THE MAKING OF A PROVINCE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 930, 24 September 1910, Page 13

THE MAKING OF A PROVINCE.

■. « ——• , STORY OF HAWKE'S BAY. BUSY TOWNS AND SMILING COUNTRYSIDE. PIONEERS AND THEIR,WORK. INTERESTING REMINISCENCES OF OLD DAYS.

, .■ -, <-■-/ :.' i If thero is one provinco of New Zea- *'. land more' 'than -another;: which. ;.s{ands ; , for j' individual • enterprise: and singlehanded pioneering, it is Hawke's Bay. ;-v Though ' one' of;' the' "f aiirest. . districts' /' of "■ ; the Dominion, none;. of.; the; original ozonising .-it' ;for. «ittiemeiit,*- Mid-layneglected,; for; . something liko .-.ten Vyears.-. after ' tho v§'jy.yl^e-'mnged- , e^ships..'hadJound'' into'-'the.'harbours '/-.of ; the- -, south.'/- Hawke's vßay.;, official; ;;^Vl'^day,';::fbr"'-nob^y. ; V ; :kiows..^ : esaotly: ■. .-when-it was. that,the first' stray, white penetrated .Vin^ X.' ' andy rnost' of . the./briginal - pioneers : hai; 'more '.urgent on'/hand; than .'; 'tho :.up^yofv diaries, ,begih- .. of .' things- has hecome shrouded : .'in'.som'o- obscurity;:' Inquiries among- a -' number vof best-informed' residents ;;of ? the ;.v province,'\for K . faile.d i'r:. '. to information ..as to who brought .the first'; sheep. in, ;or ■ where they came from; . .One • pioneer, of long 'A-.'i standing thought it might .have beeii •' Mr J Alexander M'Leari,', brother. -of Si jr . Donald M'Lean; or, possibly'.Mt.,(Mian,. tliat: he ; ' hkd'Jmeyer 1 : />'- flpfinite:oh.. tho-point./' -- / /■: V:. whose;, misskinary - .work . among tho '-jiaoris began.'.nmety?Vc.ars agO : at.the 1 ' ' VBay of Islands, '.were -among the very, ; . .first- to. penetrate! to", the : Nitive'. settle-• scrubs-clad-;?: w'astes; 'of; Hawk-i Bay The Rev "William' Wil- /.,..: y. Jiams" and.'his brother, the Rev./ Henry -• ! "Williams, were'associated .in'the estabr ■V:^'East/Coast;^as-:farxbacki:as^ ! ; Bishop • Selwyni-.- iir/bis ''.famous v walks over Now Zealand' a feiy years later, fcravers^.thowholo:extent-of r .tlie,-pro-. -'//; 'Vince '. from soulh); to ' north.: - .In " some, : y^ifsilie.: missiqiii^iea;; and'v.fc'lie ; ■•■ the :■ country but . gradual]yone;':SQttier^.aiter.'another found his waj north.' :>'.J i THE BEGINNING OF THINGS. '■' HiV:- v.- -5-" t MAORI AND MISSIONARY. . •, ; it is-ciaim^'.'by, 'some 'that. 1 to' .the Rev; } William vColenso, .who took lip his. ■' .'-pennanent residence in Hawke's Bay. m- • v - -1844,- belongs tho honour, of 'being -the ' first Europ<3an settler!. • Mr! Colenso set-. ' ' tied at Waitangi, near the present'Parn- ■;; don .Railway; Station,<■ and bmlt a mis-----sion house. >-At/.thatdate' the ..whole ■" •; _. of thb area ill© 1 ' mqiitlis;.'of the Ngaruroro -.and-AVaitangi-i was- f'tapuV, 'j, as .a' Tiyd'. ;pi^ v, .swamp ; hen, :''and . eel preserve. ■ llr. ; encountered ■ > 'his full share of pioneering. chificnlties. "* I'The jcountry around: his property? was iclad in a dense;.interlaced; jungle of ■ : outting grass and . overland, communicavturn, between 1 the station.: and - Maori' vilr : .lages -in . tho: neighbourhood .was - im-. " possible. - Maoris who-visited' tho sta- . tion invariably;' 'joiirney<id.'by ':caiioe.' At.this period 'the./three'great Maori 2^''ieHtre's'ointhe; 'bay.vwere'.:at Vthe'island; on 'the -TangoM 'beach r .at. To Awapuoi, . /.'.and: at. Maraetotara; : near..' Clifton. The ' Maoris, prior to tho arrival of -white . isettlors, depended' largely; .uponfishing • /■r as a means ok livelihood; and they .were • possessed of . a I'great. neet; of icanoes.. arnved, m ■ 1846,! two -hundred ■ canoes <i put out to the ship. ' ' ii.';'...a'Amo£gi • whalers, and in. theiforties whaling sta- : tions .-were to • bo s found at _ Capo Kid- .- sappers, ?Mahia,'.and, Wairoa.. mAbout . the s year .1850, ■of settlers • wero ■ ■ reported', to,be- scattered in the interior • of the province, and Mr.'.Donald (after- : warda Sir DonaldJ M'Lean, who was i' v/i then Native Minister,' went up'as Lands' Purchase Commissioner and negotiated purchaso of- several;/.large: blocks. !\ U^tribal; 'i/land. ■; titles ;• rfc' ; : : .6ulted ;in.; wme'fighting -and loss of life ;;/;!/ among- tho Natives, but' after ;this-wa's i.. . over-both parties ."camc -to tehris. rea-!-\j: sonably ( enough with Mr. M'Lean.. From 13135'.time onwards a steady stream of Y'. settiers begm to'llow into ;tho province.

