A TRIP TO THE WEST COAST.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 41, 16 February 1878, Page 2

A TRIP TO THE WEST COAST.

[Rr"P."] I have the highest possible respect for the author of the proverb which tells us that " All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." I am, however, disposed to go a little further, and to assert that what applies to the boy Jack is equally applicable to the man, who, in his way, requires relaxation quite as much as the youth. It is not, then, to be woudered at that when my friend "Autolycus" met me a fortnight ago and said "Now then 'P.' I have a few days to spare, and if you like to take a week's holiday, I will relieve you for that time," I exhibited no coyness or hesitation, ' gratefully but at once accepted the kind offer. But hayingdone this, I felt very much as I can imagine a child would do who had been crying for the moon, and suddenly found it in its lap. A whole week's holiday 1 I had not beeu in possession of such a treasure for many years. What was Ito do with it ? My inclinations a once turned in the direction of a trip by water, for I always had a liking for the sea, so that I naturally turned to the shipping advertisements, aud there found what exactly suited me. The smart and snug little steamer Charles Edward was to sail for the West Coast on the Monday, and, as I learned on enquiry, was expected to return on tbe following Sunday. Just the very thing for me. I had never been to the Coast, and I might wait a long time before meeting with a better boat than the " Charlie," or a more agreeable skipper to travel with than Captain Whitwell. So my mind was speedily made up, and shortly after 8 o'clock in the morning of Monday, the 4th instant, I found myself steaming out of Nelson harbor on my way towards what was at one time considered the El Dorado of New Zealand. Part of our arrangements was that we were to call at Motueka, and on arriral there " we found a whole pile of cargo awaiting us on the wharf. In a little over an hour we had taken in 25 tons, consisting of potatoes fruit, and cases of poultry. And here I may say that I was present when the fruit was put up at auction on the Hokitika wharf and that I sympathised with the growers when I saw the apples knocked down at 5s 9d a case, a price which, 1 fear, must have left but a small margin for profit. We left Motueka about noon, and steamed up the northern coast of the Ray, passing, of course the now historical spot where the Queen Bee's bones lie embedded in sand, without a vestige of the ship being visible above water The passage was so quiet, and the sea so calm, that there was not the shadow of an excuse for the weakest stomach on board to commence an action for ejectment against its contents, until seven o'clock on Tuesday morning, when we crossed the Buller bar which, although comparatively speaking' smooth, was sufficiently lively to cause the « Charlie " to perform a few acrobatic feats which produced their effect on those who were inclined to sea-Bickness. Westport is not a cheerful looking place. It consists almost entirely of on* long street, most of the houses bemg on one side of it, and nearly all of them having a seedy, dilapidated apappearance, owing principally to the absence of paint, to which Westport seems to have been a stranger for a loog time past. Some of the houses, which are now the nearest to the sea, were at one time so far inland that people wondered what their proprietors were about m building at such a distance from the centre of the town. But the flood which took place some five or six years ago created terrible havoc, and where, prior to its occurrence was the bqsmess portion of the township' the blue waters of the Pacific now hold undisputed possession. On the river bank some important works are being carried on in view of this, tho best harbor on the inhabited part of the Coast, being at no distant date