THE SUGARLOAF ISLANDS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 29, 29 October 1919, Page 8

THE SUGARLOAF ISLANDS

Sir,—Tho Sugarloaves at New Plymouth mentioned in your columns «ccn«y. *nd the adjacent land, are full of mtircbu Tho principal rocks are Paritutu on tho mainland, Nukotahi, formerly an island at high water; Moturoa, the penked island; and Motunuihanga, the twin island, called by tho pakeha, "Tho ..addlcback. Whareumu, known locally as the Lion Sock, and at a distanco it lias homo resemblance to a lion couchant, is ono ot tho smaller rocks, and ('hero are several others. , . , . , Ages, thousands of centuries before .Mount Egniont and the present coastlino existed, theso formed part ot a volcanic cone standing some miles out to sea The volcanic vent had had lte period of activity, and becamo • Then came a period of time in winch no doubt with titanic convulsions, storms, lightning, and tidal waves, and with long poriods of quiescence, when 101ests grew, to bo buried by turthcr eruptions, Mount Egniont and the surrounding country were thrown up. The iorces of denudation, which it may oe liad sot in, at the cone of which tho Sugarloaves are . fragments, before too tremendous disturbances took place, would bo accelerated by them, time has done the rest, and left us with the rocke as we know them to-day. lhoii c™ o mail. It is fairly well proved that tho original inhabitants, the taiigatw. wlxcnua" of tho .Maoris, niado their landing close by, almost oil the same spot where the .first white settlers landed hundreds of years afterwards. Then camo tho Maoris. It has been well said that Taranaki, particularly North laranaki, is steeped hi tradition and romance, and there are many stories in Maori loro ot which the rocks and district are tho scene. Timo and space do not permit any reference to these; some ot them may be found in tho journals of the Polynesian Society, who are toing a great work in research am? preservation ot Nativo history and tradition—and thew are others. . . . Then camo the whiles. lasman sighted Mount 'Egmont, but, bearing out to 6oa; "foiled to discover tho Sugarloaves. Captain Cook, in describing his voyage along this coast, writes: "At noon on the 12th (January, 1770) wo were distant about tliroo leagues from tho shore, which lies under the peak (Mount Egniont). but tlio peak itself was wholly concealed by clouds; wo judged it to hear about S.S.E., and some rcmarkablo peaked islands which lay under t.lio shore boro E.S.E. distant three or four leagues. ... It (Mount Egmont) lies S.S.W.IW., twentyseven leagues distant, from Albatross Point, and on tho north side of it aro two 6mali islands which lie near to a remarkable point on the main that rises to a considerable height in the form of a sugarloaf." Then came the whalers or traders, of whom Richard Barrett was the principal. The late Dr. M'Nab claimed that these were tho. first whites who landed in Taranaki, but against this claim is a fact that points to- an oa.rlior landing, and which lias never been explained. "Wiien the crown of Marsland Hill in New Plymouth was being levelled for tho purpose of erecting a barracks in 1855, a coffin was found containing a human skeleton with fair hair adhering to the skull. Naval bullous were found in the coffin. "It is supposed," says AVells ill his "History of Taranaki," "that tilio skeleton was that of some naval officer who had died off tho coast nnd whoso body hud been brought ashore for burial." But when? Tho Maoris had no knowledge of tho event. It could only have happened when the coast was comparatively deserted, and it was in that condition between 1760 and 1780, Barrett and his nion settled at: Nsramotu, i.e.. the. Sugarloaf Islands, and. it was hero that they wero mainly instrumental in defeating the Waikatos in their desperate attack on tho Moturoa. or Gtaka Pali, on the mainland, in 1832. After that I event most of tho tribe migrated, and [ the parly of Europeans went with them. Barrett himself returned in 1811!) with Colonel Wakefield; it is not certain when his companions returned, but it was probably in 1810. Barrett died at Moturoa in 1817. and was buried in; the Wai o Tapu burial ground, close to tho scene of his great victory, and within a stone's throw of high-water mark. In 1833 the 'Waikatos besieged Nukotahi. and it was surrendered to them, most of the garrison bping "Mi.rried off as slaves or at least vassals. The small remnant refuged on the island of Moturoa and the' other rocks, visiting the main land to cultivate their pitches of kutnarn and taro. The condition of the district was eloquently described bv the chiefs: "All was quite deserted—tiie land, the son. ih.o streams, (tie lakes, the forests, the roeks were deserted; the dead, the sick wore deserted; and the landmarks were deserted." There is some poetic license in tho statement—all wr.s not quite deserted. a few. at least, remained. Dr. DielTenbaeh laudrd at Mfituror. in 1839. and remained some weeks with a view of ascending Mount Egmont a,nd examining the country in. the neighbourhood. In his wr.rk entitled "Travels in New Zealand," be writes of tilio Sugarloaves: "Wo landed to the north of Sugarloaf Point, a dome-like cone of traehylic porphyry which rises to about Wit) foot and stands by itself. . . . Ono of tho Sugarloaf Islands consists of aqueous deposits, namely, yellow and soft sandstone. But. til? rest; of theso islands arc steep and conical masses of a greyish _ trachyte." On his return from the ascent of Mount Egniont by the advice of tho Natives ihe took up bis residence on the Moturoa Sugarloaf for the remainder of his stay. Ho w'rites: "This island is a conical rock, extremely steep, about one mile in circumference and 500 feet liish (the doctor is occasionally very unreliable in his estimates; it is really about half tho height be gives) the formation is trachyte. The rock contains much angote and feldspar . . . the augele occurs olten in nests. . . . Tiic summit is barely accessible, but the native women, with their children on theT backs, walked up and down the hill and along sleep pre ei pi ens with the utmost unconcern. From time immemorial Moturoa has been a place of refuge nrd security for the Ngatiawn tribes, but more so of late since the departure of llio iir.'ater portion of them. Wherever there was a platform or level s|>aco on the rock they liad built dwelling-houses and stores in which they kept wood and provisions. In caso of an attack they could, if watchful, easily keep oil a.n. 'enemy. Wo took possession of a good lionso oil the north-

wast Eide of the island, about 190 foot above the water and placed in a dry nicho, with tho rock overhanging it. Tho vegetation of the islaml is confined to flax, cabbage and parsley, which grow in the interstices of the rock." And Moturoa Island is doomed to 1m blown down to furnish material to completa the New Plymouth harbour. Tho first shot was fired, not at the lop—peace Mr. Will Lawson—but near the base about thirty feet above high-water mark, last Friday, and this work will go on until the island is levelled. Pity it is that its destruction is necessary, but it has to bo. _ There is still plenty left of interest in this district whore every hill almost has its story, still plenty to dream of in this laud of tradition and romanee.-I am, etc., OMICRON.