A TRIP TO MOKAU, VIA PUKETITI AND AWAKINO.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 276, 19 April 1898, Page 4

A TRIP TO MOKAU, VIA PUKETITI AND AWAKINO.

♦ (BY OCR TRAYKLLIXCS CORRKSI'O.NDENT.) (Continued). Saturday morning broke dull and gloomy, and it seemed as if our customary good luck that had stuck to ns in more than one expedition was about to desert us at last. However, there was no turning back, so after an early break, fast we were in the saddle and leaving the homestead at S a.m., two fresh horses being pressed into the service, the third one ridden from Te Kuiti, a tine bay, bred on the east coaPt, Mr Ellis decided to take on. For a start we followed down the Mangaokewa, the track keeping close along the banks which again are at the bot'om of the deep taviiie that seems characteristic rf thisstreim. At rue place we have to ford, and with its swift current it is evident that in winter it must frequently be impassable. A mile or so down from Puketiti, the new road now being formed to Awakino, strikes the Mangaokewa and for the present ends, and must do so until the bridge is put up. This bridge is the most important and urgent work on the road between Waikato and Awak : no, the estimated cost being about £6OO. At this point we leave Mr Ellis' land, and ascending a rather steep hi'l enter the bush clearings of Messrs McNicol Bros., their block containing 3000 acres, and through which for some distance the present road run*. The impression at first received on entering the block is rather a disappointing one, the soil appearing to have more clay in its composition and the limestone to be of a different character, but on Retting fairly into the property we strike the dark loamy soil characteristic of the best limestone land, and in which, whether originally covered by fern or bush, tho grass and clovers grow freely, spreading into a rich close sward even on tho steep sidings. Cattle only are kept at McNicol's, and the damage done by the trampling of heavy an : mals on the soft hillsides was very noticeable, and one might reasonably suppose that a judicious stocking occasionally with sheep would help to consolidate the soil and at tho same time enable the grass to form a close firm swaid. In the pastures Chewing'a fescue was very noticeable, growing freely enough, but its short growth 6ecmed to be more suitable for grazing sheep than cattle. Adjo ; ning this property is that of Mr A. McNicol, of the Wairoa, who has 4000 acres of bush land, but of which only a few hundred acres have been cleared and sown. Here the crass and clover were fairly plentiful, the place being only lightly stocked, and in addition the cattle have the run of the whole block. At this point we ire at the last of the bush clearings on the Waikato side and enter the green bush for a five-mile ride, most of the time travelling through Mr A. McNicol's land. Here the road is of a very rough kind, being merely a bush track following the crest of a sharp ridge, widened and opened chiefly by mobs of cattle brought through by tho Awakino settlers and Mr C. Limmer, the latter being almost continually on the road with cattle. At the time of our visit Mr Limmer had just gone ahead to bring some 350 stores from Waitara, and it speaks well for his driving that up to the present not a beast has been lost by him, though some thousands have been brought through. I may just mention here, as being of interest to our Waikato graziers and cattle breeders, that there is a great probability of a large influx of Taranaki cattle into Waikato takiug place in the near future, the beginning of which we now see. There appears to be no market or outlet for them on the West Coast, where thousands of grown cattle in the Waitara, New Plymouth and other coast districts are at present almost unsaleable, and the prospect of fair prices in Waikato, with a good driving road through, is attracting a good deal of attention. At last we got through the bush and on to the road clearing, which is cut three chains wide through the bush along the line of main road which is to ujnuect Waikato with Awakino. The cltarmg has just been sown with grass, £.nd will be a boon to drovers and the fint settlers who arrive. Further on we reach the first, or perhaps I should write last, section of formed road on the Awakino side. This has been let in sections to co-operative parties, and will, when completed, be a good broad road fit for any vehicle At present all the works are stopped for some mysterious reason, known only to the " Tite Barnacles " of Wellington, but which is supposed to be something in connection with a surplus, whatever that may mean. At present the works, for some miles, are in a disconnected, unfinished state, but it is believed that the men will soon be put on again, and the remaining portion, some six miles, completed to the Mangaohura river. We are now descending into the Awakino, and following what gradually becomes a good road, well graded and with substantial bridges, and soon in the Awakino Valley, at Mahoenni, the residences of Messrs Housten, Elliott, and other pioneer settlers (of whom there are about a dozen altogether) come into view. The valley contains about 2000 acres of open fern land, through which the Awakino river runs, the main road crossing at one place, and being still unbridled, the river has to be forded. The lands of the settlers abut on the road and extend up to the ranges on either side, the upper lands being considered to be of much better quality than the fern flats, albeit the latter were covered with