and that such will continue to be the case until sufficient population has poured in to open up and occupy the interior. Such riding is pleasant enough when one gets on to a nice hard bit of beach for a canter of two or three miles, but a perpetual recurrence of tramps up and down over ridges, and of ploddings along a deep sandy shore, is exactly the reverse. The ride from Maketu to Matata-- some twenty miles--was of the latter character. Soft sand, sometimes so soft as to be treacherous, through which the horses laboured heavily, put any pace but a walk out of the question; sand dunes to the right separated us from a dreary swamp; and to the left extended the vast expanse of the blue ocean, even on such a beautiful day as this swelling far out in huge rollers which advanced in a consecutive array of unbroken lines till the maximum height was reached, when the summits would curl over at one part, the curl extending rapidly to right and left and breaking into white foam as though old Neptune were firing a feu de joie, and then the whole would hurl itself with a deafening roar on to the steep shelving beach, and swish back again with a loud hissing noise. The sun was beating down on our necks, and the glare of the sand was painful to the eyes, increased as it was by the diamond-like scintillations sparkling up from the minute particles of iron which lie in black patches

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and form so large a component part of the beach. This is the Titaniferous Iron Sand of New Zealand which, found in millions of tons on the West Coast, is largely distributed over, or rather under, the whole North Island. In the days of bush fighting it used to be a common occurrence at the end of a day's march, when the maemae's 1 had been knocked up by the side of a stream, to see three or four of the men gravely set to work with pannikin, or the tin plate some carried in the haversack, and "wash" for a prospect; in the course of not a few marches I have seen many a bit of dirt panned out at what were supposed to be likely spots; and I never saw the black sand absent as a residuum, whatever was the soil thus dissolved in water.

About half-way to Matata the sandhills on the right cease, and give way to cliffs of indurated pumice sand on whose steep faces wind and water have combined to produce grotesque and quaint tracings, not very unlike the patterns adopted in the tattoo; at the back lies a goodly expanse of country, broken, but well adapted for sheep runs once grass has taken root in it and expelled the low fern now forming the sole vegetation.

Close to Matata we passed under the wide spreading branches of a magnificent old pohutukawha, whose flowers, now well out, made the whole tree a mass of crimson; and we presently got to the kainga itself, where dried eels, fried in shark oil, followed by a second course of rotted maize, seemed to be the delicacies of the season.

Of course there had been fighting about here in 1864 and 1865, during which the enemy had at first gained the advantage, penetrating as far as Maketu where the Hau-Haus very nearly got hold of the officer commanding while he was duck

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shooting. However, once opposite Fort Colville they learned that jumping about and singing out "Hau-!-Hau! did not render them proof against pieces of 12 1ber segment shells; and they also had a fight with the Arawa in which they were well thrashed; so they bolted homewards lower down the coast. While the excitement was on, the Eclipse man-of-war threw sundry big shells at different pas, none however taking effect at the time. One 401b. shell did not explode (a rather common occurrence with that calibre), and a native genius catching sight of the missile, and observing lead about it, made a prize of it at once. Here was a fine chance of getting material for bullets; so a big fire was made, the shell was popped into it, and a little group sat contentedly round smoking peacefully, and watching the melting of the lead. Shortly afterwards a "tangi" 2 was held over those of the party whose remains could be identified.

Some fifteen miles south of Matata, at the foot of a high spur of the Uriwera mountains which juts out here into the sea and forms Kohi Point, and spread along the banks of the Whakatane river, lies the settlement of that name. Formerly it was situated some four or five miles up the river, but the ubiquitous Te Kooti came down and laid siege to it. After a spirited resistance of two or three days, during which time the garrison was reduced to great straits for want of water, advantage was taken of an opportunity and the defenders made their escape.

Opposite the pa, on the other side of the river, dwelt an old Frenchman, Jean Guerin, married to a pretty half-caste woman, and father of a nice little girl, Mam'selle, as the men used to call her. Jean had a perfect armoury of weapons, but we rather gave him credit for bragging when he boasted of what he would do if attacked. He kept to his word

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though; with only two natives in the whare with him he managed to dispose of several of his assailants before a chance bullet killed him. The poor child was tomahawked, and the wife taken away.

