OUR COMPETITIONS SCHOOL CHILDREN’S ESSAYS

Taranaki Daily News, 16 December 1921, Page 3 (Supplement)

OUR COMPETITIONS SCHOOL CHILDREN’S ESSAYS

Subject— § I FEATURES OF TARANAKI’S HISTORY, | FIRST PRIZE (£1 Is). —Gwendoline Day (Xew Plymouth Girls’ High School). SECOND PRIZE (10/6). —Mollie Olson (New Plymouth Girltf $ Girls’ High School.) X SPECIAL PRlZE.—Jeanne Delton, New Plymouth. y

i;he past recalleq, SOME NOTABLE (Gwendoline Day, Girls* High School. New Plymouth, aged 17 years.) Tn order to secure a clear perspective of Taranaki's history, we must look carefully not only into the settlement of the pioneers, but also into the hi? 1 tory and traditions of the Maori. Legend says that Manaia was the founder of the Taranaki tribe, who were known as the Ngatiawas. Manaia landed from Polynesia in the Bay of Islands, and travelled up round the North Cape until he came to Waitara. The Ngatiawa tribe settled in Taranaki and built their pas. One of the strongest of these was Pukerangiora, while Rewa Rewa, on the banks of the Waiwakaiho, was a large pa. New Zealand was known to the Portuguese as early aS 1550, when Juan Fernandez is said to have visited it. Abel Tasman sailed along the coast in 1642, and describes Mount Egmont as being like the peak of Teneriffe. He was driven back from the shore by a storm, and he did not see the Sugar Loaves. Abel Tasman named our mountain. Cabo Pieter Boreels. Captain Cook, who arrived here in 1770, describes the Sugar Loaves in his log, and says that he saw a beautiful snow-clad peak rising above the clouds; he named it Mt. Egmont in honor of Earl Egmont.

In 1840, prior to the arrival of the pioneers in Taranaki, Colonel Wakefield sailed along the coast in his ship the Tory. He put Dr. DiefTenbach ashore at Moturoa. Dr. Dieilenbach stayed here for some time, and was the first white man to climb the mountain. His first trial was unsuccessful. He went up the Waiwakaiho valley, but had to turn back and the track was lost. However, he made a second attempt, and was successful in reaching the top, where he found the complete skeleton of a rat, which be supposed had been carried thither by a hawk.

Taranaki’s proximity to Australia and its nearness to Cook Strait caused it to become known. Whales were very plentiful in New Zealand waters, and whaling stations were established, one of which was at Moturoa. From 1831

onwards the Ngatiawas were troubled by attacks from a warlike tribe who came from the Waikato district. The Waikatos first eairte in a. friendly way, saying that shark was scarce in their district, and they had come to look for some; but these men were spies, and about two months later a party of 4060 arrived, and a great massacre of Ngatiawas took place at Pukerangiora Among the white men at the whaling station was Mr. Richard Barrett, who did a great deal in Aelping the Maoris to withstand the attacks of their enemies. Dicky Barrett married the daughter of a chief, and was himself made a chief. The Waikatos took a number of captives back to the Waikato as slaves. After this, the Taranaki natives were in constant fear of attack, and some of them went towards Wanganui, Wellington, and Queen Charlotte Sound. This division of the tribe eventually led to the Maori War. In 1833 a wave of colonisation swept over England, and was increased by a book which Edward Gibbon Wakefield wrote on the matter. In 1839 the New Zealand Company was formed with a view to settling Wellington, and the first ship Tory, in charge of Colonel Wakefield, arrived in 1840. Then the New Plymouth Company was formed in 1840. and the William Bryan, in charge of Mr. Cutfield, arrived at Moturoa in 1841. The early settlers in Taranaki came -from Devonshire, and this is shown in the streets being named after old Devonshire families. LiardetStreet was called after Captain Liardet, who was a Devonshire man. The officers of the New Zealand Company helped the New Plymouth Company, and these two finally merged. into one. Mr. F. A. Carrington came from Wellington to arrange for the landing of the pioneers. He was a surveyor, and laid out a beautiful town, setting aside reserves for education and recreation. Mr. Carrington was a man of great vision and foresight, and Raw the possibility of a harbor. Later he laid the first stone of the New Plymouth breakwater In 1544 Bishop Selwyn built the little chapel of Te Henui. and St. Mary’s Church was begun in 1845, and opened in 1846. The Rev. William Bolland was the first Church of England minister in New Plymouth, but he died at the age of 27. and was succeeded by Rev. Henry Govett. who afterwards became the first Archdeacon of Taranaki. In 1353 the first Provincial Government of Taranaki was elected. New Plymouth was progressing and The News W«ts first published in 1857. But the outbreak of the Maori war held back the advance of the town. Colonel Wakefield bought Taranaki la'nd from the natives, who had been driven out by the Waikatos. who said that the land belonged to them; but when the New Zealand Company came to Taranaki they found that there were still some of\the Ngatiawas in possession of the land, and they also claimed it. Then the Maoris who had been taken in captivity began to come back, and they also claimed that the land belonged to them. As the country was held in community it was very difficult to decide who had the right to sell it. The Company came to terms with the natives, but then the Waikatos came back and said the land was theirs by right of conquest. The Government sent Mr. Spain, from Wellington, to settle the matter. Mr. Spain inquired very carefully about this question of land. He interviewed the Maoris, and at last came to a decision in favor of the pakehas. His decision was called “Commissioner Spain’s Award.” Governor Fitzroy yvould not allow this, and he told the Maoris he was their friend. His action caused the Maoris to become aggressive, and the settlers were forced to come into New Plymouth for safety. Fitzroy then ordered that these settlers be allowed to build on the land which had been set apart by Mr. Carrington for recreation, and so much of our park land was lost. The Maoris continued their attacks,

and the first battle took place at Omata in IStlO. This was the battle of Wairek,a, and was the first in which the New Zealand Volunteers took part. The Maoris were routed, but the white men were continually engaged in skirmishes for nine years, and then the last terrible event took place. The white men had a strong fort on Marsland Hill, where Captain Brown is buried. There was also a stronghold at Whiteclift's, where Mr. Gascoigne lived with his family. T he troops had lately been recalled, and Mr. Gascoigne was at. this place with two other men. In ISCfI some Maoris | approached the place one day, and enticed Milne »and Richards to‘the beach, where they massacred them. They then went up to the block house, where they massacred Mr. and Mrs. Gascoigne and their family of young children. Towards evening, the Rev. John Whitely was seen approaching, and he met the same fate as the others. This dreadful tragedy astounded everyone, because Mr. Whitely had always been fricndlv and very good to the natives, and had done all he could to help them. This was the last event in the war, as the Government discontinued it. New Plymouth is now a flourishing town, and we look forward with confidence to the future. In 18€ d Mr. Hackett made a report on the harbor, and now we are in hopes of a beautiful deep sea harbor which will berth any ship. Tn 1876 the Park and Harbor Boards were formed, and have always done good work. In >1876 New Plymouth was declared a municipality, and was connected by telegraph with Wellington, which was a great step onw’ard.' The unlimited supply of water for the generation of power, the co-operative dairy factories that have been built, the ironsand and oil resources, the prospect of a good harbor, all tend to show that Taranakif will be even more prosperous in the future than in the past, and we must thank those brave, courageous, Devonshire for this beautiful Taranaki.