FIFTY YEARS AGO.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 1, Issue 45, 19 November 1912, Page 2

FIFTY YEARS AGO.

O.v page 1 of this issue there will be : found the first of a most interesting scries of articles specially written for the " Times " by Mrs H. Crispe, of Mauku. Mrs Crispe, who is one of \ Mauku's oldest identities, saw Puke- ; k..he in its infancy and was amongst i those who experienced the terrors caused by the Maori tomahawk, j The opfning article shows that in j the early seventies Pukekohe was al- , most "unknown geographically. What is now the main street, and where the railway station and the modern hotel stand, was a forest of trees. The perils of a journey from Pukekohe to Mauku a*e sufficiently pictured. The fighting that took place at Pukekohe East, and the historic attack upon the brave garrison who sheltered in the church there, are briefly described. The story goes on to the settlement that took place in 1865-1866, and it is explained how the land was distributed and occupied. The authoress of this series of lis an observant mind and a facile style of expression, and a contemplation of the hardships and perils of fifty years ago, as described by Mrs Crispe, ought to promote a keener appreciation of the pastoral beauty, progress and smiling prosperity of the Pukekohe district to-day.