THE RURAL ATTRACTIONS OF WOODSIDE.

Auckland Star, Volume IV, Issue 1206, 4 December 1873, Page 3

THE RURAL ATTRACTIONS OF WOODSIDE.

It may appear strange, but it is true, that numbers of Auckland people know no more of Woodside (Stokes' Point) than the man in the moon ; but the little steamer now plying merrily upon the -waters of the Waitemata between the harbour and the point will join the hands of the people, and form a link of friendship in the future. We visited WaMside on Saturday last by the last ferry Jlft, and returned on Monday by the first steamer. The brother boatmen sat in the Dauntless, and pulled away comparatively composed under the circumstances, and even whistled " Row, brothers, row." The settlers, on their final boat voyage, were glad in anticipation of the rosy dawn of a new era, and in the distance they already saw the first Woodside steamer with its busy paddleWheels and smoking funnels, like a thing of light and promise, freighted with Woodside strawberries and vegetable productions floating towards the city from their rustic habitations. The Dauntless on its last trip bore a cluster of passengers, chiefly strawberry gatherers and gardeners, with an old Stokes' Point woman at the helm, who feared that the favourite settlement would lose its original name for ever unless she made a sturdy resistance, and this she was prepared to do. Stokes was not dead, a.nd it would be monstrous to call the place Woodside, when '■ there was no wood in the locality. She avowed that so long as she Possessed a home by the open sea '• Never Stokes Point should Woodside be. .The boat reached the wooden pier somewhat the worse for wear, and ascending the steps in due order we were once more on terra firma, and tripping up a hollow lane leading to the Ferry Tavern. To our left we observed the pretty villa of Mr Hall, with its floral surroundings peeping over a smooth lawn upon the receding waters. This was the nattiest, and indeed the only villa of the . immediate neighbourhood, and the first object j that strikes the eye from the pier. On a mossy level by the roadside was the Ferry Tavern, the home of Mr South. This tavern has a pleasant and comfortable appearance, and the inner apartmeuts were of the character, cleanly and cosy, as one might expect judging from the exterior of the building. The Ferry Tavern is the sort of place that would have suited the easy temperament of Shenstone, and the free taste of Johnson. The premises are commodious, with ample room both for man and horse. The garden and orchard lead into romantic nooks, shaded by; heavy trees, with undulating outlooks upon tho sea, and vessels coming round the Heads. It is just the spot for a Christmas picnic. There is also a fine level field that might be easily transformed into a famous cricket ground. The coffee house opposite is in the possession of the garrulous lady who will not recognise Woodside in the point while she and Stokes live. Onward to the left is a small allotment with a small house upon it, partly surrounded by gum trees, the property of Mr Howard, the inv«mtor of gum-polish, which will come into ' "Mieral use at no distant period. Lying out •■flWng the shadowy hills was the happy va^e of Mr Bartley, and to the left of the _^_de-road we spied the simple spireless church, with its adjacent school, originally intended for some forlorn bachelor minister, but who never came. The parsonage, or manse, might have suited the modest views of.some Dr.. Primrose, "passing rich with

for,by pounds a-year," who would Lave been content therein. The church and school, however, are sufficient for the educational and religious wants of the present population, the next object of interest was the quiet homestead of the brothers Johnson, who have earned a name for their early strawberries, and managed by their united heads and hands to win honest bread. The brothers Johnston, we understand, work in harmony as brothers should do, and aro all, unfortunately or otherwise, single men. We passed on to the richly freighted gardens and orchard, of Mr Hawkins, with their thousands of flowers and fruit trees, many of the latter being nearly fruitless this year. Every year, as gardeners know, is not equally fruit-bearing. We walked through this sunny domain with the owner, and it was quite a treat to wander among the trees and vegetables of almost every known description, and numberless iiswers whose names are beyond our horticultural knowledge. Far up, and over the brow of the hill, was the cultivated and uncultivated acres of William Thompson, with its calm life and serene pictures of industry. There we espied one of'the sweetest little bits of bush scenery that we have met in so small a compass, with its orchestra of leaves and haunts of singing birds. Wo experienced at that spot a fine view of the open "country, with the purples outlines of majestic hills in the remote distance ; and more, we saw Nature's miniature answers to the silent calls of industry in the beauty of flowers, the crisp, green leaves of vegetables, and the blush of fruits, and recognized in number-, less forms the ever-recurring truth that none so little enjoy life and are suet burdens to themselves as those who have nothing to do. He that knows not what it is to labour knows but little of the true enjoyment of life, which depends on the regular prosecution of some useful occupation. A quarter of a mile further on Wade road brought us to the compact and wellcultivated farm of Mr Alexander Wilson, with its varieties of potatoes, peas, beans, fruits, oats, and the finest patch of wheat that we have yet seen in this country. We cannot help noticing the fact that this land, with its cheering associations, was some four years ago covered with bush, which has vanished before the hands of labour, and that hundreds of acres of excellent land lie round about Betsland waiting for the same energy to make it blossom as the rose. At Betsland, by the light of the moon, we shared a dish of delicious strawberries and cream, and reserving our visit to Shoal Bay and the marine residences of Messrs Lusk and Hurst, which we shall describe on tho occasion of our next trip, retired for the night.