FIRST ON THE TARARUAS.

Shannon News, 31 March 1925, Page 3

FIRST ON THE TARARUAS.

MURE EARLY HJ.STUKY

Recently the Ciironiele published some correspondence and noted dealing with tne erection oi the first trig stations on this side, of tne Xararuas, and revealing a. difference of recollection as to tne surveyor responsible. Mr J. Kebbeli has. in me meantiine oonunuxncated with Mr Morgan Carkeek, one q 1 the pioneer surveyors, now living at W.aikanae, and enquired from nun as to ins knowledge oi the points raised, ne lias received in reply a .very interesting letter, giving Mr carkeen s reminiscences of me first survey. He says; “To answer your questions, you are quite right, i did build the on, Ml. Dunuas. The other man Is also rignti. Mr Mitchell built a station on the peak which is called Pukemoremore. This is not the Maori name nor did the Maoris ever use that name as lew oi them outside of our Qamps ever heard tiie story of how the bull was so named. The meaning is not ‘Bald HUi,’ as stated in the newspaper. The name of the Maori who is stated to have made the joite was not “Taagatapurahia,’ but Taniiti Hurahia,” He may have been with Mr Mitcmell, but 1 never beard o.f it. He was one of my men when I built the Mt. Dundas trig. The native name of these peaks is Ngapauketuua—some Maoris point ed to one peak and some to the other, so that I expect it applied to both. Tiie naming /of Pukemoremore took placq at the main camp at Muhunoa. One fins summer evening, before starting to build the station, Mr Mitchell came out of his tent without a' cap, but with his note book, and commenced sketching the peaks of the range where lie proposed to build the trig, we turned to some of the men were sitting behind him and asked in the usual unpleasant manner he had of speaking to his men: “What is the name of that hill?” pointing fcft Ngapuketurua. The man waited until the surveyor turned away, and then pointing to his bald head, he replied “Pukemoremore,” which means “Bald Head,’ not “Bald Hill.” This reply greatly pleased the men and their native friends who were visiting the camp and was greeted with a shout of laughter, which, of course, Mr Mitchell could nQt understand. Mr Carkeek says the, surveyor never heard of the joke, as lie was a quicktempered man and no one in his party would have dared to tell him. The story is not known in the Department to this day and therefore the official records have not been altered. Mr Carkeek goes on to explain how both he and Mr Mitchell came to build trigs on peaks only about a mile apart. Mr Mitchell was a good surveyor, in fact, one of the best m the service, but like all men from the Old Country, was quite useless in the bush and would not listen, to his Maori guides. This may ha.ve accounted for the trouble which arose over the erection of the station on Pukemoremore, as it turned out that it was not visible from any of the stations which Mr Carkeek had erected from the Wairarapa aide. The Chief Surveyor (Mr Jackson) was exceedingly annoyed about this and he and Mr Mitchell had a difference and the later eventually left the service. Mr Carkeek was thereupon appointed to complete the triangulation. This took about two years, so that the whole work, including the trig and topographical maps was completed about the year 1876. The minor triangulation from the northern end of the major triangulation, with good topographical maps was done by Mr W. Baber, from Auckland. The southern triangulafion was done by Mr j. D. dymie, of the Wellington staff, whose plans Of this rough district are some of the best in the survey office. Mr Carkeek states one of. the first works he was instructed to do was to move the station from Pukemoremore to the other peak of Ngapuketurua, now called Mt. Dundas. He “explains that Mr Girdlestone” came on to, the Tararuas some thirty- years later to re-observe some of. the stations, Mt. Dundas being one of them He may have repaired and repainted it as no doubt it required attention, being then over 30 years old. Mr Carkeek states that he built the first frig on the Tararua Range on the highest peak visible from Master ton, now called Mt. Hoidsworth. This was in 1865, before Mr Mitchell bad joined the service. The same year he made a topographical sketch flan oi the country from Masterton to Gfaki so that he was not only ?ha first European to get to the top oi pie Tararua range, but was tne fifh to cross the range from the Wu/rarapa to the West Coast.