THE WEALTH OF POVERTY BAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1699, 15 March 1913, Page 13

THE WEALTH OF POVERTY BAY.

-,( ■ . A" PROVINCE WHICH , BELIES ITS NAME. .. | j- = DEVELOPMENT, = j

t T 'is strangely coincident that'f when the great navigator, Captain -Cook, visited New. Zealand nearly V century and o half ago, . ..i.. he should have first.'cast .anchor. .. .. off the ...shore of one of the richest districts of tho now land, and, because of circumsta'nces. surrounding the ■ reception , Vhiph'-he received; at'ithei; hands of the . lave, named.. itv'Tovei'ty'.Bay" Although of.,the Natives . . was primarily 'responsible" 'fo£. the -mis- , naming -of the. district, .. 'and, . Captain 1 ■ 7 Cbok's'-description of, it as an "unfortu- . nate and inhospitable p ! lace,". yet without '■• t'he opportunity- of travelling inland for- • some .little .distance there would bo noth- ■. r -v. ing. to:indicate"to the mariner that.tho ■/. place was other than.a barren, unproduc- : K'-tive spot, jiiound the'scores, of : the'-Bay,' ; stretching practically from/Young Nidk's • ; '. Head to, Kaiti .Hill,, runs a'-eandy belt. Vabout two'miles .wide.'' Viewed.from the 1 ■ - !sea;:'this''w6uldcertainly" give, the whole '' " countryside the - appearance' of an arid { ■'''■ aid poverty-stricken waste, r Had it teen {ossible'..for :the-discoverer know that ". i»yond,.th4 limits of ,'this 1 uninviting sand . ,i>ttlt lay 'a rich .plain,' nearly one" : hundred square miles, ii'ox.tent,. backed by vast areas of hilly country has ' ' v since proved to .be. atoicngst- th6-healthiest grazing, land in New, Zealand, ; and, above Vail; a<, pliinato . which is. not, tto -be.' sur-. ' < fassed in A:ustralasia-;4i6t /to",speak of • great mineral wealth stored beneath-the' Bilrface—could he have known,this, 6urely . '"eVen his inhospitable reception coul(f not ; liaVq'. led hini to confer such an erroneous \.!ah(l unjust name upon it. : The land, •' .:. whioh: wds in. Teality: "Poverty: Bay" for . the bold manner and; his ..crew, now (in - its 1 half-developed state). exports ■ .over . •- r i!l,oqo,obo ' worth,of ■ wool,'mutton, and '.'f othefy produce- each : yeaiv It •is now a ■; lantl of plenty, and its resources, have been touched—its prosperity'harji--yly l :begun.' ,- i ' ! ■ . I -Either because a literal translation is ; placed upon the name it bears, ; or. be- '. of-.::its:,Eomewhatj isolated situation ; or possibly: ,due 'to' 'a "combination' of - is these. cir'oumstanCtsV'Poverty'Bay .is', not, generally speaking, regarded as the great, rich district it really is.' With - increased shipping facilities, and the re- ; - gular. passenger '." service, ,wliich has r now . 'been established,. tho district is rapidly " becoming better The 'land 'is beVing inor?,.rapidly, "settled, aiid- improved, and ; fl.the earth'iffibefi'nnih'g > 'to-'yietd . 'to - a; mpre-'appreciable "extent 'in Response . to. theUntelli^eutly : directed efforts-.of, the farmer.,, ■ That Poverty- Bay /has'd great •, fut'tite, lione in the near, !| future, 1 ' tlie' :pbft of"" Qisborne. will, rank • next to the four, chief oehtres of the Dorr minion there are- many "who firmly believo. - Landing of Captain Cook. Projecting from the mainland at ;the • southetn-extremity, of Poverty Bay, ris- • ing nearly sis hundred feet sheer above sea level, is "Toung Nick's Head." Thi3 headland, was. first' sighted by, : > Captain '. (Cook's cabin T boy, Nioholas'Xoung, on.Ocy.tpjjer 7, 1769* .