CANTERBURY TALES.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 189, 16 January 1875, Page 4

CANTERBURY TALES.

By Sinbad. “ Hoio olim meminisse juvahit .” (From the Press.) In the early history of every colony there are always to be found events which though seemingly trifling in themselves at the time of their occurrence, yet serve even more than those of greater importance to illustrate the progress made in the work of colonisation. It is with this view that the series of tales and sketches which I am about to offer to the public have been compiled. They make no great literary pretensions, but are simply put forward as illustrative of life and manners in the early days of the province. I shall endeavour to make them interesting alike to old colonists and to new comers. To the former it will be “ fighting their battles o’er again perhaps the reminiscences that will be awakened will recall to their minds the struggles, the toils, and the difficulties attendant upon their pilgrim existence, which have been successfully surmounted; and to the new comers they will, I modestly hope, present true pictures of what had to be done —what endured by the pioneers; and by them their sympathies may be awakened, and they may be led to recognise the efforts made to lay the foundations of this thriving settlement on its present substantial basis. Without, as I have said, claiming for these papers any great literary merit; I may say that they are, in the majority of instances, narratives taken from the lips ot those who actually witnessed and took part in the scenes described, therefore, they can claim the merit of being truthful records of the past, and as such are, I think, entitled to be published. My first narrative was gleaned from a somewhat original character in his way, wellknown to old Canterbury settlers as Robinson Clough, but now gone to his long home. Whenever I happened to be in the locality in which he resided, he used to tell me his experiences, and, as a proof of the tenacity of his memory, I may say that on the first occasion I took notes of what he told me, and on comparing my notes with a repetition of his statement, I found that he was still the same in every particular. As a truthful record of what took place on the occasion of the occupation of Akaroa this account is exceedingly interesting, and I have preferred to let him tell it in his own words, as related to me over a pipe and a glass of grog at Alford Forest some time ago. As my duty is simply that of introducer of the several characters, without any further preface I shall commence with— No. I. The Occupation of Akaroa by the British. Perhaps I’d best begin from the time I sailed from Sydney harbor in the Roslyn Castle, Captain Richards. What year was that? Why it was February, 1835. I’m quite positive about that. From then to April of next year we whaled off the Peninsula. Whales, yes, there were whales about then. You couldn’t go wrong on this coast. We filled in fifteen months. The Mary Ann Martha, a Yankee barque, was lying in Piraki harbour the same season. She filled in thirteen months; but the year after there were hundreds of whalers knocking about the coast, and plenty of fish for all. The French barque Adele filled over 4000 barrels in Piraki without putting her fires out, and that in three months. She did so. They were propel times for whaling, believe me. What made me think of stopping there? Well, I couldn’t say. It was just a whim, I thought it over, and a day or two before the Roslyn Castle sailed we were lying in Akaroa harbor at the time full up. I arranged with the captain for my discharge. He gave me for my share of the oil (“ lay” we call it) a whaleboat and gear, and a full rig out of clothes and cetera. I pitched my camp at Onuka, near Akaroa Heads, How did I live ? Why by giving a hand to the whalers, and did well too, only money was no good to me at that time. I took it all out in goods, or grog, or what not. Were there any English residents at all here ? No, none when I landed; not what you call residents, only whalers, who would stay ashore perhaps “trying out” while their ship was in harbor. In 1836 two men came down from Sydney in the barque Regia, Captain Bruce. They were acting, I think, for Heriot and McGillivray, a Sydney firm. They landed somewhere, I believe, near Ikoraki. They went over and squatted down just about where Ham is now. They didn’t stop long. They raised one crop, I heard, but their principals failed and they went back. They would have done better to stay on I expect. Stop —l’m not sure whether Mr Price wasn’t down before them. Became down either ’36 or ’37, and settled in Ikoraki and Woods, in Oahau. I don’t know how you spell Oahau, but I expect you have got it near enough. Mr Barney Rhodes was in Port Cooper in 1837. I don’t mind of anyone else that you would have heard of. It was in 37 the French exploring vessels came—the Australabe and the Zela came —H.M. ship Herald was in Akaroa at the same time. The captain gave me a Union Jack. You see before this, on the 4th July, and such like days, the Yankee whalers used to hoist the Stars and Stripes, and it used to rile me that I had no bunting to fly the same as they had. I recollect I bust the only gun I had firing a salute on the Queen’s birthday. The French ships only stopped four days, and the Herald went the next day. In 1839 Mr Barney Rhodes came down again with cattle in the brig Eleanor. He landed them about two miles below where the present township of Akaroa is. He left a man named Green in charge of them. Green bad a public house in Akaroa after. I don’t remember any more about him, Mr Rhodes was here again before the French came, That was in June, 1840, they came. The Britomart came in before the French, I reject that very well. I had been getting some goats from the head of the Bay, just where Shadbolt’s Accommodation House is now. We had a fair wind down the harbor, and were about half-way home when we sighted the Britomart standing up the harbor. I had a mate with me who had deserted from the service one time, and when he saw she was a man-of-war (a ten gun brig she was) he wanted to be off, but it was too late. She hove to and fired a gun, and we ran alongside and went aboard. Stanley was the captain. He seemed quite surprised to find an Englishman in Akaroa. He asked me down into the cabin, and gave me a shilling for my son. But he had me over that shilling. He says to me—“ You have acknowledged yourself an Englishman, and you have taken the Queen’s coin, You are now in her Majesty’s service, and I shall swear you in.” My word, it was aa oath. It

