A TRIP FROM ONEHUNGA TO THE BACKBLOCKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 572, 31 May 1913, Page 5

A TRIP FROM ONEHUNGA TO THE BACKBLOCKS.

Own Correspondent. After a delay of two days, occasioned by the rough condition o e Manakau bar through a cont " lu^ l south-west gale, tne Northern pany's steamship Claymore ca from the Onehunga wharf en route to Kawhia. The wind was still with considerable velocity, but the sea bad moderated somewhat, tact alone was wholly respond 6 , , steamer's departure. It yet remainea to be seen, however, whethei sne woull be allowed to proceed over the bar, and much uncertainty shrouded itself over ail on board till the Heads loomed into view and the signal To Droceed" became discernible Just previous to this the ship began to rock and roll, and as *he ploughed her way through the churned - up restleis waters of the bar, the motion became greatly intensified, and that dreaded \ sensation of seasickness overtook Lsome of the passengers. Marvellous fctodeed was the manner in which she to meet each incoming nillow.and righted herself when in the of the restless element. By 5 p.m. she had cleared the bar, and the preservation of the ship and her human freight rested almost entirely on her engines, for should they fail she was at the mercy of the angry breakers. Throughout the night, however, she bravely forged her way onward, but sleep was a by-word for some on board the continual howl of the wind, the thumping of the engines, and the thud of occasional seas breaking over her, annihilated all attempts to take advantage of Nature's provision. What a contrast, however, took place about 1.15 a.m. From the vicious onslaught of the angrv sea, she entered (at least what seemed to be) the placid waters of the Kawhia Harbour. At 1.30 her engines ceased, she became stationary, was made fast at the wharf, and all was tranquility. At daybreak, however, tje peace ful surroudings were rudely disturbed by the working of the winch; it being then obvious that unloading operations were in progress. The Claymore's arrival at Kawhia terminated the writer's voyage by her, and, being my first visit, I was somewnat anxious to view the landscape. The first impression on coming out of my cabin was a very inferior one a scattered Maori settlement being the picture it presented to my vision. My curiosity was aroused later to ascertain whether my fir3t impression was trustworthy, so therfeore leisurely strolled through the township. For business purposes I entered the ppst office, and was struck with the size of the building and the businesslike attitude of the officials. It seemed very evident to me that not the inhabitants of the township only supported the office, but that the majority of the business done came from outside sources —'namely, the back districts. Having transacted my bus] ness, I was met by my- brother, to ( whose home in Awamarino I was journeying. To rea-h Kinohaku, the first place of call, I learnt that a wait till 3 p.m. was essential. In company ■ with him and his friend we put in time in various ways till the appointed time for leaving, an 3 then went to the wharf to board the motor launch in waiting for Kinohaku. This launch I ascertained lefo Kinohaku every day for Kawhia with mails and luggage and returned in the afternoon with mails and settlers' orders, _ The _dis fcance to be covered was eight miles, so we started off. From what apparently seemed to be the broad expanse of the Kawhia Harbour we entered gradually a narrow channel or arm of the sea, shut in on both sidej by high, wooded hills. On and on we went, no signs of human habitations being visible until we approached the launch's destination. Then we caught a first glimpse of a settler's abode high upon the hillside, isolated, it appeared to be, from all others. A half mile or so on ; and we disembarked at Kinokahu and watched with intsrest unloading in the backblocks. A small tin shed had been erected for the storage of the settlers' necessities till such time that the roads pemitted of vehicular traffic, or pack horses were obtainable, the goods being raised by a small five-ton crane. It was then dark, so we sought our lodging place —a backblock boardinghouse, but found all conveniences for the welfare of travellers. A big open fireplace, in which burned a roaring fire made it very inviting as a retreat from the wet and cold without; good meals were the order, and cosy beds when drowsinpss overtook us. . All was hospitable and comfortable, %nd everything desirous considering the surrounding circumstances Early next morning we arose breakfasted and prepared ourselves for the final "dash" to Awamarino district, about 15 miles. We were to traverse this *riD oer a five horse waggon, the driver of which was my brother s . friend, and who, through the milling season, carted the cream from Kinohaku to Awamarino. All things W8 started off about 9 a.m., the oreater part of the distance being covered at fa walking pace, owing; to f the bad condition of the road. The weather conditions were perfect, and the scenery exceedingly appetising to all lovers of Nature's beauty. Hl Shisnitious bush clad hills peered on either side of the ~ with open tracts of country intervening the result of the woodman'shonest toil, to be seen in many Saces and here and there the nome o£ P Seer settler, miles separating - home from another. Rut though mnnded bv countless hardanips and S °"vations he bears his burden with I likable fortitude, his cheery counrema , D Contentment written in every featured corroborating this. We have, t the oresent, had our attention a P Sn on things around; let us concen S mr Soughte to the road on , •u travel A few miles of it ? Ktaohaku is metalled —in some SSsw® enough to a>>°VVthe places wiu almost all of the Tfito'siost'wide enough lor our 15 miles is J Tfae driver needs his attention confined and

