TALES TOLD BY AN EARLY PIONEER

Lake County Mail, Issue 1, 29 May 1947, Page 3

TALES TOLD BY AN EARLY PIONEER

Scarcely a ripple stirred the waters of the harbour of Port Lyttelton as, on march 16, 1860, the good ship “Clontarf” lay off the heads waiting for the pilot to come on board.

Leaning over the stern of the vessel, J gazed upon the features of this new land which I had adopted, and, after 107 days of ocean surroundings I was fain to regard the strange country with feelings of pleasure, indeed I can still recall the desire which stirred within me to get ashore and to i oil on the verdant turf, which looked so fresh and lovely after the long voyage —a feeling which I have heard expressed by others who have been for months at sea, deprived of the sight of trees, and grass, and flowerg.

A boat put off from the pilot station at last, and, manned by a Maori crew, it seemed to skim over the smooth surface as easily as did the many gulls and sea fowls which were flying around shrieking their plaintive cries, and quarelling over any stray morsel that was dropped overboard.

On the quarter-deck and on the forecastle groups of steerage passengers were standing by the buhvarks or hanging on to the rattlings, expressing their opinions on the appearance of the land; and I saw a good many tears shed, as some of them doubtless remembered that they would soon have to part from the ship which had been their home for so long. Not that the voyage had been one of unalloyed bliss,, unmarred by any melancholy event —death had thinned our ranks considerably, 36 of our numbers having been taken away, a circumstance Avhich gained for the “Clontarf” the questionable honour of being mentioned in future N.Z. almanac, the death rate during the voyage having beaten all previous records.

Canterbury was not my destination, however, so after waiting for two months I availed myself the chance of going to Otago in a small brig called the “Fanny A. Garrigues,” and, after a voyage of five days, Ave cast anchor in the lovely harbour of Port Chalmers. Along with two of my ship mates, I walked up to Dunedin along a track cut through bush, which, however, so far from resembling a road, Avas a veritable “slough of despond,” therefore we Avere glad Avhen we reached Dunedin, and found that comfortable lodgings could be found, in spite of the somewhat unprepossessing appearance of the houses, for in the year 1860 Dunedin was but a small place of a few hundred inhabitants, and the streets were more like muddy sAvamps than anything else, and to that city owed the name of Mud-Bdin, by Avhich we Avere wont to call it in those days. Among letters of introduction in my possession, I had one to Mr. Gilbert William Rees, Avho had just returned to Dunedin from prospecting for country likely to be suitable for squatting purposes. During his explorations into the interior of Otago, when ho was accompanied by a friend —Nicholas Von Tunzelmann —they succeeded in reaching what at that time was a terra incognita, the Wakatipu Lake, and round its shores they found country such as they were in search of, and Avhere they ultimately settled down.

Mr. Rees’ description of the Lake County, and scenery, and the wild life which would be the portion of those who first squatted there, fired me with a desire to make one of the party, so I arranged to join him as a Cadet, find under him to gain experience of sheep farming at a cost of ten shillings a week and the “run of my teeth.” About 3,000 sheep had been sent over from Australia on account of Mr. Rees and his partners, Mr. Gammie and Colonel Grant, and until country was secured to graze them on, the use of the Coal Creek Station in Shag Valley, had been granted to Mr, Rees by the proprietor, Mr. James, better known

as Johnny Jones, probably the wealthiest man at that time in the colony.

To Coal Creek I was sent, along with George Simpson, who had been a fel-low-voyager with me, and we found several other cadets, some of whom like ourselves, were there to gain experience, but others, having passed that stage, were now in receipt of a salary.

For some months we resided at Coal Creek, on the wintery side of the Kakanui Mountains, but as soon as shearing was over, preparations were made for starting off to our new home on the shore of the Wakatipu Lake. Previous to this, however, along with Mr. Rees’ brother-in-law, John Gilbert, I had gone to the Waitaki District for a mob of sheep which I was to have the privilege of grazing, on certain terms, on their station. These sheep were guaranteed not to be in lamb by the seller, Mr. Filluel, but as to the correctness of his guarantee I will have to allude later on.

This was my first experience of travelling with stock, and it) was of a sufficiently rough nature to give me a good idea of what lay before me in the life which I had chosen. Leaving the Waitaki we brought the sheep past where Oamaru now stands —at that time, however, the city consited of a shepherd’s hut only—when we reached the Otepopo River we struck off the road, and heading South West, prepared to cross the Kakanui Range, Gilbert having conceived the idea that he knew of a short cut that way which would enable us to reach Coal Creek in a marvellously short space of time. We were provided with a piece of salt beef, and tea and sugar, but did not lay in a supply of bread, Gilbert having hinted that it would be merely encumbering unnecessarily as we would probably reach home that night, so confident was he of the shortness of the route which avc had adopted. Alas! however, for these prognostications. Towards nightfall we descried a shepherd’s hut, and headed the sheep in that direction. The man living there was very kind indeed, insisting on us staying the night, and his wife not only made us far more comfortable than we were accustomed to be, but pressed us to accept a pound of fresh butter to carry arvay Avith us next morning. Her husband also accompanied us for some distance on our Avay, and then left us in a deluge of rain.

All day we toiled on and over rough and rocky ground, drenched to the skin with heavy rain, and unable to see any distance owing to the thick mist which had settled down on the ranges. At last, when it was quite dark, we managed to put the sheep across a stream and onto a spur of the hill beyond, and there we left them to look after themselves.

Having tethered our horses to two huge boulders, we splashed about through the rain and the wet grass trying to find, in the dark, a place sufficiently level to spread our blankets. Presently, I called out to Gilbert that I had dscovcred a nice hollow that would do, and, rolling our blankets around us, we lay down together, after having taken of a slice of beef spread with the fresh butter, for it was useless to attempt to light a fire wherewith to boil the “billy,” as our clothes and matches were simply soaking with the rain.

We spent a miserable night, and when daylight broke discovered that nice soft hollow which we had so cheerfully utilized as a camping ground was nothing else than where a wild pig had been digging up fern roots. We found the sheep at the top of the hill opposite our camping ground, and the rain having ceased and the mist having: lifted, we were able to guide ourselves better than on the previous day, and succeeded in reaching Coal Creek that afternoon. So rough had been the road, and so trying to our dogs, that Gi Ibert’s collie refused to work on the last day of our journey,

and my one had his feet so badly cut with the sharp stones that when we arrived at the house he betook hiinself to his own quarters, and did not attempt to go to work again for two weeks.

Now that the time was close at hand for us to start for the Wakatipu, some of those who had been keen for taking part in the expedition began to hesitate, and finding this to be the chse, Mr. Eees very wisely determined, to have a distinct understanding with those who intended to go and to pay off at once those who were inclined to waver. For my own part, when' it came to my turn to speak to him in his office —which was made of half a dozen packed wool bales built one I on top of the other inside the shed so ; as to shelter him and his books and papers from the wind —I found things going far more comfortably with me than I had anticipated, for, when I came, to settle up for my board and the various goods I had got out the station stores, such as hob-nailed boots, mole skin trousers, etc. Mr, Rees very generoilsly waived all claims to the 10/- a week which I had arranged to pay for board, as he said I had more than earned it by the work I was doing, and added that if I would make one of the .expeditions he would give me a week to begin with. I need hardly say that I consented, and left his office well satisfied with myself. (To be continued) (