a good coat of grass and clover, and carried more stock than any other place we saw on the trip. Calling at Mr Houston's we received a hearty welcome; visitors are always received well in bush districts, particularly when a Parliamentary representative haupens to be among them. Grievances and wants were soon brought out, Mr Housten being one of the early settlers and thoroughly conveisant with the requirements of the district, which briefly are the completion of the road to the Mangaokewa, including a bridge over it; the connection of the postal service, which now ends at Poemaku on the Waikato, and Mahoenui on the Awakino side ; the construction of the telegraph line from Te Kuiti to Waitara, for which a grant of £SOOO has been voted by the Government; and last, but not least, a school, and this, with the influx of more families, is now well within their reach. Where is the district, however remote, with its crop of youngsters, that does not want a school, ami perhaps nothing evokes admiration of our national system more than to see schools erected and teachers sent into these out-of-the-way places, where, without their beneficent influence, many lads and lassies, in addition to the other hardships of their lives, would have to grow up in comparative ignorance. But we are forgetting the capital dinner providid by Mrs Housten, who, in addition, kindly offered the use of her best hack, not to the Parliamentary gentleman, nor to 'he big squatter, but to the newspaper man ; trust the ladies for knowing where the real iufluence lies, but as this animal was discovered to have met with a sTght accident, a sturdy black pony wan saddled up instead, and which carlied the Akuus well, save for an occasional gyrnting action with its hind legs, which conveyed the impression to the rider as though that portion of its anatomy was vigorously protesting »ga ; nst going any further. Mr Lang explained, beincr a good judge of horses, that he was knuckling over; he may have meant knucklinc-down, a process the average reader will remember as having forced upon the " other fellow " in his callow days, but which most of us would be glad enough to be able to do in later life. Riding down the valley wo pass Mr John Elliott's residence, but decide to call in

on (he return jcurney. A portion of Mr Elliott's land, some 700 acres, was recently purchased by Mr Old, whose clearings \vc saw up in the hills to the north, at £3 per acre : not a bad price for unimproved bush land in a new district. Pushing on we leave the open fern country, and ride through, the bush clearings of Mr Mark Elliott, whose fences are of six barb wires, with pofts pretty close ; a secure fence, no doubt, but scarcely the correct thing for sheep. Avro3s the Awakiuo River to the south are extensive clearings, lately burnt, in what appears to be a lich alluvial valley, Messrs Riddell's.Matthew'sand other properties taking in portions of it. The Awakino lands nre held—in blocks of from 1000 to 2000 acres—under lease in perpetuity from the Crown, the capital value ranging from 7s 6d to 10s_ per acre, upon which a rent, equal to 5 per cent., is charged, the least hold being convertible into freehold at any time, terms that cannot be considered otherwise than very easy. Upon both sides of the valley, now drawing in as we proceed, new clearings can be seen, upon which the grass seed has just been sown, and judging by the amount of work dune, the past year has been one of great activity in Awakiuo ; thousands of actes having been fallen and sown. From Mohoenui to Awakino Heads, is 21 miles, with a good formed road all the way ; loads of upwards of a ton being taken in on wheeled sledges, the only vehicles yet on the road ; a great contrast to the experiences of the first settlers, who had to carry everything on their backs, even pack-horses being unable to get in before the road was made. As we approach the cca?t, the country becomes very steep, only narrow water-courses dividing the ridges ; which, at one point, where the road passes are 2000 feet above the sea level, and wherever the bush has been fallen and burnt, the soil shows a great tendency to slip. This is one of the worst features of these hilly bush lands ; directly the roots of the trees begin to lose their holding power, clown comes the soil, timber and all into the nearest gully. Along the roads about here arc alips on every side, each rainfall bringing down masses of earth and roots on to the road, necessitating constant atten ticn and the labour of a gang of men to keep it clear. Some of this road will be terribly expensive to keep in repair, as the slips arc, in some of the worst places, only commencing. The myscery is why labour and capital should be expended in falling and clearing hillsides so precipitous that no animal—save a goat—could graze in comfort, even if the soil would stay there, of which there is but a slight probability, and this strikes the beholder very forcibly. Thousands of acres have been fallen, burnt and sown, at a cost of about £2 per acre, upon which not a beast was to be seen, and it would look very much as if the mouey were thrown away. At one spot, Kina's Gully, we rode by the edge of a valley fully 1500 feet deep, which was slipping from top to bottom, and a stumble from the road, which almost overhangs the gorge, would mean almost certain death to man and horse, yet this had all been fallen and grassed. It is said the men were tied with ropes when felling the timber, and the story does not seem improbable. At Black's clearing, we met Mr Julian, formerly