1959 - Taylor, N. (ed.) Early Travellers in New Zealand [Selected Accounts--Some Augmented with Missing Sections] - JOHN TURNBULL THOMSON. [Reconnaissance Survey of Southern Otago] p 321-348

Sketch map of Otago and Southland

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JOHN TURNBULL THOMSON

(1821-84)

A NEW phase in the mapping of New Zealand began in May 1856, when John Turnbull Thomson became Chief Surveyor of Otago. He was thirty-five years old, trained in Aberdeen and in the Straits Settlements, where fifteen years of surveying and engineering work had spoiled his health and given him a mastery of his profession. Early in 1856 he came to this country as one blessed with a British climate and representative institutions; for at Singapore he had learned to dislike both tropical weather and colonization by a commercial company. After looking over the several settlements, he had almost decided to go to Otago, where the climate was most nearly British, and the lack of development promised opportunity for a man of initiative and vigour, when he was persuaded to take the job of chief surveyor there.

At that time very little of Otago had been surveyed; and only a few hardy spirits had travelled more than 30 miles or so inland. The fathers of the settlement which was started at Dunedin in 1848 intended that the surrounding Otago Block of 400,000 acres should be closely peopled in small holdings. This land was sold at £2 an acre, a price high enough to provide two excellent Scottish institutions, a well-run kirk, and a good education system, as well as the usual expenses of surveys, roads, bridges, and so on, that attend the foundation of a settlement. As land was very much cheaper elsewhere in New Zealand--10s. or even 5s. an acre--the Otago Block was taken up extremely slowly, especially as its open grasslands, though very good for large grazing runs, were not suitable for agriculture. In 1856 new Otago regulations permitted occupation on payment of 10s. an acre, and promised a crown grant if within four years a sum equal to 40s. an acre were expended in money or labour on improvements. This made settlers eager to take up the wide, scarcely known interior, and there was urgent need of a good and rapid survey: because if they occupied land before it was properly surveyed, conflicting boundaries would make quarrels between neighbours, and expensive litigation for the authorities; while places that should rightly be reserved for public use, as township sites, bush or road reserves, might become private property.

Up till that date, in the several settlements most surveying had been done piecemeal, and the pieces were fitted together with

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difficulty, a process known as 'humouring the edges'. Thomson determined to survey his whole province by methods that were both accurate and practical. For if accuracy was to him the essential condition of a survey, it was quite as necessary to the provincial authorities that he should be practical--that is, that he should be quick and cheap and should need only a small staff. The first step was a series of reconnaissance surveys over areas sixty to ninety miles in length and breadth, which would provide a general map, not strictly accurate, but sufficiently so for pastoral settlement, and costing only two or three shillings a square mile. This would be followed by a geodesic survey, a more rigid process, ascertaining the latitude and longitude of certain primary stations, and the bearings and distances from them of prominent landmarks. These landmarks would serve as reference points, furnishing standard bearings to later and more minute surveys. The next step, minor triangulation, would provide starting and closing points at two to three mile distances for the smaller block and section surveys, and show all topographical details-hills, rivers, woods, swamps, and road lines. This would replace the less accurate reconnaissance survey. The next and last process, the block survey, marking on the ground sections varying from 100 acres or more down to quarter acres, would complete the colonial surveyor's task of settling colonists on the land they bought.

It was a system both accurate and elastic. It enabled Thomson to meet the pressure for fairly exact surveys in widely scattered remote places which the gold-rushes, beginning in 1861, so suddenly created. Each large geographical area, from 60 to 100 miles wide, called a meridional circuit, had its own geodesic station from which true bearings were carried wherever needed. These circuits were subdivided into survey districts about twelve and a half miles square, which were triangulated separately, as settlement demanded it. In such small areas accumulations of error could not be great, and as a later Otago surveyor put it, each tub stood on its own bottom. But as the positions of the tubs were fixed in relation to clear and permanent landmarks, they fitted together fairly enough to satisfy even the more exacting members of the profession. A Royal Artillery surveyor, Major Palmer, who in 1875 reported severely on most of the provincial surveys, thus concluded his approving comments on the Otago system: 'When, as the surveys within circuits progressed, the various initial points came to be connected together by intervening minor triangulations, it became possible to test the accuracy of the work.... The results of these tests were very satisfactory, considering the means and the instruments used.... The various circuits were now, with a little necessary humouring at the common edges, brought together on a geographical projection on the scale of

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eight miles to an inch, and the details were filled in from the topographical maps as far as finished and the original reconnaissance surveys, thus furnishing a pretty good map of the province, which was lithographed and published in 1871.

Having done so well by Otago, it was not surprising that in 1876, when the provincial governments were abolished, Thomson became the first Surveyor-General, with the task of co-ordinating the various scattered surveys and establishing a reliable system throughout the country. In 1879 he retired to Gladstone, near Invercargill, and died in 1884. As the man who introduced a scientific and practical system of colonial survey to New Zealand, he left an enduring reputation. Apart from meeting the problems of that task itself, he deserves credit for stubbornly facing the opposition of short-sighted provincial authorities, chiefly anxious not to spend money and not easily convinced of the folly of allowing 'spotting' surveys, in which the applicant for new land employed a private surveyor, at his own expense, to mark out the land claimed. In report after report Thomson railed against this, declaring it both contrary to public interests and so subject to error that it would be possible for people to build their houses on land sold to their neighbours; and though the practice was continued, he greatly lessened its scope by the swiftness of his own surveys. He had to train his subordinates in his standards, and when satisfied with his man, as, for instance, with Alexander Garvie or James McKerrow, would trust him to do a job thoroughly on his own. One J. M. Smith, just beginning as a junior surveyor in Otago when Thomson resigned, recorded an impression of the late chief: 'A very austere stand-off man, who would rather intimidate a young man who was going up for examination than try to encourage him, but a very terror for accuracy and all things right.' 1 In Otago, field-books and all original records were carefully kept, trig, stations were permanently marked, work was checked and counterchecked.

Outside his profession Thomson showed a lively industrious mind. He produced many scientific papers, on subjects ranging from geology and the cleansing of towns to Buddhist philosophy and the origins of Maoris and Morioris, papers that did not shrink from the bold hypothesis. From his Eastern experiences he wrote as entertainment two books on life in the East, and also translated, with comments of his own, a Malayan biography, Hakayit Abdulla, by his tutor in the language, covering the period when Britain assumed dominance in Malaya. His Rambles with a Philosopher mingled much amateur philosophy with shrewd observation of rough travel and travellers in Otago of the 60's. His last book, Social Problems,

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an Enquiry into the Law of Influences, continued his philosophizing, turning from topic to topic with inconclusive agility. He also painted landscapes in oils, rather heavily. In short he might be said to instance the zealous use of minor talents that was surprisingly common in the first wave of settlers; perhaps because the New Zealand scene then attracted many men of tireless energy and confidence.

