REWI MANIAPOTO.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1584, 30 October 1912, Page 12

REWI MANIAPOTO.

; ' \ 61r Johi. Gorst, lii hie "New Zealand < V (Revisited".; (1908), tells of To Awamutu's i' first newspaper, published and edited by 1 .'himself in 1863. He says: "The first !'' mumber of the "Pihoihoi Mokemoke" was £"'.,.>■• published''in Te Awamutu in February, i '1863, and was scattered broadcast over ' Ithe whole of tho Waikato. The manu- ■. [script of tho first issue ,was, revised by I [Sir Geo. Grey himself and published uai der his express authority. It contained ■:■ i an article which created an. immense j Wsation in, Waikato and gave to Eewi Maniapoto'. the opportunity of suppressing the ."spades" which were "digging '.' (round the.King .until he foil." The article was headed "The , Evil ;of the' King ■" ■ ■ Movement," and was expressed in the '» most forcible and idiomatic Maori by v the help of Miss Ashwell and produced ; jan enormous and unlooked-for sensation. lit was read in every Eunanga house and '.'■ :_ jwaa the subject of painful discussion at !.. . [the King's Counsel at Ngaruawahia. The ■' : ' • {tribes less : intimately related to Matu- '.'. Otaera were greatly amused and enjoyed V *the hit at the King's Counsel, but the i . ■ ehiefs of Ngarnawnhia were very angry. '■■■ ■•• said the "Sparrow" was written in |: b bad mocking style. Some of the chiefs :'■ '..' eaid: "Why 13 this.press allowed among {-■■■ ( us?" Others: "Why, is not the press broken and tho Government officer driven -: : ! away?" These words of tho chiefs who jhad hitherto restrained tho Test from Wiolenco were told to Eewi. He promptly fieized the/opportunity. Hβ.sent letters ''■... jto Ngarunwahia to say he intended to ex- -. ;; press and commissioner from Te :: ■Sα.wamutu. Eewi began to organise in ■' .■ secret an. effective.attack on Te Awamutu '■■■■ ' .with the object of suppressing the Pi- ■'■■■-■ Whoi and expelling the commissioner. ■■; iMany vague warnings came to me, even from Eewi himself, that something de¥l Waive was about to happen. Te Oriori ■"•■■ came and took up his quarters at Eangiaohia (Hairini) and assured me he :■....■' . yraa there for our;; protection - as there would be trouble and ... darkness. Tamihana tried to prevail ■' ■ . upon Eewi not to interfere with me, or '•-.■■:":■ It would lead to war. ' Eumours of this /kind had been so common, and 80 often came to nothing] that these warninge were ./unheeded. .Mrs. Gorst and her two children ■-. camej to Te Awamutu and settled .themselv«i3''in a half-furnished house. On March 25*1' rode to Kopua to see about , . the purchase .of .bullocks for the Govern-

riient.' I paid no attention to tho rumour ■ ■ : ""*~ that/an army -would arrive in Tβ Awa- -. . Wtu that. day. On my return to Tβ ; tAwamutu after dark I found the place ;.-■ ■in the hands of the enemy. A party of 80 Ngatiinaniapoto Natives were encamped round large watch-flrea in the road, /.and in the adjoining field opposite the , .church, where the printing office 6tood, I ! ; Tode through, them without molestation, 'end found tho house surrounded by a '•cordon of sentries, who let me pass with- / but question.' Aporo was in command ; • 'of the party. Rewi was in Porokoru's 1 • ! ihouse; 300" yards away. Aporo, after : ,■••'.'■■ preyfers in front of the printing office, broke open the door which had been lock|l**»i_'. i ] 'ed'\by ,Slr. Von Dadelszen (afterwards JEegistrar-General of New Zealand), who ; /was,in, my employ. Pineaha, one of the ';, ■'' jllaoris employed at the station, eaid: "It i, sis enough, go away now, let us talk to- ;■ )morrow." Pineaha was dragged away and . jthe office ransacked, the press was dragged I jfrom the building, in the course of which (performance one of its logs was broken . ioff. Then Patene intervened; since his ' jown failure he had always declared he .. ... poiild resist any further attempt to. drive '■• jaway Sir George Grey's officer; he arVived, dressed for the occasion in black ' ftrousers, a light summer coat and waist- '. . (coat, and a black silk hat. He van into jthe office, which was crammed with hUaoris, and ejected half-a-dozen of them. ' ■ fcFineaha then broke loose from the men khat ; held him and rushed in to help - JPateue, but was overpowered and dragged Irom the office. After much uproar and . Bonfusion Patene was also got rid W, though ho was too gr.jat a

