A Tour in New Zealand.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 975, 3 September 1881, Page 2 (Supplement)

A Tour in New Zealand.

From Auckland to the Bluff. [From the Melbourne Leader}. Returning to Auckland from the Waiwera hot baths, preparations are next made for continuing the tour around the North Island. Having come up the East Coast from Wellington, I resolved to return by the West Coast, in order to see New Plymouth and Mount Egmont, as well as the town of Nelson in the South Island. At Auckland a narrow strip of land only seven miles in width separates the West Coast from the East. The railway which runs from the shores of Auckland Harbor to Onehunga on Manukau Bay may be said to run through suburbs all the way, for only on a small portion of the intervening space do the residences of the Auckland citizens give place to dairy farms, which are large enough to give the district a rural appearance. Onehunga, which is little more than a second port of Auckland, is a small scattered village around a number of goods-sheds and large stores. Starting from the substantia’ wooden pier in the Union Company’s steamer Penguin soon after noon, we had a pleasant trip down the fine expansive bay, and we were out to sea before nightfall. The Penguin is a very comfortable little boat, and as the weather -was fine we had none of the mixed experiences which accompany a rough voyage. Some time in the night we anchored off New Plymouth, so that on coming on deck in the morning one of the grandest sights of the whole trip met our view. Mount Egmont, a majestic snowcapped cone, towering to the height of 8,270 feet, was seen in the clear morning light, and as it rises abruptly from the plain, with no other mountains in sight, its gigantic proportions are fully appreciated. I did not see Mount Cook in the South Island, which is 13,200 feet in height, but its wonderful glaciers and its grand alpine scenery are enthusiastically dilated upon by all who have undertaken the not difficult task of visiting it from either Wakatipu, Oamaru, or Christchurch. Mount Egmont was the most impressive sight I had seen in New Zealand, and it made me wish I had visited Mount Cook. We started on our voyage at nine o’clock, and had the mount in view all day like a vast white pyramid on the horizon. On a clear day it can be seen nearly as far south as Nelson, being a fine landmark for mariners, as well as a delight to all lovers of the grand in nature who sail the West Coast.

New Plymouth is a somewhat scattered town of between 2000 and 3000 inhabitants, being the chief town of the Taranaki Provincial District. Its mokt prominent feature is a small conical hill, upon which the policebarracks are built, and which was formed into a fort on one occasion during the Maori war, when it was feared the town was about to be attacked. The bay is a good deal exposed to the winds, and as no harbor works have been carried out surf boats have to be used in landing or shipping goods or passengers. There is good country at the back of New’ Plymouth, but as most of the land is heavily timbered, grazing is the chief support of the district. Large quantities of fungus, which has some commercial value, are collected off the trees and logs, and a considerable number of pheasants are sent away from the port. English pheasants are plentiful in the Bou£h Island, and in some parts of the North Island they are so numerous as to be called the “pheasant nuisance.” One of the passengers who was trying to disparage New Plymouth said that its chief exports were “ the two F’s, fungus and pheasants.” Nelson was reached early the next day after leaving New Plymouth, and as we did not sail again until the evening there was time to have a good view of the pretty little town. It has a good harbor, and the scenery is pretty enough in sailing up to Nelson to put you in a good humor with the town. About a mile from the wharf is the town proper, containing nearly 7000 inhabitants. Surrounded by gardens, orchards and hop grounds, Nelson is situated at the foot of a semicircle of steep, high hills ; and although there is nothing but plainness in the streets and buildings, there is sufficient neatness to make up a pleasing effect. Hops and fruit are sent from this port to al] parts of the Colony, and a jam factory is being established, which will be of considerable val ue in utilising the chief product of the place. The province of Nelson is very mountain-

ous, the fertile valleys being very limited in extent; and grazing is the principal industry. There is a little gold mining, however, and extensive deposits of iron sand on the north coast are expected to be very valuable. The development of mineral wealth is the only hope Nelson has of increasing much beyond its existing limits. At present it has the appearance of being a finished town. A number of retired military officers and other persons having fixed incomes live quietly at Nelson, and I have no doubt they have a very pleasant, although not very exciting, time of it. The French Pass was the chief object of interest after leaving Nelson, and we reached it in a few hours. The steamer passed through a narrow' channel between the high rocky cliffs of the mainland and an island, and entered into a Sound, which had all the appearance of being a lake. In addition to the picturesque cliffs of the Pass, the large body of water which, accumulating in the Sounds to the eastward, swells and foams as it rushes through the outlet of only a few’ chains in w’idth, makes this part of the voyage somewhat exciting, and presents a striking contrast to the placid surface of the beautiful Sounds which succeeds. Nightfall came on, however, and it was not until next day that we saw much of the Sounds. We stayed a few hours at Picton, the chief tow’n of the Marlborough Provincial District, but as w e left about midnight there was no opportunity of getting a view of the place. The small town seemed to be surrounded by lofty hills, and w T ould no doubt have been worth seeing in daylight. The Penguin sailed some time during the night, and if an accident had not occurred we should have missed seeing the scenery of the Sounds, which is among the prettiest in New Zealand.

