PAGES FROM THE PAST

Taranaki Daily News, 15 July 1922, Page 9

PAGES FROM THE PAST

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT, FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY DESCRIBED. (By _ “Juvenis.”) Taranaki must have been a very beautiful place in the, early days. It -is still regarded as. the “Garden of New’ Zealand,” but the march of civilisation has brought about the destruction of much of the beautiful ibush that clothed the gentle slopes from mountain to sea. I have been re-reading Charles Hursthouse’s “Account of the Settlement of New Plymouth,” and I am tempted to re-print some passages in order to give the present generation an idea of aspect and features of their province in the early forties. Charles Hursthouse also wrote a book on New Zealand, and a most interesting work it is, for be wielded a facile and potent pen, and had strong convictions as well as strong prejudices, especially in regard to missionaries. His book in connection with Taranaki was written for the British public, and, reading it, one is impressed by his obvious sincerity and sense of fairness. He does not exaggerate; he states the position as he found and knew it,. and ijd one attracted to the settlement by his writings could ever have accused' him of misleading them. First of all he deals with the quality of the soil, its suitability for all the year working; then he discusses the climate and the general features of the country. He says:

The soil is so light that the effects of the heaviest rain soon disappear. Tn the richest district in Scotland, the “Carse of Gowrie,” it is said that there are only twenty weeks in the year, fit for ploughing, and thirty are probably over the average, in England: here it would be difficult to find a day when, as regarded the mere state of the soil, ploughing, or any other operation, could not be performed with the greatest fjir ility. A SALUBRIOUS CLIMATE. This climate, as might be expected, is ■highly salubrious. The children born .here are considered by their mothers to be remarkably fine, and. making all due allowance for maternal hyperbole, they certainly promise to be a large and robust race. By the census of ]847, the population'was 1137; the births that year and in 1846, when the census was 1089, amounted jointly to 104, the deaths to fourteen, two of which were accidental; yet, in 1847, fever and hooping-cough were introduced into the Settlement from Auckland. This shows the annual ratio of births to be one in 18; of deaths, one in 159; whereas in England, the births are one in about thirty-two—the deaths one in forty-four. This comparison does not prove Taranaki to ibe superior in salubrity to England to the enormous, extent indicated these figures; for some fatal diseases common to humanity have not yet been introduced into the country, and most of the emigrants to this Settlement were in the prime of life. On the other hand, however, recollecting that the pioneers or first settlers in a wild country Irove to undergo considerable hardships, it will probably be admitted that the small proportion of deaths to births which these returns exhibit, must be partly owing to the excellent climate of the district. Vibrations, or slight tremblings of the earth,, are occasionally experienced, but have never, in the memory of the oldest natives, caused the least damage.

A BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE. The general appearance of the Settle- 1 raent is very beautiful. On approaching it from the sea, the town, or, rather, village, is seen snugly situated near the beach, its white houses contrasting prettily with the vivid greenness of all around. Behind, and on either side, are the near whilst frequently some rising columns of smoke will indicate the more distant clearings. Almost i to the water’s edge, and for a considerj able distance back, the country is covered with a luxuriant growth of fern, joining a forest ever fresh and green, and of the richest foliage; to this, as a fitting background, sixteen , miles from the coast, is seen a range of wooded hills, from which rises Mount Egmont, the finest natural object in New Zealand, 9000 feet high, of a beautiful cone-like shape, thickly wooded round its base, but always capped with snow and dazzling white, Mount Egmont is quite the pride of the Settlement, and the admiration of every beholder. The country is undulating, and so interspersed with small dells that almost every section possesses one. These dells, although causing some broken ground, are nevertheless beneficial to the cultivator. and a marked and beautiful feature in the scenery. They vary in size from half an acre to two or three acres, are densely wooded, and generally contain a small but unfailing spring. Thus they afford a near’ supply of wood and water, shade and shelter for stock; or, when partly cleared out and opened to the right aspect, the finest spot for orchards, or for the growth of any plants requiring rich soil and close protection from wind. The graceful fern-tree here attains its largest size, displaying its elegant leaves in fine contrast with the fuchsia, the laurel-like karaka, and the rich and varied shades of the dense foliage around. f The dells mostly resound with the song of birds; and," scattered through the cultivations, give close shelter in harvest time to that petty depredator on the corn-fields—the * elegant green parroquet. The most phlegmatic admirer of the beauties of Nature would be charmed with the appearance of the country. For those who prefer the grand and romantic, there is a lofty snow-capped mountain, with its noble slopes and woodcrowned ranges. The taste for sylvan scenery and quiet rustic beauty is equally gratified by the frequency of . stream and forest, glade and valley, clearings and snug homesteads; few countries offer so many beautiful and convenient sites for either cottage or mansion.

A FRUITFUL SOIL. The district possesses an abundance of water. Betweeen the town and the river Waitara, a distance of ten miles, there are eight fine running streams. Springs and rivulets abound, and in the few wells which have been sunk, water was generally obtained at from thirty to fortv feet. The soil may be called a very light, friable loam, with a porous subsoil: it is divided, locally, into three sorts, each marked by a different vegetation. The first is but a strip, extending along the coast, covered with light fern, interspersed with tufts of grass, and freely mixed, especially near the shore, with the black jronsand which is so plentiful here. The productive powers of this sand aro rather surprising. Almost on the beach, within sixty yards of high-water mark, .some early emigrants formed a few rough gardens, which produced excel-

lent crops of vegetables Uand, strange as it may seem to an English farmer, upwards of sixty bushels of wheat have been obtained from a quarter of an acre of nearly the same description of soil. The second division, adjoining this, is a tract of great extent, covered with fern, six to eight feet high, intermixed with a small bush called “tutu,” and a species of tall grass called “toe-toe.” The surface is a vegetable decomposition of from seven to ten inches, matted together by the fern-root, with a light, yellow' subsoil of many feet in depth, entirely free from stones, shells, gravel or

clay. The principal farms are on thi4 land; and it may here be observed thalj the chief difference, as respects the cnl< tivation of the soil and the proceeding. '.9g that it requires more exposure before} cropping. The third division is the bush, nr for* est land, which joins the fern, and ex« tends along the country in a rather irre* gular line, two to five miles from the coast, and a considerable distance back into the interior. This soil in appearance resembles the second description of fern-land, but turns up quite mellow, and fit for cropping at once.