A Visit to Marokopa District

Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 283, 9 November 1906, Page 2

A Visit to Marokopa District

i THE RIVER AS A SHIPPING PORT. For some time pest the Manager of the Northern B.S. Co. has been gathering information ab ut tbe Marokopa River, with a view of sending a small steamer there it the entrance proved to be practicable for navigation and ftl?o if the prospects of trade war ran»ed it.. Captain De Woolffti visited the river about a month ago and as a fuller and more detailed report was required a further visit wa* made on Fin ’ay 14st by Capuiin B'acklock, Mr Sbddrick .(Oo'-hu’ go), and Messra Bugg trom, L'Ogl y, Morgan and J. -Sfonw. Q nte -i ’’timber of Kawhui re idents intended to accompany th »••• th? previous cUy was wet an I st rmy, prudent counsels prevailed. Mr W. M. Newton, however, (joined in et Kinohaku. At half past 6, after an early breakfast, all were ready on the Kiwbia Wberf, and in high spirits &t the prospects of a fine day. “ Lunch is on the boat, sir.” “ AH aboard then, gentlemen,” and in a few minutes we were in Mr Morgan’s launch on way to Kinohaku, to b? landed there about 8 o’clock., Mr Shaw had the horses ready, and a good class they proved to be for tbe country they had to travel over, or. more correctly, wade through. Our nautical friends made eacefel enquiries relative to the pace? and characters of their respective mounts, and created some amusement by wanting to kn jW on which side they should “ gel aboa d, port or starboard,” but their subsequent riding showed »hey were hardly the novices they made out to i be. The distance by the road from j Kinohaku to Te Anga, near the junc i tion of the Marokopa and Tauarau Rivers, is eleven miles, and from there > to Mr Haylcek’s landing on the Myo- I kopa River, where there is sufficient I depth of water to work small boats at any alate of the tide, is another four I < miles. In many places these road -j can show sample? of “ bad roads ' j hard to beat—w? did not see them at ' their worst, the Ute dry weather l av I lag been a road making. Diirirg tbe last four or five months all goods required by settlers have been packed in, thia being the only mode of convey anoa, a Cftrt or sledge during winter months being out of the question. The charge for packing to Te Anga is £5 10« a ton and settlers living further back have beeu paying £8 to £lO per ton, yet quite a number of settlers are on their sections and have their wives and families with them. As we slowly progressed on our floundering horses much interest was taken noting the improvements made by settlers to thair holdings during the four years they have been in occupation. Of course only a small number of the sections in the block face tbe main roid, but if the amount of work done on the hold ings we passed can be taken a? a cri terion as what hag been done elsewhere throughout tbe block, then Kinohaku is to be congratulated. In an article like thia, which ia only intends I to convey to readers some idea of the trip as it impressed it°elf on the minds of those who made it, and also re mid something of what was said and done, it would not be possible to particularise the improvements effected by individual settlers; what in a general way most struck chr party was tbe generous growth of grass where the bush had been cleared. No doubt we'saw it in the flush time of the year, but even so the thick sward and its rich colour bespoke the good and kindly nature of tbe soil. Except in a few holdings the stock seemed to ’be much under what the grass would carry, but we were given to understand that this would be remedied as won as the roads improved and shearing over. A number of settlers intend to put on sheep. At Te Anga there was a roll up of settlers at the Government shed to meet Mr Shaldrick, whose visit had been announced by letter and advertisement, and a stay was made for lunch, a talk, and what was for some of the party most necessary aft?* three hours in the saddle—a stretch. Oar gallant skipper had by this time added quite a horsey gait to hi? nautical roll —he complained that his legs would not “ shut.” After luncheon Mr P. Ross, the secretary to tbe Kinohaku branch of the Farmers’ Union, opened the meeting, and at some length dwelt on shipping matters from a settlers point of view. He said that one shilling of a concession now would be aa good as ten in a few years time. Breaking in new country was always a lean time with settlers and would be with them for a year or two. But they had faith in the district, and believed that work and carefulness would soon usher in the fat years. Considerate treatment ou the part of the company now would bear fruit. Among other concessions he would ask that freight on fat cattle to Onehunga be 10s aud a free passage be given the drivers and their dogs when over 20 head were .<tbi>ped. The charge for dogs, though a small matter, was felt to bs very ob i jectionabln, whilst the charge for pilot, j age should also be done away with. He also protected against the freight’ to Kawbia being 17? Gd per ton, whib , rtn Waitara, twice as far, was only 10?. i Mr H. Dereoourt also spoke at some ' length, partly on a personal matter, I and was promised au enquiry. H? further said that the settlers reflog ! nised they were getting a g >od ssrvio . . tbe boat was regular and when he a i and bis wife travelled both officers and crew were most courteous j and attentive and he was not unthank (ul. He thought he expressed a very general feeling if ho said that the set. tiers wished’to meet the company in a friendly spirit; there should b? no antagonism, and if the reasonable re quests of the settlers were fairly con- ; sidnred there would be none. When ; speaking foe the settlers Mr Boss hud been careful not to aak for anything unreasonable. The speaker personally ! would not expect to get much advan-

