The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25th. 1928. BETTER ON BEFORE.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 February 1928, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25th. 1928. BETTER ON BEFORE.

A strange picture we make on our way to our Chimeras, ceaselessly marching, grudging ourselves the time for rest; indefatigable, adventurous pioneers. It is true we .shall never reach the goal; it is even more than probable that there is so such plate; and if we lived for centuries and were endowed with the [towers of a god. we should find ourselves not much nearer what we wanted at the end O toiling hands of mortals. O unwearied feet, travelling ye know not whither. Soon, soon, it seems to you, you must come forth on some conspicuous hilltop, and but a little way farther, against the setting sun, decry the spires of El Dorado. Little do ye know your own blessedness'; for to travel hopefully is a letter thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour. The reflections quoted above of R. L. Stevenson are not inappropriate today when our neighbours are about to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the Grey district. It was due to the “in-

defatigable, adventurous pioneers’’ of the past that the Coast was placed cm Ihe map. The carlist pioneers to sight the Coast were first Tasman and then Cook, two great explorers of the unknown, who have monuments here today in the highest peaks of the Southern Alps capped with eternal snow. Those adventurous spirits crossed the unknown seas in mere cockle Shells, hut the Coast was not attractive enough to delay them and both passed 1 ;>rth. The first to tread these unknown parts were the Maoris who came 1 ere in search of greenstone, and for the ]X)sse.ssion of which many, sanguinary lights took place. The earliest European .explorers to traverse the Coast were those intrepid pathfinders who came from Nelson in the north and Canterbury in the East, to spy out this West-land. Well might wo speculate what was in the minds of ..rose seeking a Chimera. What was the value and worth of this now territory whore greenstone had been found and prized by the .Maori, and gold had been known to exist? Its money value was surely considered a trilling sum, for did not Mackay. acting for the Government, purchase the whole stretch of Coast for £300? It was surely wort a that sum alone f. 4 the faithful agent to traverse the Coast and all the perils of the country down to Bruce Bay to secure the binding signatures of the native ftossessors. What Mr Mackay’,s reward and pay was we know not. but surely he was a most, faithful public servant, discharging iiis responsible duties with a success which deserved a nation’s reward. And shall we not say something the same of those, who in the trackless days before the Miming of civilisation, made their ways up and down and in about. wrote the first chapters of our history. Their record, and the foundations laid for what was to tome after, were Ihe initiation of a new country as part and parcel of I Ik; young colony. And from that lieginniiig sprang a district which was shortly to give life and activity to lie' colony. The discovery of gold, and the lure of the precious metal brought New Zealand what it then was most in need of—thousands of population. New Zealand was remote enough to deter all toil the more venturesome in

nrrii *.f an Ivl Dora.ln. ami s.i il was that the hand of pioneers who ('.instituted the influx of miners were a type in tlieniseh'es. whose impress i- to lie seen is the life of the country to-day. The pioneer gold miner was a sterling fellow. None other would have risked and endured all they did hut those of the right stamina. They were of the same cast as the early explorer who penetrated forests, cross'd ti.nbridged rivers and sought out of t!ic way places, spying out the unknown. revealing its qualities and resources to those attracted to follow after. The men who made history for us in those first days of settlement planned well. It is impossible to study the early history of the Coast without realising the celerity with which tilings .■line to pass. Without roads or bridges, harbors or wliaves, population flowed here. Quickly towns grew and ac<ess was provided. How it was all done in so brief an interval was a miracle of happening. There must have been some guiding force directing :t all, instilling courage and enthusiasm into the arrivals, and giving tin Mil the ]M>wer and the privilege to get things done. They were all nomads, travellers passing on hopefully seeking for something better to arrive. To many it did not come. .Not a few found their El Dorado, and grew rich in a few short days. Others plodded on. lint over all was the success u hit !i rightly crowns lanoiir. in that a new country was founded, new homes made, and a land of promise opened up for those who were to come after.