CHAPTER XII
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PART II.
CHAPTER XII.
Northern Island--Northern Districts--Pa-renga-renga, or Village of the Lily--Reinga--North Cape.
After a lapse of several months, which were taken up by a visit to the Chatham Islands, an interesting little archipelago to the south of New Zealand, and to New South Wales, but more especially to that district of the latter country which lies on the Hunter's River, I returned from Sidney to New Zealand in the Cuba, arriving in the Bay of Islands in October, 1840, after a voyage of only eight days. I then explored the northern parts of the island, and afterwards pushed my way to the interesting volcanic districts in its centre. I had intended to have returned to Cook's Straits, and explored in like manner the middle and southern islands, but various circumstances prevented my doing so.
A great part of the district to the northward of the Bay of Islands I explored in company with Captain Bernard, an adventurous Frenchman, who,
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NORTHERN ISLAND.
to a well-informed and liberal mind, united all that genuine politeness and savoir vivre for which his nation was formerly so famous. He was a most agreeable companion, and various were our adventures in the little schooner of sixteen tons, belonging to him, in which we coasted along the island, and entered many of the harbours; but having a great disinclination to describe personal incidents, I shall omit them altogether, and will risk the reproach of tediousness by giving what will, I conceive, be more useful--a topographical description of the different parts of the country, and afterwards look over the whole in a bird's-eye view.
I begin with the district of Kaitaia, comprising the northern end of the island. Cape Maria van Diemen, its north-western extremity, is formed of detached rocks of a hard conglomerate, which is composed of water-worn pebbles of basaltic lava, amygdaloidal basalt, greenstone, and Lydian stone. Inland of this rocky promontory the cape is sandy, and sand-hills run for a distance of about four miles along the coast to the eastward, as far as the Reinga, where the shore again rises into cliffs. The sand, driven by strong westerly gales, which prevail here during a great part of the year, has made great encroachments upon the land, and in fact nearly its whole northern extremity above the parallel of Houhoura or Mount Carmel--with the exception of that part, which is situated to the northward of the harbour of Parenga-renga -- has been over-
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REINGA.
whelmed by it. The sand-hills near Cape Maria van Diemen are separated by swampy valleys, mostly covered with raupo (rushes of the genus Typha): where the drainage is better, flax and fern grow. Streamlets discharge themselves from the swamps into the sea, and on their banks some natives rear their provisions, consisting of common and sweet potatoes, water-melons, and pumpkins. There is but little vegetable earth mixed with the sand, but the moisture of the climate, and the reflection of the sun from the dazzling white sand-hills, together with the extreme northerly situation of the place, render the vegetation productive, and the fruits ripen almost a month earlier than in the Bay of Islands. The natives do not exceed a dozen in number, and belong to the once powerful, but now conquered and scattered, tribe of the Haupouri (wind bringing darkness). They are slaves, but are suffered to live undisturbed. The little village, in which they received me with great kindness, consisted of the most whimsical structures I ever saw. Each dog and each pig had its sty fenced in, and the men themselves had similar little sties to live in: from one of these the patriarch of the family addressed me with a dignity that contrasted strangely with the surrounding simplicity.
Reinga, a spot kept sacred by the natives, as the entrance into "the undiscover'd country, from whose bourn no traveller returns," is situated somewhat to the eastward of Cape Maria van Diemen;
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REINGA.
it forms one extremity of a cliff of conglomerate rock, which cannot be approached from the sea-side, and which lines the coast for about six miles, and terminates to the eastward in a conical hill, Te-wanga-ke, whence the coast is lined by a sand beach to about the middle of the northern shore. It is curious to find in New Zealand the belief so common among barbarous nations, that there is a cave or passage through which the departed descend into the nether regions. By the New Zealanders this entrance is placed at the farthest extremity of their sea-girt isle (Te-Muri-wenua, or land's end), the limit of their known world, and the spot with which, of all others, the tribes to the south had the least inducement to become acquainted. The cliff above mentioned is the escarpment of a steep and narrow ridge, of moderate elevation, which runs inland towards the harbour of Parenga, but is not connected with the principal chain of mountains, which we can follow through the northern island, since to the southward of the harbour the island consists of low flats, the greater part of which, as I have already observed, is covered with sand. These hills consist of a stiff clay, white or reddish, from an admixture of oxide of iron, which is often found in brown crusts on the surface. From the principal branches of these hills ramifications run at right angles, like the buttresses of a fortification, and form ravines, which receive small streams of water. Only a scanty vegetation covers them, con-
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NORTHERN ISLAND.
