ALBERTLAND SETTLEMENT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 6, Issue 315, 30 October 1862, Page 3

ALBERTLAND SETTLEMENT

On arrival in the colony, the leaders of the emigrants by the ‘Matilda Wattenback’ and * Hanover’ found that to the blocks set apart for their occupation there were two distinct routes, the one by water to the Mangawai River on the East Coast and thence across the country inland to the Oruawharo ; the other by water to the head of the Waitemata river, on which [Auckland is situated, aud thence across the portage to the Kaipara, into which harbour the Oruawharo empties itself. The first named route was the one fixed upon by the pioneers, and the services of the ‘ Tasmanian Maid ’ steam-pac-ket were engaged to convey the party and their goods to Mangawai. Just however as the party were prepared to start, the Captain of the steamer broke off from his share in the arrangement, and it was prudently we think, considered advisable to send an advanced party to Mangawai to examine and report upon the inland route from that starting-point. . The report was such as led to the conclusion, that from the scarcity of bullock teams among the settlers located there, and from the roughness of a recently cut, and of course unbeaten, road to the Oruawharo, it would not be prudent to send a very large party Accordingly about one hundred persons, and from seventy to eighty tons of luggage were despatched there. Many on arriving at Mangawai, took up temporary quarters at the. houses of the older settlers from whom et’ery kindness and hospitality was experienced, until, by their own exertions, the road could be made more practicable for the transmission of tlieir baggage. r J he road up to the block from M angawai is fifteen miles in length and the block set apart extend a distance of twenty miles along the Kaipara creeks, so that it may be readily understood that to reach the various portions of the blocks assigned to them, a journey of no ordinary difficulty was to be accomplished, the face of the country being mainly covered with forest.

As an instance of the sturdy determinationand pluckwhich was shown by many of their party, we may mention the case of a poor woman with three young children. Determined to push on to the block, she started with her little charges, and when the children could no longer walk would herself carry on one of them a distance of one or two hundred yards, leaving it by the road side until she had returned and fetched the others, and so on more or less, throughout what to her must have been a long and painful journey. We can have no fear of the future success of settlers amongst whom this, though a remarkable one, was by no means the only instance of the possession of that “real grit” of which the true and successful colonist is formed.

Mr Brame,- the next day together with Mr. Newman, turned their attention to the Waitemata route, sending on Mr. Jones, the paid pioneer agent, with a prospecting party, who returned with a favourable accountof the the practicability of the road across the portage between the Waitemata and Kaipara rivers. A party from three to four hundred of Hie. passengers of the ‘Hanover’ and ‘Matilda Wattenhach’ were then sent on by this route in cargo boats, and being landed near the flour mills of Lamb and Melvin at the head of the Y* r aitemata, formed a camp, having with them a largo tent capable of sheltering one hundred and fifty people, and having also about'twenty smaller tents. Here they remained some days, waiting until drays for the transmission of their baggage (about (one hundred and fifty tons of which, chiefly belonging to passengers _by the ‘Matilda