At the start of all this we have Thomson setting out on his first reconnaissance survey in January 1857. He published an account of it in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1858, which is reprinted here, and gave some supplementary details in another article, 'Original Exploration of Otago and Recent Travel in other parts of New Zealand' (Transactions of the Royal Scottish Society, Edinburgh 1883). In the latter he described how he set forth, dressed in flannels and strong tweeds, watertight boots and forage cap, riding a small hardy mare, with a blanket and spare clothes wrapped in oiled cloth on the pommel, along with his theodolite stand, and the instrument in its box borne on his shoulders. In one of his official pamphlets he listed the necessities of a reconnaissance surveyor: 'A Sextant, Artificial Horizon, good Seconds Watch, Theodolite, Nautical Almanac, Logarithm Tables, Aneroid, Thermometer, and the usual camp equipments... a good eye for estimating distances and an aptitude for grasping at the "lay" of the country'. Presumably he himself possessed all these.

The method used, he explained in the Otago Gazette of 22 September 1859, was essentially that of nautical survey, ascertaining difference of latitude for the basis, and observing converging angles for the details. By repeated observations of the sun's altitude, he found out the latitude of Bluff harbour summit, and thence took bearings on the Dome Mountain and on all land features prominent enough to be used as stations. He then travelled northward, diverging in every direction for observations, till he reached the Dome in mid-February. Then, having observed its latitude, he was able to calculate the distance, some 71 miles, from the Bluff, and thence fix the positions of the other main stations. Again he zigzagged southwards, fixing positions and taking angles with the theodolite to three or more known stations, on the system of converging angles, every two to four miles, and ascertaining the positions of nearby features-- rivers, ridges, patches of bush--by cross, transit, and tangent bearings to them. The map resulting from these two months of field work was so accurate that when the area was surveyed in detail some years later, none of the intersecting points had an error of more than nine links to a mile--an error confounding to present-day surveyors, but fairly unimportant in colonial values. Between 1857 and 1859 Thomson and his first lieutenant, Garvie, pushed their

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surveys back to the western mountains. Settlement was then racing ahead-there were nearly 59,000 sheep in the province in 1855, over six times that number in 1860; land sales and leases yielded £2,000 in 1855, £66,000 in 1859. These surveys undoubtedly helped the acceleration. At this reconnaissance stage a complete map of the province, drawn in Dunedin in 1859, was published by Stanford's of London in i860, entitled 'Map of the Province of Otago, New Zealand. Southern, North-eastern and Interior Districts by John Turnbull Thomson, Chief Surveyor; South-eastern Districts by A. Garvie, Assistant Surveyor; Western Coast and Islands Copied from Admiralty Surveys conducted by Captain J. L. Stokes, R. N.' Most of the places mentioned in this article have been located from this contemporary map.

The full title of the account reprinted here from Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 1858, xxviii, pp. 298-329, is 'Extracts from a Journal kept during the performance of a Reconnoissance Survey of the Southern Districts of the Province of Otago, New Zealand. By J. Turnbull Thomson, F. R. G. S., Chief Surveyor, Otago.'

Extracts from a Journal kept during a Reconnoissance Survey of the Southern Districts of the Province of Otago

January, 1857. We started from Dunedin on Tuesday the 6th of January, 1857, and arrived at Invercargill on Sunday the nth of the same month. What with the difficulty in obtaining men and detention from bad weather, it was the 15th before we could make a commencement on the actual operations of the survey. On this day, accompanied by Drummond and Lindsay, I crossed the bar of the little creek that winds its course through the centre of the new town of Invercargill.

The boat which I had hired proved leaky and ill formed, so though the wind was strong and favourable we had not set sail above a minute before the mast fell overboard, carrying away the thwart

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and step. Having repaired damages we proceeded with better fortune, sailing down the broad estuary of the Waiopai, and entering the narrow and intricate channel of the New River.

This river we ascended 7 or 8 miles, camping near Printz's at dusk. 2 To the right of the New River is a sandy tract exposed to the fury of the westerly winds; to the left, on the contrary, is a fertile and woody district.

The New River finds its way into the sea near the Omawi or Steep Head, after meandering for many miles in the proximity of the sea-shore. The intervening sandhills evidently bank in the river from the ocean, and allow of no egress until the projecting land of Omawi Head is reached. Here a narrow but deep channel leads the water of the New River into the sea. This is facilitated by the protection afforded under the lee of the iron-bound promontory above mentioned.

On the 16th we were astir at 1/2 past 4 A. M., reaching the Tomoboraken Creek 3 at 8 A. M., where we breakfasted. The pull up the New River disclosed scenery much akin to what is viewed with admiration in the rivers of the tropics, regions exuberant of vegetation. Clumps of forest and grassy plains alternate. Where the forest holds sway the black and white pines 4 are to be seen stretching out their ample arms, and the manuka, now in full bloom, forms a lively contrast to the sombre olive tints of the foliage of these and other native woods, while the native weeping willow 5 contributes the charm of elegance by drooping its beautiful festoons towards the calm and mirror-like waters.

The forests here abound in singing birds; these, during the hours of early morning, by their songs, did not in a small measure contribute to the enjoyment of the scene. As we sped along flocks of aquatic birds were passed, which having yet scarcely made the acquaintance of man, were undisturbed by our near approach.

During the time we were discussing our breakfast under the shade of the forest a small bird 6 about the size of the red robin of England, though not of his colour, came hopping about our fire,

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and approaching so close to us that we might almost have handled him. His colour on the breast was gray, on the wings and back it was black, his eye was jet. From his similarity of disposition to the robin of England he obtains that name here from the colonist.

As his motions were watched with some interest, his company was not unwelcome during breakfast. While he hopped about picking up the stray crumbs, one of our party happened to whistle. This riveted his attention for a while, but he would soon unconcernedly hop about till another note was whistled, when again he would immediately fix his lustrous eye on the attractor. This was done several times, proving how great an influence such music had over him.

After breakfast we started with packs on our backs, passing through forests of pine, totara, manuka, and other native woods. On penetrating into the forest reminiscences of similar scenery traversed on similar duties in the tropical East returned forcibly to the memory. Though these forests are not so high as the forests of the tropics, yet they are equally compact, abounding in vines, creepers, orchideous plants, and ferns. The cabbage tree that here grows on the skirts of the forests very much resembles the pandan, so often met with in analogous positions in the East Indies. We passed through two miles of forest before we emerged into the grassy plains. These plains, now unoccupied, may ere long yield abundant harvests to the industrious husbandman.