A RECORD. OF 1858.

THE FIRST RACE MEETING. | An. almanac, printed as a supplement .. Bay of January, 2, 1858j contained tho following sum- .• inarised statement ;.of.,the ..position" the • district had attained. ait;: that/date:— "The' district '•' »'•! at; ' a por- , " tion of the province of 'Wellington, ! but I-;*.tho' maBS or its iriha"bitants. strongly, desire a separate political existence. rThe district', . in'' round-inumbers,contains' •;V.v, .threeimiUidn.'acres.'.^ 'JS:-' it ,-is • . is;' available; for - agricultural '• 'purposes,and. of ' which ; • iv;iboutV l,200,000 ( .-acres i..have i acquired from the -Native fowlers. It is ' estimated that.'about 700;000 acres, arc ■'•" > at-: : preserit. occupied as;;sheep ..j runs or pastures. Large, tracts of; valuable J ;': ;!:lahd,~"''^availablefor ' agricultural ,'purposes,. and near .the Port,: are still held l>y tho Native owners,; and may be ex- ' ' . pectcd in due time to pass into the v' ' V:' hands of the '■ Government. The climate is considered .to ho the finest in New . Zealand. The result, of the census ■' taken in March' last/was as follows Souls, .982 ; acres fenretl, 1458 horses, 382; cattle, 3031; ,sheep, 130,608. The : . export of wool, last .year, was, as nearly . 'canvbe''ascertained;' 900 'bales, contdining- 300,00pib.yiwhich, 'at the ruling ;.' price of' this commodity, may lie 'Valued . at Ijxihsidc'rably , more than £20,000. The;.' increase 'in ; .shipments ' 'this' year.' is. estimated atV one-third. V The .outlet of "the district—the town of ;:. Napier—is rapidly progressingj hooses , springing upih all; direction's, ; and /its population receiving 'almost daily additions." . . ' •

