The Thames Goldfield.

Thames Star, Volume XVII, Issue 5199, 15 September 1885, Page 2

The Thames Goldfield.

LECTURE BY MR. JAS. MACKAT.

There was a moderate attendance at the Academy of Music last night, when Mr James Maekay delivered an address upon "The history of the Thames District." The lecture was both interesting and instructive, reference being made to the early history of New Zealand, the origin of the Maori race, and the history of the Thames Gold field.

Mr A. Brodie, County Chairman, occupied the Chair, and briefly introduced the speaker. Mr Maekay, who was received with applause, said he intended dividing the subject of the lecture into three branches —viz.: (1), the discovery of New Zea land ; (2), the origin of the Maori race ; and (3), the history of the Thames Goldfield. It was a well known fact that the Arabian navigators were the first who came into these seas, and it was probable that they visited New Zealand about the fourth century, as a copy of an old Arabian record still existed, and was in the possession of a gentleman of the South Island, which distinctly refers to a mountainous island in the far south-east, which was uninhabited, and on which were gigantic birds known as the " sheemoah." The Portuguese Fernandez also probably visited New Zealand about 1580, and it was from him that the Maoris got the dog. Tasman arrived in 1642, and touched at the north of Nehon; while Captain Cook came in 1769, though the Maoris had several vague traditions regarding the arrival of other vessels some time previous to this. The question next' arose—Where did the ancestors of the New Zealand natives come from? Mr Fen ton, who had gone very deeply into the subject and made a careful study of it, had come to the conclusion that they were identified with the Cushites referred to in the 10th chapter of Genesis, and he (the lecturer) could also supplement that gentleman's evidence with a few additional particulars. Some 2500 or 3000 years ago numbers of the inhabitants of Arabia and Egypt were obliged to migrate therefrom in consequence of pressure from the African population, and being navigators, they began to move eastward, some going to Madagascar, others to Southern India, Java, Hawaii, Easter Island, and even Central America, where they built several cities. Enormous buildings have been found in the forests of Java which were not built by the present raoe of inhabitants, and also on Easter Island images and pillars of porphyry, a stone which cannot be found in situ on that island; The ornamentations on those buildings in some respects contained similar forms, to some of the carvings on Maori buildings. The Egyptian and Arabian women tattoo their lips and chins blue similarly to the Maoris. The original Arabian game of draughts could be played by the Maoris before the arrival of the Europeans in New Zealand. They also made kites of raupo, as they had been accustomed to do with the flags or reeds of Egyptian rivers. The word " ra" represented the sun in the languages, of Arabia, Egypt, Madagascar, Java, and New Zealand, while in Hawaii it was corrupted to "la." It was certain that the Maoris of New Zealand had no knowledge of stone buildings, but he (Mr Maekay) would point out that retrogression of races was nothing new, and instanced JSgyPl—once the centre of learning—? which was not now as enlightened as in the time of the Pharoahs. Both the Papuans and Australian blacks were entirely distinct races, and in every respect inferior to the Maoris; these raaes were probably older than the Maoris. In the same manner he believed the Malaya occupied their islands subsequent to the Arabian Maori migration, as two races were found there—one resembling the Maoris, who are called the " old people of the country," but he did not believe the Maori and the Malay races to have any affinity. The lecturer proceeded to trace the route probably taken by the Maoris in their journey to the Sandwich Islands, where they remained for a considerable period, until at length dissensions arose and several large canoes sailed from Hawaiki —named respectively Te Arawa, Tainui, Klqrahaupo, Matatua, and Taki« turnu. He thought he would be able to satisfy them where the Hawaiki of the Maori was situated, though this had long been a doubtful point. At the time of the first starting of the King movement, the natives built Bunanga houses, which they often named after the canoes. At j Massacre Bay, Nelson, there were two—» one named Tainui, and the other Te UruomanoQQ. He had asked the meaning of the latter name, and was informed that it was the name of a hill at Hawaiki, and in consequence of murders that took place there the Maoris left. Some time after this the lecturer was travelling in company with the late Bishop Selwyn, and he related the circumstance to him, and the Bishop said the uext missionary trip he made to the South Seas be would make inquiry. Some years afterwards the Bishop informed him that there was such a hill at Hawaii, in the Sandwich Islands, and that the legend there was the same as the New Zealand native version aa related to the lecturer, Thia, with the similarity of the language of the Hawaiians to that of tbe New Zealand Maoris, apparently proved incontestably that theso islauds were peopled from the Sandwich Islands. For instance, the name of the large Hawaiian volcano Mauna-loa was Maungaroa in Maori— only the substitution of one consonant for another, "1" for **r." The one people say baeiemai, the other haeremai—similarly, haeleatu, haereatu. The lecturer here gave many other examples, especially the numerals of several islands: two (2) rua, lua, dua, tua; eight (8), waru, walu, wadu, watu, Images in red prophyryare known to have been in the possession of Sir George Grey, Ihe late Mr R. Graham, and the Arawa tribe at Rotorua, which arc alleged to have been brought in the Arawa canoe from Hawaiki. Major Wilson, of Cambridge, gave the late Major Hay £50 for a bird called the " korotangi," ou«ved out of green tale, which was lost by tbe voyagers of the Tainui canoe, aod was found in a care

