A BEAUTIFUL HARBOUR

Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 77

A BEAUTIFUL HARBOUR

WHANGAROA AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. By M. E. C.

The traveller, as he journeys through the "roadless north," has everywhere impressed on him the idea of a prosperity and a decay. In the Bay of Islands this decay is especially noticeable ia the silent and deserted streets of Kororarefaa, or R/iissell, the first capital of this Dominion, and the crumbling ruins of the first buildings erected in New Zealand. More cheering reminders of days gone by are the lofty monuments which recall two of the most striking events in our history — the one at Waitangi, to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840; the other at Te Puna, on the spot where Samuel Marsden on Christmas Day, 1814. preached the first sermon delivered in New Ze;''i id. Further north, in the harbom Oi Whangaroa, this peaceful, almost hallowed desolation is still the domin.ent idea, but the beauty of Whangarca remains — a beamy of vivid colouring and massive grandeur. The visit-or is at once struck by the resemblance which this harbour be^rs to the fiords of Norway — the narrow inlet, guarded by beetfling rocks and running far inland, with many winding arms cutting their ways, a streak of vivid turquo.se, through high, bush-covered, hills and magnificent grey precipices. What glorious cliffs rise upon eithei side of the labouring barque entering the harbour. Behind lies that massive, craggy structure known as Stevenson's Island, and on our left rise sheer~out of the water those strange peaks 'known as the Arrow Rocks, worn ever narrower and shavpev by the ielev,tless beating of the waves. Now the rolling, heaving boat passes the heads, and for the first time we realite that after all it is not such an unmitigated misfortune to sail north in the wake of a heavy gale. As we watch the wondrous brenk of the great waves against the rocks, we feel compensated for a night during which we have probed the misery of sea-sickness to its depths. - The opening to the harbour is narrow, and guarded by tall black cliffs. In many places these rise perpendicularly from the water to a gieat height. their summits crowned with a circling cloud of gulls, their bases almost iiidden in a seething mass of angry foam. It is a glorious sight, seen, as it was our geod fortune to see it, cm a fine day when the sea was rough, and the wind kshed the waves to fury against the cliffs. We were, struck by the contrasts of colour which so constantly rejoice the eye of the artist in this harbour. The sea is that very dark blue green which one may often see on a bright day rot long after a Ireivy storm. The cliffs are a sombre t>lack, thrown into sharp relief by the white foam which breaks upon them, whilst overhead the sky is a wonderful, intense blue, broken only here and there by little white scurrying wind-clouds. "Although the entrance of the harbour must in reality be almost 200 yards across, it appears a mere slit in the rocks, owing to the great height of the cliffs which guard the entrance. He must have been a bold mariner who first adventured his barque on these unknown waters. The entiance to the heads is perilous enough even now, and not very far from it lie some sunken rocks, which* are visible only at the lowest tides. It is probibly on account of the danger of the palace that comparatively few vessels crllsd here in. the very early days. Whangarca, unlike the Bay of Islands, was ns^ef renowned as a whaling station. It is uncertain •which boat was the first to enter the harbour, but the first of which a record remains was the ill-fated Boyd. One fine morning nearly 100. years ago that vessel dropped anohor in the haibour. Of the terrible incidents which followed there are many versions. Probably the most ' authentic is that of the old missionaries of the district. The Boyd called in at \7lianjjaroa in seaich of timber spars.

