REMINISCENCES OF EARLY LEVIN

Chronicle (Levin), 5 July 1947, Page 4

REMINISCENCES OF EARLY LEVIN

PIONEER'S TALK TO LEVIN JUNIOR CHAMBER No matter what was done to Levin it would still be Levirti Its geographical features made it the best place of all, and its , inhabitants the "ehdsen people of Godi"

in Mr. Hector McDonald,- who made this statement when speaking to members of the Junior Chamber of Commerce in Levin on Thursday night, no better authority can be found, for it was his grandfather who was the first settler in these parts and cut ' the first road into Levin, and his family to' whom this district owes much for its early development aiid prosperity. Prior. to his ar'rival in Nbw Zealand, Mr. McDonald's grandfather was farming in Tasmania. He landed from a whaler at. Kapiti Island in 1832, being greeted on the beach by some 600 Maori wafriors. In 1856 he shifted to Hokio and cut the first road into Levin and made the first attempt at farming. Levin was largely built up with the assistance of the Maoris, said Mr. McDonald. "They helped to btiild the roads and do other constructiOnal work under the supervision of pakehas. Its early development was behind that of Otaki and Foxton, mainly because it was a sort of "no-man's land." The rivers near Otaki and Foxton were navigable for some way up, and this speeded up 4 the progress of those two towns. • The Maoris in the Levin area were in a sense a slave people, and had no contact with the whites. They were surrounded by enemies. Hardly a Maori in the area could speak English. A particular Maori woman of the tribe, who had a great deal to do with the establishment of better contact and relationship with the pakehas, was Turikutuku. She and her father went to Kapiti and while there she married a captaixi of a whaler named , John Stickle. The f our children from this marriage ' travelled widely and brought back new ideas. Inter-marriage between Maori and .pakeha was fairly common, with the result that there were very many families in Levin today with Maori blood in them. Recalling the ftiauguratioh of the railway through Levin, Mr. McDonald said that actually it should have gone through Foxton, but objections were raised by the settlers in Palmerston North. The personal element was very obvious when roads and railways were being constructed, said Mr. McDonald. This was borne out today when one saw the unsuitable and costly sites through which roads passed.- Many in authofity, ensured the siting of roads and' other advantages in areas benefiting themselves. j"You young men in the Junior Chamber should •see that such things are never again allowed to gp unchallenged. Wrongs done may take many years to right."

There was considerable agitation for the siting of the main road along the beach, and the telegraph poles had been erected there .i'n anticipation of this. It was riot long before they were blown down and were then brought further inland. They were blown .down again, however, and were finally erected alongside the railway. "These are the kind of things we are paying. for. There was no Junior Chamber of Commerce to protest in those days. I hopq," he added, "that you will not let anyone get away with that type of thing again." A great boom in sawmilling followed the laying of the railway, and timber was cheap and easily

obtainable. What he considered to be the. finest staftd of matai in the world stretched from' the Arapaepa'e Hills to the Horowhenua Lake. They were all straight trees, with hardly afiy -undergrowth to impair ' felling. Next came the land settlement schemes, under which the settlers were allotted sections in the Village: Settlement. Many happy families were reared in the settlement, said Mr. McDonald. One drawback was the lack of water. This was eventually overcome by the digging of* artesian wells ahd the use of windmills. ■ Everyone in those days. had windmills. Great difficulty was experienced in finding artesian water. - Gne well was dug at the present State Farm, which went down to 1200 feet. Two well-known well diggers in those days were Peter Peterson and a Negro', "Darkie'.' B'enhett. Recalling how a Mr. Gowrie, an early pioneef, Darkie Bennett and the speaker's father had attempted to find water, Mr. McDonald said that after four days of solid digging without results they had found Water gushing out of the ground behind some rata stumps, not far from where they were digging. "That's as far as my father went in- engineering," he added amid laughter. Very few of the early settlers had knowledge of engineering, Mf. McDonald Ncontinued. Their salvation was the arrival of the late Mr. James Rose; who had done evefything from mending docks to blacksmithing and Mriving the engine for Bartholomew's Mili. "No finer man could have comfe into such a community. He did everything and when night fell he took his fine old box of whistles (an old accordian) and acted as a b&hd_ as well." "There was very little education in the early days and the children were beginning to get backward. Some tutors were sent up, but they couldn't box as well as the children so they went back." Later there had been four schools, one being in the Town Hall at Weraroa. When he first went to school there were about 20 pupils and, following the fashion, football teams were started. These teams were the nucleus of the "Wanderers" and other present day clubs. This was a popular attraction for school attendance, continued Mr. McDonald. "Some started sphool on Thursday, graduated on Friday and played football on the Saturday."

1 He quoted the case of a boy who travelled 22 miles to and from school on a horse daily, 110 miles a week. It was understandable that the other boys had burnt down the school to get him- out of the' first standard. "I never really excelled at school. /There was so much to do on the way there and the way back. I was often called a 'truant' and 'incorrigible,' but look at the fish that were caught." Commenting on the' days when Levin first became a borough, Mr. McDonald said that there was more competition for the position of Mayor than was evident today. There were three candidates for the first mayoralty electicns, namely, Messrs. Jack Davis, B. R. Gardner and Charles Williams. Mr. Gardner had been elected with a total of 301, Mr. Davis received 201 and Mr. Williams 1. "All I can say is that there must be 300 'b — — Mars in Levin," was Mr. Williams' comment to the crowd after the results had been posted.