THE COAST RE-VISITED.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 March 1924, Page 1

THE COAST RE-VISITED.

(Contributed). After an absence of nearly thirty live years I visited tin* Coast per express from Christchurch. Years before tlie trnin or Otira tunnel wore thought of. I made the overland trip by coach on more than one occasion, and although, not ipiite so convenient as the train, it enahled one to view that ma.jcstie .scenery in all its grni.denr, wliicli the train almost completely spot" off, and it is doubtful if the authorities will keep the old road in such repair as wiit suffice for motor or

similar traffic, and which is much the better way of viewing the sights of this most wonderful trip. I arrived in my old home town on a Saturday afternoon and at- night walked up and down the prim-ipul street, which was thronged with townsfolk and country visitors, alter which I stood for about half all hour in a prominent position oil lhe edge of the footpath. 1 never saw a soul I kn'ew. Inn on thinking the matter over, concluded that threefourths at least of those I >aw were not horn when I left, and the others were no doubt new chums. I hunted up many old cronies of former times, some of whom had put by sufficient to keep the haililf frutn the door, others again

were ;i pa run tlx content to pass their remaining days in a charitable institution. and it was sad to think ol the present condition of the latter, to what it was nearly sixty years ago, when in the (lush of youth they left home and friends to seek their fortunes in the wild and woolly West.

IJut. taking it all in, all llio.-e old Coasters had a line life and as independent- as the old buccaneers of the Spanish Main, and the for traders and hunters of Canada and the United States whom we used to read about in our youthful days, f spent some pleasant hours with most of these old timers, listening to incidents and swapping yarns ol far off days. I ol course visited the Exhibition, which (apart from the pleasure of meeting there so many of my old friends and accpiaintaiires, and which io me was alone worth the visit) was a credit to any melroplis, and reminded me of a pleasant time in my very youthful days, siiiur |,| i v years ago. winch 1 spent at a similar Exhibit ion in the same town. Ai this Inst exhibition I lunched with throe or four hundred snowy-headed men and women, the pioneers fwiih others like iliem on the different goldfields) of .Yew Zealand and pictured them a; I saw l hem v. it h hundreds of others, close on sixty years ago. si rolling around the streets ol different townships ; and what men and women they (In'll were; the finest who ever left their native countries. T ths'n visited J.nl-.o K.aoiori. mid to see it ;is I did was like a scene froii fairvland ; hut what struck mo war. that ’in such r, glorious day, during holiday time, there were so few visilors. I have seen file chief lakes in New Zealand and give the palm in Ivatiicri for beauty, and surrounding scenery, particularly the mad to it. a great part of which runs through miles of magnificent virgin forest, and which to those who appreciate mtturc. i s a sight never to be lorgolten. I visited several of the old digging townships (or I heir sites) both in the Crey and Hokitika districts: hut what a transformation. In some ol the townships a lew of the old buildings, in the la: t i.if dt; av. were stilt eitdeav-'ur-

ui- to with?* aml the r a rage? of time, m ntlion;, oho livo, or throe buddings in o smilin' i omli timi. wore all I hat. remained ; of others again there is nothin" lint the name on the map or in some record or register ol public authority, to indicate that there ever v.iis M'eh rt township. As t sauntered alone', what once had been the only street nt the dill'erent townships I took stock of the ruins of old pubs, dance rooms, theatres, stores or similar building/. and showing wholly or parity but indistinctly on eaeh was the name ei its old occupier, and they reminded me of the days when those streets were thronged with miners and others, and the pubs, theatres, and similar places wen 1 doing a roaiiug trade, Iml that wa • lone; long ago.

Some o l ' those townships are to-day ns silent, amt neglect*-d as the graves where many of their inhabitants lie peacefully sleeping. Those of the inhabitants who are still living have long passed the age of romance and voufliful dreams, and no doubt like many of trs. now think of those old time's only with longing and regret. Along the old roads one sees for miles pyramids and heaps of stones left by those great hearted old minors, "ho toiled from sun-up to twilight, seeking that: which, save in comparatively . mall quantities, seldom mined no. When the day's work was over. ihey dropped pick and shovel am! hied them to their respective mum-, (which in many eases were long distances from where they worked), lit. the fire, put oil the hilly, had a go id sluice in creek or water rave, then prepared tea nod damper with sometimes a slice of bacon or piece of steak. After all wa- ready they would sit on logs round ihe camp lire and with tin plates and Pannikins well tilled, tuck in and enjoy their simple fare better than guests could at a I,onl Mayor’s banquet.

