OUR DISTRICT AND OUR SETTLERS.—No. 4.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 34, 8 January 1884, Page 2

OUR DISTRICT AND OUR SETTLERS.—No. 4.

[ax oca special bztobtzb.) T O B 0 A . Fbom Messrs. Smith Bros.' farm at Pouparae, a spot where the scenery is most picturesque; combining the wildness of the surroiindina mountains in the distance with the rich beauty of the fertile valley, can be seen Mr. A. F. Hardy’s residence peering through clumps of prettily-grown trees. This hom»stead is on 100 acres of the celebrated Makauri Block, and the house, containing eight rooms, which is approached through a narrow avenue of trees and shrubs, made still more beautiful by the existence of rose trees and choice plants, stands within a very short distance of the Middle Boad, threequarters of a mile from the township of Wae-renga-a-hika, and nine miles from the towh of Gisborne. This is a most beautiful piece of country, and where are to be seen here and there numbers of Native whares, surrounded by their cultivations. Mr. Hardy came to this colony twenty-two years ago, and has been connected with thia district during the past eighteen years. He has, therefore, become familiar with the many vicissitudes though which it has passed, and its transformation from barren wastes into fertile lands has passed before hie eyes. By birth Mr. Hardy is an Englishman, but lays claim to a tinge of Welsh blood on his mother's side. He is the seventh son of the late Joseph Hardy, Esq., of Sunny Oak, an enchanting little estate near Birmingham, Worcestershire, a spot in the Old World I have been made familiar with in the course of my travels. I hope the time will oome when such grand old mansions will dot the hills and dales of the District of Poverty Bay. With the rapid strides our settlers are making, and the growing tendency they evince to provide good homes for themselves and their children, many years will not elapse ere the little dwellings to be seen in every direction will give place to others of a more imposing appearance, and of a more permanent character than can be hoped for with only timber at command. In the course of time, when the resources of the Patutahi limestone deposits are brought into play, then will the workers in stone be found employment in the district,' and the walls of the residences of our chief settlers erected of masonry. But I am forgetting my friend Mr. Hardy, and importing into this sketch an extraneous subject, though, perhaps, one that is destined to become affiliated with our district and our settlers ere many years lapse. Mr. Hardy erected his residence ai Torse in the year 1872, and, to his credit be it said, has displayed coneiderable taste in the layingout of all its surroundings. He took part in the war here in 1865, having been a member of the old Forest Bangers. He also passed through the Waikato, West Coast, and Bast Coast Wars, so that his associations with New Zealand have not been of a purely quiet and peaceful character. As a farmer I am sorry to state he has not been so sueoessful as many of his neighbours, which has arisen through a variety of causes. Prior to the flood in 1879 he was making very good headway. His lands were yielding well, and kia stock had multiplied. As the result of this misfortune, Mr. Hardy’s aheap contracted, through the land being left sodden with water, that fatal complaint known ae longworm, and the flocks died one after another until he had buried no lew a number than 8000. His fences were also destroyed, and the homestead became a wreck—a scene of desolation. AU this damage had to be repaired, but the strain was too heavy for Mr. Hardy’s resources, and he had t«i Bueoumb. He is not the first man Dame Fortune has frowned upon, not merely In New Zealand, but the world over. Let us hope that she wIU yet smile upon him, and that he will presently be able to realise those sanguine expectations he cherished when he flrat began to cultivate the soil of this beautiful little section he holds. The land, how. ever, has received its fuU share of benefit from the flood, and is at the present juncture more valuable than previously. The pasturage on it now is heavy and rich. For some time past Mr. Hardy has given his farm very little attention, excepting an area of ten acres which he utilises to meet the requirements of his own household, the re« maining ninety acres being leased to Mr. W. Cooper, who uses it as a run for his stock, where they thrive amazingly well. Two years ago Mr. Hardy made a trip to England for the purpose of visiting the home of his childhood’s days; but, like most men who have adopted this land as their home, after a few months, and after xine more asso* ciated with his friends, he grew weary of the old world, and longed to return. Mr. Hardy, like many more settlers here, has suffered through the mis-security of Native titles, bo long the bane of this district up to the last sittings of the Native Lands Court in Gisborne. The disabilities have now been generally removed, but the titles in the Makauri Block have been left undefined. Mr. Hardy holds the lands of Toroa as the heritage of his wife, who is a half-caste, the daughter of Amiria Tipoki, one of the grantees of this block. When the questions of boundary, &c., will be settled, now that the Lands Court has postponed its sittings tine die, no one can prognosticate. When the Court was in session at Gisborne recently, strenuous efforts were made to get all the titles defined, but they were futile, and entailed considerable expense and inconvenience to those who are desirous of turning the land they claim to profitable account, either by placing it on the market or by working it. So long as there remains one dissentient among the grantees, so long will the certificates of title and boundary be withheld. Mr. Wi Pere, it is said, has been a great obstructionist to the settlement of this block, and, if he would only yield to some reasonable extent to the wishes of the majority of claimants. the disputes that have caused so much trouble and uncertainty during the past eleven years would have come to an end. The opinion is very generally expressed that Judge Brookfield has accomplished a work in the adjustment of Native titles in this district every other Judge that preceded him was not courageous enough to deai with them ; but, while bearing him this testimony, there exists a feeling that he was remiss in not—to quote an agricultural phrase—“ taking the bull by the horns,” and dealing in a more determined manner with the Makauri Block. In spite of this uncertainty as to title, a vast amount of improvement has been accomplished. Much of the fiax, toitoi, cabbage-trees, and other native vegetation have given place to products suitable to the requirements of the English-speaking race now rapidly populating the District of Poverty Bay. There is no doubt the land in this block was materially benefited through the enterprise and speculation of the late Captain Bead, who, I am told, used it as a tramping-ground at one time for cattle, when no less a number than 4,000 made the place lively with their presence. Possibly some reference to that distinguished old acquaintance will yet find

ha way Into this seriefi oi sketches. In it would be impossible for it to be otherwise. He, in hrs time, played a most important part in Poverty Bay, His relatives have immense interests here at the present time, and are destined to be associated with the district for generations to come. I have digressed considerably in the course of my remarks on Toroa, but my apology is that at this pleasant homestead I found little practical farming work in operation, the cause of which has some connection with the Circumstances I have alluded to. In regard to Mr. Hardy, who has around him a family of seven olive-branches, his first child having died through exposure at the time of the war, I hope that his dark days are nearing their end, and that there is yet a prospect of matters being “ better on before.”