RICHARD WHITE FOREMAN

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 15 November 1924, Page 17

RICHARD WHITE FOREMAN

;; . WITH THE PATEA RANGERS. THE MAORI WARS. HIS EARLY CAREER; Many of the sons of pioneer settlers Taranaki m their vouthfol days were not only compelled ‘to work hard on the farm or in other occupations, but likewise had to take - up arms ami endure considerable hardship during the . war. between palreha. and Maori iii the sixties. Mr. R. W, Foreman,' of Ilawera, Avas one of those .sturdy .young men, and lie can' lay claim to having helped in no small degree to make Taranaki what it is to-day. . Not only did lie serve his Queen and country well under arms, but in later years he took a keen interest in ail matters of interest, to the province, more, particularly in this respect in South Taranaki, where he has resided continuously since 1868. ; Mr. Foreman was born in Kent, and arrived at New Plymouth with his parents in 1856. A few months later the family purchased a farm at Tatarai- - niaka, and went there to live; remaining there until the end of February, 1860, when the Maori war commenced.. MAORI WAR EXPERIENCES. Shortly after the war broke out, a, ■ proclamation Was issued by the officer commanding the forces in Taranaki (General Pratt) that all women and children over a certain number in a family should go to Nelson, and Mrs. Foreman and her children' were amongst those Avho had to go. A truce having been declared in May, 1861, some of the families returned, including the Foremans, When the second war broke out on May 4, -1563, by the massacre of an escort of the 57th Regiment on the„ Oalsura. beach, Richard, then being slightly ever the age of Bixteen years, had to join the volunteers, .and he did outpost and other duty. He was stationed at Omat.i when a party of the 57th, under Captain Lloyd, aud a number of military settlers were ambushed at Ahu Ahu. It was a disastrous affair, the captain , being decapitated, and his head was carried around the country on a pole for some time afterwards. Mr. Foreman was one of the first on the scene of the disaster, and the sight of the butchery that met his gaze was one • that he will never forget.

He left New Plymouth with the Patea Rangers for Patea in 1865. The Paten Rangers, it may. be said, was principally composed of Taranaki youths, and Avas' 'raised to act as scouts for General Cameron and his Imperial troops. They were unable to land owing to rough weather, the steamer going on to Wanganui; but they did the

journey overlind. \ Shortly "after' this the then Defence Minister (Major Atkinsmi) called for volunteers to go to Pipn-iki to take , possession; but things did not turn out as expected, and the hunters really. became the hunted, for the Maoris attacked them and hemmed them in for twelve days. The troops were practically without ammunition and had very little food, being six days on half rations, and the remainder of the time on quarter. They were eventually relieved by a detachment of the 57th Regiment, and left for .Wanganui, on arrival, at which place they were again asked if they would volunteer for the East Coast, to take part in the capture of the notorious Kereopa, who was the prime mover in the murder of the Rev. Mr. Yplkner at Opotiki. Accordingly an expeditionary force, consisting, of one 1 company of the Wanganui Yeomaiiry Cavalry, two companies of military settlers,, three companies of bushrangers (including the Patea Rangers)* and a native contingent' (500 men in all) left on three steamers, and arrived at Hick’s

Bay. on .September 7, 1866, having been ! convoyed by, H.M.S. Brisk. Opotiki wa s probably the,largest 'Maori ■settle*, ment in; New Zealand, and owing to the great difficulty in landing it fortunate that no opposition was offered oh the part of the'natives; but there were numerous encounters later on both sides suffering .casualties, the Maoris being the greater. Kereopa, however, evaded ..capture by the Europeans, and it was not until November, 1871, that-lie fell into’the hands of the Ngatipbroros " (friendlies), and ' was hanged at Napier on January 5, 1872. Aftev being on the East .Coast for about ten months the troops returned to Wanganui. It was in July, 1866, that Mr. Foreman left. Wanganpi for Patea overland with his company, and was present at several, engagements . with I the Maoris, including Otauto andi Pokaikai. The Patea Rangers.had at the outset been granted 50 acres of .land, and at the termination,..of their.,, agreement (1866), Captain Newland- was selected to go ,to Wellington to . request the Government, to grant, a further ten acres of, land provided the men saw the trouble through. This was absolutely refused. Dealifig. with' this matter, Captain Gudgeon, in his book on the war, says: “Yet the Government not only, refused to do anything for the men, but replied that they, might leave the service if they did not choose.""to. wait until .the land, was-ready foNthem. This answer to men who considered the Government indebted to them, added Yueß to the fire, and the Patea Rangers,• qpjobably the best corps ever raised in ''New;. Zealand, left the; service .in a ’ body. For in any years the loss of these men was severely felt, never more so than on Titokowaru’s outbreak. ” Mr. Foreman then went back to Wanganui, returning to Patea in 1868, and served in the. Carlisle Rifles until the end of the war. ■ FARMER AND STOREKEEPER. 11l 1874 he commenced farming at Muiiutahi, and during the same year built a general store, where he conducted a successful business for seven years. ; He ' afterwards - farmed for seventeen years on the Waimate Plains. MEMBER OF LOCAL BODIES AND DAIRY COMPANIES. . ,