\ fter the wash-up they would u!l llicir pipes and smoke and yarn until "lights out.” then turn in and sleep as only they, and the hoys who have I,eon “over there” could, their hod' consisted mostly of fern leaves amt a blanket. but those of a more insurious habits would probably repose in a handsome hammock made ot a couple of saplings and potato sacks fastened to four 'uprights. They worked; lor what they got-, ,spent, their money right royally and were generous to a degree. No stranger ever passed a ramp without an invite lo whatever fare was going, and it lie weie MU ‘ up, the hat went round, and he was sent, on his way with a bob or two !n his pocket. Although the owners were frequently absent from their huts and tents for days, often weeks nr a time, leaving them open to all and sundry. theft was of a very rare occurrence booking one day at what once had Ken busy diggings. T pictured the >c which as a boy t had witnessed on ninny a bright and sunny day: that- o! numbers of miners (each to me like a bronzed and branded Hercules), dressed in flannel shirt or guernsey, mole'kins and water-tights or long gum boots, and working like horses, and thov did work, no go-slow policy m those days, their pricks cud shovels went with the regularity of well onod machinery, and how delighted I was to • o amongst them and yarn, they were always so jolly and good natured. T was often at one or other ol their camps on a Sunday and many a blow out of plum dint or dumpling did X have on such occasions. [ have no doubt the prospect of the duff had to me. like most boys, a great attraction, much more so than it would do-dav. I have been to many an expensive banquet, and similar fune-

lions, since those days, but nothing at any of those ever tasted like those duff's or dumplings. In their search for gold and with nothing to guide them, save instinct and judgment, they went out into the wilds, forced and cut their way through miles of dense and trackless forest, waded to the armpits and had lo swim creeks or rivers, and working their way lip one or other of the latter, arrived at what they considered a likely looking spot, and dumping swags, pitched camp, and with pick, shovel and dish, set to work to pan out a prospect, which if they found payable induced them to stay and mark a claim, and then become the “original prospectors” of the rush that was sure to follow. On these journeys they generally had a limited supply of tucker, and seldom a tent, and this necessitated one or more of the party returning for supplies, filing their application, etc., and these matters took time and if the messengers were unreasonably delayed, which often happened, his mates had a hard time, and had to shelter in the holes 01. or under tres's. or may he in a kind of hut made of branches, and livb on very short rations assisted by fern roots or berries, and those who have experienced it, will have an idea of uhat those old chaiis had to put up with, ii the weather was “real had.” Accidents were fretpicnt in flic more populous places and there were always volunteers in plenty to convey the injured for miles through the hush and ove, unhridged streams to the nearest hospital. On such occasions it meant t h. loss of days, often a week er more, besides expenses, but these matters wei never thought of. In most of the old townships are the sites of what v.eie once, verv lino gidrdens, to-day each is a wilderness of haekberry. fern and native scrub, and one would hardly credit, that even a spud, let alone (lowers. fruit etc. of all kinds, had grown in them. In one or two, a fruit lice, still capable of hearing fruit, may he found, but save those and the boulders around there is no sign of man ever having been there. Travelling along the old roads, once busy thoroughfares, but which, on account of years of disuse and natural growths, are now leafv avenues, beautiful and cool; one Iroquenlly crosses small watercourses, by the side oi which, no doubt in days gone by. many a thirsty miner, on his way to some diggings, has dumped his swag and had a swig of Adam’s ale, then sal down on same near-by log or fallen tree *or a smoke, and may be a yarn. The streams are just as then, but the logs and trees have long since been reduced to tins* and most ol those, who in the dim and distant past, tramped those old roads, have also, tike their old I'rioiuls. Hie logs an

trees, become atoms ot some tutme kind of life. A few still remain \ think, or mav he dream of those days when in the flush of youth they humped their bhiev on the road to Hull fortune which in their mind’s eye they could see in the distiWe. but never reached.

At the Exhibition lunrlieoii I listened with pleasure to an orchestra, which played litle lint old time music, ami |l, reminded me ot the old dance rooms and music halls. In Ihe dam e room vo 11 wood see the digger in watertight hoots, ffamiel shirt, and moleskins, also the Hash boatman dolled up with blue or red shirt, black doeskin i> up tied round the w d--t with *• ■• * *>reeu silk sa.sb, the knot 1 , end i.i -.ob h;i rlown jilhhiL ;t tool <>i nil either side, light heeled elastic side loots (generally about- two siv.es too small) and well polished with Day ami Martin’s (the only blacking / then known) and his hair well plastered and scented pomatum or red scented oil. which, when he got warm ran down his neck and face. Of course there were many others besides the diggers and hantimeu, hut all essayed the light fantastic, and 1 here is no mistake they were io those days “some dancers. 5 the digger in his water-tights would make Ihe Hat-rooted jazzer of to-day in dampumps look like ;i boar with a. ballot dancer.