~:ae u.^ laden with a full cargo, and carrying several passengers, amongst them. being some women and children. The I vessel was homeward bound, Whangaroa I being the la&t harbour at which she purJ posed calling before setting sail for Engi l?nd. Unfortunately, the WhangaToa ; Maoris were at that time nursing a special 1 rrrievanoe against the pakehf.s. They had alreidv been prejudiced by tales of the misdeeds of the whalers who were in the habit of calling in at the Bay of Islands, acd an incident h-id just occurred which brought these grievances to their own doors. A chief of tVi-eir tribe had sailed in a whaling vessel from the Bay of Islands, having piid iiis pas-sage in due form. Unfortunately the whalers were none too scrupulous, and the chief was made to work before the mast, ard was treated with abominable cruelty throughout the whole journey. Such an incident, outraging as it did the law of tapu and trampling upon the most sacred Maori traditions, was not allowed to pass unnoticed. It was at this juncture that the Boyd sailed up to the spot where Whangaroa township now stands, and there dropped anchor. On the captain expressing his intention ot securing timber, the natives made every show of friendliness, even offering to girde their victims to the spot where the best spars were to be obtained. By these means they managed to divide the forces of the pakehas, and sot off with one party towards the kauri forest. j No sooner were the native guides out of j sight and hearing of the crew than they were reinforcd by a^ war party, with the returned chief at their head. Too late fclie ; Fnglishmen realised the trap into which ' they hnd been led. Escape was impossible. Being almost devoid of weapons, ! they were quickly surrounded and m«s- ; sacred. The natives waited until evening, ■ and then, assuming the clothes of their I murdered victims, made their wai bick to the boat, the remainder of the crew were asleep, and, unperceived, the braves in their incongruous garments climbed up on to the deck, and suddenly, with a loud ■whoop, awoke the startled sloepens. They awoke but to their death, however, for the Xptives fell upon thsm, and a bloody massacre ensued, in which all save two perished. Of these two survivors, one was the cabin-boy, who had also served upon the whaler in which the ,clfef had been so badly treated. To the kindness he had shown to the chief the lad owed his life. The other "survivor was an unfoitunate woman, one of the passengers, who had embarked with a. glad heart for her old home. Hearing the sound* of strife, she lid herself effectually until the massacre was over and the Natives pacifitd. Then, choosing a fortunate moment when the Maoris were gloating over the rich spoils j they had secured, she came from her concealment, and made a piteous pka for mercy. Her cries and lamentations touched the hearts of the Natives, who were satisfied with their bloody work, and she was spared. These solitary sur- ] vivors spent many terrible months amongst the savage tribes of the district, but eventually succeeded in escaping to the Bay of Islands, and were there rescued by a passing whaler. The massacre ended, the Natives hastened to examine the cargo. There was on board a large quantity of gunpowder, a commodity of which the Natives as yet knew nothing. The natural result ..followed. The Maoris, drunk with carnage and spoil, appioached the kegs with lighted matches tc examine their contents. A terrific explosion ensued, in which many of the Nathes weie killed ai:d the cargo of the TSovil set on fire. With all haste the lemaimng Natives and the English survh orb left the boat, which soon afterwards was w lapped in flames. The ropa of the anchor was burned through, and the -vessel flo.ited with the incoming tide some distance up the harbour. The Natives, terribly planned at , the turn affairs had taken, watched the ' blazing boat till, finally, with a resounding ! crash she sank forever beneath the waves, iln clear weather and at low tide the ' shape of the boat and the outline of her mast may still be seen through the waves.

Much of the timber in her cargo has since been recovered, and many of the settleig of the district possess trophies from the wreck. One of the cannons from the Boyd is now .preserved in the Auckland Museum.

Far-reaching results followed this .disaster, which delayed the evangelisation of the country, for five years. In 1809 Mr Marsden had collected, a party of young missionaries, and was waiting for transport from Sydney. When the news of the Boyd massacre reached' Australia, the Government absolutely forbade the entei-prise, and it was not until December, 1814, that the missionary expedition was permitted to set out. Not so well-known, howe\er, is the injustice of the revenge which the pak-eihas took for the outrage. Some whalers were lying in the Bay of Islands when, the news reached that district. Those on board immediately beseigedAm island in the bay, and massacred the inhabitants, quite regardless of the fact that this tribe had no connection whatever with the perpetrators of the outrage.