-and. - in'.iionour. of the, boy having been the first to-, sight land-in New Zealand,'it was named after him. ■ 6n the day following tlie first sighting ■' of land, Captain Cook's vessel anchored in ■ Poverty Bay. The opinion on . board the vessel was that they had found , ithe great South. Land—the Terra-,'Aus-/,-tralds of; the Dutch. / 'At' this time,..as ' ■in. later also, .there was evidently a. Maori stronghold on'the Kaiti ,6ide of the river, and'describing it'the navigator • said', that they,\"saw\ some bouses which .... appeared to be small but-.neat, .and near one of them a considerable number of people. Upon a .small peninsula at the • north-east') head we' could ■ plainly per- . cei.vohigh 'and: regular.'palings,' which " enclosed .'the* whole top of. a: hill.. This . . '.-was also the subject pf much speculation, '''60me'supppsing::it.to- lje-va j>ark.-.of deer, others ah' encloshre' 1 for - sheep ;br...oxen." said : 'to have. . believed the .visitors'were .white gods from. .: another world,- they ' wero ...possessed .'.of . sufficient courage 'to strenuously' resist , "thtiir landing, y They "declined ;to exchange /food and. water .'for ornaments, and ulti- ; :'mately 'a' clash' of ' arms took, place,. in J ..^hjch-:s6veral of tho Natives were killed. - Discouraged by,'this inhospitable recep-■:,-.tioni Cook weighed anchor on Octobeu 11, ' and sailed out of the bay, conferring hpon '■ it the . unfortunate and misleading name : by'jvhich it is known to, the present-.day. It was long years" before the. Natives i:?ekw the white men again. . According to Maori tradition, - three .-white men,..named • by'them'Punga, Tupere,. and Biki, lived •' 'in the district in 1 the early years,.of the ,'i.'eighteenth- century,- but qf : .;thi's 'there is ; .^no,certain knowledge;.. In-.1829,..'0ne Bar- . net Burns,, representing- j a Sydney, firm, visited the bay., and purchased flax from the Natives, paying for it, with, muskets ■ and ammunition, and various other ar- ' ticles.'Mnien : the'-Natives became fully : aware of. the ;effectiveness of firearms in "warfare as..aga'inst their'"own primitive '■'..weapons,'they wete. prepared" to slave in the production-'of (lax to obtain., supplies " of them.-' When they were fairly well supplied they would abandon work for a .. time,' and make killing raids upon neigh'.bouring tribes by .way of variation.. -.., After the flax traders came the whalers,' : - who found their industry a lucrative one in tho waters of Poverty Bay, and a "unumber of stations were established along : ..,tho coast. .The Natives were wont to -.assist the .whalers 'in , their hunts, the highly-exciting and dangerous occupation A of harpooning a whale, being towed about . tho bay at great speed by tho woiuter, - ' and finally vanquishing and landing it, f.ppealing vividly to them. Advent of the Missions. '■Within a very few years of the first ' . visits of the traders and whalers to ' . .Poverty Bay, mission stations became es- • tablished. The Rev. W. Williams, after- [ wards first Bishop of Waiapu, was the first '.'■ to visit the district. Descendants of this pioneer missionary are still engaged in .".''.mission work amongst the Natives. -The ~'story of Mr. Williams's first visit t'o the district in 1831 is not without an element of romance. A number of Ngatiporou chiefs from tho neighbourhood of Waiapu were deported to the Chatham Islands by the whalers for some offence which they lwd committed.' . Hero 'they were in - danger from their.old enemies, the Nga- .:. pulil of the north, who intended to; en- . slave thein. The Eev. Williams, who; had established a mission station in tho Chatham Islands aad had attained considerable

