MR. W. H.SKINMER.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 46, 9 October 1911, Page 3

MR. W. H.SKINMER.

INTEBESmo EXPUHIEXCES

In :i. letter to his mother, written from Port Underwood, Cloudy Buy, on September 16th, Mr W .11. Skinner relates some experiences ho hud met with which will no doubt interest, many of our readers, says the “Taranaki Herald.” At the time of writing he was weather-bound at a settler’s house in one of the small bays opening on Port Underwood. Ho says:—

“Last night I stayed with Mr John Guard, who was born at the windingstation in Tory Channel In 1881, and, on returning from Sydney in 1831 with his mother and father by the barque Harriot, was wrecked a few miles south of Cape Egmrnt, on the beach now known as the Harriet beach. John Guard and his mother fell into the hands of the Maoris and were rescued some eight r enths later by the, man-of-war Alligator. ~ He has been living in those parts, whaling and farming, all h's life. He remembers quite well tlio Amelia Thompson arriving from England with settlors in 1841 and anchoring in Ocean Bay. Several of the passengers came over the hills and visited his father’s whaling station in the adjoining hay. He went on the ship with his father, and well r< members the large number of children on hoard, as ho then for the lirst time in Iris life played with English children, which was, of cons so, quite a now experience to him. He understood you came into Cloudy Bay for fresh water and as you were getting light. I am very glad to have found out the’ exact spot where, p r ou first cam© 'to an anchor, and wherr grandfather first landed,, and at some other time, when we have more settled 'weather, I shall visit the bay in one of tlio many motor' beats that run up and down those poasts..

“Yesterday wo had beautiful weather for my first run down Queen Charlott’s Sound into t e country discovered and mapped out by Captain Cook. Amongst the nassciigers who were taking a .vuh am ind by this little mailbpat (10 tons) was an elderly man with whom I got into conversation . Ho said something about the war in Taranaki, and I asked him if he took part in that. Ho said 'Yes,' and, pointing to a wound in Lis rigui hard, he said, ‘I got that there.’ 1 said, ‘What is your name ‘Mv name is Wolf.’ I said, ‘Are you the man that Joe Ward shot who i < : sentrygo P’ ‘l’m the man,’ lib replied, lietold me. old Thomas’' W’iir.ai' Shuts died in the Old People's Home, Wellington, at the ago’ of dfi and his wife lived to ba 9G. ’ .He la.a small farm cut of Nelson, and 1 has evidently sufficient ’to live upon vithemt further work. It was g strange place to meet this man, who J the-light was dead long ago.” On the following Holiday Mr Skinner reached Ocean Bay (or Amelia Thompson Hiiyen, ..as.Jie prefers to call it) in a motor launch, and here he met tlm. JLleu. Mr Crump, who keeps a boarding-school there. Mr Crump wa| formerly a .missionary in the South "Seas, and is a nephew of the lieu r .Mr Crump once stationed in New Plymouth. On the Tuesday he writes?,! “My first work was to thoroughly inspect , ithe bay and try and picture where the AmoV'a Thompson lay at anchor, . The stieam is still running strong from winch you would -have replenished the- watercasks, and in -the opposite corner of the bay is the sandy beach where grandfather, used his net. It is a beautiful beach for the purpose, and it is here that they draw their nets at the present time and get fairly good hauls, but nothing like what he would in those days, Let ire the fish wore frightened away by the noisy motor launches that ply in and out constantly now. After this I walked over the hills and stood on the point overlooking the old whaling station of Guard, son., and strangely, enough down below on the beach there was a gang of men,,.,, descendants of the original whalers, melting out the blubber of a right whale, harpepned out in Cloudy Bay last week,, The smell reached mo away up on th i hills. Some of the Amelia Thompson people walked over . these same, hills and visited the whaling station, so old John Guard told, me.”