thief to bo roughly handled. Tie printing press wa3 loaded upon bullock drays, with all the type, reams of paper, printed copies of tho fifth, number of the "Pihoihoi," and other contents of tho office. They wero taken to Rewi's place, at Kihikihi. They carried of! besides some clothes, blankets, and other property, which wero returned as soon as the mistake was discovered. On my return, they sent a messago that unless I .went away in the morning I would be shot. Rowi wrote to Sir Geo. Grey saying he would allow three weeks for me to go nway. If I stayed after that, he would

kill me. The Postmaster-General, alarmed, promptly stopped the mail, thereby cutting off our communication with the town, and affronting Taati, whose men were the mail carriers, though cur very lives depended upon his firm opposition to Eewi. The Maori King, who was then at Whatawhata, sent a letter condemning Eewi's conduct, and requiring him to send back the printing press, pay for the damage, and leave all questions about the removal of the Governor's officer to be settled by him (the King) and his counsel. Eewi consented with reluctance, and the press, with all type, etcj, was sent to the store of Mn Andrew K&y, at Tβ la. (Mr.'Kay is now resident with his family on his farm at Orakau, tho scene of the great Maori fight, some five miles from Tβ Awamutu).

Speaking of his visit to this district in 1906, Sir John Gorst says:—"At Orakau wo were hospitably entertained by ' Mr. Andrew Kay, who in the old days kept a store on the Mangatawhiri Creek, and it was to his store that the Maoris brought down the printing press of the 'Pihoihoi' after it,had boen. carried off from Te Awamutu. I asked him particularly what had become of this Government property. He told me the Natives had landed it from canoes, and placed it in his etore, and that he then informed the Government that it was in his hands. After an interval of some days drays were 6ent from Auckland for the press, etc., and that was all he knew of the matter. A ridiculous story has long been current that the Natives melted the type into bullets, which they used in the war, and although Mr. Kay's evidence proves that this story is untrue, I have no doubt it will be repeated by historians, as long as the New Zealand war is remembered." ■ COMMEECE AND INDUSTEY. As a commercial centre Te Awamutu, having regard to its present exceptionally rapid progress, is unquestionably destined, to have a successful future. Ajid why not? The only subject for wonder

is that it should have remained in a comatose state for so many yeare. To support and justify progress there is in the immediate' vicinity 250,000 aeres of first-class fertile land in a high state of 'cultivation. Creameries, owing to the largo production and to facilitate the easy handling of the butter-fat, are scattered every, three or four miles. Whether it is butter-fat, mutton, beef, pork, fruit, grain, horses, cattle, or sheep-breeding, the district of which Tβ Awamutu is the natural centre is questionably one of the richest and best all-round farming districts in the Do-1 minion. The population in this Puniu |

district of which Tβ Awamutu is . tho centre exceeds 10,OW), so that it will be readily seen Hint there is any amount of scope for tho development of ■ Te Awanvutu's commercial interests. The advent of progress has introduced many, new businesses to Te Awamiitu, Competition naturally followed. The consequence is tho people have been better catered for, and instead of dealing in ether towns tlio bulk of the trado lias reverted to To Awamutu. There are very many trades and businesses here, for which' there are excellent openings. Commercial progress hw> Heretofore been considerably tmiupeji

Ed by the lack of business premises. As soon as .i shop was ready, or likely to be ready for occupation, there were dozens of would-be , lessees. Tho spirit.of enterpriso prevails throughout the town nnd district to-day. Outside business people, realising the commercial future of the Puniu district, are pushing in as fast as opportunity offers. What was at one timo a quiet country village is now developing into a bustling progressive town. New buildings are going up everywhere, smart up-to-date residences are springing up in all directions. The demand for an up-to-dato water supply is being met by a loan of .£20,000; a street improvement and lighting scheme is also in hand; new, commodious, and up-to-date churches of architectural beauty, aro being erected; also a large now two-storied brick edifico to house tho business of tho Bank of Now Zealand; new brick post office, with a 100 ft. tower with large chiming clock, the building and clock altogether costing several thousands. To keep pace with the time, one of the leading Te Awamutu hotels is now making extensions, running, into a cost of £8000. Altogether, men of live and progressive ideas will find in Te Awamutu many excellent openings for both businesses and industries.