The foregoing deals principally with Mr. Foreman’.; military career, but that he has served this'-portion of the province well in local politics and on the directorates of dairy companies will be admitted when it is realised what he has done. In the days when the Patea County Council boundaries extended from Waitotara to Waingcngoro he was a member, and when Ilawera County was formed lie avhs appointed one of a committee to adjust the accounts between the tivo local authorities. The committee \vas: Messrs J. Livingston, Moore Hunter and Yorke for Hawera, and-Messrs Bridge, Horner and Fore'nuin for Patea. They met at ILiwera, and during one. sitting finished the Avliole of the business to the satisfaction of all parties. He Avas president of the: Egmont A. and P. Association for three years, and it is generally admitted that hi s fact and ability Avar largely responsible for placing the institution on a sound footing. lie Ava 3 a member of the .old IlaAvera Road Board, on Avhich his sound adA r iee Avas always sought and acted upon. The Riverdale dairy factory claims him as its first chairman, and in this connection Mr. Foreman became reminiscent about a certain gentleman who arrived in the district to start the factory; he didn’t stay very long, hcAvever. DAIRY INDUSTRY ACT.

Now rye come to perhaps one of the most important appointments that, he held —that of chairman of the North Island Dairy Association. The Dairy Industry Act, to regulate the manufacture of butter and cheese, Avit-li inspection of grading for export, was passed on October 23,'1894, and there is not the slightest doubt but that Mr. Foreman i s entitled to credit for that measure being placed on the statute book. 1-le, Avith the chairman of the South Island Association, Avas appointed by the various companies to go to Wellington during the session of Parliament and point out the necessity for such a measure; in fact they Avere armed Avith proposals for such a course. TheA' Avere introduced to the late Hon. John McKenzie at Parliament Building, and Mr. Foreman laid the proposals before him. Mr. McKenzie listened patiently enough, but held out no possible hope of the House passing such a Bill, stating that there Avere feAv, if any, of the members Avho understood anything about the dairy industry; as

a matter of fact, before any thing: could be. done the House .would"have to be educated up .to it. Those wlioHtnow Mr. Foreman can understand that lie did not take the rebuff too kindly, lie rose and asked the Minister if he Had anything to suggest fliat would help the industry, and was making for the door with his fellow delegate when Mr. McKenzie said “Stop; sit down agaiu.” Then lie unfolded a plan which he .suggested the delegates should adopt. He offered to provide them with, two shorthand reporters, gave them a'room in the building, provided seats for them under the Speaker’s chair,-and told them to go to work amongst members in the lobby and elsewhere to convince them of the importance of a Dairy Bill. They took full advantage of the Minister’s advice, with the ; result that at the end of a week Mr. McKenzie congratulated Mr. Foreman on the work the delegates had done, saying he would have no hesitation in introducing the measure; in fact, he said lie had given instructions for the Bill to be drafted. It

was- duly introduced, and the only member who voted against it was Mr. George Hutehinnon. So it will be seen that Mr. Foreman was of incalculable service to the dairy industry at' a critical time. Had lie not stuck to his guns and influenced the Minister that important measure might have been delayed for a considerable time longer. PATEA SHIPPING CO,. Somewhere, about the year 1876 nine gentlemen in the Patea district (including Mr. Foreman)\ formed 1 a company and had a steamer built, called the Patea. The boat was acquired for the purpose of trade between Patea and Wellington, but about-• two years afterwards it was found that the Patea was not large enough to cope with the trade, and the company , had another steamer of greater carrying capacity built, which was named the Waverley. Shortly after the W averley- commenced ■ -running the’ Patea became a. total wreck; and not long afterwards, the Waverley was sold, thus ending Mr. Foreman’s first shipping enterprise. GENERAL. ■' There is a little incident in connection avith Mr.' Foreman’s East Coast service that is worth mentioning. Clothing was > apparently not very plentiful in those days, and the men simply wore a shirt, with a shawl about their, loins. One day Colonel Haultain (then Defence. Minister) ; arrived on the scene, bringing his wife. The men were lined up for inspection, and Mrs. Haultain took a, keen interest in, the dress, of the men.V Halting before Mr.Foreman, 'she'-saidT- “ Why do you wear such' adress?” and on his replying that they had no other, she , turned to the colonel and gave him a bit of her mind. The result was that the forces were .soon supplied'-'with • presentable clothing. However, for inarching purposes (crossing rivers especially) there could be no better outfit than a shirt and shawl. It is also worthy of notice that, in this campaign food was often scarce, and on more than one occasion horses had to be killed and eaten. I Horseflesh = under ordinary ’ circumi stances did not appeal to the troops, J but when it was horse or starvation it was quite .a different mutter. Boiled horseflesh was not a tempting dish, | looking far too white, but toasted over j the fire it is said to have been most palatable.

In 1872 Mr. Foreman married a daughter of the late Mr. James Pearce, another of Taranaki’s early and most respected settlers. They are now enjoying the fruits of "their labours, and that they may continue to live on for many years is oiir sincere wish. It might be mentioned in conclusion that Mr. W. Wallace and Mr. Foreman are belieA’ed to bo the only two of the original colonial forces left in IlaAvera.