Isv way 'of. supplement to ..the fore-, going; statement,:''-.it may, be mentioned that' the Napier , electoral roll in Jariuv.;:; ary, 1850, contained 89, names. In 1857 there was no church in tlio little town, ;' but the' Church of England service was v xe'ad in tho Little iva's pro- , : "vitled in the way of public amusements. ■V , .Th? first. race meeting wan held : on March 19. 1809, in honour of : thj separa- ■■ a tion of- the. provinces.. Mr. J. D. Ormond figured prominently as, J an owner ■ :of racing horses, but the "Hawke's Bay . Stakes," of £50,. was. won, hv Mr. C.' - J. Nairn's Charlie Napier.' The: guardians'of'law and order seem to have two of a lenient disposition,'.for. it is

recorded, that whalers woiild sometimes broach : 'ai;.keg of ruhi .in the streets and invito all and .sundry to: partake.. BREAKING IN THE LAND. SETTLERS' TRIALS AND TROUBLES. ' Hawke's Bay in those days was a land covered in ' fern'; and ti-tr.ee,. and differed ? from tho great grazing districts of ; the. South Island in; having comparatively little: .open grass country 'in;.its' original, state./ The .hill; pastures: and; ; meadow -,■ lands tho traveller . sees to-day wero not made in one day, nor in many days. "When the- scrub was. offi .-the;'.land, had just begun, and for many years onsuod a struggle- for supremacy be-, tweeii .tho sown English grasses (and the native fern. •Many; a/pioneer :there .was who saw ,his, 'clearings! disappear -as.,soon as ho made them, and it. was often a bitter fight until the; right .'methods: of dekling with.; tho trouble - ..'.wire.'.. ..discovered. \ .' . /•;'/.

In the southern portion of the province: was . the : Seventy . Mile Bush, then' untoiiehed,' and now- little' more than a memory. One by 0110 the' sawmills havo como to the end,'of tfeirwork, and where in "olden-'.days was. .Heard., ..".the ':bell-biiti.'in/the/leafy/deep,,'':of .'which •'Kipling:' writes,' there, now. comes .' in-' 'stead ;tho.• tinkle/of;;.the 'cow-bell':'across tho- pasture. Ono does <uot -need ,to bo very old to be. ■when Dannevirke,' I the, thriving''centre of southern Hawked -Bay,. was little more : .tliah.'a lumber- camp.vj'The'first: sawmills in"itho ; district; /asl/a'' matttf'ofi.iact; were started about ,1886. : 'v7'; .

