THE SURVEY OF THE KING COUNTRY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1935, 29 November 1884, Page 4

THE SURVEY OF THE KING COUNTRY .

The following, ndd'iesscd to tho Assistant Surveyor - General by Mr Luirence Cussen, Distiict Siuvcyor, appears in the annual repot t of the Survey Department of tho colony for ISB3 4 :—: — I have the ho'iour to send you herewith a sketch showing the triangulation how in progicss in tho Kmg country, and to submit tor your information a shoit report of tho woik, the chaiaoter of t'ne country, and the attitude of the natives in respect to the survey. The tiiiingiilatiou was commenced in the last week of December, ISS3. Foi tythree stations have been elected, cover ing an area of 2,.M)0,000 acies Tnc major work, with bides from twelve to twenty-tluee miles, covets (lie countiy in in regular polygons ; and a seeondaiy scries of five to enjht polygons Theie aie seventeen major and t\\enty-h\e minor stations : seventeen arc in the forest and twenty-five in the open country ; tho bush woik was very heavy and e\ pensive. .Seven stations weie deal ed by tho natives by contract at reasonable prices, which was a gteat advantage in expediting the work, and in pi eventing opposition from other natives, who might endeavour to stop Europeans. The angles have been observed at twenty Stations, the topographical sketches being made as the woik proceeds. I need scarcely mcution that there is a gteat advantage in carrying on the minor work with the major : it takes les* time, and costs less than if done sepaiately, whilst the knowledge gained in the piogicss of the major woik enables one to execute the minor moic satisfactory at the same time. There is an aiea of about two hundred square nnles'Jying to the southward of tho Rangitoto Ranges, and between the Mokau and Wanneha Rivers, which it will bo veiy difficult to minor triangulate, the hills being all pretty much the same hei«ht, and heavily timbered, with table land on top. I estimate that to complete the work as we are now doing it will take about twelve months from° now ; the cj&t of the major and minor tiiangulation*. will not, I think, exceed -Ul per aeie, and I expect to sec it under tin *". My asbistant, Mr Mace, with a party of five Eiiiopcans, and occasionally some natives when the bush woik was heavy, has been eutiiely engaged in the election of stations : ha ing selected a hill, he would leave a paity to clear the bu-h, under an expenenced chainman, and proceed to seh ct otlior stations ahead. Mi Mace and his patty have wotked well, and have had iou<jh times occasionally. Mr W. Cussen commenced woik on the west of Lake Tanno in the beginning of April. He his cineied the country west of the lake, and the dow iii on the west of the Waikato River, computing an area of nearly ,100, 000 acies, with ,i minor tnansjuktion of four to six--mde sides. Dining the wintei 1 put pose \Nitimr the old stations ea<«t of the Waikato River, with which oui pitseut woik will close. Tiicie ,uo louileen ot these to visit 1 hope ako to complete tho s.uvcy of the couutiy ftom Kihikilu to Mokau, so as to be lcidy in the spiing to go on with the West Coast botuec n Ri«lan and the Mokau River, and woik vine!) ic- . mains unfinished to tho south w aid. The country is g-neially a bad one to get about m, and it is very haul on hoises, the tiacks being lough and feed vciy soaico. It ha» consequently cost a gieat deal tosjet our piovisions packed out to central depot. Native Opposition.— lt was not to bo expected that such a woi L as the tiiangu lation of Llio King countiy would be catlied on without meeting some opposition from the natives, mu\, although the delays fio.n tins ciuse wuc con-idoiable, and cost C'2M oi n.oie, they were not so seiirms as might bo expeetel, consideiing the magnitude of the woik, and cci tainly not more than 1 have metwith in trungulatmg native countiy foi ycais past. Tlie obsti Hedonists might lie dnnlul into th ice elates : Tliovj who ob-.htii.ted to show then daun to the. land and to ptotest against anyone i Ise autlmusing the survey o\u it, and who wcto j< v alous of the chief-. : these, wuo noi many and gave us but little