tage from competition while the trade was limited ; it would not pay, and poor pay in the long run meant poor service. An occasional meeting like the present should ba eno ;tr aged. After a few remarks by Mr Thomas and others, Mr Shaldrick replied. He expressed pleasure that the efforts <>f the company to give Kawhia an effi cient service was recogni-od and met with such general approval. He bad oarefully noted the tones sions asked for, and felt sure that lhe manager would see hi? way to meet several, if not most, of them. He could assure them that tbe directors and Mr Ransom had at heart the welfare not only of the o >mpany but of the district ; .he visit of Captain Biackluck and h>m?elf was earnest of it. As to tbe difference in freight in favour of Wai tirn, he would point out that fur nearly all heavy goods and farmers requisites the difference was not as rapre?ented. For instance : tbe rate w. s the same in both places for such kings as griss seed, bones, buggies, bran, drays, chaff, empties, fungus, horse?, pigs, sheep, rams, ploughs, powder, wheat and wool; there was only a slight difference in iron, wire, potatoes pollard, lime and salt, while on y >ung cattle, lambs, parcels, flax and bricks the rate was in favour of Kawhia. Manure was only 7s Gd per ton. On the gross tonnage carried he believed if it was worked out it would ba about 12? 6d per Lon, and not 1761 as represented. He was in a position to tell them that when Kawhia showed imports near to that of W»’tara —it was as 8 to 1 now—the present rate would be substantially reduced. He would like to say that be thought from what be Lad seen that that time was not far distant. He had of en heard of bick block men and had been inclined to regard them as a lot of persistent grumblers, chiefly about roads. The day’s ride bad changed his view?, and he would for tbe rest of his lite appreciate their demand? for “ roads and bridge.'.” 1 Granted decent, land communictlioß ■ Kawhia should be a most pr< greseive < anci prosperous pliee. As Captain Blauklcuk wished Bj reach tbe heads before low water, no tims waa lost getting “ aboard ” ag>iin and tbo journey continued to Mr Hay lock's landing, where a boat was in readiness to carry tbe pirty the re roainder of the j ourney. The river for this distance (8 miles) could be worked by a vessel drawing sft. or 6ft, if the snags were removed. There ia a considerable depth of water mo-4 of the way, but where the river widens out are crossing places and shallow?. In the bout we paesed much picture quo scenery, and the great variety of he native scrubs along the river was much admired. If thia part of of the Marokopa were accessible to to visitors it would be one <>f the ehow places of the cilony. As wj approached the heads the river gradually widened out, at tbe landing place it would be about 150 yards. After l&aving tbe boat tbe whole pajty wdk-d down to the beach. The river here takes a curious course, like the let.er 8, and just where it starts to run over the sand meets a number of small rocks that act as a training wall and turns the current. At this corner the stream runs very rapidly two or three feet deep in a channel about 50 feet acr iss, and from there widens out as it falls over several hundred yards of gently sloping beach to the sea. The awkward pert of the entrance for a vessel to negotiate is at these rocks, the corner being sharp with unt much room to turn in. Captain Blacklock of course kept bis official report for tbe company, bat made no secret that granted a suitable vessel, plenty of power, and good seamanship, bat little difficulty would be experienced working the bar in easterly or calm weather and good tides. A pole was erected to measure depth of water at high tide, and Captain Blacklock was busy until a late hour, during which time Mr Shaldrick had a long informal chat with Marokopa and Kiritehere settlers. Mr P. Rose spoke of the extent of country that would be fed through Lhe Marokopa River if a good stexm service were established. He estimated that settlors on at least 80,000 acres, all of which was good land, some particularly good, would get supplies through that way. AU the laud bad not yet been taken up. In Mauugamaugero and Kiritehere people had been packing goods from the railway anl Te Kuiti, nearly 40 miles, at a cost in some instances of £1 per horse per trip, which worked oat at nearly £l5 per ton. Settlement could not be expected to make much progress under such circumstances. Mr P. Ball spoke of the flax export. The output of their mill, and he believed the new Marokopa mill, would bo assured to the eompany if it put on a suitable boat, and ha anticipated that at leigt two more mills would be opened farther down the eoft’t. The fl ix alone would be an imp >rtaat item. Mr Shaldrick thanked thorn for the in f irraatida, which- ju-t 'what h ■ wanted, and h“ w 'all <> - iat it a u before hi.i rmv’ ;1 • wa no io i psri'ion w lift heir, » . t amer WOul I b.? p it. on, bit nd n i g»od reason t

; Link, espuei r.ly : ,in •.» bi« vi it., tax' if i C iptain Bl iax: e'e reported favourably ■he compa iv *v mid : osept he risk. A musical evuni >g a;. Mr Wilbsoa’s n w boarding h -use closed an ar loom days ! Wo"k, Up -it six the next morning, breakfist over before seven, the party broke jp. Captain Blacklock and Mr Sbaii<L cto return by the? coast, the rest via Ktnohaku. Both parties arrived ar Te Maika within a few minutes of each other. From there by launch to Kawbia concluding a most successful aud pleasant trip, when everything, thanks largely to Messrs Shaw and i Morgan, went without a hitch. That evening Mr Shaldrick meta number of tuo Kawhia business men, Much the [ same things were asked and said a? at Te Anga, and so to bed, after two days good hard going.