EARLY RANGITIKEI

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2298, 4 November 1914, Page 8

EARLY RANGITIKEI

INTERESTING REMINISCENCES

(By Liber.)

Mr. JA G. Wilson, the well-known Rangitikei settler, who for many years 'Lis been so laudably active in every' enterprise calculated to benefit his brother settlers, and- to whom, bo it not forgotten, is largely due the foundation of-that now important and most useful;'institution, tho New Zealand Farmers' Union, is to bo congratulated upon the interesting work he has just published with Messrs. Whitcombo and Tombs on "Early Although the Rangitikei is a district the early, history of which contains few specially sensational or notably memor'able events,- the story of its earlier settlement arid of the privations and adventures of the first settlers was well worth setting forth in print. Arriving in the district, as, Mr. Wilson did, frorn Victoria, in 1873, the author's acquaintance with many of the older settlors has been- intimate, and he has ;been able to gather together many reminiscences of : the old days, sometimes from the older'men and women themselves, at others from their children, and has woven them together in what forms, as a whole, a narrative, of considerable interest and historical value. A Mr. Wilson has, on a small scalo, done what it was the fashion, in the later part of the eighteenth and earlier part of the last century, to present in the form of a "County History." He has set an exarivple which I trust may be followed by many others, and that without delay, for as. the years pass by tie task of collecting and-' arranging in'proper order tho personal reminiscences of the old settlers must become increasingly dif'.ficult.. ■■...' ' , The.Beginnings of the Rangitikei, Many of tho early settlers came from the . Wellington, especially the Hutt,. district. A good proportion of. the earlier settlers were Scots—there were quite a number of settlers of Highland extraction—but, later on, the Raugi-.-tikei became; specially favoured as a .field for settlement by young Englishmen .'of good birth 1 and education,; in;deed, I guestion very much whether any district in the Dominion contains so many Aex-publio school and university men,' a'fact .which 'accounts no doubt, for the great attention given-to maniy 6ports of all kind. Po'.o, for.inatarice, found its first devotees in .the -\Norfch Island in this' district, and hunting has always been a popular and wellsupported sport. ■.; Rangitikei's history, as a district/really commences with- the purchased Rangitikei Block from .'• the:,.. Native .': owners in 1849. '. Negotiations . -for . this '.purchase had been commenced Aby Mr. (afterwards Sir Donald).. M'Lean in 1847, but : the actual sale took place.at .Parewanui on May IS, 1849. '• The Hon. J. G. Ormond, -M.L.C.,; has contributed to Mr. Wilson's book a specially interesting account of this event. Te Rauparaha, To Rangiliaeata, arid Napia Taratoa were present, representing the "non-sellers," ,tho Ngatiraukawas, and Ngatiawas, the "sellers" ; tho Ng'atiapas, being supported by the Whanganui chiefs, Mete Kingi and Taitoko'■ Te Rangihiwinui , (better known afterwards .as Major Kemp). ' Tho "dealing" went for. over a weok, sometimes the "sellers" seeming to.be in a rftajority,- sometimes the "non-sellers." Eventually, To Rauparaha wa-s won over to the side of'the ."sellers,";and that worthy delivered a speech notifying that most of his people had agreed to the sale. Mr. Ormond describes what then took place, Te Rangihaeata bitterly reviling his old chief:

.Te Rangihaeata A was' in a towenng 1 rage, rushing backwards and for-' wards, leaping in the air, and yelling imprecations. 'After a time tho!dogskin mat he wore;came ofi, ' and'.stark naked he rushed.to whore Te Rauparaha sat, in front of his 1 people. Leaning over him, .ha •yelled every taunt and .filthy term '■-, of abuse he- knew. He '■ called To Rauparaha a dog, a>slave-thiiig, and his tongue was a 'wonderful sight. It .hung out an enormous length,.' and his filthy spittle - dnb:'..hled:bn, W,tlie',old':;.chicf he was 7, ' abusing.',: Te: RaUparaha sat per- ' fectly'still; • never, seemed to move ] .'.or.'-'tako'any!'notice. At last Ra- ■' ' ngihaeata, utterly exhausted; stopped, shouted to his followers to accompany him, and leave their slaves , to finish thoir evil work, and ho' then went off.-'- AThat was the end . of the meeting. The next day the..; deed of sale was signed by all tho principal people, and the purchase of Rangitikei was concluded.

Mr. ."Wilson eulogises the unfailing, courtesy and patience of M'Lean. It is told of him, he.says, that he.wished to get a- recalcitrant Maori 'to sign! a deed, and went to his pa, shook hands, and sat down. For some days, he remained a silent visitor, till at last the Maori said: ."What do you want, Makarini? I will.sigh." He, was a truly grand old gentleman, and his Celtio blood, and- temperament made him ,an 'ideal man/to' deal .with the procrastinating MaorL ■-'-~ Later .on, Mr. WilVon'/gives'an interesting account, supplemented' by..a'n .extract from .Sir. Charles" Dilke's ,"famous -story in his book' "Greater Britain,", of that ond'and-equally important land deal with the' Natives, the purchase of the Manawatu- Block, which took . place, again- at Parewanni, in December, 1866.