directed on his team, for a foot, or even six inches, in countless placea would precipitate the whole concern to the depths of a gully hundreds of feet below. Any person whose opinions are averse to the crying complaints o£ thp backblock heroes need only to make this trip to be thoroughly convinced and to realise that every whisper in the form of complaint from these backblockß is well substantiated. Oftentimes this same driver finds slips impeding his way, and not until he exercises his main strength behind a shovel is he able to proceed. A common occurrence is for his waggon to become anchored axle deep in mud, and owing to the homesteads being eo far distant he has no alternative than to apply his own personal skill to extricate hiß load. Should this fail, he is compelled to ride four or five miles to get extra horse power. In other places where the road has been cut through solid rock,there is barely ruom for the leaders, each doing his utmost to wedge his way through, great skill here is essential to manipulate the reins successfully; but though intensely interesting is this drive, one does nit want to be subject to nervousness to accomplish it. However, we at last arrived at Te Anga, a nlace three miles from Awamarino. About two miles 'from here on the Te Kuiii i?oad can be witnessed a lovely sight, what is known as the Marakopa Palls. Though not possessive of immense porportions (the width being about half a chain and the depth 100 feet), the beauty of them is remark able'. The water plunges over a ledge in the formation of foam and drops to the bottom, bearing the semblance of snow. The last three miles to Awamarino, as far as the road is concerned, is by iar the worst we had yet experienced; but a patch of native scenery within this short distance prominently excels all we have yet discovered. On the slopes of the high limestone cliff grows the native forest, and about halfway up, dotted about in the formation of a large bunch, grows scores of high tree ferns, with their leaves overlapping the verdant green of the smaller shrubbery below. The picture this natural panorama presents to the human vision is remark ably beautiful, and could it be painted before thß bush is destroyed, in my opinion the picture j itself would be deserving of a prominent position in any art gallery. We pass by and at dusk "reach our destination. Two days later was privileged with a motor launch trip to Marokopa, down the Marakopa river. With the exception of the scenery just quoted, that along the reaches of this river surpasses any I have ever witnessed. The ' morning was beautifully fine when we 1 started, and the river, which I learnt was 40 feet wide in places, was per- ; fectly placid, and bore the semblance of glass, which, combined with the beauty afforded by the overhanging branches, added a delightful attrac- 1 tiveness and remarkable pictures queness to the scene. We stayed the day at Marokopa, leaving again at 3 p.m, but owing to it being low water we became stranded in mid-stream. After some manoeuvring we got off safely, and were obliged to wait till 5 p.m. for the tide. This we did, and reached home about 8 p.m.,*per fectly satisfied with our outing. A ; striking illustratioin which clearly j demonstrates the need of good roads (or even roads) in the backblockß, and which undoubtedly adds emphasis to ; the cause of complaint, took place dur ! ing my stay at Awamarino. My ! brother, who had arranged to leave ' this district and move to Waitanguru, was at a loss to know the best and cheapest way of getting his furniture to his new home. Had the 15 miles of road to Waitanguru permitted of vehicular traffic, his furniture could have been delivered in the short space of about five hours; instead, the only method to adopt was to take the furniture to pieces, pack it in boxes, load ! it on to a waggon, cart it 15 miles to Kinohaku, unload it in a shed there, leave it to be sent by launch to Kawhia, thence by boat to Onehunga, railed to Te Kuiti, and finally carted 26 miles to his home —in all covering 300 miles necessitated through the need of 15 miles of road. Trouble had not vet ended, for the remainder of the things had tj be packed in kerosene boxes (a tedious and patienceracking job) to be conveyed by pack horses. Luckily the day chosen broke beautifully fine, and all was packed and ready by 12 o'clock. With leggings on we started off to cover the distance on "Shank's pony." The pack horses struggling under their loads kept up a steady pace, arid we picking "our way through the slushy mud so common in the backblocks, found sufficient to keep our intellect fully occupied. The nine miles of road through the Mangaohae Gorge was exceptionally unique and full oE interest. The narrow bridle-track winding in and out the towering bush - clad range throughout the Gorge, and the large tributary of the Marokopa river flowing softly onward utterly regard- | less of all beauty surrounding it, all I providing food for thought and attention. But while ready to appreciate all natural beauty, the impressed thought haunts me of the baokblock pioneer. To think of the hundreds and thousands of pounds being squandered in the cities, while the cries for roads in the backblocks, from whence comes all that the cities require, are being met with rebuff. However, we emerged into open country about dusk, and after plodding a further three miles reached Waitanguru about 8 p.m. We unloaded the horses and proceeded to a neighbour's abode witn his invitation to spend the night there and make ourselves at home. To this we gladly responded with much admiration for his generosity, and thu£i terminate a trip which will long remain in my mind as a revelation of what backblocking means to the pioneer.