tiduble. Kioondly, the lemnants of Taw liiao's foil >vv ci% w ho op posed us to <.bow their loyalty to the cause of the King ; thm opposition was feeble ami half hcaitcil, and va. only b} way of a piotest against the, woik ; they would oi dei us back aud tin eaten to destioy the tug stations; they did pull down two stations, but on our leplacnn,' them tiles have not a^ain I icon distutbed The. thud class wen- the most nuiueious, the most tioubl< ■■omc and dilli< ult to deal with; tin j ai tho-.t who, fi om \aiious cause*, aie diviijjt'nl of the objects of thatii'j, suivry, and the ul'imaU' niton tions of the Oovunmcnt w ith legaid to thtii land, or who deMio toliavethcii iand sm vcv i■! othuvi^e. Tl'O chief actoib die men who nn\ a good deal witli J'aiuipeans attending land (Joint-., &c , and who aie land sdlois On biginning the tii<r. work I <jot letlci -> fiom Rcwi Maniapoto, Wahanui, Taonui,aud Ihteie te Paeiata to their people. The fii&t case of obstiuction occiined at Kakapuku, close to Kihikihi, vv h^te the ti iy. station was destioyed by I'alie nnd his people, a small hapu of tlie Ngatimaniapoto-> called Ngatingauanoa. Then object was partly to a<-sei t their claim to the land and paitly to uphold Taw lnao's authoiity. This station was twice pulled down by the same hapu, though not by the same men ; but finally they gave way and allowed the station to lemain there I saw that w e w ould piobably meet with frequent iiitciiuptions in tins neighbourhood and in the Whaiepapa ciistnct, wheie it was said the Ngatihauas and Ngatiiaukaua would show determined opposition. Theie was also a rumoui that twenty armed men of tlie NgatnauIvnua were waiting at the Rangitoto Ranges to stop us. In consequence of these lumouis, and in Older to avoid the probability of having lccoiuse to law to punish the obstiuctionist-., which, by icndering the action of the chiefs unpopular, might weaken their influence and lead to fiuthcr dalajs, I took the hbeity of suggesting that we should begin the woik at Taupo, and, by working noithwaids, have the gt cater pait of the country surveyed when we i cached the put wheie the opposition was stiongest. We theie fore removed to Taupo, with your concunence, aniving theie en the 21st Match. I metTe Heuheu, Matualta, and about thiity otheis — Ngatituwharetons — at Waihi on myaiiival; they lef used to allow the woik to go on because they said they had not been communicated with by the Government befoiehaud. Unfoitunately they had not leceived the letteis winch the lion. Mr Bryce had wntten to them, and which were lying at the postoffice at Tapnaehaiuiu under cover to me. Neithei had your letter to Te Heuheu and tho others co.no to hand. However, when Te Heuheu and his people leceived these letteis they wcie quite satisfied and allowed us to go on with the survey. There weic a few other men in the South Taupo districts who were objecting, but Te Heuheu and Matuahu used their influence with these and they waived their objections. On i caching the Tuhun distiict we weic met with a mote seiious and tioublesome opposition. The natives said they were told Government would take large areas of land from them to pay for the trig, survey ; that the maps would be used to investigate the titles to the land ; taxation would follow, and Government would " lock up " their lands until they could secure it all for themselves ; that the big chiefs weie managing everything. A committee was foi mod in . Tulma to manage local matteis. They decided to prevent us from putting any more stations on their laud ; they would alloy none of their people to accompany me or assist in any way, and no information, such as names of rivers, hills, &c , was to be afforded us. Kingi te HereJteihei, of the Ngiitituwhaietoas, was with the Tuhua natives, and advised this course. He and Te^Hiahia, who was ghairman of the committee, had just re-

