THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXX, Issue 11126, 8 February 1930, Page 9

THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS

SURVEY WORK IN FAR NORTH.

KAI A WEIGHTY A RGUAIFNT

downs occupied by Jiis stall’. , Tilt Into, country contours to record many other uni Iters to he though

If. Was my custom to employ Nat-

ives where possible. I found they used the slasher and light axe equally as well as Europeans, and, in the matter of carrying loads (swags), far excelled them. Then, through their knowledge of hush-craft, one could send them to- a. distant trig station without fear of them being lost. Another thing which T found greatly in their favor was that they never grumVed when food became scarce, but would fossick and live in the bush where a European would starve. When starting on a survey in the good old days, our commissariat would consist of flour, tea. sugar, salt and tobacco, generally “Barrett's twist.” “Nail rod,” or “A'onus p lu-r" r Tlu' Natives themselves preferred their own grown and manufactured To rove. It was cheaper for one thing and kept the mosqu,ito at: a respectable distance. The finish supplied us with birds, oe's and meat, so a gun and ammunition were never forgotten. On starting, each mail would have a load of from HP lb. to 20DIb to carrv. This would

often have to hi- carried on our hacks ten or twenty miles hei'oio reaching, the land to bo surveyed. Bonds were an 'unknown, factor in those, days. -Surveying was no sine<ure. trig stations had to be erected on the tops of dense forest covered hills the- highest and most prominent to he found, vistas had to be cut to sight other hills and so- carry on the triangulation.

Wo old surveyors did not know what a motor car was and we considered ourselves very fortunate if wo could get pack horses for even a short part of the way to- our work, hut we never considered -anything a hardship and what wanted doing was done: nothing was too arduous for ns old bloods.- it all came in the day's work.

[ shall never forget how proud I was the first- time I. was g,iven a party and left alone to make the survey. It was in the Far North. Air Percy Smith: was our chief, and he instructed, me to make a survey of a large h'oek of land, “To Ivau.no a R.uru Wallino,” situated between Ilokianga and Wiiangape. It was nearly all very heavy timbered country. He sent two of his own party with me—Randal Yen Tompskv lo act as chaiunian. and a young Allow. Alerryman, with instructions to complete my party , from the Nativeowners of the land. This I duel, getting four smart young Natives and two elderly ones to act as guides. Arriving on tlie ground the next morning, wo started work and every thing went well—at least I though', so—until my want of actual experience commenced to tell upon me and 1 became completely fogged. Keeping my trouble to myself. J made an excuse that I wanted further information .and had to see Air Smith. Leaving Von Tempsky to go on cutting, I started for Ivawene expecting to find Air Smith there, hut found that lie had camped some twenty five miles south of the Hokianga. Heads. Off I went and after two days of heavy tramping through the hush, 1 arrived at his camp. On seeing me, Mr Smith called out “Is that you Dalton? What on earth brings you here?” Summoning up courage, I told him my dilemma, hiding nothing, After thinking ior I some time.- he said, “Well, Dalton,, you have done the right- thing. I’ll go hack with you and put you right.’

The next day we-went back to my camp and. Air Smith gave me. two days’ instructions wherein I. learnt more than I would have in twelve months if left to myself. I have never forgotten to he grateful to him not only for his kindness in instructing me, I ut .also for his not mentioning my ignorance (of which I was 1 icartilv ashamed) to any of my brother surveyors. I took the opportunity some- years afterwards, when lie was Surveyor-General, to call upon him in Welington and again thank him.

After my schooling. I got along famously and my work proceeded apace, when . a messenger arrived from Ilokianga, telling, us that a party from Whimgape was coming ' to stop the survey.' This caused a lot of excitement among my party, and one of my guides' hastened to collect the Hokiiniga people, who to- the number of thirty, duly arrived on the scene. .The next day to hoard tlie Wiiangape Natives were on their way through the. hush, who, on arriving at our camp, entertained us with a war. dance, which, was immediately

co'lect tools, the mere

HOW NATIVE PROTEST WAS OVERCOME.

(Written for the Gisborne Times by .losc|>h K. Dalton)'. My memory often carries me back, (bow far j aiii afraid to lliiuk) to the happy days ] spent as a surveyor. In those early days the country was almost all covered with hush, and the axe had not taken its toll. it was a. hard, free life, ln.it a yon.i and healthy one—hard because, if the surveyor was a man at all. lie worked as hard and often harder than It is men; His work was nob done until loop; alter the camp had become" silent,- except for the nasal concert which often arose from the teiits or shakeire was his day’s work to' ealonwhile fresh' in his memory.' and. it out only by the surveyor

proud o!y it ran in some places t

Here was a. pretty, mess.,. .Theodolite, chains, and everything., ourselves, as well, im the. water . But. my hoys, were equal . to the occasion. Alerryma", who was ..a .splendid ywim-

returned by our people." Then the

talking commenced. Hot words and threats were exchanged and weapons iluuri.shcd. And so matters continued all through that, night and well into the following- day. I t was then that .7 ' found out that tlie whole block was not disputed, hut only one of the boundaries. I -pointed'out- to both parties that, in such a smaU matter of a boundary, it was 'much better to leave the dispute for the Native Land Court to settle than waste their energy in a useless dispute, that the Government had agreed to purchase the whole block as surveyed by me. and that there was

a large- sum of money waiting only the completion of the survey to be paid to the owners, and that if we included any of the Whangnpe people’s land within our boundaries they would receive payment for .it lies was ultimately agreed to. I question very much if it was my eloquence that carried the day. 1 rath-

