Some Reminiscences.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1920, Page 11 (Supplement)

Some Reminiscences.

EARLY DAYS IN TARANAKI.

A TRUE STORY.

(By W.8.D.)

To you of the present generation I thmk a little story of the difficulties and dangers of early life in this our fan land should prove interesting. It is really astonishing that there was not more blood shed. Picture to yourself, dear reader, a beautiful land like North Turanaki was in the forties and fifties. The Maoris had been fighting each other until they were almost annihilated, for ten years prior to the arrival of the Plymouth Company's settlers, who landed at Moturoa in 1841. The land was in a state of nature, and these worthy pioneers (my amongst Ihein) commenced to occupy S ; the lands they !i ad bought. They were not left m p«.,0 very long. The portion of the tavfliialu Maoris who had escaped with their lives to various parts of'.'JNew Zealand came back again to occupy their ancestral lands, on the pleaf that the Waikatos were not occupying them. Then the trouble commenced to brewj and this is the subject of my little story

Early j n the fifties the Tataraimaka bock was occupied by Europeans, -and all land lying between the Timaru stream and Omata was in the possession of some very turbulent Maoris, who seemed to come in vast numbers from somewhore, and cultivate land and build large pas. Some of them considered'it right to cultivate land that had been sold and was occupied by the pakeha. Picture to yourself a little two-roomed raupo whare, with calico windows and doors, with a cob chimney situated on Greenwood's Flat (now Honovfleld's tarm), and an acre of Maori "wheat growing close to the little home A Maori nicknamed Obndiah owned the wheat. Prioki, his wife, a little six-year-old boy and the writer occupied the whare. Fences there were none in those days. Prioki owned a pair of bullocks and one day when he had gone to New Plymouth with his bullocks and cart to fetch stores Obadiah thought it a good time to show his might over a helpless woman and two little boys. '■' Hide Samuel and Willie; here is Obadiah coming! ' screamed Mrs. Prioki. We saw this great, half-naked savage eomin* at «• rapid pace toward the whare "The woman shut the door in his face (which is considered an insult in Maori custom) and in the space of two second? the door was pushed down on Mrs. mom. Nest moment we saw her raised ( on her knees, and the Maori holding her by the hair by his left hand, and with his tomahawk in his right., dancing round the woman, and then as if something had startled him, he let her alone and ran awav towards the pa, which was about a "mile distant, and on descending the hill of the timaru Valley, he met the husband who W as returning from town with his oullocks and cart. "Give me the blocks'' Bhonted the savage. "I will have tho bullocks as utu for damajre done to my wheat." He then rushed to the head of the animals to pull out the pole pin, with a view to detaching the cart. A wrestling match commenced, and the Maori raised his weapon over the pakeha, who fell on his knees and prayed to the Almightv This seemed to give Obadiah a shock, and he left Prioki alone and went his way