THE EARLY SIXTIES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2382, 11 February 1915, Page 5

THE EARLY SIXTIES

County Council Established

PIONEER DAYS WAIROA'S STRUGGLE FOR PROGRESS , AN INTERESTING RECORD In the early days of settlement Wairoa had perhaps more than its share of trouble with the Natives, combined with natural difficulties that had to be overcome. It was in the early sixties that the township first began its history, and conditions as tboy were then make interesting reading. Wairoa is fortunate 'in the possession of at least one settler ' who can tell of those early struggles. Ho is Mr. J. H. Smyth, a veteran of 84 years of age, occupying the position of librarian of Wairoa. To a Dominion representative Mr. Smyth was good enough to recount some of his early experiences, when the township was little beyond a Maori settlement. He arrived in Wairoa in'lßGs, as a sergeantmajor in the force of Colonel James Fraser, ''the hero of the East Coast." A year or two previous to that the whole of the Wairoa township was in the hands of the Natives. In 18(34 the settlement was purchased by Sir (then Mr.) Donald M'Lean, who wa6 then Superintendent of Hawko's Bay, and Government Land Purchase Commissioner. There had been very little attempt, prior to that date, at settlement, and there were but few settlers, simply the remnants of the old whaling fraternity. There was not a single road between Wairoa and Poverty Bay or Napier, but there were two small hotels, or drinking houses, as they were without accommodation for travellers. One of those buildings still exists—the only, building which has survived to the present day. It is a small place on Marine Parade, adjoining Winter's,

Ltd., one of the moet up-to-date business premises of the present time. It was originally built as a store by Mr. W. E. Knowles, who was for many years the proprietor of the Napier "Telegraph." .

The Pakelia-Maoris. To quote Mr. Smyth: "There were practically no married settlers prior to '64, and the white men there were of ■the Pakeha-Maori class. There were a few exceptions, and amongst those was Mr. Carroll, tho father of Sir James Carroll, who had long been resident in the district, and was the most influential and respected man of that time. Sir James Carroll was born in Wairoa, in the infancy of the town. In • those'early days the belief in witchcraft amongst the Maoris was very general, and very strong. There was a considerable number, about a dozen, Maoris in the Wairoa, who were accused of exercising this baneful art, and often when notable persons died, those "gigo-gigos" were accused of causing their death.. A very few days after Mr. Smyth arrived, one of his duties was to attend, a. coroner's inquest on. a young Maori. One of those old "gigo-gigos" was accused of causing his death, and a relative of the deceased .took his gun and went out and' shot the old man, where he was digging in his garden. A verdict of. wilful murder was brought in against the perpetrator, 1 but the very, unsettled state of the Natives, and thegeneral belief that the murdered man. had been served > right prevented anyfurther action being taken.

Early River Trials. "The river bar -was always a bugbear., and it was much worse then than now. The only trade, was done by small sailing vessels, which came in at very irregular intervals. For tw--> and three months at a time the liver mouth would silt up, and there would be no. communication whatever from the outside world. Occasionally the tradinp vessels-got stuck inside the bar, and one of the most successful traders, Captain Campbell, of -the old Hero, had often to jump off and, with the assistance of his crew, push his craft over into deeper water. There were no wharves when I arrived, hut shortly afterwards a Mr. Attwood erected a small'wharf opposite his trading storo on what is now the Parade, and nearly on the site of the present Wairoa wharves. The structure consisted of two small trestles, and two planks. These were put down below mark, and had to be pulled up on the hank when not iin use. The whole of the flat on the

main street was then covered with tall manuka, and only a cattle track ran where now stands the broad Marine Parade. Opposito tlio present site of the Post Office a largo gulf had been caused by the overflow from the river, and this was bridßed by r- felled tree, with the top adzed flat. Every person having occasion to use the main street had to cross that plan!:."