er think it- was uit account of their provisions running short. A( all events out opponents luiricd the hatchet and left us quite satisfied, even extending an .invitation to us to visit- them when we got into' their district. So ended that matter. Hut my troubles were- not over. The whole of my party and their friends 'insisted on 'remaining and-

cutting the,lines, so some wens sent to the village- to get potatoes and

and taiajia

with which the party were armed not ipu’ng adapted to line cutting. On the return of the party with tools, the cutting commenced and t can assure you it was cutting, from the evenly trim, line of about six feet .in width, which the survevor ■is so

chains in width. The hush b'ecanu a perfect pandemonium. Laughing veiling, swearing and singing wen

the order of the day, all sorts of

tools were employed from an old cavalry sword to the broad benthandled squaring, axe, and to keep them in anything like a straight line was useless to attempt. It was while on this survev that

! was taken ill with 1 1 ir measles and

Von Tenipskv and Merryman decided to take me down to Omapere, at the H.okianga Heads, where there was ail accommodation house. On our way down on arrival . afc the l"each, it appears that I had become delirious, as I was afterwards told. I insisted upon talking to an unseen person whom T addressed as Mohi Tawhai. On our arrival at Omapere. ray companions mentioned my mental delusion to some of the Natives who happened to he present. A few days alter, when recovering from my illness, a deputation, of Natives from Waiina waited upon me and presented me' with an old-fashioned Verge watch which, they stated, had belonged to. Mohi Tawhai, who. it appeared, had died about the time my mental faculty had visioned him on his way to “To Keren pa TVairua."

And front that day on they looked upon as a “matakite” (seer).

Recovering my health. 7 completed the survey and brought my party down to Omapere. whore I received instructions from Mr Smith to proceed at once and survey the Manganui o wai block, wh.ieh, lie wished completed in time for the Native Hand Court, which was shortly to sit at Itnweno. To facilitate the work lie sent- li,is own chaiiniian with me. also a new chum, one Badcoek, whom he wished to gain hush expericnee. . OIF we started, and. in this instance everything went smoothly, and we had no interference from the Natives. AVe worked early and late and completed the survey sooner than we anticipated. I’er-ng/anxious to get to the Court as. quickly as possible, I sent one of mv.Natives to procure a canoe to take’me across the liarhour to Ilaweiie, and, on our arrival .’at tliei rendezvous, we found the canoe waiting. It was getting late and. we had some three miles to go down the creek before we reached the harbour. .So we hurried and loaded pur things in the canoe. AA’e all. took.our. places 'with ‘the exception’ of Badcock. Calling out to him to hurry, lie came running' down the hank, hut,' instead, of stepping quietly''into ' the ’ canoe, which was already heavily laden,'he jumped cm to the gunwale aml ‘fiver we all went into about ten feet of muddy water.

mor, dived down and soon located the instrument and, with the aid of some aku vine, we seen bad that safe. Righting the. canoe, we gathered as much; of onr equipment as wo could find and prepared to make another start, anything but comfortable, I can assure you. Uadcock we made lie. down on the bottom of. the canoe and we threatened to throw him overboard if lie as much as spoke. While paddling down the creek, I suddenly thought of my field-book. T shuddered when ! thought J should find it a mass of pulp, for it contained a'l the information in connection with the whole of the survey. With trembling hand* I unfastened my satchel, which was still around my shoulders, when, to my great joy, I found that, in my hurry,, when shifting camp. I liar] stuffed all my used stockings tightly into my bag and so saved the water from penetrating to . any . great extent and oidy the cover of the fieldbook was wet.

Tin’s was luck, indeed. So, urging rnv hoys to paddle, we emerged from tile creek into the harbour, only to find it covered in mist. Turning the nose of the canoe to what we considered the right direction, we paddled away for a considerable Lime until the mist had become so dense that- f could not distinguish the man at the how of the canoe. Still we paddled on for what seemed hours to mo. Then enino a remark from one of my Natives to the effect that ’i it was ebb tide, we would 1 e taken on to the bar. This was cheering, indeed, hut it struck me that, long before we reached the bar, we would hear the sound of the breakers and know which wav to steer.

And so the time passed until all of a sudden we heard a shout- from Uadcoek, telling us to listen. “Listen, you follows. I heard the sound of a concertina.” he said. And listen we all did and at last the faint sound of “Green grow the rushes, oh” polka greeted our anxious ears and wo quickly made for the sound. Landing at Rawone, we were welcomed and amongst those to welcome us was my chief, Mr. Smith, who inquired .if 1 had finished the survey. On my informing him that 1 had. he said. '‘Well done, give me your field-book. I will plot your work. You and vour bows take a

holiday; you deserve it.” That was Hu* sort of chief we had: always thinking of bis men. We were all in a pretty state, wet to the skin and no clothes to change into. 1-ufc that, was soon remedied. Cothe.s were found for all. except myself, who was six feet four in height, and search as they did no trousers could ho found to fit me. So I had to content myself with a shawl. But any port in a storm (as the sailors say). On to the ball we went, and. being young, soon we were enjoying ourselves as well as the rest, of the performers. Such was the custom in those good old days: work hard and play hard. One was always welcome and the hospitality of the grand old pioneers and their wonderful wives was proverbial, ns, likewise, was that of the oldtime Maori. To pass their settlement without calling in and partaking of their best would he taken by them as an insult. Verily the old days were good days, and like many other good tilings, have passed never to return.