influence,'wished to save'the Poverty Bay Natives from ...this fate, and so chartered a' 6mall schooner -and returned with them .to their own people. The missionary was kindly recoived at Waiapu, and was so impressed with'the place and people that he shortly afterwards .established a mission station there, and in-a-comparative-ly brief space 'of times the. Church had some eight ot' riino thousand adherents. A 6tory :is told- of . the - zeal :of.\Taumatakura, one of the Natives who' was deported to the Chathams by the whalers. On . his return to his own people, this chieftain .commenced voluntary mission work, and . on one . occasion . .when .- the Waiapu Maoris were assailing their ' neighbours at Cape Eunaway, he led an . attack .on .a pa, flourishing a, Testament

in one-hand and a musket in thi . other. The Hauhaus. , ■ As time, progressed, tho settlement. of .the. district j_b)v.:Europeans., ; ;EroMed'ed slowly and j-peacefully until. the .founding of the - This grotesque'form, of worship. ifas the outcome'of- a' a .fanatic., named .Te ,Ua. While a .prisoner, To.,Ha dreamt that' hei -was inspired 'to found a .new ireiifeion, Te.VfaLMarire .(feopd and peace-ful).-'A pole -was to be erected, around which the people were to march, dance, sing, and worship their new God, named Hau.. They would then become'invulnerable to the white man's weapons, and would ,ba able to drive him out of the land. Although Hauhauism was. called "good'and peaceful,"'it was used-as a cloak for the most diabolical crimes/ and eventually" involved Now ; Zealand in a long period of'ihe-most, remorseless warfare.,;' ! "-.The ravages of the Hauhaus in' Poverty Bay caused the white,settlers and friendly Natives to appeal, to the- Government for help in - suppressing .fanatics. After much sanguinary warfare, the rebels were attacked by a combined force of friendly Natives and European's in a strongly entrenched pa at' Waeranga-a-hika. The friendly Natives -were, .led by the brave Major Eopata, and the Europeans' -by. Colonel Fraser and Captains Wilson and La Serre. The'fighting'lasted seven days, •but the paSvas eventually'captured, ahd three hundred of the'rebels deported to -the Chatham Islands.' • v . • .The Massacre. Fighting, on- the European side was the notorious chief."named.'.'To. .Kooti; who, being suspected of treachery/ was sent, to the Chathams. with the other • prisoners, amongst whom ho' became a; leader.-Much of his-time in captivity "was spent' -in reading the "Bible,''.and' he 'imagined himself and his : comrades, to be like the Children of -Israel.' Ho persuaded these people that eventually God would,break their bonds and send'them the means of deliverance.' Obsessed with this belief, the Maoris 'quietly ; waited their opportunity, and, on- July 4, 1868, ■ seized a,.

small schooner which had arrived from Wellington with Government stores. They compelled those of tho crew who had remained on board to weigh anchor and set sail for Pove.rl'y Bay, and on July 10 tho Maoris, numbering about two hundred, were' landed at Whahongaonga, with stores, arms, and ammunition. To Kooti at onco and with great cleverness set about gathering the disaffected Maoris in the district to his side before commencing his inland march. When the presence of this firebrand became known,

Major Briggs, the Resident Magistrate, set.out'.with a small mounted force and demanded his surrender. To Kooti received the Major courteously, but refused absolutely to surrender, stating that God had delivered ' him and his people from bondage, and that their special mission was to proceed to the Waikat6 and dethrone the King. Reinforcements were obtained, and several unsuccessful attacks made on Te Kooti's band. Eventually t'he Natives strongly 'fortified themselves near Papanui Lake, and the pursuing British force built fortifications at Jlatawhero, where they might retire if need be.

An old resident of Gisborne who knows every detail in the history of these exciting events, and who took part in the

liunt of Te Kooti after the massacre, states that the conduct of To Kooti and his warriors was in many respects manly iand admirable. Tlio leader protested on more than one occasion, that he had no intention of molesting the white population',- . and: oil- seyeral - occasions 'sent, messages! into Gisborne stating 1 that if Euro r . peans. clid not' desist from, harassing'Mm lie would come down\.iind , exterminate them.:' Eventually he attemped ; to put this terrible threat into execution. On the night Of November 8, 1869,' with eighty picked' warriors, he came down on the settlement, and in; a silent, swift, and relentless manner committed one of the most cruel massacres ever recorded in the history of the colonisation of New Zealand. No quarter was given—women and children were not spared. The Maoris were bent on annihilating the whito population, and they went , about it re-" morselessly. Many -of the Europeans escaped, but nearly forty men, women, and' children were murdered. Most of the.,'women .and children wfyo survived were taken "by sea to Napier, , and tlio men sought refuge and fortified themselves in the old Courthouse, a view of -which appears in this issue. For many years afterwards Te Kooti was 'hunted from pillar to post, but'he was' very elusive,, and although hard pressed at times lie always-managed to escape. Eventually when his power was broken he was pardoned and allowed to live in peace. Second Coming of Te Kooti. - In 1889 Te Kooti received an invitation from a section of the Maoris in Poverty Bay to again visit that district, and they built''a large whare at Te Karaka; (20 miles from Gisborne) for his reception, Believing that the coming of.Te Kooti would disturb the harmony then existing between the two races, the Europeans sent request to the Government to stop his advance. As no response was immediately forthcoming, a "War" Committee: was formed, and-preparations made to. .resist the unwelcome visitors. Old rifles and swords were collected ' and refurbished, and a "war fund" started. ■While these' preparations were in progress, the ' Premier, Major Atkinson,