By noon we arrived at the cattle station of Mr. Macfarlane, 7 and were welcomed in no moderate terms by his stockman, who informed us that he had had only the company of cows for these last three weeks, and possessing the gregarious instinct of mankind, he wearied much to hold converse with his species again. He employed himself during the afternoon in driving in some cows that he might regale us with new milk, and I was not sorry that this gave me for the first time an opportunity of viewing the evolutions of the stockman on horseback, and the wielding and the cracking of the huge stockwhip. In the home country the cracking of whips is the amusement of children, but here it is an accomplishment of some importance. A whole herd of horned monsters tremble at the rifle-like sound of the stock-whip, and they fly pell-mell from its influence when driven in to be branded, or for slaughter. Our entertainer was skilful in the use of his instrument of authority. It deserves notice. The handle does not exceed 18 inches in length, but the lash extends 15

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or even 20 feet. In the hands of a tyro the instrument is of little avail, but the thundering sounds emitted from it by our stockman as he grasped the handle, in either hand alternately, proved how formidable a weapon it was in the hands of the initiated.

On the morning of the 17th I proceeded to Forest Hill, 8 reaching it by noon, taking observations at intervals with the theodolite to fix the topographical features. The country passed through was generally covered with good grass, with this disadvantage, of being much intersected by swamps. The scenery for a country yet in the state of nature was as beautiful as could be desired, the combination of wood and savannah, hill and dale, contributed greatly to this end. We returned to the station by 6 P. M., pretty well fatigued by the roughness of the country. Swamps, which here abound, are the most tiresome of travel, and the unburnt tussock grass covering the plains brings one up at every step. To the east of Forest Hill the Makerewa River 9 comes out of the hill district of the Hokanui, 10 winding through spacious and grassy valleys. On our route to-day we crossed near to a herd of cattle, wild, owing to their being seldom visited by their owner. They gathered together in battle array, facing towards us, having a large bull in their van looking as angry as need be. He made a few issues forward, but dissipated our respect for him by turning tail and retreating ignominiously among the foremost of his charge.

Pine and ironwood 11 were observed to be plentiful in the woods of Forest Hill, the former tall and straight, well adapted for spars.

On the morning of the 18th we were awoke by the violent barking of the stockman's dog. The occasion of this was found to be the presence of the tui, or parson bird. This feathered individual was seen perched on a tree close by, uttering subdued notes, interluded by harsh and suppressed screams. To this soliloquy the dog was enunciating his violent objections, but our parson bird being beyond reach held on his discourse with much nonchalance. Altogether this bird is a most remarkable one: clothed in feathers of deep black from head to foot, he wears a most grave and sacerdotal aspect. This is not all: he bears out closer the clerical resemblance by the possession of two pure white feathers under his chin, and the parody is complete when he commences to utter his guttural yet energetic

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notes. Sitting on the branch of a tree as a pro tempore pulpit, he wags his paw and shakes his head, bending to one side and then to another, as if he remarked to this one and to that one; and once and again with pent up vehemence, contracting his muscles and drawing himself together, his voice waxes loud in a manner to wake sleepers to their senses.

Last night being calm we were much troubled with mosquitoes of the grey type, and to-day myriads of blow-flies collected on every thing greasy. On looking at my blankets, which I had incautiously left exposed, I found to my disgust clusters of their larvae upon them.

I may here add that this was the only occasion on which we were troubled with mosquitoes during our sojourn in the southern districts, and the nuisance of the blow-fly is easily guarded against by wrapping the articles they are given to blow upon in calico.

From Macfarlane Station we proceeded to the Oreti Settlement, 12 at which we arrived in the morning of the 19th, after a hard pull against the current and rapids. After breakfasting on eel and biscuit, accompanied by Drummond, I started for the Spar Bush, 13 distant about 9 miles. I carried theodolite and bedding, he tent and provisions. We kept along the edge of the terrace, passing over a fine grassy country, but near the rivers Oreti and Waimatook, 14 subject to be overflowed. The Spar Bush contains fine timber, but at too great a distance from water carriage to be available.

Our beef having got spoiled by the blow-flies, we carried four eels with us as a relish to our biscuit, requesting Lindsay to fish for more.

They were caught by a very simple method. A bit of salt beef was tied to a rude string made of strips of flax leaves knotted together. After sundown this was thrown into the creek. The eels take hold of the beef and hold on till they are hauled ashore. This, it will be remarked, is a most primitive mode of obtaining a dinner of eel, but there is an improved mode, viz. by the eel-pot. This consists of a tube made of wicker work or bark, having a funnel-shaped mouth. In the interior is placed a bait of grilled flesh, worms, or even eels. As the funnel has its small orifice towards the interior, the eel easily obtains admittance, but he seeks to get out at all places but the right

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one. The eel pot is the invention of the Maoris, 15 and they depend on it greatly for subsistence.... 16

On the 20th we started at 7 A. M., after breakfasting on biscuit and eel, and proceeded to the north end of the Spar Bush. The terrace land here bends suddenly to the westward, and a large plain of low land lies between this and the Taringtura Downs. 17 Having broken my theodolite case, I was at some loss how to mend it, till Drummond suggested the gum of the flax. This plant being nowhere far distant was soon procured, and the requisite quantity of gum taken, which answered admirably. Flax and fern seem to have administered to the New Zealanders in their primitive state in the same measure as the cocoanut does to the natives of the islands and atolls of Polynesia. Flax afforded their clothing, bedding, and fibrous material; fern afforded food.

On the afternoon of the 21st we arrived at the Bluff, after a rough passage down the New River against a heavy gale of wind. At Campbell Town, now laid out on the Bluff Peninsula, we found the people out of provisions, so no one would take us into their houses. As a last resource we got permission to sleep in the half-finished jail, and having procured with some difficulty a few pounds of wheat, we bruised it and supped. The principal object of my visit to Campbell Town was to obtain observations of the latitude, intending the Bluff summit as the southern station of the basis of the survey, the northern station being intended to be on some prominent object in the interior. On the 22nd the latitude of the Custom-house was found to be 46° 35' 58.8" S., this being the mean of 18 circummeridional altitudes taken with an excellent sextant of Troughton; on the 23rd 16 observations gave the latitude to be 46° 35' 53.8': consequently the mean latitude of the Custom-house would be 46° 35' 56.3". The weather being hot, the sand-flies were rife, attacking every part of the skin exposed, and rendering the obtaining of a long series of observations a painful and teasing operation.

The bluff promontory on which Campbell Town now stands is called Awarua by the natives. The harbour of the Bluff, formerly much frequented as a whaling station, is protected to the westward by this promontory, and to the eastward a low tongue of shingle

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assists to nearly land-lock the anchorage. Being thus well enclosed on all sides, the Bluff harbour will be admitted to be one of the best in New Zealand, when it is stated that it has easy access, and no bar. Campbell Town, situated on such a harbour, will, doubtless, ultimately be of some importance, but at present there are only five buildings within its precincts, viz., a custom-house, jail, collector's house, and two cottages.... 18

From Campbell Town we returned to Invercargill, where I engaged a pack-horse at 3l. a week to accompany us into the interior with provisions. We proceeded in the further prosecution of the survey on the 29th, camping at the half-way bush at night; this is about 15 miles from the town. The country about here has generally inferior pasturage, but it is admirably interspersed with clumps of forest, and well adapted for agricultural settlement. The face of the country is slightly undulating, having a general rise to the Hokanui Hills, a picturesque group bounding the plains to the northward.... 19

February, 1857. Up to the 1st of February I was employed traversing the Waiopai plains. I found that the Makerewa River collected all its waters from the Hokanui hills. These hills have a most picturesque appearance, being much broken and variegated by rocky and bare tops, wooded slopes, and grassy valleys. The ample and well watered glades, now desolate, invite the occupation of man. On many parts of the plain I observed prostrate trees, proving a very recent occupation by the forest. The hills were covered with quartz pebbles; some schistose rock was also observed, uncommonly like petrified wood.