CLUBS 'AND INSTITUTIONS. For sporting entertainment and educational clubs and institutions Te Awamutu is. particularly well equipped. Every British game is well provided for, while music and the drama claim no fewer than seven distinct societies, included 'amongst which is a town band of no mean ability. Thirteen other clubs and societies, whose province includes entertainment, instruction, and benefits are in a flourishing condition. The sports culbs include: Polo, racing, football, cricket, bowls, tennis, croquet, golf, hockey, cycling, athletic, gun rifle, and a host of others. Swimming baths are under consideration, for which the Mαngahoe Eiver, running through tho centre of the town, is admirably suited, tho banks of which it is intended to convert into public gardens. The difficulty experienced in many towns of tho distances between the workshops and the playground is an unknown quantity in Te Awamutu. Both Albert and Victoria Parks are within two minutes of the centre of the town. The former, a magnificent natural park of over 20 acres, was leased many years ago, as a means of raising revenue, for the many necessary works, when things were bad and prices poor, and employment a thing to be j hunted for. Since then the value of this magnificent asset has incrensed ten or twentyfold.. This property falls into the hands of the local governing body in a fow months when steps will be taken to provide for the further encouragement of all sports and games. Victoria Park, some seven acres in extent, which 13 shaping towards being tho beauty Epofc of the Waikato, contains bowling greens (winter and summer) ample tennis courts, and croquet lawns, and an athletic track. The local polo club claims the proud position and title .of provincial champions, having defeated the pick of the Auckland province for the past two years. This speaks volumes, though it is but fair evidence not only of the ability of the players, but of the quality of

the locally bred "catth" they ride which goes to show the\ truth of the statement that the Waikato in general, and To Awamutu in particular, aro amongst the best of the stock-breeding districts in the Dominion. No better evidence of what can be done in this district and its possibilities in stock-breeding could be had than in an inspection of the trophies at "Greenhill," the residence of Mr. Wm. Taylor. ;

TOWN CLOCK. Now Tapidly nearing completion is the post office tower, which is being erected by the Public Works Department, to house the clock so generously donated to

the town by Mr,' Win. Taylor, of "Greenhill." The movement to secure a town clock was begun eighteen months ago, and resulted in the Chamber of Commerce urging upon the Government the desirability of building a tower at tho post office, then in course of erection. Tho Postal Department, ultimately agreed lo build a tower, and to placo therein a four-dial clock, conditional on the necessary amount: being subscribed by residents for the .purchase of this clock. Hearing of this offer, Mr. Taylor voluntarily offered to contribute tho necessary jujn, 90 that within oa« jreek of the ojfrr bclo?

mado by the Department the clock was assured to Te Awamutu. The tow«r is 60. feet high, and present indications point to the- official opening of the new post office and tower being held within two months. ' / FRUIT-GROWING. Considering the suitability of tho Tc Awainutu district for fruit-growing it is surprising that this branch of agriculture has been so long neglected. In years gone by, before the advent of dairy farming, the Tβ Awamutu district produced fruit of all descriptions of unrivalled quality, which more than held its own on the Wellington and Auckland markets. However, dairy farming and tho comparative ease of following this branch of farming,

compared to fruit-growing, has resulted in the decay of really fine orchards, which were at one time combined , with the methods of general farming. About onehalf of tho gooseberries put on the Auckland market are grown in this district, Kihikihi especially being naturally adapted for the cultivation of this valuable fruit. During the gooseberry season hundreds of cases per week are railed to all parts of the North Island from Te Awamutu. As showing the possibility of gooseberry growing, Mr. Josh Henderson, a well-known Kihikihi grower, secured during the last three years a net return of ,£l2O per annum from one acre of old and quarter-acro of young bushes. This shows plainly what can be done by anyone paying special attention to cultivation, picking, packing, and marketing., As instancing the generous nature of the climate and its suitability for fruit-growing, lemons grow prolificly, and under the most primitive conditions. Lemons ore produced in this district quite equal to the New South Wales or any lemons grown in New Zealand. Apples and pears do remarkably well. .This district seems to be tire natural homo of stone fruits—peaches, nectarines, and plum's, and cherries do well anywhere. Some of the best cherries in New Zealand are grown at Ohaupo, adjacent to Te Awamutu. Sir John Gorst, in his recent book "New Zealand Revisited," refers to Ornkau (near Te Awamutu) as "a pretty Native village with large cultivation and great groves of poaches from which all passers-by, .including pigs and oxen, were welcome to take as much fruit as th«y chose."

■ This district i 9 still able to take its place- as a producer of fruit as it was in days gone'by. It only awaits the glower of experience. Te Awnmutn is in a particularly happy position to command n market for its fruit. It lins on tho one hand Auckland easily accessible by rail; on the other Wellington, equally accessable. It is within 24 hours' rail of any market in tho North Island. Tho Auckland markets are only four hours distant by rail. The current' prices of land suitable for fruit culture rango' from .£35 to -ECO per acre. Briefly, tire advantages of To Awamutii for fruit-growing.nrc as follow:—(1) Proximity to markets. (2) Excellent railway service. (:>) Land very suitable for all branches of fniit-ciiHiiro or markot-Knv-dWing. (I) Splendid climalo. (5) Land procurable nt comparatively low prices. Tho strawberry docs well hero, and in Wellington there is an insatiable demand. Te Awnroulu jjrowtri could tail tlta Writes tta-game jiaj «« EicksO,