THE FIRST ROAD IN.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1898, 5 November 1913, Page 16

THE FIRST ROAD IN.

AND THE MAN WHO MADE IT: . UP THE LINE IN 1891. Six years after Mr. Rochfort's survey of the Main Trunk route, Mr. Anthony Nathan, well-known in later years as the Mayor of go-ahead Taihape, was up in the Waimarino carrying out road contacts. Mr. Nathan, who is now living in retirement on the outskirts of TaiIropo, states that when ho camo up tho country on tho road works in 1&91 tho dray road in from tho south ended, at Vinegar Hill, threo miles beyond Huntoivillo. From that point a horsetrack, known as Ross's track, went up to Jlataroa, where it faded out in tho lush, without arriving at anywhere in particular. Taifiape—readied by road two years later—was then the haunt of tlio wild pig, and tlio only settlement was 011 a clearing in the bush between Taibapo and the opon country at Moawliango was on a clearing iii tho bush, wlioro a man named Adamson was living with his Maori wife; The open and fern country 011 the Waiouru Plains, and at Moawhango, Ruanui, etc., had been taken up for grazing at a much earlier date by Messrs. Studholme and Co., Mr. \V, J. Birch, Mr. Bntley, and one or two others. These st-ttiers had come in from the Hawke's Bay sido, and their outlet was by Kuripapanga, over tho ranges to Hastings. In those days the wool was taken by pacli-horso to Moawhango, and thence' by wagon out to Napier. They were piacticallv tho furthest bacß of the Hawke's Bay settlers, and it is to them that we owe the Moawhango Roatl, which Hawke's Bay people are now askin,; should bo improved as —with a biidge across tho Rangitikei—it would bo a good route for travellers from Napior to catch the express for Auckland.

Proceeding along the line, Mr. Nathan states that there was only one clearing between ICarioi and Raetihi in 1891, and tliia belonged to Mr. M'Donald, who was connected with the Studholme Estftio, and had a man on it. Between Racti'ii and Pipiriki was one settler, an Italian,, living forlorn and alone in the wilderness without either wifo or mate. Threo miles off the Raetihi-Pipiriki track, Messrs. Cowie and Brass had a small grazing-run. These settlers had their outlet by way of the Wanganui River, and at this period a canoe servico was being run on the river once a \ieek by Mr. George Manson. The canoes wero manned by a crew of six, and it took threo days to got up the river. Passengers were charged 15s. up to Pipiriki, if they had money, and if they had none they would probably get a lift for nothing, or be given a chance of working their passage up. Messrs. Hatrick and Co. began their scivico up the river about 1892. Pipiriki at this time boasted a store and a boardinghouse. Mr. Nathan went as far along as Waimarino on his road and track contracts, but between Riietihi and Waimarino "ho found no settlers and ' no Maoris. At Waimarino itself there was. a small Maori pa, but the country around was very poor, and the_ place had a deserted, starved-out appearance. Thoro wero r many empty whares. but only two families. The Maoris in 1891 wero very friendly, and alt the hostility displayed at the time of the railway survoy in 1884 had completely died away. Ka'rioi was the principal Maori village in the district, and Mr. Nathan estimates that there would be about 200 people in it at the time of his visit. The Karioi Natives had a sort of -.depot at Pipiriki where thore were always a number of Maoris stationed, in charge of a fleet of canoes. There were small pas also at Tucnui and Moawhango. The proprietary rights of'the Maoris were scrupulously respected, and all the timber used on tho road work was brought and paid for at so much per 100 superficial feet. Mr. Nathan, who was Mayor of Taihapo from the foundation of tho borough in 1906 until this year, had a varied experience in tho early days. He was born in "Wanganui in 1843, and on leaving school made for the Otago goldfiolds. After four years at Gabriel's Gully and Dunstan, he went back to "Wanganui, and later served in the Maori war in the Forest Rangers, and tho cavalry, wliere he held the rank of sergeant. During tho troublous days of the war ho was for twelve months in tiie Opotiki district. _ In 1870 Mr. Nathan began contracting, and later took to farming. As Mayor of Taihape, he was largely responsible for tho progressive schemes on which the borough recently embarked.