The Kohi ridge is a pretty stiff climb, and on the other side of it exists a beautiful bay, just the spot for a quiet bathing-place, and celebrated throughout the neighbourhood for its pink water-melons. These are simply delicious: I know no greater treat, after a long and hot day's march under a burning sun, than to come across a patch of big oblong fellows which, when cut open, reveal a deep-hued pink mass ready to melt in the mouth, and then to set to work at the juiciest of the lot.

From the top of Kohi Point, where by the way native tradition relates that the Maori immigrants found on their arrival a pa occupied by aboriginals, is seen a fine piece of inland water, the Ohiwa, backed up by broken ranges in which have been discovered thick quartz reefs--whether auriferous or not is not yet known--and in whose centre rises an island on which the Hau-Haus more than once made their mark, the victim on one occasion being Mr. Pitcairn, a surveyor, who was most treacherously murdered. Keeping this to our right after descending the hill, another ten miles canter over a splendid hard beach brought us to the ferry over the stream by which it communicates with the sea. Thence for some miles we had to the right high cliffs covered with great Pohutukawha trees whose large crimson, flowers spread a gorgeous carpet over the hill sides. Presently we forded the Waiotahi, not unmindful of the times when, if without an escort, we used to dash along here at full gallop, revolver in hand, in the fervent hope of getting safely past a spot where more than one ambuscade had been laid, and some with success. From this, a few miles ride brought us to the military settlement of Opotiki.

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Opotiki is the spot where, in 1865, the Hau-Hau fanaticism got its first glut of missionary blood, and where its votaries inaugurated their conversion by hanging one of the very best friends of the Maori race, the Rev. Carl Sylvius Volckner, and outraging his senseless body in the most barbarous manner. The pulpit in the Opotiki Church, erected by his influence, still bears the stains of his blood left on it by Kereopa, the leading fiend in the whole matter, who has since met the fate to which he doomed his pious victim, and who preached from it a Hau-Hau sermon, with poor Volckner's head, flanked by those of two pigs, on the boards in front of him.

Vengeance was taken; an expedition of colonial forces was sent to attack the murdering tribe; and, after losing heavily in men, the Whakatoea were driven off their ancestral patrimony, which was given over to military colonists. This is one of the few places of the kind which have proved at all a success, though even here in only a small way. In riding over the flat lying between the two rivers which, issuing from the mountainous region at the back, enclose the plain, one does see pleasant looking houses, fenced fields, cultivations, and a goodly lot of stock, all belonging to original settlers: sights of prosperity, these, but too rare in military settlements in other parts of the country.

The whole of this district, from Whakatane southwards, was for a long time vexed and plagued with uncomfortable neighbours. The mountains of the interior were inhabited by the fierce Uriwera (a detachment of whom were the "Ake, Ake" people at Orakau), a tribe thoroughly hostile to Europeans, and whose boast it was that its fastnesses were a secure refuge against any foe; it was their common practice to descend to the coast down one of the gorges, shoot or burn, and then disappear as rapidly as they had come. In addition, to the Uriwera, there also dwelt in the interior the

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remnants of the Whakatoea, the tribe which had murdered their missionary and had been driven off from their territories. And so for a length of time the settlers had a good deal to contend against, and had to be in constant preparation to meet the foe. I cannot resist here giving one of many instances shewing the spirit which animated them. No need exists to relate details;, we were well in the glens of the Uriwera, within five miles of a known strong line of rifle pits which we had started to attack; the European part of the force was but weak, and just at the last moment, after a skirmish, my guide was induced to leave us. There was no help for it, and I had to order a retreat. Directly the order was promulgated, a private of the Volunteer Company with me came up, and in the name of his comrades offered to raise a subscription to persuade the guide to lead on again; and this was in a country where it would be a mercy to a wounded man to receive a bullet through his head, as it was as much as twelve men in reliefs could do to carry one. Of such a stamp were the men who formed the Opotiki settlement. It was in these deep gorges of the east country and in the mountainous forests of the West Coast that the colonial forces had their hardest work; for here they had "Bush fighting" in reality. There were no roads, of course, so there was no transport, and every one had to carry his own provisions for four, five, or six days. No joke this, in addition to blanket, rifle and ammunition, and in going through country where the track lay up the bed of a torrent which had to be crossed and re-crossed time after time, or up steep forest-covered hills where projecting slippery roots and a network of supplejack rendered any but the slowest progress impossible. Sometimes the way led over slopes clothed with fern so high and so matted that the leading files had to beat it down to make a track; and again, deep gullies barred the way, spanned by a fallen tree forming the only bridge