on the Ohura road, but who has—for two years past—been laying off and supervising the road works in the Awakino, the line being bid off by Mr Hursthouse, Government Engineer. Mr Julian appeared to feel the late stoppage of his road works very keenly ; but is, at present, busy with a party of men, attending to the slips along the road. He is certainly the right man in this place, and takes a pride in every bit of good road turned out. At Blacktown—as the place is called—we saw in the oldtr clearings some of the effects of caterpillars, that curse of the bush districts on this coast. Here the caterpillars came two years ago, the best grasses being killed outright, cocksfoot standing the attack best, but the season's grazing was lost, and the eatt'e driven off, the caterpillar infested pastures having a very offensive adour. As the clearing could not be properly stocked, bush vegetation has sprung up and taken a firm hold again, the land being now worse to deal with, than it in creen bush. Generally speaking, caterpillars have been bad in the lower Awakino. One well-known settler, Mr McCutcheon, whose extensive clearings are along the road reaching to the Manganui river, had his grass killed three times, re-sowing it twice. This so disgusted him that he sold out, Mr F. Lever now holding the block. As we near the sea the road winds rouud the sides of steep hills in a very serpentine manner, but, gradually descending, we reach the Manganui special settlement, where upon 10-acre sections of steep bush land some 20 settlers from Oamaru were located. As the result of 12 months' work, 17 of the settlers have fallen their bush, received payment at the rate of 22s per acre, and promptly left the district, the land, not being burnt or sown, now relapsing into green bush again. Three settlers are left on their sections, and these mainly depend for their living upon works to be obtained along the road, and which, if the latter is to be kept open, they are pretty well sure of. The idea entertained by a few enthusiasts that men with or without families can make a living upon a few acres of bush land, far away from the centres of civilisation, is one that needs but a brief practical trial to completely explode ; yet wo are supposed to have a practical man as Minister for Lands. The result of the Manganui and similar special settlements should convince all but the most infatuated of the absurdity, not to say cruelty, where women are concerned, of those attempts to settle the land. Crossing the Manganui river near its junction with the Awakino, we follow the banks of the latter, and lower down cross over on a substantial bridge. The valley from here seawards widens out with some good alluvial flats, well-grassed, and carryiug sheep, Mr Thompson's farm which we pass being noted for its stock-carrying capabilities. The lowsand hills in front, with a rumbling of the surf, warns us that we are near the sea, and pushing on we reach Mr Gribben's general store at the Awakino landing. As our destination is Mokau and the daylight waning, we have no time to lose, so taking a hurried glance at the place we turn sharp to the south, the heads or bar being about a mile down, with a shelving bank of sand lying between the river and the sea, and just as night is setting in ride over the low sand hills on to the beach, along which we have to travel for three miles to Mokau. After our experiences in tho bush, the sudden change to a broid open beach with the breakers tumbling in upon it was very great, and the scene to us an impressive one. Nightfall had come, the day closing gloomy and threatening, and this seemed to reflect its sombre influence upon the sea, which looked in the dim light dark and forbiddiug, against which the white crests of the breakers and masses of foam which they seut far up the slippery sand showed out in sharp contrast. The tide was in, and to get the best travelling ground, the dry sand being very soft, we rode aloiiij in the water as close to the surf as possible, much to the disgust and alarm of two of the horses, who made a bolt for the shore each time the white foam swept up to them. The East Coast horse Dick, ridden by Mr Lang, paid no attention to the breakers, striding calmly along with the foamy waters rushing under him almost to the girths, the back swirl of which at times made one giddy to look at. Dick was evidently used to the surf and doubtless would have swum out into it if desired, but a performance for which I don't think Mr Lang was at all anxious. We made good time along the beach, and our leader managed, in spite of the increasing darkness, to strike the track leading up to the Mokau settlement, where we are aoon in comfortable quarters at Mrs

Reasdon's and discussing a steak produced on Waitara pastures, but which, whether owing to the length of time elapsed either before or after killing, seemed tough enough after the juicy beef of Waikato. During the evening while your representative reduced his notes to something like order, no easy matter, the others reconnoitred outside, returning with the news thU the Mokau Coal Company's steamer was going up to the mines the following day, and that the managing director of the company, Mr Geo. Potts, would be glad of our company. Our intention had been to return to Mr Elliott's on the following day, bu fas a chance to see the Mokau river and mines is not met with very often, we decided to accept it, so with hopes for fine weather on the morrow we are soon in bed, lulled to sleep by the steady rolling sound of the surf. (To be continued).