STEWART’S ISLAND.

Evening Star, Issue 2911, 18 June 1872, Page 3

STEWART’S ISLAND.

Having recently referred to Professor Black’s report relative to Stewart’s Island, we now furnish a few extracts from that of Mr W. H. Pearson, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Invercargill, who also formed one of the expedition appointed by his Honor the Superintendent to examine and report upon the Island, and whose report, together with that of the Professor, was laid on tho table of the Provincial Council last session. As regards the occupation of FISHING, FISH-CURING, &C., Mr Pearson remarks as follows . "The bays and harbors are, during the summer months, frequented by shoals of ‘ trumpeter ’ and ‘ moki, ’ both fish of rare excellence. The. latter will not take a bait, and can only be canght with nets laid in the shallow waters, along the edges of the bays, and kelp beds inside them ; these nets could be laid down with ease by the wives or children of the fishermen, in any weather. I have frequently assisted in placing them in Port William, and in two or three hours caught from fifteen to twenty moki and trumpeter (averaging in weight five pounds) to each net. The means ef making it at once possible and profitable, to supply the Dunedin market from the Island, are thus set forth“ Smart fore-and-aft cutters, with wells to carry live fish, could supply tho Dunedin market, which is large ; and tho prevalent wind, the south-west, would enable the owners to make the run up in a few hours. In working back they could trawl, and bring the result to their homes on the Island for curing ; and it is to this branch of the business they must look for the full development of the industry, the chief reward of their labor. ” As to the proposal of opening up a profitable export trade, Mr Pearson remarks “ ‘Tinning fish’ for export ought, with moderately paid labor, to pay well. The ‘moki’ and ‘trumpeter»_in excellence of flavor—would rival the preseived salmon so largely imported iqto the Australasian Colonies ; and with the groper, eertainly surpass the American tinned fish, besides possessing the advantage of freshness. I have tasted some prepared in this manner, as an experiment, by an amateur, so palatable, that I feel sure it would prove a great success in experienced bands; while the * crayfish,’ which is of large size, and abundant in all the bays, fully equals, when tinned, tho important lobsters, and can be caught easily in any quantity.” And again, ‘‘When I was in Victoria in 1866, having in view the utilization of the Stewart Island fisheries, 1 made special enquiry into the subject, and I feel convinced that properly cured fish, whether smoked or salted, could be sold by the cargo at from threepence to fourpence a pound. While I was in Melbourne, a cargo from Newfoundland realized the last price. This ought to leave a margin of not less than forty per cent, for profit. ” Mr Pearson lias devoted a few paragraphs of his report to the supposed— MINERAL WEALTH OF THE ISLAND. He says :—“ Little is known of the intcriorjof the Island ; what is, favors the supposition that it is rich in mineral wealth. Copper has been found, as also lead-ore impregnated with silver. The deposits of iron sand are considerable, not only in the barbers, but, as 1 am informed, in the interior —particularly in a species of rift between Half moon Bay and Paterson Inlet, where the deposit is very great, estimated to exceed that at Taranaki. A parcel of this was sent some time ago for assay to Melbourne ; and the assayers for the Victorian Government, and the Oriental Bank, after smelting and manufacturing a steel bar from it, reported that it was not only superior to the Taranaki but contained a sufficient quantity of gold to pay the expenses ef smelting,”

If the above statement be borne out by facta, and subsequent tests, this should surely become a valuable export before many years. A very ingenious method by which it might be exported at small cost, is suggested as follows : “This sand would form rich ballast for wool-ships from Otago, and could be put on board with ease, and at no great expense, as there is alwaps deep water in the harbors. With plentiful labor at command, probably such a course will be adopted by captains of vessels, asid the export form another source of employment; though lam inclined to think the richest d. posits will, when the subject has attained greater notoriety, and leases can be granted, be worked by companies, obtaining the coal required for the works, at a reasonable cost from the main, where it will, I am sure, be discovered erelong ” As regards gold mining, in the usual acceptation of that term, Mr Pearson does not appear to hold out any very fascinating prospects. What he does say, however, taken in connection with the remarks of Professor Black on the same subject, is quite sufficient to jusdfy the expectation that patient and well directed effort iu this direction would eventually be amply rewarded. He says :—“ Quartz reefs of size and well de.fined, have been discovered in various parts of the Island, more particularly at the north end, and although the hastv, ill-advised and worse conducted enterprise, started from Invercargill a few months ago, failed to discover an auriferous reef, it was owing mainly to the fact that while a great deal of money was spent by persons entirely unacquainted with the business, little or no real work was done. ” There has been a prevailing impression that persons selected to settle on Stewart’s Island, under the scheme proposed by the (Government, would thereby, as it were, banish themselves from most of the comforts of life, and subject themselves to the endurance of many privations, in an inauspicious climate. In respect of this view of the subject, we commend the following remarks, with which we close our notice, only observing that providing always the stafementa are well-founded, a person might easily go further and fare worse, than at Stewart’s Island:—“ Though at present residence on the Island means in a great measure isolation, if the success of the undertaking under discussion is at all commensurate with my expectations, there will be plenty of life shortly after it is fairly started healthy, vigorous, hopeful life. Once a population settled there—independent of the frequent communication with the main by means of the fishing smacks—it will pay to ran a small steamer between the Bluff and the Island, which could in addition undertake the trade to the Toi Tois, Waikawa, and Gatlin’s liivcr, to the east of Campbslltown; and westward to [liverbon, Orepuki, Preservation Inlet, or any other settlement which may be formed on the west coaat of Otago.” The following paragraph refers specially to the prospects, &c. of a professional surveyor, but in the main features for which it is quoted will apply with equal force to all others who may elect to make the Island their future home :

“ Ob the whole, I feel convinced that the status of a surveyor at Stewart Island under this scheme will compare favorably with that of his compeer on the mam, either in the employ of the Government or practising on his own account. Living amidst some of the finest scenery on the face of nature, varying from the grandeur of the west side, with its lofty cones of bare gi’auite, its weird, rocky coast, to the sunny calm of an inland lake, with wooded shores and golden beaches of the east, ho can vary the monotony of his professional life by fishing, shooting, and boating—pleasures which men travel thousands of mites and spare no expense to compass. He can bring up his children hardy from the contact of sea-air, in a healthy and salubrious climate, milder than at Invercargill, and make sure of a provision for their future—a position it is impossible to attain on the main with the three or four hundred a year, the usual remuneration of a professional surveyor of standing and ability. ”