turned from Kilukihi. I wrote to Wahninii and Taonui, informing them of the state of affairs. Wahanni came huir i,elf to Tuhua and met the natives. lie succeeded in an angina matteis, and the woik was allowed to go on again, after a foitni<;ht's delay. Tiic next place we met with any serious obstruction was at Wlmepuhanga, in the Wharepapi distlicit, about Unity miles from Kilukihi I sent a pirty to put up a station there, and they weie mot by sixteen of the Ngatit.uikaua, who were c.unped on the ground lo obstruct the survey; they ordeicd my paity of! at one. I then wen I on to Whaiepuhanga, with sixteen men, including five natives who were .nteiested in the land. We were accompanied by To Paihuuand Kapu te Koliika, i 10:11 Tuipo. I met the natives at \\ haiep.ihanga on the 3rd of June. The> said they woio sent there by Wlnti I'.itato to stop us ; if wo refused to go on" they wete to tear up our tents and bring ut. ofl tlu- gtound I refused to lea\e, .mil aftiM some talking they a'.kcd me to wait tor t\\ 0 days to give them time to lelcgiaph to the Government. I consented to do .so, lest there might be ti ouble between my party and the natives. The Maoris who were with me were pre paied to lesist if the obstructionists attempted to take our tents. The Natives infonmnl me that Rewi and Ilitire had wiilten to the tiibes telling them to stop the sun ey. I got two of these letters, which I forwarded to you. I met the Ngatiiaukaua subsequently at Kilukihi : Rewi and Hitiie were present. Rewi denied all knowledge of the letter bearing his name, and stated at the meeting tint " the survey was his work : he had t<iv en his consent to Mr Biyce, and he would see that the woik went on." Ilitire admitted having signed Rewi's name without his knowledge, and that he had got the letter wiitten entnely on his own responsibility, his reason being that, "as the Government intended to lock up their land under the preemption right, he wished all -surveys to cease until the intentions of the Government were made known to the Maoris." He us"d liewi's name to secure the coopeiation of his people in stopping us. riieicMiltof the meeting was that the opposition w is lemoved and the survey is now goini; on again, wine of those who obsti noted assisting in the wojk. Wahanui and Taonui ha\e consistently helped on the work throughout Taonui himself accompanied me to Te Kuiti, and theie appointed men to take us over the Tuhua countiy. He told me to send for him at any time ho could be of service to us. I might also mention that Mr Robcit Oimsby, brother to Mr John Oimsby, of the Native Committee, who was, aWiohul to my survey party, has lendeied me a good deal of assistance with the Natives. Native population. — Taking all the settlements winch I have seen in the King eoiintiy — and I believe this would include neatly all of any impoitance within the bound.iiies undoi suivcy, \ii, fiom Maungatautaii by the Waikato Rnci to Taupo, by the west side of Lake Taupo to Takaawe, by the Tongaliio Ranges to Rnapebu, thence by the Wang unii iuvai to T\iumai<u,ui, from tluie in a dnect line to Tautoio, on the Mokau, and thence by the broken wooded ronntiy l,yin» 1> 'tween the I'irongia Ranges and Tautoio, including an aiea of ne.uly three million aciCb-I do not think, in all, T met five bundled Maoiis. Natives tiavel about so much— attending meetings, Native Land Courts, &c. — that it would not be safe to estimate the population by the numbeis to be met with in tiavelling about the distuct; but, fiom what I have learned fiom vaiious sources — the statements of the natives themselves, t!i 3 opinions of otheis who have been t'uough the countiy, &c. — I should say that the pics-nit population in the Ivi.ig count- y does not e\eced four thousind One is struck, in travelling through the oountiy, with the evidence CACiywheie to be met a\ ith of a once laige native population. The remains of extensive settlements and cultivations I going to nun can be seen everywhere that the land war, suitable, and one feels uirpiUed wh'Mo wh it lood is giown even tot the few whoiem.uu now, Pe-iCi iption of the Couniiy. — The triangul ition has not suihoifiitly advanced to give a detail" d description of the countiy, which, of coiusc, will bo supplied w lien my maps arc sent in. The following cm tailed sketch may piovc useful in the meantime, as I think the quality and quantity ot agiiuiltiual land 111 the King country has been over-esti-mated by most people : The open countiy ijin" between the Puniu and and Mokau Riveis, through which the Wai pa and it-a tubutaiies flow, contain the only extensive area of good agricultuial land that I have seen. This compuscs an aici of 400 000 acies, bounded on the east by the Rangitoto, Rangimu and Whaicpuhanga Rangts, and to the westw.iid by the bioken, wooded eountiy extending southward fiom tho L'irongia Ranges to the Mokau River at Tail to ro. Tlr.H country contains a variety of excellent land for all agiicultuial purposes, computing limestone, neb volcanic loam, and, aloiiL' the liveis and stieams, extensiv e and fei tile allu\ lal flats. Timber for all pin poses is easily available. The distuct is well wateicd Roads can be made at a slight cost. Brown coal is to be found in the Hautnru Ranges, to the west of Otorolianga about nine miles ; it is also to be found at Te Kuiti, and probably will be got elsewhere when the district is moie known, as many of the riveis and sti earns have particles of coal in them. Between the Mokau and Wainieha Riveis the countiy is very broken, and the land variable in quality. Then 1 is some limestone on the Mokau, near Te Kuiti ; but the limestone land is limited in this neighbouihood, and is very broken. The valleys aie generally open, and the ranges and hills coveied with mixed timber, containing rimu, totara, &c, though the totara is not plentiful. '\ heie is a considerable aiea of table-land amongst the hills in this district that is nearly all under forest, and the soil is good ; but it is geneially difficult of access. About fifteen miles to the westwaul of Te Kuiti the pumice-country begins, though after this there is good land in the bush and on the table-lands. The valley of the Onganie and Waimeha Riveisis very poor — thousands of acres of wietchod pumice-flats, covered with stunted scrub and dried tuosock -grass, with pumice all over the surface. From the Waimeha to Taumaranui some better land is met with. There I ate small alluvial fiats along the banks of the Ongaruhe where the natives have cultivated : on the sides and tops of the fern-ridges the soil is good ; but the country generally is very broken. About the Tuhua Mountain there is some good land and plenty of valuable timber, which can be made accessible from Ongaiue Valley. Lying between the west of Taupo Lake and the valley of the Ongarue, and cxtendiug from Puieora, the most northern peak of the Hurakia Ranges, there is about 300,000 acres of broken country, including the heavilywooded langes of Iluiakia and Hauhangaroa. The laud is very variable in quality, even in the table-lands on the mountains. This district is cut up by deep gullies aud streams, with table-land between. There is a great deal of valuable timber, including totaia, though not a gieat deal of the latter. The timber would be accessible — at least a good portion of it— from the Te Awamutu and Mai ton railway line. Between Taringamutu and South Taupo there is some good bush land, though broken ; there is also a good deal of valuable timber, but will be difficult of access, and roads through this country will cost a good deal to form. On the west ot the Waikato River, aud extending about twenty miles north from the Hurakia Ranges, is a broken tract of open country called the Kaiangaroa, containing about 100,000 acres. It is intersected by deep gullies and l'avines. The land is poor ; bare rocks aud landslips everywhere visible. The Maraeroa Plains, at the head of the Waimeha River, comprise about sixty to eighty thousand acres of fairly-good open country, though" some of it is poor, with

pumice lying on the surface. A great tle.il of the country aiound here is level and undu l.i ting. The bush-land is variable, some of it good ami sonic a light pumic suiface. Finally, outside the area of 400.000 acres before mentioned, lying between the Mokau River and Kihikihi, <te, I have not seen any considerable area of land suitable for general! agricultural purposes, though much of the country might be profital ly occupied by settlers holding one thousand acres and upwards, and here and there a small farmer would liud enough of good laud to settle upon. Laurence Cussbn.