hastened to Gisbornc and ordered the population to desist. Finding that feeling ran high, and that To Kooti's presence in Poverty Bay would almost certainly cause disaster, tho Premier eventually agreed to a force being sent out to intercept the oncoming warriors. A strong force, with the whites under Colonel Porter and the friendly Natives under Major Ropnta, set out and captured Te Kooti near Opotiki. Three months later he died. It has been stated that the accusation of trojshery which resulted in Te

Kooti being sent to the Chathams was afterwards proved to be foundationless, and that when he perpetrated the fierce massacre of '69 lie was still smarting under a real injustice which had been done to him. Be that as it may, the massacre was one which for cool and cunning preparation, and swift, merciless execution is without parallel in. the history of the conflict which the "good and peaceful" religion, Hauhauism. caused between its fanatical adherents and the Europeans and friendly Natives. Growth of Settlement. For a space of two or three years after the massacTO the progress of settlement in Poverty Bay was slow, but as time wore ,on and the remaining whito population were not subjected to further molestation by the Maoris, the influx of settlers again commenced. Until the early .'seventies the population' was chiefly confined to the rich flat lands around Gisborne, but the hill country now commenced to claim more attention. Sheep grazing rapidly assumed a more important aspect, ind. in 1875 an Agricultural and Pastoral Association, was formed. By this time Poverty ' Bay had conio to be . regarded as the most important wool-pro-ducing district in the Auckland province. Details of the number of. sheep .depastured in. the district in the earlier years of settlement are not available, but the following table, which is taken from the annual report' of the Gisborne Harbour Board, shows the progress which' has been made since 1879:—'"

The quantity of wool exported has likewise steadily, increased till in 1910 (the record year) itreachetf over twenty million pounds weight, valued at •£769,741. The export of wool and mutton combined has doubled in quantity and value in the past decade.

When tho balances of loans which have been authorised have been raised, Ciisliornc's municipal debt will total about .CMG.OUO. Although the amount is large, the expenditure has been indispensable, the greater portion of it being in connection with water and drainage works. The total water, loans, spoilt and authorised, amount to .£90,000, and drainage ,£190,000. Tho sanitation of Gisbornc has been an expensive undertaking, but a high price has been set on the health of tHe community, and when works at present in hand are completed, the system will be in a very satiefactory condition.

Year. Cook. ,Waikolni. Waiapu. Total. 1879 ... — - - 227,402 1880 ' - - • - ■ 228,011 1881' ... - - - 210,483 1882 ... — — - .' ? 18S3 ... — — - 280,152 1881 ... — - - 307,973 1885 ... — - - 324,39!) 1886 ... - . - - - ' 380,387 1887 ... - - ' 452,491 1888 ... — — — 480,515 1889 • ... ! - 518;i89 1890 . -V-' '" - 60G;S03 1891 ... ■- — , — 042,890 1S92 ..v ' -• " '■ ' - ' 715,039 1893 : ... 799,985 1894 ' .... 075,024 . - 192,001 867,G25 1S95 ... 091,388 " - 185,97G 877,364 1890 ... 099,514 - 203,012. 902,625 1897 ... 759,G07 -232,514 992,121 1898 810,901 - 280,311 1,097,272 1899 ... 823,947 — 308,049 1,132,596 1900 ' . 801,143 - . 315,049: 1,176,192 1901'. ... 887,OGG - 327,039 1,214,105 1902 , ... ;941,421,^'372,242 1,313,003 1903 ... 908,335' : 373,079 • 1,281,414 1901 i,;. 950,165. - 380,325 1,330,490 1905 ... 1,012,171 ■ : 423)908.. 1,436,139 .1906, '... 1,123,085 ■>:- 45D.012 1;573;097' •1907' ... 1,228,689 '480,072 1)709,301 1908 ... 1,393,001 >- ,' 524,937 1,917,99S 1909 ... 903,553 433,708 568,223 1,990,484 1910 ... 967,952 512,761 013,270 2,093,983 1911 ... 924,741 492,610 002,497 2,019,787 1912 ... 905,952 509,909 008,157 2,024,018