H-. By,- j the .time. there were' about.«lOui) lie opinion-.began • to 'develop, and. n, was not . long before!, tb'6 settlers; grew tired.-of paying money' away in- t^axea ■ forVlie;-- ;i beri6fit'of-i!otter.vpartsldf..'!Wei-' lingtoh' province.' Accordingly, there de-' veloped aii agitation for-"tho formation of 1 tlie Province of Hawke's . Bay,! and. by the end. of thfe' ' fifties, Napierpossessed a littlo Parliament of its' own. The attention 'of tho Provincip.l'Counpil, which -continued !in existence. : unt-il tie abolition of the provinces ten or eleven years .later, .was divided between the;. construction, ;of • 'public works, ;■ and 'the - wiving': of'.'fhejlarid'>'problem,':,with . which-New'Zealand Half a! century, later still':finds, itself wrestling. From' 1861 to 186? extraordinarily• rapid progress' was. made. • A road ; was, constructed through the bush to the - 'district 'on - the W<st; Coast;' thod'ld 'stock .route-along iHei; ip'rfo viously formed; tho-only .overland; route' to : the south. /Schools' 'were-':erected-, ; ' and, to give '.an . instance or two of: tho general of'-'theprovince, \ the: number of m-throo' years from 738 to 1130, the sheep from 558,000 to 842,000, and the horses from ,2780' to 4713. So r rapid was 'the expansion of trade, in Hawke's Bay that before railway communication -was : opened with .Wellington, the. exports of produce from Napier ;had actually, it is ; said, begun to. excced. thoso from tho capi-: tal.city;.; ;, :;/:-;"W.';:>'^- ; :>v-\:'.; ■■■-. //';:!-../ Among ' the early settlers who bore the/heat and burden* of ;,the':pioneering :days were many whoso names -afterwards'became household , words throughout tho colony. In ,these pages :ithere is not room to describe, their. : individual achievement, but . among ' the liames which/bulk'. large inV ; th6 records 'of theprovince . were those of \ Sir /. Donald M'Lean, to .wise .Handling of the Natives not only Hawko's Bay, but: all New Zealand, owes; n>-ucb, the Hon. J, D. Ormprid, the'province's last superintendent, Archdeacon Williams, the Rev. W, Colenso, Major-General ' Sir' George "Whitmore, ..Colonel; Sir William Russell; Captain Carter,' and .jMessrs. kTiffOri, !'-T. H. Fitzgerald, Hitclungs, Kennedy, Tuko, and - J. Buchanan—to/ single;,. out., only a' few. :/;,/;;-.!: j' Among the earliest 'of' the settlers are found the names! of .Williams, Gpl.lanj' Colenso, M'Lean, Ormond, Nairn, Coleman, M'Hardy, Canning,; Hislop, Carlyon, Dufi, Herrick, Harding, Dolbel,-Pope-Smith,'' Hamilton;: Meinertzhagen, Purvis, Russell, Tiffen, Tanner, Fannin/': Kenwick Hill, Gordon, Newman;' Nelson, .:'Donnelly,-'.Tmgg,''Condie,::Rich, Shrimpton, ' Cross, '• Cart-wright, ' Gas-, cbigne, Lowry;. Chambers, StV- : .Hill, Rhodes, Stokes, Knowles, Rymer,- and many others.- v V-//.!/'!; \ WHAT THE BIG MEN DID. IMPORTATION OF ST CD ! STOCK; <. 'Ha,wke's'Bay 'to-day:has in.it as fine, a .class.of. stockj : in' the; shapo of' Shorthorn cattle,-' Lincoln,'/ Leicester, . and R-omiiey sheep, and Clydesdale horses, as . will be found-mr any- part- of /the world. This is dno to t&e enterprise of tho run-holders iri importing at great cost aii-d !great _ risk, valuable stud stock from Grea,t Britain and Australia. The progeny of these animals have been scattered far and- wide among ' the smaller- settlers; who could not afford' to -import- stock: theniselvesy< and it is .worth i remembering that it /is. the vbig men who have made possible, the gen.eral reputation l.for. excellence :borne by New;. Zealan- live';: sfcick/ to-day.' For .many / years ?also . practically the wholoof the Teturiis: ! from the' sheep stations were " spent on improvements in largo numbers. of cases, -. so!:.that long periods: , there .waSfi'dften . but a small return;, for the,. .: This vast expenditure waSv however, 1 largely . the means.of- building up tho towns in the ■ district. /During'the .first twenty 'years after settlement the. sheep pastures of tho province were, mostly, -, stocked, with merinos, but gradually the. LincolnMorino cross came' into .popularity, land the various other English breeds /.were, introduced at about the same time. In the story of the founding of tho frozen meat trade, told elsewhere in, this isstio, some account is! given of the great changes . that liavo taken place in ■eheepbreeding.- sinco the early, 'eighties. l'o-day in Hawke's Bay, as elsewhere iii Now Zealand, the Romnoy .'is iii great demand. It is. not at all certain! whether tho first sheep weredriveji. up the coast .from the Wiairarapa, or were brought .by".sea from Australia.; : Some at . least of tho. earliest. flocks .'. wore founded by. importations from Messrs. Gibson, of Tasmania,.;and Learmonth and Currie,- on the Australian, 'niain-, land. ' " ■' In cattle,. Shorthorns and Horefrirds K-ere. the favourite breeds right from tho"beginning of things, though the black cattlo wero'also introduced at an early date. ■■■'-. . • . . .. Naturally in tho grassing of-'! the country much experimental work was dene before the settlers found , out

