OUR DISTRICT AND OUR SETTLERS— No. 8.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 55, 1 February 1884, Page 3

OUR DISTRICT AND OUR SETTLERS— No. 8.

A TRIP UP THE COAST, (rt ova smciai Mronnb.t sia anonoi wbithorx's tutaboa station. Tn first " East Coaster " I met at Tuparoa was a very old New Zealand identity, Colonel the Hon. Sir George Whitmore, M.L.C—under what circumstances the reader already knows. There on the beach stood this extraordinary man, a knight in the garb of a bullock-puncher, as cheerful and as merry as a sand-boy. It is no insignificant trait in the character of a man of Sir George’s standing and position in life to see him, after passing thmngh 30 many vicissitudes of Colonial lifethrough times of war and peace—engaged in the work of opening up the wild wastes of the Colony, and preparing the way for those Who will follow in the fulness of time, and Cultivate the lands. I cannot say that the gallant knight, when located at hrs Tuparoa homestead, puts his hands to the plough, but, afa England’s Premier, Mr. Gladstone, he wields the axe, and by his strokes down come the scrub and the trees, in preparation of the land for the sowing of grass, to afford food for cattle and sheep. The advent of Sir George Whitmore at Tuparoa has given new life to the locality. His influence has caused regular communication by the Southern Cross steamer to the port of Tuparoa, which proves of great benefit to the locality, and very convenient to the travelling public. The opening up of his run there has created a demand for labor. He is intent on effecting every necessary improvement in road-making, fencing, draining, and the erection of buildings adapted to his station requirements. The first sight that attracts a traveller from the sea is the snug little house the proprietor has erected for his own and manager's dwelling, place. In dose proximity is a spacious woolshed, equipped with every contrivance for sheep-shearing, packing, and pressing the wool, surrounded by stockyards and small paddocks. It can with truth be said of the subject of tins sketch that "he has turned the sword into a ploughshare, and his spear into a pruning-hook,” only I must convert the ploughshare into an axe, and the pruning ■ hook into a modern fern - nook, for these, supplemented with a spade, are the pioneer implements of civilisation he now Usee with the dexterity of a young man of B summers. Having, as a soldier, through many hot campaigns—nobs Kaffir, Crimean, and New Zealand wars, in addition to service in India—he has seen much of the world, and knows what it is to rough it in every sense of the word. It would be superfluous for me to attempt to describe what the old Colonel has passed through during hie association with the Colony as a bravs soldier, and latterly as a settler and statesman. His heroic deeds are written on almost even page of New Zealand history. He has been loyal to his Queen and this, his adopted, country. The men who served under nim respect his name; he, in turn, as every good soldier who has " swayed the sceptre " over his troops does, honors the memory of the soldiers who fell by his side, end the names of those who have survived to tell the tales of those days When they held, as it were, only a momen. tiry lease oi life. And what is more meet than that one who so fought to retain thia sunny land as a jewel in Queen Victoria's diadem should in his declining years settle upon a portion of it, end live the life of peace and concord, even among so many who were obce foes worthy of his steel, following pastoral pursuits. is a member of tbe Legislative Assembly bi New Zealand, Sir George Whitmore has also been most serviceable to the Colony, always endeavoring to legislate in every direction beet calculated to ensure commercial prosperity and the stability of New Zealand; " Progress" has been embluoned on his political standard. He has been true to that flag as he has been under the old Union Jack, Hie call to the Upper House end his knighthood were well-earned recognitions of his useful devotion to Queen, country, and