The harbour has many beautiful branches, infiinitely the finest being one close inside the heads, called by the Natives Okahu-Moku, or Wairaka. This inlet is quite as wide as the main harbour, and is famous for its scenic beauty. It resembles, on a smaller ecale, the wonderful beauty of the southern sounds. The grey cliffs rise on all sides to a height of 400 or 500 fe&t. They assume strange and fantastic shapes, some being shaped like tables, some like animals, and others like flower-pots. Many are named after the objects they resemble, such as the " Vlavstack," the " Bride's Cake," arid the " Duke's Nose." This lattei peak is one of the" strangest in' the harbour, being about 400 ft in height and only about 10ft in width. It bears an unmisrakeable resemblance to the profile of the late Duke of Wellington. A remarkable feature of these cliffs is the caves, in which petrified wood may be obtained. Much of this wood has been secuied by the Natives in earlier yt-ars. However, after a very long and extremely precipitous climb, in which we used ropes, much as ir alpine climbing, our ' party managed to reach one of the caves. They are low and round, having evidently been the receptacle for -giant kauri trees in the past. In the far end of these caves there still remains a considerable quantity of this wood. Some are extremely beautiful, being as hard as stone, with a brilliant polish, and showing distinctly the clean grain of the Wv,od. One of the most interesting spots in the harbour is a great rock, jutting far out into the sea,, in shape somewhat resembling a sugar-cone. It is extremely precipitous and looks almost impossible to ascend. However, that it has been ascended and that bloody deeds have been wrought on the summit history is able to assure vs. It was once the scene of a great Maori massacre. Hongi, that great warrior of the north, whose pleasant custom it was to sally forth at intervals and exterminate his neighbours, felt one fine day" the lust of battle grow stiong within him. Being but the child of Nafure, he made no attempt to control his desires, but summoned his warriors about him and set off from his pa in the Bay of Islands on a pleasure jaunt up north. On this occasion he had conceived the ambition of exterminating the Whangaroa tribe. He was successful in bis attack, and drove the remnant of the tribe out of their pa, leaving heaps of mutilated bodies behind. The survivors fled precipitately, until they reached this rock, on wboss summit stood a deserted, pa. They .haS out-distan6ed their pursuers, and they fancied the rock before them could be made a place of refuge. With come difficulty they scaled the precipices, for this fortress, seemingly impregnable, - was capable of access from one side only Here for several days they kept their pursuers at bay, subsisting, with the courage born of despair, upon the scant vegetation which straggles on the summit of the rock. But at last the strategy of the noted warrior proved too much for his victims. One moonless night Hongi distracted the attention of the starved men on the rock by a feint attack on one side. Meanwhile, unnoticed by the dispirited and almost dying men the warriors stole up on the accessible side, and, taking them unawares, exterminated the last remnants of the tribe. No man could have been gentler or milder in everyday life than Hongi, save when strange frenzi«6 of passion, almost amounting to madness, seized him. The Mushroom Rocks, situated not far from the Heads, present a remarkable appearance. As the name implies, they bear a resemblance to huge store mushrooms. This strange shape lias been caused by the ceaseless beat of the waves about their bases. They nee, like distorted phantoms, from the an my, tearing sea. Indications of the constant battle between sea and rock is everywhere visible in this harbour, and in many places the sea has worn away dozens of feet of the grim structure, leaving a giant lacework of grey stone. But it is in the height of the cl'ffs and surrounding bills that much of the charm of the harbour lies. One of the finest of these hills ia that which stands at the extreme end of the harbour, and is known as Jara Jara. It relieves this part of the landscape from dulness. Its lines are singularly bold and striking, as it stands silhouetted against the westerD sky. On its summit there is situated an ancient Maori burying ground, and from this spot a unique view of the northern coast may be obtained. .Anotiier extremely fine hill is that beneath which the township nestles. This, on account of its peculiar dome-libe stiurture, was named " St. Paul's" by the priests ■ of the old Roman Catholic mission. The steef green hills use to a great height, culminating in a massive structure of grey stone, resembling distinctly the dome of som-e ancient cathedral. On the opposite side of the harbour rises a sister structure, though less imposing in appearance, known as St. Peter's. A little to the right of this the settle-

ment of Totara, clustering rour.d a large timber and ship-building mill. Too numerous for mention are the historic associations which still linger around this beautiful harbour. Here we • have almost the oldest of the missionary associations, and an instance — one of the few cases in the north — of the Wesleyan mission being driven with violence and attempted massacre from the district. Whangaroa was at one time inhabited by a strong and war-like tribe, but they, . like the days of Whangaroa's material I prosperity, have vanished. The place at one time was tlie centre o," the -northern ' kauri timber trade. , The nourishing mills have long since disappeared, and only the crumbling wharves and stacks of rotting timber remain to mark the spot. The ■ great majority of the houses which are scattered in the hills of Whangaroa are now tenantkss. The population has. dwindled, until it is surpassed by its rival Totara, across the water, and the township depends for much of its prosperity upon the visitors who seek this secluded spot every summei. For the tourist, the yachtsman, the busy townsman, and last,*-' but not least, for the gentle honeymoon couple, Whangaroa has a charm of beauty „ and tradition which must for&ver outlive material decay.