THE OHINEMURI RIVER.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4495, 22 November 1922, Page 1

THE OHINEMURI RIVER.

AS IT USED TO BE. (Contributed by “Dinkum.”) The Oliinemuri River used to be a beautiful stream, its translucent dark green waters' flowing gently between grassy and ferjiy banks overshadowed by willows and occasional patches of native bush. When I was a small and evil bpy, together with, several other imps it was our greatest pleasure. And as we could all swim (thanks to the river), what better pleasure could we have had ? In the summer, sometimes on a Saturday, if we had been good boys (that is', not fpund out in dtir iniquities), we would be allowed ho spend the day on .the river, and provided with eatables, comprising sundry hard-boiled eggs, a little screwed paper of salt, bread and butter, and a “junk” of plain cake,' and, if pur luck was in, sixpence worth of big buns from Phillips’. When all was ready our ship would be put into commission by having the largest cracks stuffed with .rags and eJay, and off we would go. If the steamer was in (shle c, ame right up to Paeroa then) she would afford us a few minutes’ amusement—we could poke round and see the rudder and screw through the clear water, and perhaps reach down and unsuccessfully try to turn round the latter.

Then away on down the liver. The Maori meetinghouse was. the next item of interest. We had seen it dozens of times before], but still it was always worth a J.pok at, especially ,as we had an .idea (quite an incorrect one) that the Maoris did not like us to go there/About a quarter of a mile farther down the liver we arrived the old flourmill, which had been at one time run by a. waterwheel, with water supplied by the Kuaoiti Creek, and used t.o grind the wheat grown locally by .the Maoris in the early days. It was three storeys high, but quite overshadowed by some large bld willows, the branches of which had grown through holes in .the roof of the mill, and when the wind blew the whole structure creaked and groaned in rather an uncanny manner, and one did not like to stop inside very long. The old place is quite gone now, but the millstones laid on the riverbank for years, and may be there yet. It was about time for a swim now, and the old mill was a very’ suitable spot. At the right time of the year it had further claims, for one could swim across the river and steal Johnnie Henera’s peaches. After the swim an egg or two and other refreshments would be consumed as we paddled on down stream; It was in this vicinity that we once caught a wounded shag after an exciting chase. It began to sit up and take notice. I poked a stick at it to see what it would do. I soph found out, and carry the mark of its beak on my finger to this day. Very shortly, as we journeyed on, more interests would appear. On the left bank was 1 a Maori tomb of some kind. It was in the middle of ,a paddock, overgrown with briars, and took the form of a minature church], surrounded by a white paling fence,, over which wild r hops grew in profusion. I dp not know what that tomb contained, but we endeavoured to peep through the cracks in the fearfhl hope of perhaps being able to see a piece o F a dead Maori. There were also some apple trees near this spot on which grew some very sbur fruit, but nevertheless well worth getting, because old Here • wini might chase you if you went after them, and these little things added zest to life. The show spot on the trip was the old sawmil that cut up logs brought from the bush then covering the land lying between the Ohinemuri and Waihbu rivers. Watching the engine and saws working, and al] the othe~ adjuncts to the imH, not forgetting the trucks in the yard that one could get a ride on, was a never-ending source of delight and amusement. Then there was the mill store, where, if one possessed the necessary capital, quite a large quantity ofi very acidy acid drops could be purchased for threepence. Sometimes, if we were lucky, a ride into the bush could be had on the horse team that brought logs to the sawmill. The fl.axmill, just below, was not so t interesting, but still provided a certain amount of fun.

An old steamer, the “Te Aroha” (I wonder how many remember her), was tied up here, 'She would be visited, and if one yelled into the empty cabin, it gave back a nice hollow sound that was rather amusing to us. Sometimes there would be a > trading cutter, or a vessel of similar nature, to be met, drifting or being towed to or from the mills. This was an event. We would cruise round her. and take stock. If the men on board did hot display an unfriendly attitude she would he boarded and we would assist in the navigation, and perhaps manage to get hold of the steering wheel for a few minutes', or climb a little way up the rigging, and generally get in the way. When this palled we would move on. About twenty muintes’ paddling fromi the last fill was a patch of scrubby bush, where in the season a few wild strawberries about as big as peas would be found. Then on to “Suck-in” Bay. This place was a kind of blind creek, situated at a sharp bend, and so placed that when coming up stream at high tide it might easily be mistaken foil the river. It is said that a steamer did, under these conditions, run into it, and went aground, the .captain being deceived, or “sucked in,” by it; hence

the name. There was a nice sandbank here, so another swim would be indulged in, after which the remaining “tucker” would be “polished off.”

Just below Suck-in Bay there was a "tapu” on each side of the river opposite each other, all right in the day time, but to be passed without loss of, time as evening fell,; not that we believed in “tapus,,” but we thought we would not take any unnecessary chances.

We would be getting near the end of our- journey now, another, half mile bringing us to the Junction, and aU eatables being “settled,” down to the last acid drop, and each of us inclined to be tired. On arriving the boat would be tied up in some sheltered spot, the paddles hidden in the briars and fern, and we would loiter off home on foot and eat a mighty tea after a most satisfactory day. Not long ago I happened to go over the same part of the river again. What was’ once an almost perfect stream, and navigable to Paeroa town

by quite large steamers, is now a filthy and dreary sludge channel, clinked, defiled, and contaminated with; tons of, mining debris almost past recognition, and Paeroa and the surrounding district robbed of one of its most beautiful and health-giving possessions. The awful pity of it.! Incidentally, the old steamer mentioned was originally one oj the first ferryboats that steamed between Auckland and North Shore.