REMINISCENCES of THE EARLY WAIRARAPA SETTLERS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1619, 26 February 1884, Page 2

REMINISCENCES of THE EARLY WAIRARAPA SETTLERS.

[FROM THE WAIRARAPA STANDARD,]

No Yl—By John Hall.

About this time the Oliver Lang (last voyage) Ann Wilson, and other ships arrived with immigrants; and strong parties were put on the road from Jimmy Brown's, up to Greytown. A bridge was built, over tho Mungaroa, which still exists; the contract was also let for the Waiohine bridge (lately removed), The contractor could not complete his contract, so Mr Carter had to finish it on Government account. In those days there were no bonds ro- ■ quired for contracts, During this timo Dr Welch had come to Grey town, and purchased Mr De Lion and Gilbert's acres, living in a whare. A largo party of immigrants was sent to Greytown to make the road where Main street now is, but it was uot what it now is when finished. At the head of tho party was Ml' Udy. They dug deep, ditches along the side, and gravel pits here and there; one particularly large one was in front of the school acre. This hole was about 34 feet square and 7 or 8 feet deep, it was unfenced for it year or two, dangerous to life and limb, and then the Government fenced it; it remained so until we got a Road Board or Borough Council, with Mr Udy as chairman, when boulders were carted from the plain to fill it up j other holes were filled with logs, However, Greytown was all alive. We had the Rising Sun Hotel, whero in a very short time, several individuals one after another made a little pile, and retired into quiet life; as a matter of course the Sun grew in splendour, and in 1879 ended in a blaze, About this. time Air Moles, with Dr Welch as sleeping partner, opened the first regular store and baker's shop in the Wairarapa, Mr Terry built him an ; oven,, which remains to the present ■ day. But where is the shop 1 "Well, if • you look closely now at Mrs Merson's house, you will see a small lean-to at one end; that was the first shop; but in » surprisingly short time, Moles built what now is called the old shop. Mr Hirsehberg, seeing Moles go ahead, told me there was nothing to be gained by hard work, and that he would follow.Molcs's example. He took a small contract on the Kimutaka, not to do the work, but to suWp l - and supply the men with opened an opposition store in the qw house now in the rear of the big house. Mr Stevens changed acres with Mr Terry, built the house now standing, and opened a brick yard on his section. Having now a large hotel, we soon wanted the accompaniments, viz.: a constable and a R.M. Court ; the first we got in the person of Mr T. Braggins. When the Government wanted an acre for the R.M. Court, Mr Renall proposed that the Government should pay the sum of £3O; an amendment was brought forward that the Government should pay the same price as the church acres had been sold for, viz,: £5 eacb, Which was earned, I do not recollect, but we got the first R,M. Court and policeman for the Wairarapa in Greytown. The first R.M, who sat therein was the present Judge Ward; the first case was Moles v, E, Manihera a native,

I had now managed to lave something to eat in the ground, but Cot without labor; many times I was dilT' ging till 11 o'clock at night by m6o?f light; I had many hundreds of broooli, the. beat crop of swede turnips thi|t ever I bad, (one weighing Of-

course there was no market for tliem; I had a little wheat G feet high, and at tho rate of 70 busliols to the acre, and a quarter of an acre of peas; these I lost in a freshet after cutting thorn, We had planted half an acre of potatoes ou Mr Terry's section, but tho early ones were cut off oy frost in November, and tho late'ones in February, so wo had a bad turn that way, Ono evening when I was at work I saw someone coming, He asked mo to allow him to sleep in my shed for the night; when I looked at him, I was struck with astonishment, for there stood before me a fellow passen- ■ ger, a gentleman by birth, who; on the day we landed, carried a bag of sovereigns as much as he could carry along to tho little Union Bank of Australia, I need not say that he did not sleep in the shed; he stayed with me two or thrco days, and then went away, I know not whither, There are two or three gentlemen in Greytown who knew him and his end. His name was Robert Burton, The contract for making Morrison's Bush Road came into the market and Mr Terry and I took it, one a quarter miles. This proved to be a rather troublesome contract, as wo had to fish for stuff to make the road; the bottom

was a concroted'gravol, what wo culled

iron stone, We had to get sawyers to cut' us some three inch thick planks for harrowing, all the metal had to be carted from Motison's run, and only two carts were available; but on the whole we got on better tnau we expected. On one occasion when coming into Greytown, I saw my IViend the builder of the Itisiii" fc'un standing in 1 . • the centre of the road, his arms akimbo taking a good look at the building. When I got up to him he says, "Do you think it is possible 1" "Yes, 1 ' 1 says, " What is it" Do think it is possible that this great building should be built for nothing: wo have just squared up and they bring me in 30s in debt; this they lmve forgiven me." " That was very generous," was niv reply. We had started il temperance society in Greytown, snd had 21 members for a little while, but only for a little while, for it soon died out; although renewed several times it never lasted long. Whilst engaged on this contract,

some of our men were anxious to buy land, There were more than six sections in the swamp not taken up. One day we toek a half holiday to explore these sections with them, but before we got to the bush some turned back; with perseverance we reached terra firm; but we saw to our great surprise a most splendid bush of totara which delightful Mr Terry; as for my self I was not much interested in it at first; the others would have nothing to do with it. After a little while Mr Terry would have me go again to examino it more closely. We did so, and came to the conclusion that it would be a splendid opening for a saw mill if we could get water enough On mentioning this to Mr Dillon, one of the emigrants, who had previov.fi to this told us that he was a millwright and engineer, lie went with us to give his opinion, and when he saw it, advised us by all means to buy the land at once, believing that a small independency might be made there in a little time if there was a demand for timber, On my next trip to Wellington I met Mr Barratt at the Tauherenikau, who told me he had bought two of the sections and was coming to settle on it at once, When I got to Wellington I bought tlio other four. Afterwards we searched for an outlet for the water, but found none until we got on the native land; so our water power was a failure. Mr Keiupton, jun., seeing us a good deal about there, thought we were buying what was afterwards called the race course; he therefore went to Wellington and bought it.