sisting principally of manuka (Leptospermum scoparium), fern (Pteris esculenta), Lycopodium densum, and some mosses, with here and there a bunch of coarse, wiry grass, or Phormium tenax. In the ravines, however, the vegetation is more luxuriant, and consists of various trees, such as Fuchsia excorticata, puriri (Vitex litoralis), interspersed with fern-trees and cabbage-palms. On the whole there is very little wood, although in not very remote times the kauri pine (Dammara australis) must have covered all these hills, as is proved by the burnt remains of large trees of this species, and by the resin which lies everywhere scattered on the surface. At present there are only a few solitary trees of this species; these are to the northward of Kaitaia, and are of stunted growth. The destruction of the forest, which was a barrier to the encroachment of the sand, has sealed the doom of this northern part of the island, and a time may probably arrive when the whole will become its prey. Where the kauri once grew the soil is now only fit for the manuka and the fern. Evidence that this overwhelming sand-drift is of a modern date, and is owing to the destruction of the forest, may be seen on the western coast. Although there, also, almost the whole is covered with sand, still there are islands, or oases, so to speak, rising twenty or thirty feet above the sand, one or two miles from the sea-shore, showing on their steep sides the ancient structure of the land. The sand, working
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DISTRICTS OF THE
in the same manner as the waves of the sea, gnaws at these islands, but has not yet been able to reduce their level to that of the surrounding land. About half way between Parenga-renga and the western coast there is a puriri-tree (Vitex litoralis) half buried in the sand, but still growing; it serves as a landmark to the natives, within the memory of some of whom the sand has accumulated several feet in height. At other points on the western coast the same appearance is presented by some patches of forest having protected isolated spots of land, the soil of which is still good and fertile.
From Manga Ke the northern coast sweeps again in an open bay for some miles to the eastward. The eastern extremity of this bay is formed by a rocky peninsula of pudding-stone, worn by the action of the waves. At high water it is insulated, and, being difficult of access, was formerly a stronghold of the Haupouri tribe. A narrow valley here opens to the sea; through it flows a rivulet, which winds between rocks overturned and broken in the most remarkable manner. Sometimes the sides of the valley form high and perpendicular cliffs, presenting steep and naked walls opposite to each other; sometimes they slant down at different angles, or form tabular masses, or rise into compact pyramids. The rock is the same conglomerate, extremely hard, and forming solid masses; but the narrow valleys between ridges contain a very fertile soil. The hills have the appearance of a large
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NORTHERN ISLAND.
mass or layer of firm rock violently broken and heaved up by gaseous vapours. The highest of the hills, called Hairoa, is visible at some distance from the eastern coast, and an arm of the estuary of Pa-renga-renga, extending to within about three miles of its base. It rises almost to a point, so that there is scarcely room for a man to stand on. A little below the summit the hill is pierced by a vault, which serves as a frame through which to view the surrounding country. The worn surface of the hard rock, which is visible at about 300 feet above the level of the sea, does not appear to have resulted from the effects of air and rain, but rather from the long-continued action of the sea beating upon the deposited and conglomerated pebbles after the mass had been elevated and rent asunder by earthquakes.
The whole of this place is called by the natives Kapowairua (literally, a spirit which has become night--that is, has been annihilated). It was once occupied by the tribe of the Haupouri, under their leader E' Ongi, surnamed Cape (North Cape), to distinguish him from the renowned E'Ongi of the Bay of Islands; they were attacked by Pane Kareao, the chief of the Rarewa tribe at Kaitaia, who had been called in by E'Ongi's own people to prevent the aggressions of their chief. E'Ongi was taken by surprise at the dawn of the morning, and killed, together with a great many of his people; the rest were obliged to leave their native land, and to
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NORTHERN ISLAND.
settle in Kaitaia. This happened about ten years ago; and as at the same time several of their pas at the North Cape were taken, nobody has since lived in the district, and Kapo-wairua was sold by Pane Kareao to an European. In the direction of one of the principal inlets in the estuary of Parenga-renga, the few narrow and fertile spots near the northern shore soon give way to that kind of narrow ridges and ravines which I have mentioned above. Having formerly been kauri-land, they are now very barren. The soil contains layers of soapstone, or steatite, a material which is very useful in the manufacture of china, and a good deal of stiff ferruginous clay. The arms of Parenga-renga inlet extend between the ramifications of these hills, and generally terminate in swamps, grown over with what is called the New Zealand mangrove (Avicennia tomentosa), named manawa by the natives. The available land is of very limited extent.
As regards the northern coast, I have only further to observe that up to the North Cape it is very rocky, alternating with small sandy bays. Off the North Cape lies a small rocky island, Muri Motu (Last Island), separated from the mainland at high water only. The promontory itself is high and bold, presenting very steep sides to both the northern and eastern coast; but a flat and swampy land of about three square miles in extent runs from the northern to the eastern coast, and sepa-
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PARENGA-RENGA.
rates this promontory from the hills at Kapowairua.
The eastern coast from the North Cape to the north head of the harbour of Parenga-renga is formed by frightful perpendicular cliffs of volcanic conglomerate, sometimes alternating with cliffs of a reddish crumbling loam; where this is the case the land is very fertile. In many places quicksand hides the formation of the land, and forms downs and sandy beaches. Part of the coast is occupied by a hard grey stratified sandstone, which can be traced across the neck of land separating the estuary of Parenga-renga from the sea. On both sides it is included by the conglomerate. In this sandstone I found a small layer of good coal a few feet in length and an inch and a half broad. The coal formations of England being overlaid by a similar conglomerate, it might be thought probable that more extensive beds of coal would be found in this neighbourhood: but, from a few fossils which I afterwards found in the conglomerate, I am induced to believe that this rock is not of the age of the old red sandstone, but belongs to a modern tertiary epoch, although it is certainly curious that the formation of brown coal, or lignite, which abounds in New Zealand, and which evidently belongs to the same age as the coal above mentioned, should have been followed by a conglomerate much worn and shattered, and indicating, as does the conglomerate of the coal-measures, a period of great disturbance. The coal, although
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LIGNITE.
in small quantity, is in this case a true coal, and proves, if really belonging to the tertiary epoch, that the formation of coal has not been confined to one period of the earth's existence.