Some Early Settlers. '■. Many-a Well-known.name crops up in Mr. Wilson's pages. Here I find the story of Thomas Scott, of Scott's Ferry, at the mouth of the ttarigitikei, one of the earliest of.all the old settlers; of Duncan Eraser, father of Mr. Donald Fraser; of the M'Kenzio's.i of, Poynz.field; of the late' John M'Kelviej.of the Camerons of 7' Turakina; of Follett, Signal, Cawood, and other early Marton settlors, of Drs. Mussen' and : : Curl (the latter a most eccentric individual); ;of the Hammonds, of York Farm; of Tncker, falsely accused of the murder of Ahck M'Donald, the "White Chief," whoso yarns of the eaTly days "Liber" often listened in :• the . earlier 'nineties;- of James Bull, who had the first sawmill in the Bangitikei; of Captain Daniel; A. F. Halcombe, agent for the Manchester Corporation,' .in the early days of Feildiug. He was a nephew of Lady Fox, and of course of Sir William .Fox himself. I am glad, also, to .notice a specially kindly .reference to that fine old English gentlcmah, r :Major Marshall, of Tututotara, near Marton, at whoso house, for many years so many young Englishmen found a kindly welcome and much sound advice as to mastering their firet start. Many interesting anecdotes does Mr. Wilson tell of. these old settlors, many of whom cheerfully went through grievous privations when founding their homos in a strange land. The author has much to say, also, of the old, Native chiefs and of the Natives generally,, who, though perhaps sometimes a trifle "pouri," alwaj-B respected the Queen's mana, and never broke out into revolt, as did their compatriots further north. Mr. ./Wilson tolls a'good story of a scrape into which one Wi-Pata, a Native who 'was too liberally endowed' with a Benso of humour, got himself soon after the,railway had been made 'through Halcombo. Soon after'the line had been opened it happened one. day that two trains wero about to start from the Halcombe station, each going different ways.- They were therefore backed van to van. Tho sportive. Wi "Pata watched 'his chance, and once finding them so close that'ho could couple them together, ho successfully did so, and awaited'the result with! expectation.. - The engines tug-

ged, and'Wi jumped for glee, and shouted "Kaipai tho. engine!" and many other irrolevancies not quotable. Events ually it was found why the trains did not start, and Wi Pata got a month in Wanganui Gaol.

I "Jock" Stevens. I am very pleased to see a few pages of Mr. Wilson's entertaining narrative devoted to an' account of the early experiences of "Libor's" good old friend, Mr. John Stevens, the ''Jack" Stevens to everyone who has lived in or had any intimate acquaintance with the Rangitikei.■' Mr. Stevens was for many year's a Native interpreter, and acted I as Government agent in more than one important Native land purchase, including that of the famous Waimarino Block. .For some years he was a partner with the late Colonel Gorton in- [ the stock auctioneering firm of Stevens and- Gorton, of Bulls, and _ was for. some time member for tho district. A splendid horseman, and an equally able judge of a horse, Mr. Stevens took several consignments of horses to India. A few years ago blindness struck Mm down with terrible suddenness, and lie had to retire from public life. He is still, however, I am glad to hear, as cheerful as ever, and takes the keenest interest in the course of public ©vents. Many a lively yarn of the early days has "Liber" heard from Mr. Stevens, and it is .good to come across his name in Mr. Wilson's book. Mr. Stevens waß born in Wellington in 18<15, and it is curious to read of his having, as a boy, '(shepherded some sheep on Thorndon Flat for Elijah Wilton for some time, at ten shillings a week." '"In ,1854 he went to the Kangitikei with his grandfather in a fore-and-aft schooner called Tho Sisters, with "Bamoy" Riley as captain.' They landed -inside tho Eangitikei Heads and put up at Scott's accommodation houso, at tho famous Scott's Ferry. Next day, his uncle, Mr. Eraser, camo down for them with four bullocks attached to a sledgo. Mr. Stevens well remembers that tho names of the bullocks wero Tom, Colonel, Charlie, and Soldier. As thoro were: no pakeha children excopt his Onclo Hugh, of about his own age,- young Stevens's principal companions were Maoris, and thus lie picked' up their ■■ language—the dialoct of the Ngatiapas, says' Mr. Wilson, said to be the worst in New Zealand—and wherever ;he went after he grew up, to. act as an interpreter, he was known to the Nativos as aANgatiapa. Goats seem not to have been'despised in theso early days, for Mr. Stevens says that .lie began shear-, ing on the'pet sheep and learned to milk' chiefly on goate, of which there were some hundreds. Afterwards Mr. and Mrs. Stevens came up and lived, on the fiat below. Pukohou, and their, son went there to live with him. The first school in the district was founded by "Missionary Taylor," of.Wbanga■uui, and. was. undor the charge of a man called by the settlers Benfield, but whose real name, says Mr. Wilson, was Benncfelt.' Later on a night school was started by a Mr. Freoth between Pukohou and Waitatapia, and was afterwards removed to the \flat between Pukehou and Raumai, where a sergeant of the-sth-seems to have- had charge. I must not, however, further extend an' already lengthy, 'although' necessarily inadequate, notice of Mr. Wilson s interesting book, which contains several portraits, and with wliich two maps, one of tho "Old Rangitikei and Adjacent Districts,". tne other a reproduction of-the original survey map of the Rangitikei and Turakma Districts. Mr. Wilson's book has, however oiie very serious, fault, a tauic of omission. It has no index, nor are there given any chapter headings or synopses of the contents. If ever a second edition be called, this omission,, should certainly be repaired. The pnee of the book is~nve shillings.