WARD ISLAND

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2515, 17 July 1915, Page 8

WARD ISLAND

(By "Tho Gardener.")

P°°r . Yorick!. I . knew him well! The thought occurcd. as, spade m hand, I paused to examine tho parietal bono of an ancient Maori unearthedwlulo turning over an old Maori oven on Ward; Island. - Various relics haVo -been discovered in the past here, a stone aclza and.'pari of a. greenstone one, but nothing that touches us. 60 deeply as this. - There'oil tho top of the little island are five tiers,, or terraces, showing clearly. the sites of former Maori whares. Thfi terraces .are in'two places, in the middle of.the island, and at the southern extremity. They are well defined, and too regular .to bo. formed by any other agency than man's. All round the cliffs 'which extend practically right round, a palisading- was erected in former times, and look-outs were stationed to -watch for hostile intruders. On the beach below Maori canoes rested, homo from tho day's .fishing, the palisades all was peace—blue smoko ascended to the heavens-.from camp-fires, and squatting wahines .waited for the supreme moment-when they should rake away the embers and insert the "kai" on tho hot stones heneath: Musssls, pawa, and other sea, fish were tho general thing cooked, flanked by kumara,. taro, and fern root, a staple food of tlio ancient Maori, hut-tlio latest discovery is evidence of what has aptly been described as "the finest dish of all-" '

The public of Wellington are vastly interested in Ward Island, and the inhabitants thereof, consisting of 12 lizards, 5 goldfinches, 1 lark, a possible rabbit or two, and ail occasional sea bird, are duly grateful for this interest.

_ So much. for the fauna ; the flora, consists chiefly of rushes, thistles, scarlet, pimpernel, and that wiry brown cushion bush so common round iho sea front. Thistles and scarlet pimpe -nels alternate in production. At present the thistles are dormant and the pimpernel overrun the island. ■

On tho beach there are sea poppies that in summer are bright patches of yellow. Away at . the .south end of the island are two caves —damp and dark— in which at different times blue cranes, penguins,- .and seagulls .havo bred.' Lately a change has come o'er the scene, and strange men from tho mainland have come over, bringing with them young trees and protective apparatus as shelter from the wintry, blasts. Notice boards havo been erected in the - two bays thero requesting tho public to respect the plants, and this the public has faithfully done. The -result, though possibly aiofc as brilliant as the most exacting could demand, furnishes at any rate, an excuse for visiting them, and as Dickens says, in order to make a marino excursion successful there must bo somewhere to go to—no trip on the water yet was over satisfactory/without a- destination. ...

, A word in season and I'm done. Mention was made recently of a possiblo rahbit or two—and it is only'possible, as recent observations revealed two long dead carcases, presumably cnce gay and festive bunnies, now lying a melancholy sight at ,one end of tho little island. Presumably they have died from starvation, as they are of a very stunted size. As. no others seemed to remain, it is to be hoped 110 "philanthropist" will liberate another pair there to linger likewise" in such misery.. It is a poor substitute for "sport" to. chaso a half-starved rabbit or two round lialf an acre of land, and much more pleasure could be obtained in observing the growth of beautiful plants, which can never flourish as long as a rabbit.-remains on the spot.