Fighting the Natives. "[ arrived in Wairoa cloven flays before Christmas, 1865," went oil Mr. Smyth, reverting to his arrtva . 'pontile Natives were then plentiful. Colonel

[Fraser and his men had arrived a few days before, and they were followed shortly afterwards by a company of the Taraiiaki military settlers, under Captain Hussov, a Crimean veteran. On I Christmas Eve Colonel Fraser and his men crossed tho river in canoes, and proceeded np country into the hostilo territory, and came in contact with tho Hou lion's. I was unable to go with tho party, having just recovered from a wound. During Christmas dinner wo heard volleys firing, and knew that fighting was going on at Maru Mam. Poor, brave Hussoy met his end there, and was buried whore he fell. Ho still lies there, without apost or a stick to mark his grave. In a very short time there will bo no one living to point out that soldier's resting place—it is a great shamo that nothmg has been done to mark tho spot where that brave man lies. "Tho Natives arc not so numerous now as they were then. At that time, for mutual protection, they were nearly all living in fortified pas. There was a largo fortified pa at the mouth of the Awatero Creek, held by Chief Haurane, and it was estimated that he had close on 100 fighting men with him. His stronghold was paßisaded and entrenched. There was another pa at Waihcre, held by Paul Apatu, and ho had 150 fighting men with him. Some two miles further up the river was Chief Kopu's pa. A monument to his memory now stands in front of the Courthouse in Wairoa. He was said to have at least 200 fighting men. A litfclo further up was another, the Ruatarawa pa, and on the other side of the river was the Matati tribe, and at the junction of the Wairoa River and the Waihou, where Frasertown now stands, 14 miles above Wairoa, there was the 6trong and powerful Raramutu pa. Those Natives were nominally "friendlies," and nearly all of them were so. Had it not been for that, and the assistance we got from the Natives then, I am of opinion that there would be a very different tale to tell to New Zealand to-day.

Early Control. "The first resident Magistrate in Wairoa was Mr. Hunter Brown, about 1864-65, and he was succeeded by Captain Sam Deighton, who had seen service previously ; n the Defence Force. "Captain Deighton afterwards left to take charge of the Government affairs in the. Chatham Islands, and his place in Wairoa was taken;by Dr. Ormond, a brother of the Hon. ; J. D. Ormond. , "There was a little school here at the time, established by the Provincial Government, but there was no church nor minister of any denomination. In one respect the minister's place was supplied by. the Registrar of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, who acted in an itinerant way, and used to go about, marrying people. M was Mr. Stephen P. Prentice; Children were not baptised then, except in the case of the Roman Catholic children, until they were some years old." It is interesting to record here that Mrs. Dawson,' daughter of Mr. Smyth, and >he first white child born m Wairoa, was baptised with fifteen other children, all much younger than herself. The whole 6ixteen were baptised on the one day. The Roman Catholics, said Mr. Smyth, had to 'be excepted, as the place was regularly visited by an old priest, Father Reighney, he thought, was the name. He believes lather Reighney was the first white man who ever went round Lake. Waikaremoana. Butter 2s, Lb. ,■ Fowls 6d. Each. The ordinary food commodities of today, according to Mr. Smyth,' were luxuries in Wairoa in the early sixties, while some luxuries of to-day. were plentiful and cheap in Wairoa in those times. Coarse sugar then waslOd. to Is. per lb.; common candles 2s. per lb.; flour, £20 per ton, and all other stores in proportion. Butter whs 2s. per lb., and could seldom be obtained, because only one person made it in the district. Wages were then about 6s. a day.

Meat and game was extremely cheap, wild ducks could be bought for 43. and 6d., and fowls for 6d. .each, while eggs could bo had for 3d. a dozen from the Natives. There was one luxury always to bo had cheap—sucking pigs could be obtained .at all times for a shilling each. Prior to his arrival, said Mr. Smyth, there were only about a dozen settlers in the district., and they could live without much effort on fish, potatoes, etc. The arrival of the military authorities brought days of plenty, and settlers began to drift in. In '67 and '68 industries of all sorts made a 'start, and there was a large advent of settlers, some being men of wealth, who took up land, and proceeded to raise sheep. Notably, there were Messrs. Stopworth and CHethin;, Mr. George Burton, afterwards chairman of the County Council; John, Joseph, and Samuel Powdrell, and Mr. Thorpe.

"From that time things began to advance a little. The County Council was established in the early seventies, and shortly afterwards the Clyde Town Board, which later • merged into the Borough Council, wa3 set up. A ferry was started at the place where the Wairoa Bridge now crosses the river, and a punt was supplied by the Provincial Coun«l of Hawko's Bay. Roads were' also made towards Napier and Poverty Bay, and these quickly helped to open up tho district. The Wairoa Bridge was opened in 1887, and a toll was established upon it. The _ bridge was first leased, the lessee paying £360 for the first year. The revenue advanced from year to, vear, until the County Council was getting £850 a year from the' bridge. It was a veritable milch cow for the County Council, and there were tolls enough collected upon it to pay the whole of the outlay by the council. Tho cost was close upon £12,000, and of that the Government gave a subsidy of £5000."