what Wore' tho best kinds of. grass to. sow. Ryegrass and cocksfoot were the staple combination, but other varieties Avero ; continually being . introduced, occasionally with disastrous results. 1 A bastard tall fescuo w;as the,.cause if great deterioration in many pastures. It.was introduced by one of the settlers in; his: expdrimouts,- but was found to develop ergot in cattle,, and tho work of, eradicating it lias cost a, pretty, penny, on many estates. This fescue is still to be met with'in different parts■ of the district] and for a time it tookcomplete possession of some of the rich" swamp lands. > . ~ Except in the rough country in the back : raji"es.noxious .weeds.are not the same- problem as in other districts. The Cal.ifornian thistle, the blackberry, and the sweetbriar. are- all in - evidenco, but in most cases are kept well within bounds. In the 'sixties much alarm was caused-by the appearance of the Scotch thistle, in the pastures, and the whole countryside for a time turned out with hoes and grubbers to attack tho enemy. The task was a hopeless, one,, for;.the' thistle-down. floated by, 011 every t bronze that .blew. Eventually' it ;was found that the- thistles were, not a .very, seri.pus trouble, and -.if ■' anything • tended to benefit the. land.J. V" v ' RABBITS AND RIVERS. PROBLEMS OF TO-DAY AND . YESTERDAY 1 ; About thirty years ago Messrs.' Cross Bros.,' . Mackersey, Price,.''.and other settlers on the edge of the bush; country;, in : southern Hawke's\ Bay. repoi-ted that_ rabbits ;.were coming" through' in considerable .'numbers;: from . the -Wairai; rapa.' ; The' news, naturally, caused much.' concern' among the stockowriers, .arid, at, a. meeting of, settlers .Messrs: R. ~p;' D. ; ,:M'Lean, .Chambers, and Lougknan .were' sent down to report or. the con-:;

drains Vhad, of course, ; "also' to,': be' out.' Since tKe water has been got away, the land has shrunk down by degrees, so that now the big To Auto drain is in no part more than about five feet deep. A curious thing about the Hawke's Bay swa.mps.is that the land below them is almost' invariably found heavily cov-. oral in 'timber, and drain-maliine is largelya..business. of ; sawing i through timber: or.,blasting it awa'y. Te Auto draws. all', its firewood to-day from tho old swamp - land, " and ;is likely to do so for many, years. -The .'ground where' it'has: not been clear Cd-is often.a' mass of stumps;a r nd roots: How these ancient' . forests ..became submerged 11 is '■ a mystery, and .likely to .remaiii so. -Tho, straiigesti ;discovery of all.-was that,/there • wero two layers of-timber onthe bottom ot many of tho-swaiups:.- The.forest, whoso remains were .first, unearthed,- had ■ apparently; grown l up abovo' tho- bones ot another still-more a'neient, both now and old dating-back to. years far-.be-,'yond - the'' moniory of either pakeba or Maori: At'To Ante, when the water was first drained away,, the- land' begaiv to crack anil cake, tho sun . baking it almost as .hard as.bncks. .'.Ploughing was out ot the ■ question with .tlip timber era' j.wher'e, .-and..it looked for.'; a time-: as';_ if tlie drainage might be inore or,.less - in; vai'n after all. ' Mr. Alien.;-.Williams,diowever, designed a grubbing-;machine,, tojwhich lie had a team of 27'.:bulIocks--liit{jhod, and with: this the ground has. not- only been broken' up,, but - a good;' portion of Jhe -surface .extracted. A HEROIC STRUGGLE. HOW GREENHILLS WAS MADE . Mr. .Arciiie..M'Lean's was also abdut.!3ooo : 'acres in irea',';and it:.would have becii' possiblp to '; lja'ye; sailed; for. a stretch;.of. four- or fiy.ei/miles /oyer it when' Mr. M!Lean' first took up;,the. pro-.

