THE STIRRING DAYS
SOME REMINISCENCES. (By "Fifty-one" in Stratford Pout). ISeing in Hawcra on Thursday, I dropped across Mr. John Flynn, who was wounded at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu in Sep- | tember. ISOS, at the same time that Major Von Tcmpsky and other officers and men were killed'and wounded. After tlic usual greetings the first words uttered by Mr. Flynn were: ''l see that Wilson Hursthouse has gone. A finer man never existed." I agreed with him, as from my earliest I recollection Wilson Hursthouse stood | high in my estimation a.s all that was i manly. . [ "Do you know," went on Mr. Flynn, •'that 1 am the only one left of five who | originally went to Opunake to start the ! llaxniills there? I went down with Mr. Hursthouse and others in April, JBOO, ] ami. being just after tho conclusion of Tilokowaru's war, we had no enviable billet. It was mere chance that some of the .Maoris did not put the tomahawk into us—they were just in the humor." 1 had ample reason for knowing the' truth of this statement, for I happened to go to Opunake a little later in the same year, and it was some time after I had been there that matters settled down, and those natives who looked murder at first became most friendly, and everything went on swimmingly 'so far as the relations between the*two races were concerned. Had tile flax business gone, on as well, there would have been no regrets with those who put their money into the venture. Our headquarters were at Te Namu, whilst those representing another company were located at ivhat is now known as Opunake proper, ilr. Thomas Kelly, M.L.C., being in charge of the. latter and Mr. Wilson Ilurstliouse of the former. Mr. Richmond Hursthouse—who died in the New Plymouth Hospital during the 190S election, he being a candidate for the Tallin:! inn n i seat—was engaged at Mr. Kelly's works, and -as he could turn his hand to almost anything, the blacksmith's shop was where he was to lie found. All these matters were discussed bv Mr. Flynn and myself, and he speciall'v mentioned the sour looks given to the llaxmill party by a particular Maorione of Titokowaru's fighting chiefs. Jn previous notes I have had'occasion to mention this native, one of whose anus •was nothing but skin and bone, which was the result of waving a shell aside from the mouth of a rifle pit at ihe storming of Johnny's Flat in 180:5 bv' General Cameron. When f first went to Te Namu the chief in question was the most' vicious looking of all the .Maoris we came 111 eonlact with, but he eventually put on .1. sunny smile, and afterwards*there was no better fellow going. I
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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 268, 22 March 1911, Page 2
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459THE STIRRING DAYS Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 268, 22 March 1911, Page 2
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