ON THE EAST COAST.

Gisborne Times, Volume X, Issue 948, 22 July 1903, Page 4

ON THE EAST COAST.

FROM MOTU TO OPOTIKI. (By Oar Special Correspondent.) No. 9. After leaving Whinray’s park at Motu, ivitk all its beautiful and impressive jcehery, we journeyed along a narrow ■rack six feet wide, through dense evergreen, bush and shrub. For miles wo thus Continued, crossing creeks swollen through excessive rains, up hill and down again, along small stretches of flat; turnings of a zig-zag nature, and all this to the discomfort of riders. Nevertheless the scenery was perfeot, and was enhanced by the noise of rushing waters, the crash of watorfali, the whistle of small birds, the chou-chou of the tui, and the hum of the pigeon on its flight. These scenes, with lofty hills and rugged peaks looming into the sky in the distance were typical oGthe East Coast. At last, after untold windings, we reached what is termed the summit or saddle. We then descended for some miles until we reached the sunny little valley, rejoicing in the name of Parparmoa, In this valley there are two settlers* whe have resided there for many years, and carried on sheep and oattle farming, independent of all its difficulties, which were and still are, greater than my pen can de scribe. As yet they have only a track sit feet connecting them with Opotiki, ovei 20 miles distance, nor have they any mai communications. It was in this valley that a representative for a weekly papei recently met, what he publicly termed anc described as “ inhospitality,” and rebuff a the hands of Mrs Armstrong. Allow me sir, to give this statement a complete denial. Having heard of the matter lin terviewed Mr Armstrong, and he suppliei me with the following facts, expressing re gret that the representative should have made such a dastardly attack on him oi his household: It appears that the travelle: came to Armstrong’s residence and on quired, without introducing himself, if hi could obtain food for his horses. “This,’ Mrs Armstrong repled, “ they did no beep.” Then he asked if there was e chance of getting a feed for a fellow adding that he was quite prepared to pai five or ten shillings for it. He receivec the reply. “No.” At this he walkei away, muttering, “ I am representing fch. try up as a starvation place.” Mrs Arm strong was home alone. ’There was ni horse-feed, therefore none could be given Mr Armstrong was also out of food, havinj already borrowed supplies from a neighbo to enable him to finish certain work be fore proceeding to Opotiki for stores, a dis tance of 20 miles. It is to bo regrotte. that newspaper representatives shouli lower their standard to such a degree as be littling the weary, struggling settlers o our back country. I mention this matte as Mr Armstrong desires full publicity ti be given in j contradiction to the repor which appeared in the paper. Returninj to our journey; from Mr Armstrong’s w wended our way along a narrow track fo some miles, just skirting the edge of thi lovely valley, Eden of Rest. At lengt! wo began to rise upwards until we reachei another well known saddle some 20,0001 above sea-level, from this point we had i lovely view of the sea in the far distance After descending through bush, rock, rive and rugged country, at last we emergei into the open country; night came on an it was with difficulty that we made ou way. After numerous blunders, wander ings, from'the track,.and sometimes dee] water 'and mud holes, caused by rocen floods, we succeeded in reaching the se beach. There fortune favored us as it wa low water, and this-Cnabled us to cross th tidal creeks without danger. Time passei quickly, yet no lights in the distance wen visible. Qur watch told the time eigh o’clock, and as we rode over sand hills ou hearts were gladdened by the Opotik lights. Wo 1 soon arrived 1 in town am were comfortably quartered by‘Mr Forbei at the Masonic Hotol. Next morning wi rose early, thus having an opportunity o seeing the town of Opotiai Thi morning being a real autumn one thi whole district‘-presented an attractive ap pearance, the. sea with its deep blui waters, and,White Island in.the distanc't mounting volumes of steam, considerably added to the beautiful picture. Opotiki it situated in the centre* of' a* large area of valuable agricultural land. In the back grounds are of real; good grazing and pastoral country. In years gone by Opotiki’s chief exports were maize,"an'd wool, but since the introduction of dairying the whole trade of Opotiki has been* revolutionised. Dairying has taken the place of maize-growing, and now very small areas are under crop for maize. Fat cattle and sheep are also exported, the country being admirably adapted for their raising. Pig-farming is in its infancy, but could be profitably carried on on a much larger scale. The average maize crop this year for Opotiki is estimated at 60 bushels per 1 aore, which is very oreditable for the district. There is one thing that strikes the new-comer (land hunter), on passing over the district, and that with an ' amount of distrust, is the wonderful amount of attention farmers pay to their flat lands, while the hills and higher levels appear to be quite neglected. This of course gives the district a desolate appearance, besides instilling distrust in the minds of would-be land-holders. I have been told on reliable information Shat these high lands are excellent for grazing purposes when proper attention is said to them. The Government are now ipening up large areas of bush and open and around Opotiki. These lands for have been locked up, this should ;ive an impetus to settlement. We spent i day having a ride over the Waiotahi and IVaimaDa valley. Both these valleys are lomposed of splendid land. Going to JVaimana we had the pleasure of inspectng a stump jump- plough. It is a fine erviceable piece of machinery. When it omes into contact with immovable tumps it throws itself out of action, ;liding over the obstacle and again pene : ■ rating the first soft ground it comes tol Ir S. Gordon, who owns the plough, inarmed us it could be easily drawn with aur horses, and he has used it to great dvantage in ploughing his swamp. These alleys are well settled and populated, •airying operations are carried on, as Iso is maize growing. We saw some lal fine herds of' dairy cows. The crops i maize on the flats are tip-top, and even l the higher levels maize orops are seen i good advantage. There was only a small iow of potatoes, and onions were not sible, although we were told the latter op grows very well when sufficient station is paid to it. One damaging rture in these parts, as already remarked, that special attention is given by farers to the flats, while the higher levels d hills are almost, if not wholly, negited. We also noticed large areas of id lying waste, either in the occupation Natives, or owned by absentees. This is ry detrimental to the district’s progress, has been suggested to me that Opotiki !1 eventually rob Gisborne of her Motu de. Ido not think that this will ever . the ease. In the first plaoe the access 1 always (until a railway is made) be

difficult, owing to the rugged country to be gone through. In the second place, Opotiki is not a sure or safe port, and never will be. Opotiki is destined to be the town of her own district, and must not expect large outside support. (T!o be continued.)