The 1st and 2nd found us at the Otaramika bushes: here the scrub caught fire near our tent, and we saved our property with the greatest difficulty. A woodhen was shot: it is a bird between the size of a partridge and a pheasant, and with plumage like the latter. Its wings are too small to enable it to fly, but it is supported on stout legs, by which it progresses very rapidly on the ground. Its wings are armed with horny spurs, which it uses in attack and defence. It frequents the brushwood surrounding the forest, and threads the mazes with the greatest facility.

On the 3rd we proceeded to Mr. Devellin's station, 20 situated on

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the Mataura plains. The grasses on these plains are superior, but much overrun with spear grass, an indication of good soil. The plains above each terrace have a magnificent expanse; and well might their pasturage have excited the cupidity of the sheep stealer, Mackenzie, 21 who selected these plains for depasturing the sheep he attempted to carry off from Canterbury province. Remnants of his hut are still to be seen in Mr. Devellin's bush, together with a small crop of potatoes. These had been prepared for his expected arrival through the lake district, by a track not yet traversed by the white man.

From the 5th to the 8th stormy weather detained us at Mr. Devellin's station. Drummond, in searching about the hut of Mackenzie, found in its proximity a saw, 2 reaping hooks, an adze, marked J. C., an American axe, and a trace chain. After Mackenzie's apprehension, the Maoris of Tuturau are said to have removed many of the articles, principally consisting of cooking utensils. When Mr. Devellin first visited the place, he saw pannikins, plates, &c., sufficient for 4 men. It is evident from this that Mackenzie must have had sharers in his enterprise.

On the 9th we started at 8 A.M., and kept along the edges of the high terrace until we reached the Waimumu, a stream coming out of the Hokanuis, and falling into the Mataura, 2 miles above Tuturau. 22 This stream we reached by 3 P.M., when we rested an hour. North of the Waimumu the high terrace breaks into numerous long valleys, so as no longer to bear the character of a terrace, and the watershed is close to the Waimumu. We arrived at Mr. MacNab's 23 shearing hut at 7 P.M., and camped for the night. This has been a fine sunshiny day, and the country passed has generally borne good grass, though rather coarse. The scenery is magnificent; the broad plains and terraces stretching away to the south, and the bold configuration of the Hokanuis to the north. The Ship Cone, 24 which here has a pyramidal form, from its base to its peak, in height not less than 2,000 feet, forms a grand and impressive object in the panorama. The Hokanui Hills are timbered half way up their southern sides.

The Mataura flows close under the eastern range of hills, which

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are merely a continuation of the Hokanuis, though here the junction is broken. These eastern ranges continue in almost a straight line to the nuggets 25 on the eastern coast, near the mouth of the river Clutha.... 26

The 12th found us on the Waimea Plains, with a morning of drizzling rain and mist. We started notwithstanding, and kept on till 2 P.M., when we camped on the banks of the Mataura, near the gorge of the mountains. It cleared up at 5 P.M. and turned out a beautiful evening. The country passed over bears superior grass, but is much overrun with scrub. We are now under the foot of the Snow Mountains, and the scenery is impressive, with the rugged, barren, and steep heights, casting their sombre shadows over the plain. The Mataura here is a beautiful pebbly stream, pure as crystal. The valleys of the mountains have generally accessible timber. We shot several ducks, and had a feast, for we had been living on bread and tea alone for several days.

On the 13th we were at Mr. MacKellar's station, 27 where there are the remnants of a Maori settlement, called Tomogalak. Moa bones are found here in abundance, some measuring 2 inches in diameter. It is supposed that these bones are collections thrown away by the Maoris after the bird had been eaten. Many of the bones do not appear above 30 years old; indeed I was informed by an old native at Jacob River that he and his tribe feasted on the moa in his younger years. 28

The 14th found us camped on the banks of the Oreti, near the Elbow. 29 The country here bears fine grass, but much overrun with a scrub called Tomataguru 30 by the natives, or Wild Irishman by the colonists. It is full of prickles and is difficult to penetrate. The formation is chert with gritty shales.

As we have gradually lost plates, knives, and forks, we are now existing in the manner of savages, boiling our flesh or fowl in our tea-can (called a billy), kneading our dough in waterproof cloaks, and baking our bread in the embers of our camp-fire. Our table is

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the grass, and our plates a few leaves, our seats a stone or log of wood. Our beds are of course on the ground, softened with a few bunches of fern or grass, covered with oiled calico to keep off the damp. Our principal subsistence has been 'damper' (species of bread) and tea. The want of flesh brings the greater zest when we can get it. Wet as we often are all day, and bedded as we often are on the damp ground all night, we have thriven amazingly. The best of all blessings, good health, has attended us. There is something exhilarating in daily coming on new country, and in descrying new objects of interest. We are now beyond the range of the white man, and the country is utterly desolate of inhabitants, the aborigines having long ago given up their traffic with the interior. The country is now becoming more interesting, as we are in the midst of high and picturesque mountains having level and fertile plains, and valleys at their feet. There is also a great extent of forest to the north, on the slopes of the Eyre Mountains. A valley leads north, low and easy to look at; will this lead into the interior? 31

On the 15th we proceeded to the foot of the Dome mountain, and camped at the spot eligible for astronomical observations. A new plant appeared here, allied to the cactus, and colonially termed a 'Spaniard'. It has stout blades with sharp points--no agreeable objects to encounter. The country here is much over-run with these and 'wild, Irishmen'; so much so that it was a matter of some difficulty to drag our horses through them, for the poor animals, in swerving from the talons of the 'wild Irishmen', were apt to be received on the more deadly weapons of the 'Spaniards'.

On the 16th I started at 7 A.M., with Lindsay, for the tops of the Dome and Cupola, reaching the summit of the latter by 10 A.M., and of the former by noon. The Dome is 4,505 feet 32 above the level of the sea, and the Cupola 4,045 feet. 33 They command a most extensive prospect from the eastern to the south-western coasts, and over the plains intervening. Water froze on each summit while we were taking the observations, although the day in the plains was a warm one. 34 Near the summit the vegetation consisted of snow grass,

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mosses, and a species of heather. Half-way up the mountains some pretty flowers were gathered, amongst which the mountain daisy 35 deserves notice for its elegance and simplicity of form, and beauty of colour. A ground berry, called the New Zealand strawberry 36 by the colonists, formed an agreeable but rather insipid repast to our parched lips. It tastes much like the rose apple of India. While on the Dome, Lindsay employed himself in scratching our names and immortalizing them under a cairn which he built during the time I was busy with the theodolite.

