THE STORY OF RAETIHI

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2699, 19 February 1916, Page 9

THE STORY OF RAETIHI

FOREST TO TOWN PIONEERS' FIGHT WITH ADVERSITY THE PUCE TO-DAY About 27 years ago three stalwart pioneers—Messrs. Edward M'Donald, P. Cr. Smith, and Peter Brass—settled in the Raetihi district, and took up small grazing runs. Mr. M'Donald was actually the first settler in this rew land, and Mr. Smith followed close upon his heels 'and took over his place. , About two years later the- -Government laid off the town which is now Raetihi, purchased (for about Jialf-a-croivn -an acre) the Waimarino Block- Ifrom the Natives, and proceeded to settle it 6ii the'small farm method. The' .block was then nothing but a great tract; of virgin land, covered by --some; of' -the heaviest bush that ever stood 'in the Dominion. (Even at- that -time the Main Trunk railway, was projected. The settlers were promised that the line would be through in five years. "John Ballance told me five years," Bays Pioneer P. Gf. Smith, "but the line came fifteen years behind time." However, oh the strength of, the assurances about'the line, freslv: settlers arrived and took up tho small holdings the Government were offering. The position of these settlers proved to be one of great hardship. The land which was being offered for settlement was isolated from the world by -a wilderness of untrodden forest. The only access was via Hunterville, by 80 miles ofRoss's Track, or by Feild's 80-mile bridle track from Wanganui. True, in a while boats began, to run on the. Wanganui River, and this afforded an additional inlet aJid outlet. From Raetihi to Pipiriki (on the Wanganui River) is 17 miles' in distance, and the two places were linked merely by a bush track. If a settlor'wanted a bag of : flour, he had to walk to Pipiriki and bump it home on his back.

The Rush for Food. It was a notable advancement when ihe track was improved sufficiently to permit the use of pack horses. But even' the improved . track was so bad that pack horses had a habit of disappearing over the bank, stores and all. In the days when stores were packed lip from Hunterville, the arrival of tho trader with his flour and sugar was the signal for scenes which look almost incredible from this distance of time. Mon rushed the pack horses and tore the provisions off their backs. They stood guard .over all they had been able to secure in the rush, and when the trader stated his price they paid him. In this condition of isolation Raetihi attained what one of its pioneers styles "an unenviable notoriety." It was no man's land. The tracks '.- (misnained "roads") were quagmires in winter,and dust-heaps in summer. Jn .cases ; of ■ accident—and the bush'-'took;its 'toll of life and'limb—injured men had to. be carried' by othet. men many miles along these tracks. Many a man died through sheer inability of his friends to get him to a doctor in-time. It was a harrowing job carrying'these noor fellows out over "sludge channels," but the friends in the bush were willing and true, _and all turned out ,to takelheir turn in the long, sad march when wind went round that the forest had done its best to claim another victim. One man, who was struck by a'falling tree, uas carried twenty : five miles before bo reached Pipiriki, through deep mud all . the way. He lived through it >11— but he was a "tough 'un." Waiting for tho Main Trunk tine. An early settler who was not one of the "small" mon, and who used to get a supply from Hunterville once a your, illustrates how hard up for suste-.i-ince, the smaller settlers were, by stating ' that they were frequently forced to borrow food from him. These were the circumstances of the early settlers, and tho wonder is tho place made any progress' at all. It certainly got rather a bad reputation. There was the great, inglorious fact that it was eighty miles from anywhere, with inud tracks for lines of communication. Gradually, conditions improved, and Raetihi began to live down its name. Better communication was provided as time went by, civilising influences crept in, and the ordinary facilities of life began to appear. Settlement centred nbout the place where the town now is. Yet, twenty-one years ago llaetilii consisted of three or four houses,, a blacksmith's shop, and a butcher's shop, and Messrs. Bennett and Punch were just putting in their first sawmill. A email- portion of the site for the town had been felled, but there had been a very bad burn, and evei-ything was in a dreadful mess. Still, that time marked ft definite period. From then on there was progress, nearly imperceptible, but , progress nevertheless. 'Die five years by U»W>. the Main Trunk was promised

had already passed, and still the settiers vainly awaited signs of its coming. Signs of Progress. A few years later the Waimarino County was formed. Raetihi was placed under its jurisdiction, and constituted a separate riding. A scheme for the improvement of the town's streets was instituted. The sawmill was then right in. the town, and it had tlio timber at its door. The presence of the mill made progress more easily possible than when pil>sawing was done. All the while the district round about was being settled, and the busn was being tolled. The increased population, of course, benefited the town. In 1905, the Ohotu Block, to the south of the town, was thrown open, and the Mairekura and Morikau Blocks a year later. In 1908 the Ruatiti Block was opened. They were practically the first extensions in settlement since the early acquisition of small farms. The opening up of these large blocks of land synchronised with the approach of the railway, and the district's rate of progress was speededup considerably. About this time, also, Maori land began to be taken up by white settlers. The result was that the town grew soundly, and was able to afford improvement works. There was no boom; it was solid prosperity. Progress became even more marked when, in 1909, the s railway was opened l for _ through traffic. The prejudice against tho town and district was worn down, and the future of the place was assured. Lately, the demand for town sections has caused extensions to be opened np by the Government, and a steady continuance of that demand has induced the owners of a number of tho larger sections in the town to cut them up into small areas. a The Branch Railway to Raetihi. Ttie approaching completion. of the Branch v railway line which is to strike the/Main Trunk at' Okakune, has led to the nearest thing to a boom the town has experienced, building operations having been carried on during tho las't year at a greater rate than at any other time in the town's history, both ill business premises and in residences. There are. more buildings in the course of erection now than ever previously. Evidence of building on up-to-date lines is seen in all directions. • There is .no lack of social institutions in Raetihi. In addition to the various sports bodies, the town has a Gentlemen's Club, the. membership of which numbers sixty. This club has its own premises in a business quarter of the town. , Also, there is a Masonic Lodge and an .Oddfellows Lodge. Tennis, is very popular in the town, and the cltib's courts are so well patronised that it has been decided to put down, two new asphalt courts in the near future.. Before the war there was a fairly strong cricket club, and the Rugby club was a very flourishing body before the call of patriotism made inroads on. its membership.