JOURNAL

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 4, Issue 57, 27 February 1851, Page 3

JOURNAL

Of an Expedition Overland from Auckland to Taranaki, by way of Rotorua, Taupo and the West Coast, undertaken, in the Summer of 1819-50, by His Excellency the Gover-Nor-In-Chife of New Zealand. [('oiitiiHuil from our Ins'..l Tuesday, December 25th, Christmas-day.— A beautiful morning. After attending Divine Service we strolled about till two o'clock, when we partook of a capital Christmas dinner, with desert of cherries, currants, gooseberries, and raspberries, after which we set out, accompanied by Mr. Chapman and l'otene for the hot springs of Tikitere, about three miles distant from 'l'e Ngac in an easterly direction. These are large cauldrons of boiling water, strongly impregnated with sulphur. The water in one or two of the springs is pretty clear, whilst in some of the others it is black, owing to the circumstance of its passing through a stratum of lignite, ami again in others while, from boiling up through chalky clay. The smell of the steam is very disagreeable, bearing a strong resemblance to that of addled eggs. Here the Governor promised to establish an hospital for the benefit of the natives who visit this part of the country in great numbers for the benefit of the warm sulphur baths for the euro of scrofula and other cutaneous diseases, l'olene was greatly delighted at this, and promised to erect a raupo building as a commencement, and to set aside a sufficient portion of laud to endow the hospital.* The great advantages of this situation for an hospital are that natural baths of every possible temperature can easily be had close at hand; the situation is central, being equally easy of access from the coast and from the interior of the country ; and that the land carriage for invalids from the lakes is easy, being not very long, and quite level all the way. Close to the springs is a stream of tepid water, with a fall of about ten feet, in which Symonds and I bathed whilst his Hxcelleucy walked over to Roto Iti with -Mr. Chapman, to see some natives, at whose place we had not had time to call yesterday.

"Wednesday, December 2Gth.—Having made all the necessary preparations, and partaken of an early dinm*r, we took leave with much vegvet of our kind friends under whose hospitable roof we hud spent so pleasant a Christinas. Mr. Chapman, however, consented to give us

the advantage of his company atul guidance a s far as Roto Mahana. We started at two o'clock in canoes, and crossed over to the island of Mokoia, on the south side of which several natives arc living, and where are a few acres of cultivation. e had not time to ascend the heights of the island, to get a glimpse of the line bird s eye view of the lake obtainable thence, but had lo content ourselves with seeing what we coulil of the cultivations and houses, amongst which are some line specimens of very ancient carving. On the south and southand south-west shoves of the island are several warm baths, in which the natives spend much of their time, and which form their places of refuge in rainy weather, when they leave their clothes indoors, and run into the Waiariki by scores, men, women, and children altogether, immersed up to their necks in the water, with the never-failing pipe in their mouths, chatting away in their usual lively manner, and adding to the density of the steam from the baths by infusing into it copious additions of tobacco smoke. The' baths are of various sizes, the largest, which is on the south-west shore, being about twenty feet by eight, with a depth of from two to live feet. It is called Waikimiliia, and is the scene of a very romantic story, something resembling the ancient legend of Lsander and Hero, except thatbeing at the antipodes—the swimmer in this case was the Hero (or rather heroine) of the story. Whilst we were on the island the wind freshened considerably, so that «e were obliged to wait some time before we could venture to start in the canoes, which, by the bye, are, with few exceptions, of a very inferior description on all these lakes. As it was, therefore, clear that we should not be able to leave, Mokoia for some time, the Governor availed himself of the opportunity of obtaining on the spot the story above alluded to, which is called the legend of Hine Moa and Tutanekai, and which is here subjoined verbatim, as taken down from the dictation of an inhabitant of the island by his Excellency, as lie sat upon a rock by the margin of the very Waiariki which was, many years ago, the scene of the story. Having got into a shady place under the branches of a line pohutukawa tree, the narrator thus began: The Legend of Mine Moa. " Now, oh Governor," —said he, —just look round you and listen to me, for there is something worth seeing here. That very spot that you are sitting upon is the identical place on which sat our great ancestress, Hine Moa, whfn she swam over here from the main. But I'll tell you the whole story.

" Look you now, Rangiuru was the name of the mother of a chief called Tutanekai. She was properly the wife of Whakaue Kaipapa (the great ancestor of the Ngatiwhakaue tribe) ; hut she at one time ran away with a chief named Tuwharctoa (the great ancestor of Te lieu Heu and the Ngatituwharetoa tribe). Before this she had had three sons by Whakaue; their names were Tawake-hei-Moa, Ngarara-nui, and Tutea-iti. It was after the birth of this third son that Hangiuru eloped with Tuwharetoa, who had come to Rotorua as a stranger on a visit. From this affair sprang Tutanekai, who was an illegitimate child ; but finally Whakaue and Rangiuiu were united again, and she had another son, whose name was Kopako, and then she had a daughter, whom they named Tupa: she was the last child of Whakaue. •• They all resided here, on the Island of Mokoia. Whakaue was very kind indeed to Tutanekai, treating him as if he were his own son ; so they grew up here, Tutanekai and his c?lder brothers, until they attained to manhood. " Now, there reached them here a great repoit of Hine Moa, that she was a maiden of gteat beauty ; she was also of great rank, <for Umukaria (the ancestor of the Ngatiumukaria Hapti or sub-tribe) was her father. Her mother's name was Hine Maru. When such fame attended her rare beauty and great rank, both Tutanekai and his elder brothers desired to have her as a wife. " About this time Tutanekai built an elevated balcony on the slope of the hill just above you there, which is called Kaiweka. He had contracted a great fiiendship for a young man named Tiki j they were both fond of music-—Tutanekai played on the trumpet and Tiki on the flute, and they used to go up into the balcony and play upon their instruments in the nighty and in calm evenings the sound of their musie was wafled by the gentle land breeze across the lake to the village at Owhata, where dwelt the beautiful Hine Moa, the younger sister of Wahiao. " Hine Moa could then hear the sweet sounding music of the instruments of Tutanekai and of his dear friend Tiki, which gladdened her heart within her Every night the two friends played on their instruments in this manner, and Ilinc Moa then ever said to herself, ' Ah, that is the music of Tutanekai that I can hear.' " For although Iline Moa was so prized by

