Brief account of the Kiddeekiddee.
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Miscellanies
BRIEF ACCOUNT OF KIDDEEKIDDEE, IN NEW ZEALAND.
(With an Engraving.)
KIDDEEKIDDEE is situated on the banks of a river, from whence it takes its name. The fresh-water stream, which is not navigable even for a boat, empties itself, by a fall of ten feet, into a natural basin in the front of the Settlement, where it is mingled with the tide, and lost in the waters of the Southern Ocean. The Station is entirely surrounded by hills; and the valley, in which it stands, is of very small extent: it was formerly an extensive Native Residence, the metropolis of the Bay of Islands, but is now totally deserted. The climate of Kiddeekiddee is very salubrious: though on the banks of a river, and in a valley, it is seldom visited with fogs or damps; neither are showers of rain so frequent here as in other parts of the island. The seasons are regular: the middle of May may be called the commencement of winter, and the middle of August its termination. The winter is particularly mild: there are sometimes slight frosts in the night, but they vanish with the morning sun. Winds prevail very much during the whole year, particularly from the south and west.
It is somewhat more than ten years since a Mission was established here by the Church Missionary Society; but the Station has not been supplied with an efficient number of Labourers till within about five years. Of its advantages, in reference to the Mission, the Rev. W. Yate remarks--
Kiddeekiddee is within seven miles of Waimate and twelve of Ahuahu, which are by far the most populous places on this side of the island: it being the principal way to the sea, great numbers are constantly passing through, with whom we have much intercourse; besides which, there are parties to be found on the banks of the saltwater river, who may be visited by means of the boat: these come from inland; some of them from such a distance as to render it impossible for any of us to visit them there.
Of the population of the District, consisting, perhaps, of from 3000 to 4000, Mr. Yate states--
They are all Heathen; without, I believe, a single exception. Their state of mutual feeling is such, that they cannot depend on one another: suspicion and distrust are the prominent features in their character. They dislike quarrelling one with another; and this leads them to live in villages, containing, for the most part, not more than two or three families. These villages are at such convenient distances, that the whole of their inhabitants may be assembled at a very short notice, in case of danger threatening any part of the community.
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