NOTES OF A JOURNEY TO WARKWORTH.

Wairoa Bell, Volume IV, Issue 149, 10 June 1892, Page 2

NOTES OF A JOURNEY TO WARKWORTH.

[ Written fob the Wairoa Bell ]

Having some business to transact lately at Maungaturoto and Warkworth, I got my horse across the river in the s.s. Kina after some little difficulty. Horses seem to have different dispositions ; they are not all alike, A friend’s horse, which was shipped the same day, was persuaded to walk on to the steamer, across a narrow plank, without the least, difficulty, whereas mine, after being- got into a horsebox, stood straight up on end, broke his bridle, then lay down flat, and trembled like a man iu the horrors. However I got away from Mititai all right, and started on the first stage of the journey to Matakolie. The road past Mr Montgomery’s and Mr G. Dreadon’s has been hut recently formed by the County Council, and the portion through the hush is iu a dreadful condition. The old track used to go along a fern ridge with a g-ood g-rad-ient, and very dry. and some people think it was a mistake to take the road on its present course. Past Mr S. Webb’s place at Rockvale, a good work is being done, as the road has been cleared the full width, and some culverts are being put in and some little drains being dug. The boundary of ihe Otainatea county is a little past here. The road 1 trough, the bush beyond Mr Fitness has been greatly improved, being cleared to its full width and graded in places. Some portions have been metalled with limestone : this makes a good road whilst dry but gets very had when wet. Some miles jiast Mr Fitness’ the road mounts to the top of a very high hill, quite in the old style of road surveying. A grand view can he obtained at the top but this doss not compensate drays for the trouble of getting there. Some time in the near future no doubt, heavy compensation will require to be paid to avoid this hill. Settlement is proceeding apace in this part of the district- But a few years ago the road went for seven miles through the almost unbroken solitudes of the hush. Now nearly the whole of this distance is fenced, cleared and in good grass. Beyond the bush the road is a mere track without any attempt at grading until Matakolie is reached about twenty-five miles from Mititai. Here too the road has been metalled with limestone, which is cheap and abundant. I was informed that Mr N. Wilson of Mahurangi considers it to he hydraulic lime. The land in Matakolie is of generally inferior quality, and the grass seems to be fed terribly close. Nevertholess some very pretty homesteads are to be seen. The view from the main road, down the Arapaua river is one of the best on the journey. I arrived at Mr Isbister’s after dark and obtained very comfortable quarters for self and horse. My horse being new to the work I bad some difficulty with him for a while, and at last : had to rush hint into the stable tail foremost, after which lie settled down in peace. Mr Isbister is a fine old patriarch, one of the original Nonconformist settlers, and still full of life and information. He is the Chairman of the Otainatea County Conn -il, and draws up with his own hands the specifications for contracts, and acts as Inspector also. The old gentleman

still has £ large share of the warlike spfi it of the old English dissenters, and I found his conversation both interesting and instructive, A cute individual, hearing that a stranger was passing through the district, thought to save himself the trouble of carrying a parcel to another settlement and accordingly came to look me up, but the old gentleman refused point blank to let him have the opportunity of saving his own hones by imposing his burden on a stranger. Matakohe has a church, a public hall, a European, and 1 think a native school, and a telephone office. From Isbister’s store the road descends by a good gradient to a broad creek, which is crossed by a wellconstructed causeway. Very soon afterwards the Matakohe liver is crossed by a fine bridge and Mr Hardy’s place is reached, which is one of the best in the district. A large amount of ploughing- seems to he done here, the land consisting of gently relling slopes. The road has lately been deviated through Mr Hardy’s place, and a much better grade obtained. Beyond Mr Hardy’s, surveyors were at work, laying out a fresh road round a high hill, which has always been an obstruction to wheeled traffic.

(To be continued)