near Kawhia. There was an old song about the Tainui, in which the following words occurred:-—

O ! the love to my bird— Evening is approaching ', Vainly I enter the house, ■ " Where is my lost Korotjngi These stone figures must have been brought with the people in their wander* ings, and he (the lecturer) believed that they were of Egyptian or Arabian origin. As a proof that the Maoris were at one time in a higher state of civilisation) Mr Maekay quoted a tradition about the creation, as related by an old native priest to the late Rev. Mr Taylor, of Whanganui, long before the Old Testa* ment had been translated into Maori, the words of which agreed, almost to verbal accuracy, with the second and third verses of the first chapter of Genesis. Similarity was shown between the Maori mythology and that of ancient peoples, and a correspondence of dialect amonggt the inhabitants of the Polynesian islands and of Central America. Judge Manning had informed him that aoma of the treaties and other documents of Pizarro and Cortes, found in the archives of Madrid, were writtengin almost pure Maori. After having dealt at considerable length with this branch of bis subject, Mr Maekay proceeded to give the history of the Thames, or Hauraki district, from the visit of Captain Cook to the discovery of gold at Coromandel in '1852. He next alluded to the desertion of that district in 1863 during the war scare by all the inhabitants excepting Mr Lawlor, Resident Magistrate, Mr Tookey, interpreter, and one or two old settlers. He then explained that after the fall of Rangiriri, in the Wai kato war, numbers of natives returnW from fighting, and he (Mr Maekay) was sent from Auckland to accept the surrender ot. the Hauraki natives. He then proceeded to give an account of several rather risky and troublesome incidents connected with this branoh of his services. During this time he had been informed that gold existed at Ohinemuri, and that the natives had found some in digging up kumaras near Euranui. This he reported to the Government in a letter dated 22nd April, 1864. About the same time, Colonel Chesney, R.E;, informed the Government that he had discovered * gold at Te Aroha* In 1865 be succeeded in persuading Taipari to allow prospecting in the block between the Hape and Karaka Creeks, and he gave permission to Messrs Walter Williamson and Joseph Smallman to do so. The natives confined them carefully to that locality, and after a long residence and search thsy were unable to find anything of a payable character. Subsequently two natives — Paratene and Hamiora Kewa—found gold near the Karaka Creek, and Judge Rogan took them to Auckland, with a bottle contain* ing some three or four ounces of gold. Dr Pollen and the lecturer then came to the Thames in a cutter, bringing with them some eight or nine miners. He recognised one now present (Mr Greenville). Gold was found in the Waiotahi Creek, and an agreement was entered into on the 27th July, 1867, with Taipari and three other natives for gold mining on the block between the Hape and Kartka Creeks. He then proceeded to relate the finding of Hunt's claim on the 12th of August, 1867; the opening of Waiotahi on the 3rd September, 1867; the gradual development of the goldfield; also, how the whole country from Cape Colville toTe Aroha, excepting the Whangapoua block, had been gradually acquired from the natives and opened up for mining purposes. -—[This portion of the statement was very interesting, but our space will not permit us to insert it. We are informed that Mr Maekay's friends have requested him to publish the lecture in extenso, whiohbe has promised to dp with the addition of some particulars omitted by him. Had this not been the case we should have given a fuller report.]— The lecturer eon* eluded by quoting the opinion of Captain Cook that " the best place for establishing 1 a colony would be either on the banks of the Thames or the country bordering upon the Bay of Islands." He was pleased to notice the advance made by the district, and believed that it would yet become'• large centre of population. (Applause.) Messrs Lawlor and Renshaw referred (o , the entertaining and instructive manner t in which the lecture had been delivered by Mr Maekay, and at their invitation a hearty vote of thanks was accorded him | by acclamation. A similar compliment to t the Chairman terminated the proceed* in«».