The formation of these mountains I would term metamorphic, consisting as they do of cherts, and allied compact rocks, hardened by the action of heat. The plains beneath are aqueous, consisting of the transported debris of the interior, and adjacent mountains. To the N. N. E. an opening appeared through which no high land was visible: I conjectured this then to be the pass into the Central districts, 37 at present entirely unknown to the European, and but vaguely described by the Maori.

The heads of the Mataura were seen to come out of the Eyre mountains, winding between the Dome and East Dome through a deep gorge, by which it issues on the Waimea plains.

The panorama of the Dome mountain is truly grand, presenting to view as it does the snow-clad and serrated outline of the Eyre mountains, the extensive plains of Waiopai, Mataura, Waiau, Clutha, and Waimea; also Molyneux Bay, 38 Tewaiwais Bay, 39 Solander Island, and the boundless Southern Ocean. We got back to camp by 5 P.M. pretty well tired with our day's exertions.

We remained at our camp in Observation Bush 40 till noon of the 18th, having during the interval ascertained the latitude by circummeridional observations of the sun.

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The mean of 5 observations gave the lat. as 45 34 51" The mean of 3 " " " 45.6 Mean lat. of Observation Bush 45 34 48.3s

The uncertain state of the weather prevented more observations being taken.

From Observation Bush we struck for the north end of Taringatura Downs, crossing the Oreti River. To the left we observed thousands of acres of dead forest apparently destroyed at one burning. Dusk found us entangled in a swamp, with both our horses bogged. By unloading we made shift to extricate them, and we camped on the edge after dark during a heavy gale of wind. Here the country being destitute of wood we could obtain no tent poles, so as a substitute we used the gun and theodolite stand, and thus managed partially to exclude wind and rain. The whole of the Oreti valley consisted of recent deposit of shingle, and the grass is soft and good.

We were astir early on the morning of the 19th, holding along the east banks of the Aparima: when we came to the gorge we struck down to the bed of the river to avoid the rough and hilly country on the east, and we camped at 6 P.M. on the west side. The pasturage of the country is superior. The formation of the hills as far as could be examined was metamorphic, the strata being perpendicular, and strike N. W. and S. E. The bed of the Aparima showed the debris of plutonic rocks, such as porphyry, greenstone, granite and amygdaloids. This fact would indicate that the Takitimo mountains, out of which the Aparima flows, are formed of these. Near our camp the impression of a bivalve was found in a stone of compact texture, but I could not find any rocks in the vicinity of the same nature. We washed the sands of the river and examined the 'pockets' of the rocks for gold, but found none. The formations do not indicate its existence in this valley.

Our provisions being nearly expended we were astir at 4 A.M. of the 20th, and held down the bed of the Aparima, crossing and recrossing 100 times, till at length at 6 P.M. we arrived at the Yellow Bluff, 41 where we camped for the night. The grasses on either side of the river were rank, but of excellent quality for grazing. The plains are alluvial and shingly. The river when flooded seems to

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spread over a considerable distance from its banks. As we have descended from the interior, the Aneroid barometer which I carried has notably marked the change of atmospheric pressure. There is fully one inch difference between Mackellar Station and the sea level.

With our long travel over shingle, our horses are knocked up, and Drummond is in boots without soles, and all our trousers are torn to rags. Lindsay shot a duck, which was a great relish to our sugarless tea. The formation at the Yellow Bluff consists of strata of rolled pebbles of granite, porphyry, chert, &c.

On the 21st we proceeded to Howell's Home Station, 42 keeping along the edge of the terrace. The grasses here are generally inferior excepting to the eastward of Near Bush, where limestone containing fossil shells crops out. The 22nd found us at Jacob River Settlement, 43 where we remained till the 26th, preparing for another month's travel into the interior, by laying in provisions, purchasing clothes, shoes, &c.

Jacob River Settlement (so named from a Maori called Jacob, who resided on a patch of cultivation now called Jacob Garden, situated two miles from the mouth of the river) deserves some notice. It formed one of the many whaling stations that formerly studded the coast of New Zealand, and is now the only place (as far as I am aware) in New Zealand whose inhabitants yet continue the occupation.... 44

On the morning of the 26th, having got our provisions and pack-horses ready, we started, taking Mr. Bates, a settler at Jacob River, to assist in bringing up the extra provisions now required for a lengthened absence. We proceeded as far as Groper Bush, 45 where we remained to examine the country in the neighbourhood. This part bears pasturage of good quality. The formation is aqueous, and limestone, containing fossil shells, crops out to the north of Groper Bush. Bates informs me that one of his native cousins saw the feathers and track of the moa about six years ago amongst the woods west of Jacob River; but he was afraid to follow the bird.

On the banks of the Ormut River 46 some most beautiful sites for farms exist. To the west the woody ranges lie clothed with luxuriant

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forests of birch; to the east undulating prairies, covered with grass. One or two positions have all the requisites of a baronial demesne.

Bates tells me that the remnants of wild Maoris were found by him some years ago on the west coast. These consisted of heaps of skeletons in a cave, fish-hooks made of bone, and clothing made of flax. There have been occasional suspicions of wild Maoris being about; but he never met with any during his 20 years' residence, during which long period much of his time was spent on the west coast. 47

March, 1857. The 2nd of March found us camped under the north-west side of Twinlaw; the hills running from thence to Longwood Range. All, as far as examined, showed rocks of metamorphic structure; but the western and northern bases showed limestone cropping out.... 48

On the 3rd I ascended Twinlaw with the hope of obtaining angles; but the weather proved so stormy and thick that I was disappointed. The Waiau, the great river of the west, was for the first time seen meandering through the plains which extend from the Takitimo mountains to the sea. The country to the west of the Waiau is very mountainous, rugged, and woody. The formations of Twinlaw are altered rocks and conglomerates. To the north of the hill ridges of coarse calcareous sandstone crop out, containing broken shells and minute rolled pebbles.

On the 4th we proceeded across the Waiau plains, and camped in a bush not far from the limestone gorge, in a valley formed by the out-crop of limestone strata. The Orawia River was forded to-day, and its bed was noticed to contain pebbles of plutonic origin. Its banks were composed of soft shales. The first view we had of the Waiau was magnificent, with its bordering, spacious terraces and banks, level plains, and scattered forests. The country passed over bore good grass, but much overrun with fern and flax.