■ dittos of - 'the country south ,of :Wai| I mata.?. -They- found that v a very 'serious j situation' 'was developing, . and ..'as . a result of their recommendations ■ tho. settlers -of "Hawke's Bay . voluntarily formed a: rabbit board ind ito'vprovide 'tho.; erec-:; tipn 'of a rabbit-proof 'fence, along; the provipoiil" boundary, and for the salaries /of rabbit' inspectors:, _. A .fence, from 'twenty to thifty/.miles in. lbngth,was. .accordingly ; '/constructed ;, through tho,!bush-'at' great.expensP, -and.,thp dis- . trict'./in ,!this way. .saved:', from i,,.wha.t., might haye been" a: great' disaster. , ; 'lf■. the r.abbit haS■ once got ,-iii;.' with.i: thei'coqatrjSfull of.; cover,, for, them: jas!; it ■thein' j'the'; work::, of ■ eradication .would : have been: wellriiigh impossible. ;'Afterwards... legislation! was/ intrijdticed,: and - a! board .-with'' powers-, was established; and 'inspeotors: .appointed to--see that poisoning, was. r carried . out, .on . the,! different ..projiertiefl, and the pest kept,in !check. ' , . ,:;!! ", The flooding of the:.!ri-vers.has always ■bepn.'.a' 'to-Vthp' -resi- - dents';.; otf- the Hcvetaunga :-Plains,. the fertile .area. of; country- stretching awayfrom;. Napier to -the. hills 'behind H 1 ®*, /tings..!,' !;THo . rivers -in ther.,old ..days; in: some cases, flowed' ./in. courses. .■•, miles ' away from where they noW.'ruri, arid tho largest of them all,.tiie.Ngaruroro,.in pno;:night ,: broke' away from 'its old bed , and' tppk' an .'entirely / new course ;to the - - sea, 'passing -'for a start on the. .'north-'. em instead of the; southern' side - of -a. fconsiddrable range of hills.. : ■ ..-;From ; timo! riyer/protection.; boards, have . beeh ! .formed,: ?and;;.stop- : ' banks erected ;along -the -. river. 'baiikß/ to hold tho flood waters'/to "'' .the; . main channel.;By what seems to the .' outsider "'an "extraordinary' i . arrahgemerit ' different / boards have / control : pf different -sides'of,^!the'.same, river. -An;' agi-z t-atiori is' being carried .on 'for tho for-mat-ion, of a .-central. boa!rd to deal '..with the rivers.on. scientific/ lines. .!■ In,.the course:^-.of the -river-beds'-have been silting up; and, a'much smaller rainfall -to' make./a big/, '.flodd' thahvit did ;in'.times gone byfln--1 China the/ same process-'has -taken place' ori a large .'scale,.'. Stop-banks have been builtalong - the - rivers, the' : riyei>beds have/ risen,-; the ; ! stop-banks, have been. made, bigger, snd so on. t-hr'oitgh the' course of centuries' until river-bed and, 'banks - both 1 stand considerably above, i the level , of ; the : plains.' Any history book will tell of the appalling disasters that have.-followed in this method of dealing with tho great- Yellow River. The proposal iii ; , B.awke's : Bay . now is to-':open .the, mouths .of " the/rivers so as to get a good-scour. ' -V; THE STORY OF THE SWAMPS. TE AUTE'S GREAT ACHIEVEMENT. A feature of 'the pipneerihg work was the draining of the swamp lands. Thousands, upon':thousands^'of acres !of tho best; countryi.in! Hawke's Bay wei;e! originally occupied - by. ..great.... raupo swamps, pn the /clearer : portions of . which oiie. could: tako avboat and sail, maybe .for anything up to five, or .six inilcs at a"-stretch..; r .old' residents', can will recall 'the time when the. Here-' taunga Plain, the garden of! Hawke's Bay, was ;'an impassible - morassj save for one or two tortuous and dangerous Maori tracks. '/ Early, in . its career the Provincial Council set abo,ut draining the land, at Meeanee, and in Napier .itself much: of - most - of the flat land, in tho". town has :been- reclaimed, sivamp. :and. tidal flats. . The. work ,is,still incomplete', and ih/'recent years Mr. 'William .Nelson and ]kr.;Konnedy have drained and re-claimed-large areas of land -on the outskirts of. tho city. Their dredge is today to be seen busily at work.; ■ . Among!- the .'most .notable .pieces of swamp/drainage were thoso carried put at To : Auto. Maraekakaho, to which; brief reference ■ has been . made -elsewhere in this issue, ..and also the great achievement- : completed single-handed by Mr. Archio M ( Leany:on his Greenhills Estate. At Te'Aute, a great ■" swamp,, tlireo. thousand acres in-extent, lay for miles along tho valley, frorn tho homestead up towards tho Waipawa River. What • fall tho land had : was towards the river, but.it was\so slight that to dig drains would .simply.' be to admit river water. Here was a'conundrum. But; Archdeacon Williams .was not to be beaten, and-lie. boldly decided 'that the thing to be dono was to get rid of the river, This piece of engineering ho successfully carried out. early /in •the ■ 'eighties, and tho Waipawa has since then flowed in a course some miles away from its old bed. This done, a drain four-miles long was cut along the contre'.of tho swamp. Tho drain was cut - 20 foot wide at tho bottom, and its dopth'ranged from 20 feet at tho outlet ill. the old river-bed to 5 feet at-lho upper eud. Innumerable subsidiary