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across: and at every ford, at every bend of the streams, at every rise, at every difficult spot, there was the perpetual expectation of an ambuscade. An ambuscade in bush means this: a number of men are marching along in single file; leading them are a dozen picked scouts with senses of sight and hearing ever on the alert, who, with carbine ready in hand, minutely scrutinize each clump of bush, each fallen log, each boulder as they approach it. They turn a corner at a bend in the river; no sound betrays the presence of an enemy; but of a sudden, a cloud of smoke issues from the trees. on the opposite bank, some twenty shots come hurtling through the head of the column, and, when all is over, it is found that one or two, or perhaps more, are past seeking shelter. And all this time not a glimpse can be caught of the nimble foe who has started off directly after delivering his fire; and who will be found a few miles further on awaiting at another favourable place the approach of the invading party.

Things are changed now at Opotiki. First of all, colonial forces penetrated the innermost recesses of the broken highlands; then the glens were swept clean by the friendly Ngatiporou under Major Ropata, and by Major Kepa's Whanganui natives. Most of the Uriweras have been brought down to the coast and are under surveillance of friendly chiefs; the remnant of the Whakatoea, the former owners of the country, have surrendered, are living close to Opotiki, and, by their extensive cultivations, attest their industry. Schools are also established, and I found the old feeling of hostility had quite disappeared, and that the men who, a few years ago, never met these natives but muzzle to muzzle, now fully appreciate their good behaviour, and are delighted to have them in the vicinity. Indeed, in the matter of road works, there is often a rivalry for contracts.

It was my fate to be concerned with Opotiki in its dark times, when the most violent sentiments in favour of a

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"wiping-out policy" were naturally expressed by men who saw that their lives and those of their families, and the safety of their houses and crops, were daily in peril at the hands of savages inhabiting the back ranges. In those days the warning sound of the "Alarm" or "Assembly" was of frequent occurrence; but now no ears were pricked up in anxious expectation as to what the first note of the bugle might portend, and the revulsion of feeling in the minds of the settlers afforded a most pleasing contrast. Not the least apprehension did I find among them of any outbreak; they were satisfied they could hang up their rifles except for volunteer parades, and they were living on the best terms with the natives, not only with the old friendlies, but with those whom they designated as "the new lot:" i. e., the latest surrendered, who were the chief in rank and importance.

The wrecks of schooners still hampering the Opotiki river testify to the former wealth of the natives who so stupidly changed their faith for a whim; but the memory of their past comforts and the exhortations of Europeans are inducing them to pick up some of their old energy, and all along the coast, south of Opotiki, and in the valleys inland, the Maories are planting very extensively. The nature of the country in this district is precisely similar to that described in page 128; ridges running down to the sea and, enclosing valleys of more or less width. Some four or five of these, separated from each other by steep ranges and leading down from the interior, were apportioned out to military settlers, but in the then disturbed state of the country, it was impossible for the allottees to actually settle upon any of the lands thus set apart; the flat at Opotiki was the only one really occupied, and there are consequently many thousand acres of good land which some day will be turned to profitable account; but, as in other cases, it will be necessary to

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get them out of the hands of speculators who have picked them up at a cheap rate.

To any tourist who is fond of wild and rough scenery, and who does not mind really hard work, I would recommend a walk up any one of the gorges about here; the Whakatane for choice, which leads up to the Ruatahuna, the heart of the Uriwera country; thence the Waikarimoana lake can be reached without difficulty, and from that to Wairoa and Napier is easy travelling. The gorges are really fine; even when toiling up them with arms, swag, &c, it was impossible to help admiring the grand scenery which every now and then presented itself, and I doubt not that this latter must appear still grander to the eye of a tourist untroubled with the reflection that the next bend of the river, the next clump of bush, or the next ford may introduce him to a rattling volley.