The northern head of Parenga-renga is a black water-worn bluff, and here the conglomerate contains some perfect fossils, especially of the genus Turritella and Ostrea. The entrance into Parenga-renga is easily distinguished by this bluff, as the southern head is a spit of a dazzling snow-white sand, which stretches towards Mount Carmel along the coast, and extends for some miles inland.
From Cape Maria van Diemen, along the western coast, a long line of sand-hills alternates with a few cliffy promontories, consisting either of a hard basaltic lava in irregular masses, or of a reddish loamy earth with layers of lignite, three or four feet in diameter, and overlaid by a thick stratum of loam. The lignite is not peat, but real wood, more or less carbonized. The pieces of wood, although much broken and worn, are easily recognised as belonging to species of trees still existing in the island, especially kauri (Dammara australis) and Pohutu-kaua (Metrosideros tomentosa). It will be seen in the sequel that formations of this description are very common in New Zealand, both on the eastern and western coasts, and that they form, in fact, a leading feature in the geology of the island.
I must not omit to mention here a small rocky island, lying about twelve miles from Cape Maria
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ENCROACHING SANDS.
van Diemen, and three miles off the shore, and called Matapia. It is covered with countless numbers of sea-birds.
In crossing from the western coast to Parenga-renga the road leads for several miles over white and soft sand-hills. Their desolate aspect is peculiarly impressive, as almost before our eyes the sand is swallowing up the only verdant spots which remain. The similarity of these little plots of land to islands, presenting in their steep sides layers of lignite and reddish loam, and the resemblance of the quicksand to the waves of the sea, are very striking. But never did a water-worn island bring so clearly before my mind the destroying agencies of Nature as this scene did, since we have here the means of ascertaining their quick effects by the plants and shrubs which are half buried in the sand. Several shallow but clear rivulets flow towards the western coast, being the outlet of some small lagoons or swamps, which afford temporary protection from the sand to the wooded spots beyond them. A few miles from the estuary of Parenga-renga the land, being more sheltered by hills, assumes a better aspect; the narrow ravines are fertile, and covered with high fern, flax, and brush-wood, and brooks flow through them, which join the different arms of Parenga-renga harbour.
This estuary is not laid down in any chart, although it is an extensive one; it must be placed at what is called Sandy Bay in the general charts, in
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NORTH CAPE.
latitude 35 deg.35' S., and in 172 deg.57'E. longitude. The entrance to it is narrow, but is two fathoms deep at low water. The tide rises ten feet. I must however observe that, in standing out of the harbour in our schooner during the ebb-tide, I observed some rocks in the entrance, about six feet under water, and vessels must therefore ascertain the exact channel previously to entering.
The harbour, or the estuary, as it should more properly be called, is from six to eight square miles in extent, and sends several branches in different directions for some distance inland, all of which are navigable for boats at high water. Good land is situated at the head of these channels; one of these is only a little distance from Ka-po-wairua on the northern coast. The best anchorage in the harbour is within the inner northern head, where there is five fathoms water.
At the North Cape I found the remains of large native pas, or fortifications, on the crest of the hills. It will, perhaps, be recollected that, in the account of Captain King's 'Voyage to New Zealand,' it is stated that he found this part of the island well inhabited. Since that time all the inhabitants have been reduced to slavery in their last wars. For a long time the whole district was laid under "tapu," that is, forbidden to be inhabited, and the remains of the tribes went to other places. It was only a short time before my arrival in Parenga-renga, in the beginning of 1841, that about sixty natives of the
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THE LAND'S END.
Haupouri tribe had returned to their old country with the permission of Pane-kareao, the chief at Kaitaia, intending again to settle here. A European was living with them, for whom they had engaged to catch wild pigs, which have overrun the northern extremity of the island, where they feed upon fern-root and sea-weeds. A great quantity of fish is taken in the harbour, especially skates, herrings, mackerel, and snappers; and the natives were preserving them in great quantities by simply drying them in the sun.
The whole extremity of the island, from Parenga-renga to the northward, is called by the natives Muri-wenua (the land's end), and from my description it will be seen that there is not much to entice European settlers. There is, however, land fit for some small farms, with excellent soil, sufficient wood, and great facilities of water-carriage. But it is to be expected that the remainder of the original tribe will return to their native place, and at the same time it is probable that some one of the private purchasers will occupy his land, and give the natives a stimulus for improving their condition. A considerable number of sheep would find easy sustenance on the hills, more so indeed than in most other parts of New Zealand, as the herbage here is low, and therefore better adapted for sheep than a high and vigorous one.