took about ten minutes reading it over. He asked whether any foreign men-of-war had been there in my time, and whether they had made surveys or purchased land from the natives. He asked me a lot more questions, and finally told me I was to consider myself pilot to the Britomart until further orders. Next day he held what he called a Court at Akaroa, and then I piloted the Britomart’s two cutters to Piraki, Ikoraki, and Oahu, The British flag was hoisted at each of these places. I saw it done myself. As I told you I had hoisted it before, but this was the first time it was done by anyone in authority. When we came back to Akaroa we found the French ships La Hube and Compte de Paris lying close to the Britomart, There was a long consultation between Captain Stanley and Lavaux the French commander, before Stanley would allow them to land. I believe Stanley’s conditions were that each emigrant was to have eighteen months tucker (tucker I why, Lord, a day’s allowance for one of ’em wouldn’t bait a rat trap.) They were to have five acres each, were not to extend their territory beyond a certain point, and were to have their land in cultivation in three years’ time. I may be wrong about this, but that was the report at the time. I very near forgot to tell you that at the Court I was telling you of just now, held at Akaroa, there were two magistrates from the North Island—Mr Robinson and Mr Murphy. I think the latter was present when we hoisted the British flag. I piloted the Britomart after this into Port Cooper, and got my discharge from Captain Stanley. No; he never paid me for piloting, not a penny. I think Captain Stanley died in Torres’ Straits. He lost the Britomar t and finished his survey in the Rattlesnake. Did I see much of the French ? Certainly I did. They were a real good lot ; I never want to be among pleasanter people. The French commander remained three years with them. He went up to Sydney twice in that time for tucker. Lor! he was an old brick ; he wouldn’t believe an Englishman could tell a lie —wouldn’t indeed —rummy, wasn’t it ? He was relieved by the Heroine. I musn’t forget to tell you that Mrs Franklin (Lady Franklin she is now, wife of Sir John, you know) came down to Akaroa in 1844 in the Favorite, man-of-war. She stayed at my house while the Favorite was in Akaroa —as nice a lady as I ever spoke to. How did I find the Maoris? Well, they treated me well from first to last. 1 could tell you plenty about them, but I expect you’ve got precious near all you want from me. Stop a bit. You mind my telling you about a • Court we had in Akaroa. When the Britomart was down, well there was some dispute about who was head man amongst the Maories at the time, and the matter lay between two of them ; one of them had knocked about a good bit amongst the whites, whaling and the like, and could speak English as well as you or me. He was awful fond of gambling too. While the Court was deliberating over their claims, he offered to toss the other claimant for the sovereignty, or whatever you like to call it best two out of three. He did so ; but the other wouldn’t. In 1849 I went to Homebush. I could tell you a lot about old times there, and people you know well, but, sakes 1 you must be tired of scribbling. No, I don’t think I’ve made many mistakes. I’ve got as good a memory as most even now. I could have spun it out more, but 1 always think a short yarn is best;