colony. Although our soldier-settler has taken up bo much land at Tuparoa, it is not reasonable to suppose he has any intentions of making his East Coast estate hie permanent abode. This ie at Clive, Hawke’s Bay. His object is to get the land in this part of the Colony opened up and made productive. The man who produces a crop of potatoes is a benefactor to his country. The man who places on waste lands herds of cattle and thousands of sheep, increasing their number year after year, in the natural order of things, and, by their means, provides food for the people, in a belt of territory at first unfitted for other purposes, expending his capital in the enterprise, and putting forth the labor of his own hands in the accomplishment of such a work, must rank high as a special benefactor. In this light I can but regard the efforts now being made by Sir George Whitmore in the work he is now accomplishing in the neighborhood of Tuparoa. The area of this estate is 20,000 acres, 6,000 of which have already passed through the Court and are freehold. The run, through which passes the rdad to the Southern Cross Oil Springs, extends from Whareponga to Reporua, on the sea coast, and is bounded at the back by the Waiapu River. It includes a great deal of hilly country, but here and there are several good stretches of flat land, which, when cleared of native vegetation, will be ploughable; but before this can be accomplished much money and labor must be expended. It is, therefore, beneficial to this part of the country that gentlemen like Sir George Whitmore are to be found possessing sufficient capital and enterprise to turn lands that would otherwise remain unproductive to profitable account, and, by stock-farming, pioneer the way for agriculturalists on the flats, and there are at present 9,000 sheep on the run. Upwards of sixty bales of wool were shipped from this station during the present season. There is also a number of cattle on the run. In the immediate vicinity of the station, and in various parts of it, are many small Native settlements. The work of improvement going on affords employment to the Natives who, as a general rule, evince a friendly disposition, and appear pleased with the idea that a real live knight and a legislator is their neighbor. The estate is managed

principally by a cousin of Sir George's, Mr, M. Btopford, and a Justice of the Peace for the Colony; This gentleman very popular at Tuparoa, and deservedly sd; OLD LAND-it ARKS. In close Contiguity to Sir George’s bushlife residence stand the accommodation-house, store, and miscellaneous buildings Belonging to Mr; Milner, who has been a resident r.nd trader there during the past eighteen yeUrs. This old identity is well known in Gisborne and everywhere along the Coast. At his refuge many f-ioisore and heart-sick travellers have been glad to put in a night after the fatigue of a day's travel over the rough tracks to and from Gisborne. Travellers, prior to the discovery cf the oil springs in 1868, were few, so that the accommodation required was not very extensive; Since that period, however, the house has been enlarged by the addition of a dining-room, Outside stables have been erected. In the early days of this accommodation»house it was difficult to obtain fresh meat other than pork, which abounded at that time. Now, with an exten. sive and well-stocked sheep-run adjacent, there will not be that difficulty in the future. Mr. Milner is a member of the Cook County Council, and attends the meetings, though so far distant, with much regularity. In 1865 he nerved as one of the Hawke’s Bay Military settlers, a band of volunteers under command of Captain Fraser } shortly after the seeds of the Hauhau fanaticism were sown along the Coast by the Native Patara, but was not called upon to engage in any active warfare, for Te Kooti and his followers never troubled them at Tuparoa. The discovery of the existence of oil a few* miles from Tuparoa has been the means of increasing Mr. Milner’s business in more than one department. It has given employment to his boats, sometimes made a raid on his beds, and taxed the resources of his larder, store, and bar beyond expectation. One feature about the house is a small library, so that anyone looked in there awaiting a steamer or weatherbound can find entertainment in the “ yellow backs.” Mr. Milner is the Postmaster. General of the Port of Tuparoa, and makes up a mail once a week, which is packed overland to Gisborne.

Possibly, now that this part of the Coast gives promise of becoming something in the future, and as success has crowned his steady plodding, Mr, Milner will erect an hotel suitable to tne increasing trade of the port. To hare presently will be flowing in pipes for shipment the oil from the Southern Cross springs, To this spot it is only natural that settlers will be attracted, and then must follow building operations. Only strike oil, and the City of Tuparoa will, like mushrooms, spring up in a very brief space of time. At Mr. Milner’s hotel I put up, or rather slept out, two nights prior to making my first trip to the Oil Springs. (To be continued.)