the resort of colliers from all parts of the world Stone walls to prevent the further encroachment of the riyer, and « staiths/- from which to shoot the coals, that are some day tq he brought from Mount Rochfort, into the holds of the vessels, are being erected', and when tbese are completed, the accommodation for colliers will be ail that could be desired always provided that the river behaves itself, does not desert tiie and does not neglect to keep the channel thorouzhlv scoured out. Westport, at the pres* nt time "»?a«tetetf expectancy— living on hope! Ibis kind of diet, however, is not nutritive For a limited time an individual or a community may contrive to exist upon it, but then there comes the desire, the absolute necessity, for food of a more substantial description. This, I trust, Westport will get, but at present you hear on all sides— " Yes, it is rather dull just now, but wait till our coal mines are in, fall work, and then see how we shall prosper." I must say however, that to an unbiassed and impartial Observer like myself jt seems that this good time whfeh., is so feprenfly hoped for, is likely to be a long time in coming, for a curious state of things prevails just now As we all know, Mount Rochfort abounds in coal of the best description, and numerous companies have been formed ostensibly to work it. To assist them a railway 19 miles in length, skirting the foot of the mountain has been constructed as far as the Ngakawhau river— where is the Albion Company's property—and is now ready to convey the coal to the port so soon as the mine, are at work and are connected with the main line by the necessary tramways. But the companies that have been clamoring for communication with the harbor, now that they have it, appear to be unwilling to perform their part of the bargain, and with the exception of " the Wellington," not one of them is doing anythiug towards getting out the coal, and, so far as I could learn, the Government from whom they lease the mines have no power to enforce their commencing operations, the terms of the leases being that so much coal shall be taken out by a certain day, so that until that date arrives the lessees have it all their own way, as it is quite competeut for them to say, "It is true we have done nothing i yet, but how do you know that we shall not | have taken out 1 000 tons by this day mouth ' or this day year," or whenever the time ' mentioned may expire? Aud so it happens ! that nothing is being done towards working the coal except by the Wellington Company, aud, unfortunately, tbe produce of their mine is of little account, being of a soft description not at all unlike black lead. Those who use it for household purposes, however, say that it cakes well and makes excellent fuel. At all events it is largely used at Westport, and, owing to the smallness of the price as compared with that of imported coal, it is looked upon as a great boon One hotelkeeper informed mc that by burning it he saved nearly £50 a year in his household expenses. I was, of course, auxious to take a run by rail up fco Ngakawhau, but although I had the whole day at my disposal at Westport I aas unable to do so. as 1 learned on enquiry that the traiu only ran on three days in the week, and that Tuesday was one of the oil days. Here, however, I may anticipate and say that on :nv return from the southern ports Mr Peterkin, the obliging station master, very kindly consented to run a special engine as far as Waimangaroa in order to enable myself and a few others who were desirous of seeing all that was to be seen to pay a visit to the •« black couutry { ) of the West Coast. As wc did not gco awav until 915, and had to be back by 1045, the hour for the regular train tn start, we h«ul not much time to spare. The iine, which, with the exception of one or two slight curves, is perfectly straight as far as Waimangaroa, a distance of ten miles, appears to