perty, twenty, years ago. Owing to the great.difficulty .of obtaining a, fall, the swamp, was looked upon as undramable. : .and,-Mr.-. M'Lean was thought by; most: ,of. his: neighbours' to, be- mad to ,attempt the worL. nHoweverishe cut/drains Tight' down .toLouisa- Greek, " at -tPaki'<Paki, miles : away,, and, after-great/difficulty, /succeeded m getting rid- of . the- water' .and raupo, • though not® before ten solid yeais of- work -liad. beeiv- put m: ,3)he. whole of the drams-.: had .to bo gone o.vei . and . deepenedseveral j.times at heavy., cost, • and,. as at- Tc Ante, two layers of timber-had .to'be: cut;'tlirough and blasted out. Mr. M'Lean found few whp,b(jlißved:.in-the.possibility of nialcing* a .success of, his .venture, and he admitsthat.at times -he was much, discouraged;' Pmally, when he -got the laud - dry .enough.to sow grass,;the..whole.bed of the eistwhilo Svvamp3 'came- up' in - toitoi. One can. imagine tlio:-feelings with which ho saw this termination .to' his/ ./Work.;A ■ neighbour , camev over > one day, and suggested that', the-:the!:only-Way. foi Mr. MfLean to get any return at .all.would bo by making a great plantation ol --willows.Willows, he argued, wero.the only thing that 1 would grow on/ 1 such land..---Mi.,M Lean felt very/ much •inclined.uto-i adopt./ the 'suggestion,- but decided-to-sleep' on ltvbefoiC doing -any--itllmg.. ■: Tho result - was: tliatvho' determined to.go ahead, whatever might'come, and ho straightway put on - fifteen Maoris. tfJ?cut,, toi-toi;.After. '/the one' -cutting it ne>'or reappeared; again./; To- : day, rtlie, old swanin carries, as'good pastuie as one could •; wish; t6 hud anywhere, and Mr.. M'Lean: at-last reaps tho:. reward, of ..Ins labours > - _Theexperience of-/thevownerss'of' the Hawko s :;Bay -swamp /lauds l 'throws an' interesting - sidelight. oh*' ,thfc - .methods adopted -by. v the -Government in'assess-' ; mg the. unimproved- value'of'" swamp land. . / As. -.the.Vland./ was put down. as ...having..- no unimproved value, but once it was drained its value wa*! immediately .assessed, at 'current v. rates .in, the .locality; and about >£5 an acre allowed -for .improvements! ••• . Between Te Aute and Paki 'Paki .there ■ is,to-day. -~ a great., - swamp' thousands- -ofacres /. in: • extent,- which migbt .be. comparatively-: easily , drainedBut ..there .it. liemams,, year -' after 'year, a desolate waste of water Needle s to say.,, this is..Native-land, in/.the'Public TiUotcc'o-bauds... With the existing dc- ! maud :for land in- the the re-' purchase/of,estates;. and-so. on. it'seemastrange that .tlio Government' has-; never' seen ht to. take in -haiicl a piece of landlike this, right, on'.ithe-'.raifway, line and main road, ~ and fairly' crying-for impiovement THE ORCHARD LANDS. /- ; ...''y: A LEAF FEOM CALIFORNIA'S BOOK. ■ K is to Hnwko's Bayi'tnat the New -'Zealaiideir ''must .. who;' wishes to the fin^t' : '6rcha'i^s*ihat'vhis'-'couh.- i try lias- produced; .'The v story. ,of '; the founding ■ of .-tho -big ,Orcha'rds v 'makes all ...instructive, page: iifcthe. 1 history of the'province;'.' It is maiiily.td two men: Mr.- J.■ N.: Williams,, of Frimley, Hastings.r- wid^Mr..-Tiffeiii^ofGrcenmead-ows,.'-Ta:radale---that'. the orchards of Hawkp'sv.Ba'jv owe their development on modern - -lines.'. :Bbth - Mr. i 'Men and Mr. .■ Williams'Mvere/largo,-.landowners,' and sheepfarmea's. - yhcy were, however, ,&lw'ays...keenly., iii fruit-grow-ing, but were deterred from doing : much in' this way oil .account of the preva-' lence of in sect posts ;in New ..Zealand.' After . visits •' niade ; - iiidependehtly -\ -to California/about-a?,quarter, of - a century ago they., became- convinced-, that the various . posts. could be successfully M-r. : Tiffen, on his return, ■laid' out, fifty, Seres of fruit trees, and vines .'on -his, property at - Greonmead-' Wiiliams'pjii't in-a'smallor: area' at '.Fi-imley. .. These / two . expori-.: m.ents were,objects of derision for.'somoi timo by tlie.. orqlifirdi-Sts- of.; tho old school ill the: district-,'/but 'as: time, went on aud' thoy/ began to prove successful further plantings - were ma-do in - tho - At-To Mata'Mri'John Chambers planted the. begiiinings of what, has sinco developed into tlio famous ;To Jlata •• Vineyard,'; of .whicli an account .will be found iii .these pages. At the Roman Catholic ■ Mission .. at Mocanoe . af' considorablo area .was .also laid down ,in vines. ' Later, followed the planting by Mr... Williams of the. fain-: ous'66 miles of fruit'tree's at .Friinley. ■ .By. tliis ■timo : (says.. . the.;, Hastings Handbook) : tho: industry', was '.espnblisTied on assure footing. / it had been suecossftilly demonstrated that . with proper methods .of spraying and cultivaion a clean applo, a ( ripe peach, and a good bottle of wine could be produced as: well ?in; Hawko!s Bay as in 'aaiy other of the moro favoured clistricts of tlio world.