Wattenhach’, had been brought up) could be procured. Here, too, the same difficulty arose as at the Mangawai. The settlers located at/the head of the river who had bullock tefims were : very few, and it was not until a request for assistance had been made v to General Cameron, commanding the troops, and- ' who s kindly placed' so m e of the" C<j)ih miss aria t bullock teams the land carriage of the goods was effected, and men and baggage were landed on the banks of the Kaipara, where a small cutter was in waiting to convey them- up the Oruawharo, and at the time we; wyite, had actually made four trips laden chiefly with passengers. It is expected that in a few days, fully .two-tliirds of the passengers of the ‘ Hanover’ and ‘ Matilda Wattenhach ’ will.have been settled on their land, and that most of those still remaining in Auckland will foil in a few weeks. manner in which it is proposed to arrange ,the delicate matter of alloting. to each his* jown portion of land, so as to render every man satisfied with the result is, we think perhaps the best that could have, been devised, - and has, we are told, with oiie orjtwo rare , exceptions, given promoters of. this movement ha ! d> set aside some 500 acres, as the ..site of the future city of Albertland. This land Mr. Brame will purchase in trustfor the new community, and is putting on a surveyor and number of men, wiih a view to laying out the streets and principal thoroughfares. It is intended when the rear party shall have arrived to hold a commemoration day of the lauding in New Zealand, at which time visitors from all parts of the province will be welcome and the town allotments of from l to l of an ! acre will be put up to public auction ; the proceeds of the sale are to be devoted to the making of roads and bridges within' the settlement. We are glad to notice the liberality of feeling which has decided upon throwing open this sale to the competition of the general public, nor do we think that the Albertlandjsettlers will do otherwise than gain by allowing the interest of the Auckland citizens to be as much as possible mixed up with their own. The Rev. 1. Edgar and Dr. Bell have gone up with the main body, and Mr. Brame has remained in town to complete tlie necessary arangements, and bring up tlie rear party- Ihe untiring exertions made by the latter gentleman have rather over-taxed his physical strength. We are happy to be able to say that Mr. Brame’s health is now rapidly improving with the fine bracing air of New Zealand spring, and he is anxi- . ously awaiting the arrival of tlie third -vessel to join his party at the settlement where from the accounts which have reached town among their friends, a general feeling of satisfaction with the superior quality of the lands alloted for their occupation seems to exist. We shall watch with careful anxiety the- interests and welfare of this most interesting settlement. The present extent of the party cannot amount to more, all told, than about 1200 souls. The extent of land set apart (70, 000 acres) wiil afford occupation to at least an additional 800—ahd the land North of Auckland (some 250,000 acres, in the hands of the Government, might if the successor of the Superintendant who has now resigned be minded to follow out tlie same policy with regard to the waste lands, in the narrow sphere left to him by the recently passed Native Land Bill, still accomodate some three or four thousand immigrants of the some desirable class— New Zealander, Oct. 4. COROMANDEL. We have foeen informed that by the Sarah Alice, which arrived iii Auckland yesterday morning, hews was brought that in Keven’s reef some very rich quartz had been found, the particulars of which have not transpired. There is little doubt from the succe,sful results of the many trials which have been made upon the few claims -on this reef, that their fortunate possessors may rest perfectly satisfied with the course they have taken in entering largely into the practical working of them. The report which appears in yesterday’s Cross of 40 lb. of rich quartz having been taken from claim No. 16 on Driving Creek is correct, blit the uews is not recent : it was known in town on Saturday last, we ourselves haying been informed of it.by those who not only saw the stone taken out, hut saw a very large quantity of quartz nearly "Os rich, stored in tlie same owner’s tent in camp ovens, flour bags and every available receptacle. Ingles and company have moreover a shaft in this claim (No. 16) to a depth of 60 feet and have struck a stone of similar appearance, though not quite so rich, at that depth. ■ There are now a considerable number of men upon the gold fields, and all are working. Yery many companies have been formed in town, indeed there has been a general desire to obtain an intei’est in one or more of tlie already discovered claims before the rush which must inevitably set in from the other colonies and Provinces takes place. Many may come sanguine and return disappointed—but facts speak for themselves, the gold, and gold in quartz, exported from Auckland during the month of September last (exclu|ive of the gold transhipped frepn the Lord. jYorsley) in fact only from Coromandel is returned in the Customs reports at the value of £2005. This merely refers to what has been exported, and we may safely estimate that which remains in the hands of the diggers and others, at treble the amount.— New Zealander Oct. 1.

CANTERBURY. The Railway Tunnel. —The first stone of the arch was laid on the 29tli, ult. Respecting the progress of the

tunnelling, the ‘ Lyttelton Times’ informs us, that ‘‘ since the commencement of the tunnel workings, some fifteen months back, 800 yards have been completed, though not of the full dimension required The whole length of the tun--, neb is 2838 yards. The present rate of progress is about 28. feet per week, 17 at the Lyttelton end and 11 at the Heathcote. With the expected boring machinery at work 50 feet per week, under favourable circumstances, will be accomplished. In the former case the tunnel may completed in four years and a quarter-; in the latter, it is possible that the work, may be accomplished within three years from the present date. The first importation of New Zealand coal lias been made by Messrs. Hall, Ritchie & Co., from Auckland. The schooner Vistula brought down about 200 tons. From a trial we should say it is well fitted for household requirements. Times, Oct. 11. Distress Lancashire.— A public meeting has. been held to begin subscriptions for the relief of the suffering, £3BB was collected in the room. Abraham Stubbs.— The evidence at the inquest not being such as to inculpate Groves on whom suspicion had fallen, the jury returned a verdict of “ found drowned.”