“ We’re aground — stuck on the bank as tight as wax.” said my cabin companion next morning, who had been on deck before I had turned out. As the screw was grinding away as usual, I thought the young man w*as having a joke, but on going on deck I found that the bowsprit was pointing directly into a mountain’s side, its point nearly touching the dark green shrubbery. It appears that during a thick fog our skipper, in making one of the many sharp turns by which the course of the Sound is followed, had turned too quickly at this point, and suddenly found himself taking a short cut overland. The Penguin had a determined look, and no doubt did her best to cut off the shoulder of the hill, but she could not achieve impossibilities. She settled down firmlv on a

clay bank, and notwithstanding the efforts which were made in the way of reversing the screw, and shifting the cargo aft, she remained at rest all that day, and until the following afternoon The Hinemoa, a Government steamer, at length pulled us off, and our ship, which suffered no damage, crossed Cook’s Straits and made into Wellington, in five or six hours afterwards. We had a jolly time over the stranding business, for we wandered along the shore gathering mussels, plunged into the scrub, cutting supple-jack walking sticks and collecting ferns, while fishing, rowing and cardplaying also assisted in making our shipwreck in Queen Charlotte Sound anything but unpleasant. We had all the romance of having passed through the dangers of the deep, and, what was best of all, we had what otherwise we should have missed, the pleasure of seeing the charming scenery of the Sounds. The scenery is not wild and grand like that of Lake Wakatipu or the West Coast, but the hills of medium height, clad with ferns and shrubbery, w T hich border the peaceful blue water of the Sounds, are beautiful in the highest degree. I sailed again in the Penguin to Port Lyttelton, and thence, in different stages, I went overland by rail to the Bluff, a distance of 393 miles. At Dunedin Mr. Mills, the popular manager of the Union Steamship Company, kindly showed me the plans of the Manipori, a new steamer which the company is having built for the New Zealand and Australian trade. The Manipori, which will be out next season, will be quite as large as the Kotomahana and Te Anau, and will be built upon an improved style. I have often thought that the stern of a ship was a bad place for the saloons, for there the grinding of the screw is most disagreeably felt, and the smoke and foul smells of the ship “ most do .congregate.” All this will be reversed in the Manipori. The sailors will be quarted over the screw, and the pas- ; Bilgers will be accommodated forward

and amidships. Sie will have a complete steel upper deck covered with Kauri pine, and Kmri pine will also be largely used in ftting up the cabins. The length is to be 285 feet, the beam 36 feet, deplh of hold 25 feet, draught 16 feet 3 inches, and gross tonnage 1750 tors. There is to be , accommodation fo’ 120 passengers in the saloon and 125 in the steerage. Being provided yith compound surface condensing engines, with 41-inch and 70-inch cylinlers, she is calculated to steam not less than 14 knots an hour. This valuable addition to the company’s fleet las been designed by Messrs. W. Deny and Co., Dumbarton, and is being built by Messrs. W. Denny Brothers. Upon arriving at Invercargill I found that I had made the mistake of visiting the place after my description of it had been published. It is better, I should say, for a traveller to defer writing his opinions until after he has taken his departure from a place, for thereby he may be saved some little trouble. I found that I was wanted by the owner of the Theatre Royal, whose establishment I had disparaged. The Royal not being open when I was in Invercargill I based some uncomplimentary remarks upon outside appearances, without learning the fact that the inside of the theatre had recently been renovated and decorated in very creditable style. My attention was called to this fact upon my second visit, and I have no doubt that if I had to make the tour of New Zealand now that my reports have appeared, I would have my attention drawn to the many sins of ommission and commission which are almost inseparable from a somewhat hasty journey through such a large and important Colony. I escaped unhurt, however, from Invercargill, where, as in other parts of New Zealand, I had been kindly treated during my stay ; and taking the Bluff train I proceeded to join the Rotorua, which was to take me home to Melbourne. It was on a line of railway which formerly was laid between Invercargill and the Bluff that the historical incident of the butter woman occurred. The train used to travel somewhat slowly, and on one occasion the butter woman, when proceeding to the Bluff w’ith her basket, refused to get into the train when it stopped for her, remarking by way of apology, “ I am in a hurry today.” On stopping rather long at a station as we travelled down, one of the passengers remarked, “ I suppose we are waiting for the butter woman and strange to say I found, on going out, such was actually the case. The butter woman with her basket got in, and we proceeded on our way. What an altered state of things, I thought. Once the butter woman would not wait for the train ; now the train has to wait for the butter woman. Railway travelling has no doubt improved since twenty years ago, but of course the butter woman is not as young as she used to be. The voyage from the Bluff to Melbourne direct generally takes five days, but owing to a head wind and heavy sea it took six days before the Rotorua landed us at the Queen’s wharf.