On the 5th I proceeded along the limestone ridge to the gorge of the Waiau.... 49

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The ridges in the neighbourhood contain many caves, and in one of them I found the decayed bones of the moa. Maori ovens were also seen in the neighbourhood, showing that these parts had been inhabited, and not lying waste as at present. The Waiau forces its way through the limestone ridges, in a clear and well defined channel of about 400 feet broad, yet above and below this the river flows in many channels, which are subject to constant change. The river in this vicinity is nowhere fordable; but a ferry might be established at the gorge. While the eastern plains of the Waiau are open, with clumps of bush at intervals, the western plains and mountains, with slight exceptions, are covered with forest to the snow line. The Waiau seems to have been an effectual barrier to the Maori and his fire, otherwise long ere this the mountains and valleys would have been denuded of their timber. The country to the west of the Waiau, as far as the west coast, is yet under forest; this extends 100 miles N. and S., and 50 miles E. and W. It is here then, in this only remaining ample expanse, that the Moa (a bird of gigantic dimensions, as proved by the remains of it) may yet find its last refuge; and considering the very recent indications of its existence everywhere found in the vicinity, the supposition of its existence at this present time, at least, has grounds for entertainment.

We washed the sands of the Waiau in our pannikins, and obtained one speck of gold. The channel contains stones of plutonic origin, such as granite, porphyry, and greenstone--proving the interior mountains to be composed of these.

On the 6th we washed the sands of the Orawia, but found no indications of gold.

The 10th found us camped near the head of the Aparima. To the south the country was much 'honeycombed' on the surface; that is, was full of small holes closely adjacent, and indicating wet soil. This was the case on the plains, but on the hills the unfavourable surface disappeared. The formations to the west of the Aparima appeared to be generally aqueous, with occasional mingling of metamorphic rocks. Bates informs me, that before he started from Jacob River on the 6th, the crops were nearly all secured, and that the natives were preparing to proceed to the Mutton-Bird Islands. 50

On the 11th we proceeded to Centre Hill, 51 arriving at 4 P.M. I

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immediately ascended it to take advantage of the clear weather while it lasted. From the top we obtained an extensive view of the valleys of the upper Oreti, and Waiau. The principal sources of the former are in the west slopes of the Eyre Mountains. The heads of the Waiau were observed to come out of two deep gorges in the snowy mountains about 50 miles distant, and the tops of the ranges appeared 70 miles distant. The western head and gorge will thus approach within 20 miles of Milford Sound. Mr. Howell 52 had informed me of a native track between Milford Sound and the head of the Waiau. They frequented this track and the waters of the Waiau, which they ventured upon in maggies 53 or rafts of flax stalks, in proceeding from Milford Sound to Pahees 54 on the south coast.

In the valley of the Waiau I saw two pieces of water, distant about 12 miles; these no doubt are the Teanau Lakes; 55 but another is said to exist farther north.

The area north of Mount Hamilton, 56 extending over the valleys of the upper Waiau and Oreti, cannot be less than 600 square miles. The pasturage, as far as viewed, appeared to be good, and at the same time well wooded. This day has been blowy, and excessively so to-night; so much so that it was with some difficulty that we crawled along the exposed ridges of the hill. The formation of Centre Hill is stratified, containing clay-slates and shales. The grass in the neighbourhood is generally good, but the flats are wet and mossy to some extent.

After we had lit our camp fire the woodhens came about it as they usually do. A woodhen or two would have been a dainty addition to our fat pork, so Bates was intent in his attempts to decoy them under his grasp, but to no purpose. The modus operands he adopted being new to me, I watched his motions with no little interest. Bates first got a stick on which he made a running noose of flax; he also got another somewhat shorter on which he tied his red handkerchief in the form of two wings. He next obtained a broad leaf which he doubled, and putting it between his teeth, by drawing his breath

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he produced a shrill call imitating with surprising exactness that of the bird. Squatting himself on his heels, Bates, with his two sticks, set about his object with great determination. The birds were not long in answering his call, and one soon came walking up to him. Chrio, chrio, chreek! called Bates, enticing the bird to battle with his winged conjuring stick; duff, duff, duff! bouncingly answered the bird, and duff, duff, duff! as bravely answered Bates. This play went on for some time, but there was no supper to be got off the woodhen, for she stopped short of the noose, scanning with seriocomic gravity her decoyer, first with one bright black eye and then with the other. True, his nose was as red as her own, for the summer sun had flayed it; true, his legs were as bright red as her own, for the 'Spaniards' and 'wild Irishmen' had struck and scratched them till they were raw. But I do not like that greedy grey eye fastened on me, says the woodhen; it is too like that of the all-absorbing Anglo-Saxon; and she walks away notwithstanding the thousand chrio, chrio, chreeks, that poor Bates put forth for his supper. He had to eat fat pork without the longed-for accompaniment.

The 12th was wet and windy, accompanied by hail; Mount Hamilton towered amongst the clouds white with the drifting showers of snow. The weather moderated sufficiently for us to start at 10 A.M. We struck eastward, crossing the Oreti with ease, it not being above ankle deep. After crossing the Oreti, we came upon very rough ground covered with high tussocks and full of holes. We set fire to the country and continued along the lower slopes of the west Dome. 57 The country having been burnt to the eastward, we could not judge of its nature, so it was not long ere we found ourselves in an extensive bog. We persevered in our attempts to get through it till we had got about a mile into it, when two of our horses sank to the haunches, and lay there till we unpacked them and hauled them out. We retraced our steps with some difficulty, and made for an island as darkness came on. The wind blew a cold gale over our exposed position, the ground being burnt bare of grass and scrub, yet we managed to pitch our tent and collect sticks enough to boil our kettle and fry some pork. With this we regaled ourselves, leaving for to-morrow the care of getting out our horses from the predicament into which we led them. In the meantime they browsed greedily on such grassy tufts as were sparingly found over the little island.

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On the morning of the 13th we were early astir, and after some search found a place just passable for horses, and we got them through after 'bogging' two of them. The 14th found us with our tent pitched on the eastern banks of the upper Mataura, where we secured our provisions and tethered our horses. This done we started with the small tent-blankets and provisions on our backs, holding for the pass that I had seen from the Dome leading into the interior, and we camped at 5 P.M., in a gully at the foot of the Slate range.

As the nature of this country differs from that which we have hitherto gone over, being now mountainous and dry instead of undulating or level, much intersected by rivers and swamps, some remarks here will not be out of place regarding the mode of getting through the unexplored country of this part of New Zealand. We have crossed in all directions what is generally considered a difficult country, all our party being strangers to the same; but a little experience soon teaches what track to attempt, and what to avoid. The surest indication of country is given by the colour of the grass. If grass ahead be white, go on; it grows on hard ground: if green or brown, turn aside; it grows on soft. Taking heed of this maxim we have easily avoided ground (where it was possible to avoid it) dangerous to our horses, and when we have been at fault it has been when the country has been recently burnt, which renders the whole surface of one dark brown colour. There are many other indications of the nature of the ground. Thus, spear grass, and scrub called tomataguru, and michimichi 58 grow on hard ground, while the stilted tufts called Maori heads, 59 moss, and rushes, indicate quagmire, and are never to be approached with horses.

