Original Poetry. Akaroa.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1917, 18 October 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

Original Poetry. Akaroa.

I. Where do sunbeams brightest glisten, 'Mid intricacies of shade; Where does love-lorn tui listen To its mate in leafy glade ; Where, when earliest spring is waking From their sleep each leaflet's fold, Do the zephyrs, gently shaking. Pave the koiohaVs roots with gold ; Where, with melody surprising, Does the bill-bird welcome day, Ere the golden sun arising Makes the night mists roll away ; Where do great koninis, laden With their million berries store, Purple lips of many a maiden ? "Tis in lovely Akaroa.

ii. Where do mighty tree-clad mountains Solemn guard the vales below, Giving birth to many a fountain, Where in winter lies the snow; Where do great totaras, flinging Bronzed foliage to the sky, Eept a thousand songsters singing Hymns of rapture ere they fly; Where are giant loillows growing, From Napoleon's distant grave; Where are creeks for ever flowing, Giving verdure as they lave ; Where do sunclad wavelets wander To Zealandia's fairest shore, In embracing growing fonder? 'Tis in lovely Akaroa.

in. Where do sunsets rays of glory, Gold and purple raiment, throw O'er the hills reuowed in story In the Maori long ago ; Where doerf wild clematis, flinging Tendrils o'er the boughs below, Cover sprays where birds are singing With a cloak of purest snow ; Where, in wild, sequestered valley, Grows the wondrous Nikau palm, Forming ever-verdant alley, Where there is eternal calm; Where are silver/er/i-trccs spreading Fairy fronds of beauty pure, A perpetual fragrance shedding ? 'Tis in lovely Akaroa.

IV. Where, when storms are raging madly, 'Neath the bitter tempest's blast, ; Does the sailor enter gladly, Finding peaceful seas at last; Where does the titoKVs glory Blaze with scarlet many a glade, Sheltered from nor'-westers' fury By the pine trees' tasselled shade; Where are feet for ever pressing Wondrous ferns of beauty rare, Bobed in Nature's choicest dressing, Ever fresh and passing fair ; Where, when from the world we sever, Seeking peace for evermore, Should we choose to rest for ever ? 'Tis in lovely Akaroa. Silas Wegg. The tut, or parson-bird, one of the honeysuckers peculiar to New Zealand. The Loiohai is a native acacia, that in spring is covered with a profusion of golden blossoms. The bcU-hiul, or Moko Moko, another New Zealand honey-sucker, that always welcomes the dawn with a strangely clear and deep note, like a bell. The Konini is the giant fuchsia of New Zealand, whose numbetless purple berries are tho delight of • birds and children. The totai a is a pine with golden or bronfcecolored foliage, of great beauty. It grows to an enoimous size. The weeping willows growing in Akaroa aro all said to have sprung from a slip brought by a Fienchmnn fiom Napoleon's tomb at St. Helena. They are of enormous size. Tho ItilL around Akaroa were' the scenes of many a renowned Maori conflict. The wild clematis, with snowy blossoms fully a foot in circumference, is of marvellous beauty. The Kilau palm grows only in the most sequestered and sheltered valleys. The silver fe> n-trea'h fronds are a brilliant green above and pure silver underneath. The titolci is the native ask. It bears masses of scarlet berries like gigantic raspberries. The nor'-westei s are hot winds in Akaroa, and wither vegetation. t The native bush consisted oiiginally principally of gigantic pines. The j ems in Akaroa are of marvellous variety and beauty.