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YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

lecture nr dr. hector,

On Tuesday evening Dr. Hector delivered a lecture on “Exploration in Otago.” There was a large attendance, and Professor Kirk occupied the chair.

After prayer by tho Bev. Mr. Trivett, tho Chairman called on

The Lecturer, who said the subject was not that; upon which bo had intended to lecture, but having been called upon at short notice, he had chojen it became it required least time for preparation. In New Zealand, as compared with North America, (here was a great lack of adventure and variety of incident, although the hardships of travel were greater. But in _ Otago he got hia first and most vivid impressions of New Zealand, and in the explorations ho bad since made of other parts of the ho had always referred to his observations in Otago , as a standard of comparison, The history of Otago explorations did not extend hock far. Captain Cook’s narrative re’erred only to the one place hvisited, Dusky Bay, which is still nearly in the same condition as be found it; and except a few observations on the East Coast he made no mention of the Southern part of Now Zealand, so that. pothing came from the great navigator concerning the condition or natural features of the country at tho dafo of hia visit. Till 1848,.in fact, little was known, but in that year a Scotch settlement was projected, This

it was proposed to establish in the locality of Banka Peninsula (where tho Church of England settlement was afterwards located), but there was a .proviso that if a more suitable place could be found it should bo chossu. The result of that proviso was the oxplor itiou of the more.southern part of the Middle Island, and it was from this exploration that the first reliable information about Otago was derived. Mr, Tackett led this expedition, and Dr Monro seemed to h ive been tho journalist of the party, and the glowing anticipations of that gentleman as to the future of Otago peenied to have been more than verified. The lecturer then sketched the circumstances of the early settlement of Otago, referring e* peclaUy to the historical fact that on the site of tho Duneoin of to-day Mr. Anderson in 1847 had a sheep run. He next mentioned th <j explorations of Mr. Mantel I, who h*ld the office of Land Purchase Commissioner, and who, when travelling through the country, made such excellent use of his opportunity for collecting information, so that in his reports were obtained the first accounts of tho geology of the district. ; Mr. Mantell’s researches respecting the moa were alluded to, and also tho wonderfully accurate accounts, and even rough maps of the interior of tho country, gained by that gentleman from the natives with whom ho was brought into contract. Tho traditional history of the occupation of the southern country by the Maoris was adverted to, and the lecturer then parsed on to review the explorations of Messrs. Nairn and Stephens, Wright, and others. But it was not till the arrival of Mr. J. T, Thomson in 1857 that there was any systematic explorations of the interior of Otago. In the course of three years the whole of the open country from the Bluff to .the sources of the Waitake at Mount Cook was mapped out and rapidly occupied as runs. These surveys were made by Mr. Thomson and his assistants, Messrs. Garvie and Robert Gillies, and their reports contained accurate and minute information relative to the features of the country. In 1862 exploration was carried much further back by Mr. McKerrow, and in 1863 that gentleman got as far as the boundaries of the Lake District ,and the eastern valleys of the main range of the Otago Alps, but hi* exploration did not extend to any point of the Western Alps. The lecturer spoke in admiring terms of the zeal and energy of Messrs. Thomson and McKerrow. After referring to the marvellous accuracy except in one or two instances of the Admiralty surveys and charts of the western coast line, including tho wonderful sounds, he went on to explain the value of the explorations made by thim-ielf, commencing in tho year 1862, when the arrived from North America to take ud the work. He graphically described the condition of things existing in Otago immediately after the discovery of gold, the arrival of miners from all tho other colonies, the demands for roads to the goldfields, the straits.to which the local Government were put, and the energy with which they successfully set to work to provido’for the wants of the rapidly increasing population, &c., and then, after a brief sketch of the various fields, he described the expeditions made by hiimelf, in the exercise of his profession,, into the back country. Tho expedition in which ho crossed the dividing ranges, and penetrated right through to the West was referred to at some length, and the difficulties and dangers of the trip, and the more strikingly interesting natural features of the country traversed, were brought out in a moat admirable manner, details being given with f*uch- a precision as would enable the audience intelligently to follow him, and yet not m ith such a degree of particularity as to make them tedious. An eight months* expedition to that rough part of the West Coast, so famous for its sounds and fiords, and so enchanting to the miner, who looked at the inaccessibility of the country as the bar which divided him from untold treasures of gold,.was next described in the same happy style; but here the lecturer had to stop in consequence of having run out bis allotted time. He apologised for having to stop so abruptly, and said he must defer the remainder of theTccture for another opportunity. On the motion of Mr, J. G. Holdsworth, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Dr. Hector for his highly instructive and entertaining lecture, and the proceedings terminated by the Rev, W. H. West pronouncing the benediction.

The next'lecture of the series will be del?' verod by Professor Kirk, on 11 Minute Life.”

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18781108.2.42

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5497, 8 November 1878, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,023

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5497, 8 November 1878, Page 7

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5497, 8 November 1878, Page 7

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