- Land; suitable- for 1 fruit-growing ; was takon up and plaiited around Frimley, along the foot of. tho hills bolow Te Mata, and round Havelock North, and again round • .Papakura 1 between : Hastings and Taradale.; Then canid the question: How ; to.deal with all this fruit? How to .get it in the cheapest and quickest manner to the consumer?'- Tho 'individual' orchardist' has no - timo' during his busy' fruit season to hunt:'up' markots. Again, tho exami>le of iVmei'ica was copiedj Yand a Fruit Distributing Company formed in Hastings to handle the -produco .of tho local orchards,- and distribute' it on ■the railway'to'distant towns'and districts where it was wanted. ' ■ ■;

. The next trouble which presented ' itself was -how-to deal with all the surplus fruits and vegetables of all kinds .which the. district lia-d :to : deal with.. Here, againj Mr. J: N. Williams stepped into the-breaoli,' and established at great cost - the: now far-'-fallied':'Frimley Canning Factory, : where, under ' . the capable, management -of Mr.' BasilJones, canned fruits and vegetables and jams of all:softs'are produced equal to any iii Australasia.: '

During, this time, again a Fruitgorw- J -ers' Assixjiatibn' was: ', gradually ibeing built up for the purpose of safeguarding' the .-interests -of the, 'local- -growers -in every way,. and providing its; members with all kinds -of ■ orchard material at j prime cost.; Tliis association, now num-/ 'Bering ove'r/100 members, is. probably: the .stron'gest. and most active-body' of/ its kind in the Dominion. '--.'.'..j: '/. >■■■■ ■ i