be exceedingly well constructed, if it is fair to judge by the smoothness with which bur carriage travelled. It passes through a somewhat bleak and desolate country, consisting principally of an extensive swampy flat, wbich in its natural state looks cold, barren, and unfruitful, although it would {Continued on Fourth Page.)

[(Continued from 2nd page.") undoubtedly be improved by draining, but from tbe hasty view we had of it, I should question whether it could ever be converted into really good agricultural land. There was somethia^ Btrange in the outlook. Bush, swamp, and hills, eppareotly untouched by tha band of maD, all round us, and the only signs of civilization the railway, on which we rattliug along at the rate of twenty-five miles per hour, and oue or two "hotelß' < — I $hall have something to say about "hotels" on the West Coast further on — which I presume had been built for the accou-modaiion of the navvies at the time the 1 : e waß in course of construction. About five miles from Westport there is a branch line running for a distance of about two miles in the direction of the hills, where is a quarry of excellent stone from which .he material is brought down for the protective works on the banks of the Bulier. At Waimangaroa, there is another branch line of about a mile in length constructed by the Wellington Company, and leading to their mine. We travelled on this along the left bank of the Waimangaroa river, and in three or four minutes arrived at our destination, where were told that we might spend ten minutes prior to returning to town. Here we found a number of coke ovenß in course of, erection — six being already built: — the Company hCTing determined upon converting as much as possible of their coal into coke. A few yards higher up, a tramway crosses the river on a rough but strongly constructed bridge, and at once enters a small tunnel iu the side of tho bill which, we were told, runs in for a quarter of a mile before it reaches the coal seam. Immediately above thia tunnel a small track was just discernible wending its way through the fern and brushwood, and this waß pointed out a3 being the road, some two miles long and frightfully steep, leading to the Koranui Company's property, where coal of a very superior quality haa^ been found. By tho time we had crossed the bridge afeove referred to, and cast a hasty glance round, the whistle of the engine was echoing through the^wild and narrow gorge in wbich we were, so we had to hasten back, and were very soon hurrying on our way to Westport, where we arrived just in time for the engine to take a refreshing drink before starting on its M-weekly trip to Ngakawhau. Hurn ed although our visit to the mine had been, we all thoroughly enjoyed it, and I need not say that we felt very grateful to Mr Peterkin for his courtesy and consideration in affording us so unexpected and pleasant a treat. J his has been a digress ! on, and I must now ,c hark back " to my first visit to Westport. At midnight we Btarted for Hokitika, and upon steaming away from the town, we found that a very beautiful sight was in store for us. JTor some nights past an unusual amount of phosphorescence, I was told had been observable on the sea, and on this particular occasion there was more of it than ever. The broad and smooth expanse of water inside tbe bar was one sheet of pale blue light, which was broken by each stroke of our paddles into stars and spangles, more sparkling in their brilliancy than were ever the jewels worn by lady fair at the most fashionable assembly in London; to the northward the heavy surf was rolling on to the shore in mountains of light, and breaking into spray, which appeared to consist of myriads of luminous particles ; three or four mi_es to the southward was the revolving light on Cape _?oul wind, flashing brightly upon us every thirty seconds • a ray of light, which in the intervals stretched very like a huge arm into the thick misty, murky night— for a drizzling rain was falling— rendering it easy for the eye to follow each revolution. Altogether it was a lovely, fairy-like scene such as I shall Dever forget. But the next morning I was to have the opportunity of witnessing a far grander sight. On going on deck about seven o'clock I found that a snowstorm had taken place during tbe night, and had left its mark on the land. Gradually the clouds, which were then very low, dispersed, and the noble range of mountains, which is a source of admiration to all who visit the West Coast, was revealed to us in its winter dress, the snow being almost as low down as in the month of July. .For one moment especially the scene was inexpressibly grand. A shadow caused by a passing cloud was thrown upon the lower hills, which nre thickly covered with bush, rendering them sombre, gloomy, and dark as the valley of the shadow of death, and a fitting foreground to the giant mountains behind, which rose thousands of feet above them, the morning sun shining brightly upon the sparkling snow that enveloped them as in a thick mantle. Faraway to the south thoy stretched until they abruptly tormina l ed in the majestic Mount Co-.*k, which v,a were fortunate enough fco sec to ps.-ft-e tion, as by eight o'clock al! tho el**i.,L. had dean..' :*\yfty. wilh the e.xc-\-.li.._i of one b'.-!t of tni.. -.* !•..■■!-. h .-..•.•. * round it a!. Hnum dial-mce i;.-.*....*.* she summit, the outline of which, sh**wiii<>distinctly the- hiiijo cleft iu the .-eriliv, was clearly defined against the biue^kv beyond. Involuntarily there occurred to my mind the words placed by Byron in the mouch of tbe spirit of the mountain in " Maofred," aud had the great poet seen the landscape as I saw it on that lovely morning, [ feel sure that he would have regarded ib as no insult to Mont Blanc to substitute for its name that of Mount Cook, aud so to make the lines read thus ;-—

Mount Cook is the monarch of mountains; They cro.vned him long ago On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds, With a diadem of snow. Now we are off the Hokitika bar, and the signal is shown for us to en<er, but I have devoted so much space to endeavoring —very feebly I fear —to depict the magnificent scenery, with which everyone on board was so delighted, that I must defer any further account of my trip to a future occasion.