It was at Opotiki that I had my second experience of the effects of superstitious fear on the natives. The first occasion was in the Ruatahuna valley, when, after a whole day's skirmishing and fighting our way up 3 we managed to get into the ancestral pa of the Uriwera, Te Tahora; just about dusk I heard a great hullabaloo, rushed out of the whare, thinking there might be some fresh Hau-Hau move, and found our native allies grovelling on the ground and singing out lustily. We were in a deep and narrow glen, and near the top of the wooded range on the right, a large ball of fire was slowly wending its way down the vale. It was quite round, seemed to be some six feet in diameter, emitted a dull light, and was unaccompanied by the slightest noise; presently it turned round a corner, and was lost to sight. The natives all would have it that this was the Atua of Te Kooti, and that it prophesied disaster to

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us; however, except so far as some loss of life was concerned in taking another pa the next day, it proved a false prophet. Again, at Opotiki, at dawn one morning, my sentries saw a precisely similar phenomenon, this time coming from seaward; it sailed up the valley, and entered the Waioeka gorge, when it was lost. There were a number of friendly natives present on this occasion also, and I saw one of them, a brave man, as I well knew, throw himself on the ground, covering his head up in a blanket and groaning and moaning in dread.

The inland track from Opotiki to Poverty Bay is now in progress; but when I knew the place well, taking that way involved a very disagreeable and rough journey; so on this occasion we decided to go by a schooner, pending the departure of which we rode a few miles to the southward and paid a visit to an old friend of mine, and a staunch ally, Wiremu Kingi Te Tutahuarangi, chief of the Ngaitai, a small tribe residing at a lovely little bay called Torere, where extensive cultivations attest the industry of his people. Wi, (short for Wiremu) is rather a sharp fellow, and the way he knocked up a bridge for me once showed considerable ingenuity. We were on the war-path after Te Kooti, he with his people, I with some other natives and a few Europeans. Taking different tracks we met at the appointed spot, where, by-the-way, the enemy was not, but between us rolled a foaming torrent, lately a fordable river. The rain had come down, and we were jammed; the only possible way back was to get over to his side, and cut a track through the bush along the cliffs. We tried every scheme to cross; I had a huge tree felled which grew on the edge of the flat where we were camped; no sooner did it touch the water than it was carried away like a straw. Then two or three of my natives very pluckily swam over, one of them with a line between his teeth; all to

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no good. Meanwhile, I could perceive Wi was at work about something on his side, and presently we saw a lot of his men bring down a tripod formed of three poles lashed together near the top, and with the legs connected by flax leaves woven together so as to form a rough sacking. This tripod was planted in shallow water, secured by stones placed in the mat and round the feet, and connected by stout rails with the shore; another was deposited a little further on, and yet another; and it was perfectly marvellous to see the way the fellows did their work up to their chins, literally, in a rapid torrent. When it came to this, the deepest part, there was a mob of some thirty to each tripod; directly they had managed, with great difficulty, to carry it out and plant it in the right spot, a dozen of them would jump up and cling on to it, holding it down by their weight, while it was a race as to who should the fastest bring boulders to make it safe. Such a row as there was! Every one of the fellows was as naked as when born, and the way they leaped up and down in the water, and kept their footing, every now and then one of them being swept away and going down with the stream at express pace amidst the jeers of his friends, was something worth looking at; as fast as a tripod was down, rails were run out from that last secured and made fast to it; and all the time every man employed, and every one on the banks of the river not employed, was yelling and shouting out at the top of his voice; it would have made a capital subject for a painter, for the scenery around was very grand. In about two hours time communication was opened; we had to crawl sideways on a foot-rail, with another a little above it to hold on by; but every one got safely across.

During our Bay of Plenty trip we came across an old acquaintance who had started as a Maori trader at one of the villages; and I must beg the reader to fancy himself reclin-

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ing on some bags of maize by way of a sofa, with the never-failing pipe in mouth, and a tumblerful of rum and water (the liquor drawn from the trader's private cask) close handy, and listening to our friend's recital of his experiences. But, it is only fair he should have a fresh chapter in which to speak for himself.

1   Maemae--A low hut worked up with sticks arid interlaid raupo or fern, open in front, with roof reaching the ground on the windward side.
2   Any one who has heard the "keen" in the south or west of Ireland can realise the "tangi."
3   It was that morning that Lieut. White, in charge of the scouts, was shot dead in an ambuscade.

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