The subject of dancing reminds me if an incident related to me by a • r iend of mine who was horn in one of he West Coast townships, where his lad kept a pub: In the old days the Treat annual event in each township vns the hospital hall: the different intcl-keepors undertaking in turn to irnviue hall, music, refreshments etc. )„ the occasion which it was the turn ,f my frieid’s dad. to do the honours K . provided with other refreshments, mnch and lemons, which was a great success and in great demand, but m he “we sum' 'oors ayoiit the twal. -he lemons gave out. The old man. however, was equal to the occasion, nut sent the cook out to the garden for a bucket of Swede turnips: these |,o had peeled and sliced and used them' in place of lemons. This decoction went oil even much hettci than the other, the partakers being m meh a merry mood, noticing nothing wrong. Til the free and easy music 1,-iIU whirli won? always nart o. * l nub am! no chare" ''" ndmission. the ~alienee contributed most of the items; a waiter strolled round ocrasiolinllv shouting, “now gents gu e A "til orders.” “now gents give u* » and anyone was at liberty to ‘ " 0,1 " ’ As ilk* songs and music ol those <.a. - were limited, and well-known, and a nettling would do as long as the slum was kept alive and the boys had a boo or two to spend : lmddn.g Caruso s and Irvings were not wanting 1 hose wo. the days of the balloon Itke ennohm and festive “pork pie hat. , later bv the l.ussle and towering hem - eoav: all accompanied bv tight 1 * : nd corset s: the boots resulting in bunions and deformed reel, and corsets in deformed bod.es and often deformed children. Though tin buss’e was important its route s « • notorious. and to these in the 10. e. walks of life, consisted of -.attom s ■ stances and materials, sueli a> oUI liew«panet's, bags Muffed with rags or cork*, a pair of the old man’s pants, ho-.mmi., ings. in fact anything so long a- tm effect was to make tee "‘-' alll J ’ prominent and fashionable as friend* and neighbours: the "IP suckle” affected, n contrivance bks a wire bird cage, or a bag ot sawdust. How fashion has changed, in the... davs it was made up in volumes; todo v a scrap of the fly leaf of otto-very small volume suffices. During my stay X went to three or four coal mines, and at one situated near the top of a high range. I picked up several pieces of quartz, all water wont, which had come out of tae coat seam: besides the smaller quartz rubble there were plenty of wntotwor„ quartz boulders, and I have boon puzzled how this quartz got - into a coal seam so high up. particularly ns there is no other quartz to be fonml within miles of the range. Perhaps some geological expert can explain ; t p i examined many of the- stones and boulders in different creeks, and a

number of those piled up by the gold miners and all were more or less composed of quartz nnfl well water-worn and ages ago had evidenty broken away from the, parent reefs, then bumped and rolled along by the action of water, which loosened the gold in them, thus forming the alluvial gold deposits, which in no ease has occurred. save along the course of what was, or once had been, a large or comparatively large stream, and looking at the old workings it seems as if the old miners had worked the surface only and obtained only the light gold, leaving the heavier kind in tlio deeper workings, which, no doubt, on account of large boulders, water, and the difficulty and expense of developing they had to abandon to whoever has sufficient courage, capital and enterprise Iro tackle.

Some one has said that the histo i x of a place is to be Touud In its cemetery. and I think this is true. 1 visited three or four cemteries. and on the different Tombstones read the names, and saw. as it were, the ghosts of many of those who in the happy and care-free days of. long long ago ; crossed the great divide. Together with the minis of the departed, very many of those old tombstones hear stieh inscriptions as “Drowned while crossing the river.” “Killed at his claim in “Killed by a falling tree at—.” Many old timers arc sleeping in those cemeteries with nothing to show who or what they were, but kind nature bartreated them as she has the others bj covering all with a mantle of groan. [ am close to the three score and ten mark and have never forgotten my recollection of the early days of the Coast, when as a very small boy I was token there in 18(10. As a youngster, youth, and young man I had there the most glorious times it was possible t„ have and I shall never forget those amongst whom my happiest days were rpontg thev were line indeed, physi,ll v mid morally, and 1 make every allowance for those days of “Auld bang Syne” when one is apt to look at and see life through rose coloured glasses.