In crossing valleys and rivers some experience is required to avoid bad ground. In the concave banks of rivers where lagoons debouch, soft mire and quicksands are often met with, and at the foot of terraces soft swamps are generally found. In crossing from one terrace or side of a valley to the other, it was our practice to look out for a place where the river made a large sweep, so as to approach across from one side to the other. In such spots it will generally be found that the banks of the river are approachable by sand or gravel

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spits, left by the floods and tails of the hill spurs. The river itself, if fordable at all, will be so in the middle of the valley. At the edges of the valleys the rivers usually run deep.

The valley in which we now were is bounded on the west by the Eyre mountains, and on the east by the Slate ranges. The formation of the hills is schistose, intersected by veins of quartz, in which peroxide of iron is often seen. Good roofing slate is plentiful on the east terraces of the valley.

On the 15th we were early astir, and leaving our tent and blankets we ascended to the top of the Slate range, estimated to attain an elevation of 2,000 feet above the valley. After we had arrived at the top we continued along the range till we obtained a satisfactory view of the country beyond. This range divides the waters of the Clutha from those of the Mataura, and in a N. E. direction a comparatively low and undulating country stretched as far as the Canterbury province. No high mountains are seen in this direction; but our view to the right and left was limited by the high land bounding the valley down which we looked. The ascertaining the existence of an available country was all that could be attempted at present, interior exploration being foreign to the present service in which I was engaged. As far as we went pack-horses could be brought, and I saw no obstacles to their farther progress.

We saw no appearance of lakes, and on after inquiry of the Maoris it appears that Wakatip Lake must lie in the valley 5 miles higher up the Mataura, 60 by which route they say it is easily accessible. No Maoris now living in the south have been in this direction for 16 years, and they have generally a very imperfect idea of the configuration of the interior with its lakes and rivers; so, much of their information proved fallacious. Thus, the Maoris of Jacob River maintained that the Mataura, Jacob River, and New River had their sources in Wakatip Lake.

Wakatip Lake was at one time much frequented for its greenstone, formerly an article of trade with the northern Maoris.

The scenery from the top of Slate Range was truly magnificent, for we had the bold precipitous and peaked Eyre mountains opposite us, while at our feet in the blue distance meandered the silvery Mataura, which we could trace from its source in Eyre Peak till it lost itself in the deep gorge beneath the Dome. The prospect was quite Alpine, imitating in wildness the valleys of Savoy; but here

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we missed the well cultivated fields and green pastures of the 'interval'. When will there be an analogy in this also?

The passing day warned us to descend, so we returned to the valley, and reloading ourselves we made for the spot where we left our horses and provisions. On the way we chased two wild dogs, sending some shot into one of them. They were pure white in colour. On turning back we set fire to the grasses so as to give facility to future travellers. The constant forcing our way through high grass, fern, and scrub, has worn shoes and trousers into holes and rags. We tumble dozens of times in a day, one time over a tussock, another time into a hole; now against a 'Spaniard', and then into the rough arms of a 'wild Irishman'; till our legs are raw with jags and scratches, and our hands and arms are full of thorns. The hair is even worn off the legs of our horses, and their fetlocks are full of sores. On the top of the Slate Range mica schist prevailed. The formation indicates gold, but we were not successful in obtaining specimens in the bed of the river.

On the 16th we recrossed the upper Mataura and returned to the creek near Observation Bush, where we camped. We set fire to the country as we went along, and now fully 30 miles is in a blaze. This evening is calm, and the Dome mountain is on fire from top to bottom. About this time two years [ago] I was in Rome when the illumination of the Dome of St. Peter's took place. On the former Dome Nature has only given one mite of her care; on the latter man has expended the highest of his skill. Both have their characteristics. Man's work, though limited, was beautiful; Nature's, as viewed to-night, was great and terrible.

On the 19th we had proceeded to the south end of the Taringtura Downs; along the eastern edge of the same, schists and porphyries were seen to prevail, and the pasturage was of superior quality. On the south end breccias were abundant, and limestone is found more westerly, distance about 4 miles.

As the steep country terminates here, and the low land begins, it was a subject of some consequence to the public to ascertain if any road could be got, either by the banks of the Oreti or Makerewa, to New River Junction 61 or to Invercargill. With the object of finding indications I ascended a hill and carefully reconnoitred the banks of the said rivers. Both showed herbage unfavourable for passage, particularly the Makerewa, where a dull brown swamp covered with

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patches of scrub was seen to extend over all the country not occupied by hills and forest. There was no use in losing time on the Makerewa, we therefore proceeded to examine the banks of the Oreti. After leaving the Taringtura Downs we got on to 'honeycombed' country for one or two miles, but descending the terrace we held on to a track of hard ground which did not continue above [an]other two miles. Here wet country prevailed in a manner to debar the passage of quadrupeds. Seeing there was no passage this way, we returned to our camp on the Taringtura Downs, at which we arrived by dark.

A route to New River might be suggested by the Spar Bush, but this line of road is so much intersected by swamps that it would have been impossible to have taken our horses with us. It is possible that parties having more time at their command may yet find a practicable route from the Taringtura Downs to Invercargill, and I would suggest as the most likely direction--the crossing of the Oreti 5 miles below the Downs, and thence by Macfarlane's Station.

We were at Jacob River Settlement on the 22nd, where we found the harvest with slight exceptions secured. On the 24th we proceeded to New River, sheltering ourselves for the night in an old house at Owi. On the 25th we swam our horses across the estuary of the New River, here 3/4 of a mile broad and got to Campbell Town on the Bluff. This day I observed granite and schist, in contact and amalgamating. On the 26th we swam our horses across the Bluff Harbour, and lodged for the night at Davis's cottage, situated in Tewai Point. 62 This cottage is romantically placed on the shores of the Southern Ocean, in the neighbourhood of rugged rocks, kelp, and roaring surf.

On the 27th we proceeded to the ferry-house at the Toitoes, 63 arriving at 7 P.M. The road bad, along an unfirm beach of gravel and sand extending 20 to 25 miles in length: the journey is therefore a trying one. At the end of this we had to swim our horses across the harbour, about 1/4 of a mile in breadth. From Tewai Point to Bushy Point the formation is recent deposit of quartz pebbles, and the grass on it is inferior. To the north and east of Bushy Point as far as the Mataura, and stretching inland 3 to 7 miles, the formation consists of decayed vegetable matter, whose surface is a peat bog. In the bog lagoons of brackish water are numerous. This day has been

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as beautiful as could be desired, and the cool sea-breeze was refreshing.