TARANAKI. Native Intelligence.— On Wednesday last, Reweti and a younger brother of Erueti came into town as a deputation from the King’s Runanga at Warea. It is said they brought in letters, but this we are not aware of. Among the verbal demands made were the old ones, that the road making at Omata should be stopped at once, or they would stop it; and that Messrs Sutton and Tonet should be brought into town. Reweti stated that, whei’ever houses were bui’nt, the land was theirs, in some cases also where they are still standing ; it is understood, however, that their claim does not include the town. lie also said that they knew the English race was declining, that we desired to obtain dominion over all the world ; but did we think this was the wish of God too 1 His opinion of missionaries was that they were nothing but deceit. Mr. Riemen schneider came and baptised their children, and administered the sacrament to their elders, and wrote all their names in a book ; and fog what 1 That the Governor might know how few they were, and make war upon them. His hair would not be grey before he saw us all swimming away in the sea, leaving the whole land to his King. On Thursday two Maori lads from some place beyond Tataraimaka came into town about two horses • which they said had strayed through the gate into their land. Before the horses are restored they demand ss. each as toll at the gate, and 355. each for bringing them in. Mr. Thomas Bayly, to whom one of the horses was supposed to belong, asked whether, if he paid ss. toll, he would be allowed do fetch it himself? but he was met by a decided negative. The horses therefore remain with their captors, and their owners wait with such patience as they may until a Maori sense of justice, Sir George Grey’s interference, or some other opportune disturbance of the laws of nature shall return them ■what they have lost.— Herald, Oct. 11.

OTAGO. The following extract? from a Dunedin Correspondent of the c Lyttelton Times’ contain information we have not gleaned from the local papers : The long-looked-for spring rush is upon us at last. Again there is a throng of population in the town —again crowded streets, active trade, life, and animation are the order of the day. Nor have I included in the 5510 above mentioned those who have been landed at Waikouaiti from northern ports. There are still 14 vessels in Melbourne on the berth for Dunedin ; so we may rely upon the gold fields having a full and fair trial this summer. The majority of the latter arrivals have gone to the Nokomai, of which Mr. Brannigan has given a very favourable report, and I should not be surprised to hear soon that there are 3000 or 4000 at work on that field alone. Mr. Brannigan. concludes his report of the Nokomai by stating “ that if the same fortune experienced by the miners whom he saw at work attend the remainder, the field will prove rich, permanent, and extensive.” The miners who now come to Otago are in a verfy different position to those who tried itdast year. On landing they are no longer confined for refreshment to the one small pastry-shop, where they conld stuff" sweets and nothing else —nor have they any difficulty in getting the house room which was then an impossibility. Some forty hotels and restaurants are open to their choice, and instead of the dazed look of astonished Dunedinites, they are now assailed on landing by eager touters, anxious to know “if any of the gentlemen will take dinner before starting.” Their choice of gold fields is also embarrassing. Instead of the lonely Tuapeka there is now a goodly list. There are the Waitahuna, Weafcherstone’s, Waipori, Woolshed, Tuapeka, Dunstan, ITighlay, Nokomai, Beaumont, Teviot, Coal Creek, Shag .Riyer, Manuherikia, Wakatip, and even the Moei'aki Beach. In fact gold seems everywhere. N<uv rushes of greater or le»s extent are being reported constantly, and the country appears only to want working to find profitable employment tor many thousand men.

Captain Thompson has sent in his report on the navigation of the Molyneux, and finds that the rapids are insuperable obstructions for the present to its being used by steamers beyond some twenty

niiles above the junction of the Tuapeka. This of itself will be a valuable addition to our limited means of transport, but until we can'afford the expense of overcoming these rapids, our visions of a great silent highway to the . interior must be deferred. Meanwhile the formation of some central town in the interior is becoming a necessity, and if it cannot be reached by river.it must be by road.

From the Dunstan we have several late reports—among othdrs that, of Mr. Gabriel Read. All agree that the gold ~ field is a good and rich one, extending for miles from the river into the country , watered by ;its tributaries. The claims;7. on the banks.of the river are all flooded by the recent melfing ot the snow, but the high banks are being tunnelled and found to be auriferous.

' 1200 people arrived on Sunday the 12th, from Melbourne, Sydney and Glasgow.

The rate of cartage from Riverton, (Southland) to the Nokomai is reduced to .£SO per ton. . The Government is employing men at ss. a day to cut away Bell Hill, 355 men were at work one day. . Two brothers have exported 375 ozs. dug at the Dunstan in two months. The escort from the gold fields arrived in Dunedin on the afternoon of the 16th, bringing the following quantities, viz : Dufistan, 6240 ozs. 19 dwts. ; Tuapeka, 3464 ozs. 10 dwts. ; Waitahuna, 1159 ozs. 5 “dwts.; Woolshed, 500 ozs.; Teviot, 115 ozs. 8 dwts. »

The news from the diggings is altogether unsatisfactory. We have heard on good authority that there are a very large number of men engaged by the Government at 4s. per day.

John Fratson has been sentenced to death, for the wilful murder of Andrew Wilson, at the Molyneux on 30th May last. He is only 27 years of age.