THE WEST COAST.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1118, 28 November 1883, Page 2

THE WEST COAST.

What the “ Dunedin Star’s” Correspondent thinks of It.

“ R.C.W.C.” has been making a tour tip this (Joast v and sends the following to the Dunedin Star :—

The country between Wanganui and Waverley, a d‘«tance of thirty-three miles by rail, is of an undulating character, well watered, and possessing most picturesque features, with patches of native limber in the gullies, and dotted here and there with substantial homesteads. Waverley does not present any striking features to indicate its prosperity, but the country around is well settled, and the land is said to be of excellent quality. In the township there is a borough hall ; two banks (New Zealand and Union), both being well-constructed wooden buildings;: a Church of England and Presbyterian Church, wooden buildings of moderate size ; two large general stores*; post and telegraph office, and two hotels. The land in the township is laid off in acres, and the main road runs on one.side of the township, while on the other side of the highway the land is cut up in ten acre sections. One of the redoubts, adjoining the post office, is now utilised by ; the postmaster as a garden ; and a few cultivated sections in the township are well kept. The main road running through Waverley is in some places in a bad state,, and affords proof that the Road Board is com-posed-of a rather sleepy lot of'people. The drive from Waverley to Patea is a most enjoyable one, although the road was in many places in a wretched state, “Patea metal”—the cuttings of gorse—being used to fill up the ruts and large holes in the track. There is no metal obtainable in the district, and where the necessary stones have been broken up, after having been carted a great distance, the work of repairing the road has cost as much as £ls per chain. About , midway between Waverley and Paten, On the roadside, there is a small pah called Whenuakurn, and the Natives- lay claim to some good undulating land in the immediate vicinity. There are some prettily-situated residences between Waverley and Patea, and on nearing the latter place a goodly picture opens out. The Patea River runs between billy country, and on ' its sou th bank - are some fine patches of cultivated country, white on the north the.towrisbip, laid out on a black sandhill, has an important appearance. A substantia! wooden trussbridgo crosses the river, and the town is approached by a steep road up the side of the hill, on which it is situated.' Patea has the appearance of being a place of importance, and the largengize of the' principal buildings suggests to the traveller the idea that the place is a great commercial! centre; but, although the country around is a good pastoral one, there does not appear to bo at present anything to warrant the largo expenditure of capital that has been indulged in by hotelkeepers and others in Patea. The principal buildings are the Anglican, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic, Churches.; three banks, two of which are fine buildings ; and six hotels, three of them large .ones ; a brewery, two public halls, a saw .and moulding mill, put up at an 0u11.13’ of £3000; a high school and largo private school, an ordinary looking post and telegraph office, and a fine, railway station, which is, however, inconveniently situated on the bunk of the river. opposi le the town. There is a wharf, on the north side of the river; with pens and every convenience for shipping cattle, etc, and the sum of £IO,OOO has been spent in constructinga breakwater on the south side of the river. Inside the bar there is about 20ft of water at high tide. Two steamers of about 90 tons each—the Waverley and Napier run between this and other ports. In addition to other industries in Patea, there is a coach factory and an oil and fibre company, for which machinery has been ordered from Home. Although

a large quantity of land has been settled* there is still a vast extent of good country/ to bo opened up in this district, snitahhji for grazing purposes. A moat freezings company, with a capita! of £IO,OOO, ha** started in Patea ; and so great a confi-# denco had townspeople in it that at the first meeting the sum of £3OOO was subscribed in the room. It has been sug--'* gcsled to put a freezing chamber in Ifctr s.s. Waverley, to hold 950 carcasses. \ 'faking the road by coach northward, 4 drive of about four miles brings the : traveller to Kakararnea, a small, scattered settlement, with a store, hotel, and twenty dwellings ; thence the road runs through undu'ating country, a distance of four miles, to Manutahi. At the latter place .there...still remain two redoubts,, constructed of sheet iron. A mile and a half from this place is the terminus of the piece of railway line opened on the 25th of August, the construction of which has called forth much condemnation from the settlers in the district. It appears that although a good line was surveyed through the country three years ago, the railway lias been .taken for three miles through n dense hnsh/and the rp.id from the township to the station is so bad that a dray could be driven to Patea in .almost the same time as it would take for it to reach the railway. The drive from Manutahi to Hawern, a distance of twelve miles, v has many attractions, as the road passes through a well watered,,undulating pastoral country with several, pretty residences on .either side, and the highway is in a good stats of repair, Hawera is.a borough containing a population of 1,590, and has several fitie buildings, including the Council Chambers—a two-storey wooden building, with clock-tower, erected at a; cost:of £1,200 ; places of worship ; the Star office, a . two-storey -building ; a few large stores, several hotels, a Masonic hall,; an Orange 1 hall, ' and T small stores, etc. The societies represented are : The Masons, Oddfellows (MU.), and (rood Templars. The new regulations were,the means rof breaking np the Volunteer corps, but it is hoped that - flic companywill bo re-formed. The Borough Council -lately l * raised- n loan-fd improve the streets, and ..tjie -work of metalling is being proceeded with. The surrounding conn*ry is undulating and the land of good qualify. About three miles from Hawera (eastward) is a Maori pah called Taiporowhenm, and this I determined to visit on a Sunday morning. - To do so T had to "travel over one'ofMho worst pieces of road in New 'Zealahtf. The mud was half-way up lo the.aites in many places, and all the way horses could only go at f walking pace, stiff -pull to drag the Vehicle mire. The weather, however,-. >yas ,v£ry fine, and I enjoyed the trip, my givirig me information respecting the striking events of the fighting in that district. litre and there solitary ,habitations of military settlers were to be seen, anion reaching the.paA a striking cdntract td the stillness of the country around cause loaTe# There were three or font Maoris . cutting sods and erecting a fence ; groups of children weie playing about 5 scores wretched looking curs crawled through .the settlement; and last, but not least, the ’*} Boy that pays the rint,” inthefonn of a inonsler.pig, too lazy to walk about, was reclining in ‘‘graceful ’’ ease. Then came a visit to the . whnres. On entering the lints, through a doorway about four feet high,- we were favoured with enough smoke to nearly, suffocate us. Several Maori women, squatted about on mats,. lay on the eartliern floor. An old Maori, with tattooed face, and two or three children, were devouring with the aid of iron spoons some maize “ mash,’’., made of rotten corn, and the. atmosphere of the place was anything but invigorating. The wharcs were substantially constructed of raupo—a long grass taken from swamps—on a wooden framework. The fire is made in a hole dug out in the centre of the floor, and, as there is no chimney to the whare, the sm»ke fills the upper part of the little habitation. The Maoris, however, sit on the floor,’ and thus avoid the nuisance in a great measure. The natives are very sociable, and gratefully ,ackno\V? ledge a little,- attention.... paid to Having “ done ’’ the pah, in a short tiling we "returned to town by another" road, - passing an old redoubt outside of which . several of General Cameron’s men were murdered during the war. The Maori is now, however, a peaceful subject ;'and, although many of them visit Hawera daily, there is seldom any need.for;theservices of a police officer. (To he continued .)