The house that we got into at the end of our long journey belonged to an 'old hand', and was as primitive as its owner. It was built of grass, with a fire in the centre, the chimney being a hole in the roof. The inhabitants consisted of an old man, a child, 6 dogs, 2 cats, 1 hen, 3 chickens, fleas innumerable, and 1 pig. The pig was the playfellow of the child, and thus, being a pet, when not in the arms of the child, had the snuggest seat at the fire.

Now as there were neither candles, chairs, nor tables, culinary and scullery operations had to go on by the fireside; these it may be imagined were done under difficulties which our old entertainer could scarcely meet. For the pig was fond of potatoes, the dogs of beef; surrounded by such hungry myrmidons, a system of attack and defence was constantly going on, in which both mess and dishes were overturned and emptied. At length the energetic hospitality of our 'old hand' prevailed, who placing our supper on the top of a chest--which had the advantage of darkness to cover the viands--I am scarcely ashamed to confess that we did all the justice to the same that ravenous appetites from a long journey are capable of.

The Toitoes harbour is safe inside, but is difficult of ingress and egress, owing to the narrowness of the mouth, and the generally very heavy surf upon its bar. The harbour is formed by the debouching of the Mataura River into the sea, which has the effect of keeping open a space at the junction of the sandy beach with the cliffy heads which would otherwise be choked up.

From the Toitoes we held along the eastern banks of the Mataura, which river we crossed near Dr. Menzies' station; 64 thence we returned to Invercargill on the 31st, after examining the country adjacent to the Waikivi 65 Creek. I got but slight insight into the nature of the formation to the east of the Mataura. The nature of the grasses would indicate the presence of lime; some metamorphosed rocks were observed cropping out on Kuriwau Hill. 66 The pasturage near the coast is inferior, being overrun with fern, but it rapidly improves as we journey inland, and the scenery is strikingly agreeable.

The survey was now completed; and before returning to headquarters I may take this opportunity of venturing on a few remarks

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which may appear too personal to be interesting. After serving so many years in the Survey Service of India, on this my first entry on the rough duties of the Colonial Surveyor, I had the contrast of circumstances pretty sensibly defined on my memory. The species are broadly distinct. The Indian Survey officer is clothed in snow white from 'sola topi' down to canvas pipe-clayed shoes. He smokes his perfumed 'hooka' or the fragrant 'manilla' with an air of listless satisfaction. When he walks on duty he is followed by a 'Piada', carrying an umbrella to shade him from the sun, and should a gutter cross his path, two lusty 'bearers' are ready to lift him over. Two or three hours of out-door exposure of his precious self suffices for the day, which done he sits at the door of his capacious tent enjoying his 'otium cum dignitate' and his brandy 'pance'. The slightest weight distresses him--he does not even carry a purse. He has hundreds of luxuries at his command; but does he enjoy them? No: an extra mouthful of 'moorgee' or glass of 'simpkin' requires three doses of nitro-muriatic acid to assist poor debilitated nature. His hollow eye and cadaverous complexion tell a tale.

The Colonial Surveyor in these regions is clothed in fustian trousers and blue shirt, Panama hat, and stout hob-nailed shoes. He is not known from his chainman. If he smokes, it is foetid negrohead through a 'cutty' pipe, and he puffs at that energetically. He has a hundred things about him; knives, needles, telescopes, matches, paper, ink, thread and buttons; these are stowed away in all corners of his dress; and then his 'swag' contains his tent-blankets, and change of clothes. These with his theodolite he carries on his back, and walks away through bogs, 'creeks', and scrubs, at the rate of 3 miles an hour. He cleans his shoes once a month with mutton drippings, and he lives on 'damper', salt junk, and oceans of tea. His fare is homely, but it is refreshing to see his voracity. His bed is on the ground, and he considers himself lucky if he gets into a bush where he can luxuriate in the warmth of a blazing fire. In this land of equality he shares bed and board with his men, but they are not of the common sort, for 'the service' is popular amongst the enterprising colonists, and he has to pick. They are men that know their place and duty.

Having partaken of the bitters and sweets of both services pretty freely, I must state that upon the whole, as surveyors are made to be killed, I prefer 'dum vivimus' cold air and stout appetite, to a hot air and general prostration. I prefer the homely enjoyments of colonial life.

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By the 15th April I was again in Dunedin, the capital of the province, having since I left it travelled over, mostly on foot, nearly 1500 miles of difficult country, and surveyed by 'reconnoissance' near 2 1/2 millions of acres... 67

NOTES

p. 326, 1. George Printz, a whaler and stock-owner, whose station was on the west side of the Oreti or New River, opposite the present Otatara township. In a later article 'Original Exploration of Otago and Recent Travel in Other Parts of New Zealand' (Transactions, Royal Scottish Society, Edinburgh, 1883), Thomson enlarged on this day --'Here where men were so scarce, I had to choose them as I best could, so the boat was manned by a miller, a cowherd, and a ploughman, sorry mariners. I was the only one who could pretend to a little knowledge of navigation; however we came out all safely. Arriving at the cowherd's hut, he kindled a fire, took a spade and commenced digging potatoes, as I thought; no, an old sack appears above the ground. What is in that sack? A lump of buried beef! I sickened at the sight, and it was long before I could revert to the subject with equanimity. It is strange how necessity and habit reconcile people to nauseous makeshifts.'

p. 332, 1. The red-haired Gaelic shepherd Mackenzie is a romantic figure about whom little is known though a good deal has been written. The most reliable account of him is in George Rhodes of The Levels and his Brothers by A. E. Woodhouse (Auckland, 1937). In March 1855 Mackenzie stole 1,000 sheep from The Levels at Timaru, then the most southerly station of Canterbury. He drove them inland over forty miles of unoccupied country through an unknown pass between the mountains (Burke's Pass, followed by the present main road) to the plains lying south-east of the great lakes Tekapo, Pukaki, and Ohau, which have ever since been known as the Mackenzie Country. He was followed here, captured, and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison. But he proved such a persistent jail-breaker that he was released on condition that he left New Zealand; and so disappeared. Tracks of earlier flocks of stolen sheep were followed as far as the Tekapo, the first of several large rivers to be crossed between the Mackenzie plains and Southland. Presumably he intended to take them across the Tekapo, Pukaki, Ohau, and Ahuriri rivers, over the Lindis Pass to the upper Clutha and thence to the Mataura Valley.

p. 337, 3. Six pages are omitted here, mainly hearsay remarks on whalers, mutton birds, local Maoris, and the sounds of the West Coast. His impressions of Jacob's River Settlement itself are given in another pamphlet Sketch of the Province of Otago (Dunedin, 1858) thus: 'At the mouth of Jacob's River is a whaling station, the most distant and obscure of all British settlements. When I first visited this place I was struck with the primitiveness of the manners of its inhabitants, and disinterested hospitality was not the least apparent of their customs. The scenes so graphically described in one of the novels of Sir Walter Scott, as obtaining in times of old amongst the Shetlanders, were recalled most vividly to remembrance. The personages described in his story had their living representatives, from old Uddala to the Minnas and Brendas.'