Early H.B. Days

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 9, 26 January 1937, Page 9

Early H.B. Days

PIONEERS' TRIALS Reminiscences of Mr Russell Uuncan NAPIER AND MAORI WARS Hawke's Bay, as it was in the days when the first settlers were engaged in making their new homes and the small town of Napier was constantly garrisoned by regiments of the Imperial Arsmy, was descrihed by Mr Russel Duncan, of Napier, to an interested audience at the Napier Rotary ciub's first meeting of tho year yesterday. My father, aiter working for some time in the neighbo'urhood to gain a knowledge of sheep, bought somo 8000 acres of virgin land on the Ruataniwha plainSj near the Tukituki river," cpiopienced Mr Duncan. ' 'That was jn 1&54, and the sta-tion, which he named Forest Gate} a name still applied to the distriet, and the surroundiug, country, was a perfect wildeniess at the time, covered with growth of toi toi, flax and cabbage trees. There was also some fern, but not much Until a dray track became visible, it was very eSr&y to become lost. "My mother and I came from Wellington by sea in the brigantine Eether jn January, 1856 In those days it was not possible for women and . childi'en to come overland to Napier from Wtllington? as there was no shelter available on the route. My father also tried a sea trip to Wellington on one octasion, and it was a sea trip. In company with. Mr Fred Tiffen he set out in the Mary Thompson, and they were blown • offshore almost to the Chatham Islands, food becoming very low. "My father had bought bullocks and a dray, and with my mother I tnavelled in the bullock dray from Te Mata, mamiy along one or other banks of the Tukituki river in the absence of a road. Bridges were entirely unknown, and we slept under the dray every night on the journey, which took five days. Among the names of the early settlers with which Mr Duncan became familiar from the conversation of his parents, there were many which he thought would be remembered by pie-sent-day Hawke's Bay people. He mentioned Thomas Tanner, Wijliam Fannin, Captain Hendon, Colonel Lambert, Alexander Grant and others. The shepherds employed presented a strange contrast in their surroundmgjs. Here and there were met univeisity men and even those with titles, perfectly liappy as shepherds, but the majority of them were runaway sailois from the sailing ships. The latter proved very useful and dependable men. in 1888 the slab whare which had housed the family since its arrival in the province was left for the more comfortable quarters of a new home. WANGANUI MURDER "My mother and I once travelled to Wanganui from Wellington by sea, and one of my earliest recollections is ihat of peermg through the balcony railing of the Rutland Hote^ Wanganui, and seeing carried below the murdered body of an officer of the 65th. Regiment," continued Mr Duncan. "The officer was a martinet, and had so goaded a sergeant that he shot him. At that time I was but six, but trial is a matter of history. _ ,, "Iu 1863 occurred another incident which I remember well. That was the year of the great earthquake, the giant shock of which came before dayligiht. I remember seeing the Merino sheep in the paddock huddled together in small groups, which is a characteristic of this breed vvhen frightened — others will run away. As far as I know tho shock did not kill anyone, but all the settlers' chimneys came down and a deal of crockery was broken. The wild cattle ran down from the bush to the pasture near the homestead, but no effort was made to capture them as everyone was too confused." Later Mr Duncan left home to board at Sir Allan Thompson's school in Tennyson street, Napier, near the "Hawke's Bay Herald" office, and tho milit.ia Office. With his mother, who accompanied him on the journey, he put up at the Masonic Hotel, which ptood on the same site as the present one. "In 1864 war broke out in. Taranaki," he continued, "and isolated settlers throughout Hawke's Bay became alarmed at the possibility of a hauhau in.asion oi their homes. A block house was buiil at Tikokino, and a stockade nea'by wa, garrisoned by men of the New Zealand Defence Force. A company of the 14th. Regiment afterward occnpied the stockade, this being the only occasion when Imperial broops were stationed at Hawke's Bay other than in Napier. "1 left the school in TennyBon street to attend the Grammar School in Napier Terrace, next to Sir Donald McLeanv's property. I don't think I iearned much grammar there, but many of those who attended afterward made names for thejnselves There was Samuel Begg famous artist of the London '"Illustrated News," Spencer Golland, a sculling. champion on the Thames, Jim Ross, several times champioii rifle shot of New Zealand, and not the ieast of them was Tom Crosse, of Hastings, who has done good work on local bodies for half a lifetjme. COAOH HFLH UF. "1 used to travel home in the bolidays by the Waipawa ma.il coach, and on oue occasion two men 01 horseback attempted to bail up- the coach. Mr William Montgiomery was tlie driver, and by ehance he happened to have a revolver 011 the seat beside him. It had been sent to Napier for repairs arid was unloaded, but with great presence of mind he grasped it and presented it at the men, shouting, 'Let go those horses or I'U fire I' The men let go

all right, and we proceeded. Mr Montgomery is still alive, and Uves in Battery road, Napier, having reached the venerable age of over 90 years. "The men ot the 65th. Regiment were the first soidiers here, and they camped in Onepotu Gully, and built the barracks at the hospital. They were followed at intervals by the 14th, the 70th., the 12th, and the 18th R0y.1l Irish. The boys at the school collected soidiers' buttons, 'and 1- remember that the 14th and the 12th bqth had a Bengal tiger on thejr buftous. tho dilference bemg that those of tho I4fn had the tail drooped het vgeq their legs and the others had tlie tau t-uiJtd over the tack. The differeqco was sligiht, but it was suffiacut tq inake the soidiers axgue fiercely. "The soidiers at c 1 e time camped opposite the school and used to join in pufi sports, and we played them at cricket, 22 oi us against tneir 11, and one rule was that the soidiers bowl underhand. I don't think that we ever beat them, and of one of the games played opposite the 'Herald" office, the "Herald" commented that the boye' uruiorms were better than their play. - "The fear of the hauhaus was always present, and the miiitia enrolled included all the menfolk of the province. The first alarm came from near Park Island where a sentry said that he thought he heard something move in the fern. Receiving no answer to his challenge, he fired, and the alarm spread, and all the women apd children were moved to the barracks. It was afterwards said that he fired meieiy to relieve the monotony pf his long vigil, and I think be did— I knew bini 1 HORSE SHOT. "Eventaaily the women became tired of being sent to the barracks at all hourg of the night, and one lady iu 1 Clyde road decided to stay home and defend herself at need. One night she heard something moving in the ©arden and promptly discharged a fowling piece, only to find that she had pepperedi a stray horse. "The Miiitia hated di'ill, but they proved themselves very good soidiers at Omarunui and Petane in 1866. As a boy 1 saw the prisoners and wounded soidiers. There was one Maori who had been shot in the jaw and I was told that he walked the whole distance from the scene of the figbt holding on to his wounded face. There vvas 49 prisoners ' taken, as well as 34 wounded. "A very impressive ceremony 1 saw in Clive Square was the awarding of the Npw Zealand Cross to two members of the Armed C'onstabulary, won in a fight near Gisborne: The pair had at great risk climbed to a difficult position where they looked right down into a besieged pa. They could not be t'ound when the ceremony was to take place, but a picket eventually located them in the Provincial Hotel and the ceremony proceeded. At the same time a sword from Queen Victoria was presented to Tomoana, a chief in the distriet, for the loyalty to the Queen and the bravery of both hiniself and his , tribe. Unsheathing the shining blade

he exclaimed: 'As this sword is, so shall our actions tovvard Queen Victoria shine brightly foj'ever.' " Rotarian M. R. Grant, who proposed a vote of thanks, said that the address was the more valuable as it provided a written record of doings in the past of the prQvinoe, knowledge . of wliich was in danger of being lost to the present generation.