lier family that they would not betroth her to any chief, nevertheless she and Tutanekai had met each other on those occasions when all the people of Kotorua met together. " In those great assnmblies of the people Iline Moa had seen Tutanekai, and as they often glanced each at the other, to the heart of each of them the other appeared pleasing and worthy of love ; so that in the breast of each there grew up a secret passion for the other. Nevertheless Tutanekai could not tell whether he might venture to approach Hine Moa to take her hand, to see would she press his in return ; because, said he, ' Perhaps I may be by no means pleasing to her.' On the other hand Iline Moa's heart said to her, ' If you send one of your female friends to tell him of ' your love, perchance he will uot be pleased with you.' " However, after they had thus met for many, many days, and had long fondly glanced each at the other, Tutauekai sent a messenger to Iline Moa to tell of his love; and when Iline Moa had seen the messenger she said « Kh! ha, have we then each loved alike ?" " Some time after ihis, and when they had often met, Tutauekai and his family returned to their own village ; and when they met one evening in the large warm house of general assembly, the elder brothers of Tutanekai said ' Which of us has by signs, or by pressing the hand, received proofs of the love of iline Moa V and one said 'ltis I who have and another said ' No, but it is I.' But then they also questioned Tutauekai, and he said 1 I have pressed the hand of Hine Moa, and she pressed mine in return. 1 Then his elder brothers said No such thing, do you think she would take any notice of such a low-born fellow as you are.' Hut lie then told his reputed father, Whakaue, to remember what he would then say to hitn because he really had received proofs of Hine Moa's love; and they had even actually arranged, a good while ago, the time at which Iline Moa ' should run away to him ; and when the maiden asked, 1 What shall be the sign by wliicli I shall know that I should then run to you he said to her- ' A trumpet will be heard sounding every night. It will be I who sound it, beloved. Paddle then your canoe to that place. 1 So Whakaue kept in his mind this confession which Tutanekai had made to him.

" Now always about the middle of the night Tutaneki and his friend Tiki went'up into their balcony and played, the one upon his trumpet, the other upon his flute, and Iline Moa heard them, and desired vastly to paddle in her canoe to Tutanekai ; but her friends, suspecting something, had been carefut__mitli_tlitt: ■Crmots7 and had lelt "nniiif "afloat, but Had hauled them all upon the shore of the lake ; and thus her friends had always done for many days and for many nights. " At last she reflected in her heart saying—j ' llow can I then contrive to cross the lake t£ the island of Mokoia? It can quite plainly be seen that my friends suspect what I am going to do;' So she sat down upon the ground to rest there, and then there reached her soft measures from the instrument of Tutanekai, and the young and beautiful chieftainess felt as if an earthquake shook her to make her go to the beloved of her heart. Hut then arose the thought, that there was 110 canoe. At last she thought, ■ Perhaps I might be able to swim across.' So she took six large dry empty gourds as floats, lest she should sink in the water, three of them for each side, and she went out upon a rock which is named Iri-iri-kapua, and from thence to the edge of the water, to the spot called Wairerewai, and there she threw oft' her clothes and cast herself into the water. She reached a post which had been placed in the lake by her father Umukaria, and which was called llinewliata, and she clung to it with her hands, and rested to take breath ; aiul when had a little ceased the weariness of her shoulders, she swam on again ; and when she was exhausted she floated upon the waters of the lake, supported by the gourds ; and when had ceased her weariness she swam on again. Hut she could not distinguish in which direction she should swim, from the darkness of the night; her guide fras, however, the soft measure from the instrument of Tutanekai. That was the mark by which she swain straight to Wai-Kimihia, for just above that hot spring was the village of Tutanekai; and so swimming she reached the island of Mokoia. "At the place where she landed on the island there is a hot spring, separated from the lake only by a narrow ledge of rocks. This is it. It is called, as I just said, Wai KimihiaI IJne Moa got into this to warm herself, for she was trembling all over, partly from the cold after swimming in the night across the wide lake of llotorua ; and partly also, perhaps, from modesty at the* thoughts of meeting *1 utanckai. (To be continued.

* Since the above v..u written, some iliflicultics Inve nrircu upon tliii subj-et, to the jealousies of other tribes cnoli of omu.se anxious to Inve the .site of the propo-ed hu.pilnl lixul as near to themselves as Tlu-y li.ivo however at length agreed ami ni.ukcilout apiece oi ) iml e*tiin:ite»l at about -i')') acres, on tho sdion* of P.mo Iti. ni an omlnwmeiit; and the completion of thy neees.-? 117 preliminaries is now I only awaiting the return of llis ExecUt'iiey the Go* 1 vvrn-ji' in-Chief from the youth.