TO KAWHIA ON WHEELS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1971, 24 February 1885, Page 2

TO KAWHIA ON WHEELS.

To get to Kawhia .it .ill overland, a couple of vc.n-> ago, was, siiid with jtiitiie, con •^idcrod .1 groat feat. An a matter «f fact it was imt voiy f-afo to pet then* .it .ill, as the Natives weie none too fuendly. But, apait from considerations of this kind, the only rmvd— that vi.i Aotea— was beset with so many difficulties as to shut out the, pleasure | -eiker altogether, and confine the tia Hie strictly to thosn whom important business cilled in that direction. Since th<* unlit irv occupation of Kawhia the Government have paid dome attention to the matter of load*, but as yet these roads, so called, aie little | better than tiacks, while at Aotea thebMch has to be followed for eight or nine miles. To attempt to reich Kawhia from Waikato m a buggy, requires an amount of coinage and determination not i>ossessed b) many people. Though a largo party of tho Aimed Constabulary have been hard at, wink on the Alexandra- Kawhia Road for some time pa.st, they have not, owing to ' the rough character of the country, been ablu to make a great chow. From Whatiw hatihoe the old Maori track is used as far j a-, Okoko, near Hikuiangi, and here thi 1 Constabulary road starts. For about a mile and a-half the roadway has been made to iti full width of 15 feet, and so far, is a good serviceable thoroughfare, the steepest grade being about 1 m 16. The country is \eiy broken, and is very heavily timbered. The bush cloai ing is two chains wide. In many places the road is literally cut out of the rock, which has had to be blasted. The work has been done in an excellent manner, and reflects the highest credit on the officers and men of the A.C. Force. Beyond this, a section of ten miles ha- been let to the Natives. With the object of opening up communication as soon as possible, the road hero has been made si \ feet wide, so as to serve tho purpose of a bi idle tiack, the intention being to wi'Jon it as occasion serves, or in other vvotds, as funds permit. From the ond of this .section, at the Oparau stre«in>, to the Pouti, a distmce of some fixe or six miles, the road has been formed by tho conistabulary, under Capt. Taylor. Part of this it only six feet wide, but the rest, about three miles, has been constructed to the full width. The nature of the country heie is veiy rocky, and has consequently entailed gteat labour upon the men. The load foi sonic distance skirts the north channel of the haibour, and as it lias been laid out on rather low ground the action of tin- tide has at times greatly impeded the work of formation. From the Pouti the load is good for the remainder of the distance to the township, being of the full width of l,j feet. It is unnecessary to .say that there are numerous d.mgciou^ and diltieult places on the unfoi mcd p trtion of thin road, but when completed it will present no obstacle to almost any kind of ti attic. To attempt the journey just now in a buggy requires, an wn have hinted, a considerable amount of haidihood. Yet tho feat has not only been essayed, but actually accomplished by Mr 0. K. Johnson, the well km>\\n and popular coach propiietor of Hamilton. Having business to do in X iwhia winch reqnhe-d his presence there, he determined to Uj the Alexandra road, and on Wednesday evening he left Hamilton in a light American buggy drawn by one horse. Leaving Alexaudi.i at about half past eight on Thursday morning he was at ilikm.ingi (11 miles) at 11.30, hjvnig sifely negotiated several nasty eieuk-, winch call out loudly for bridge*. At the Okoko camp Mr Johnson foregatheied with one of the A.C. men who was letuinmg on foot to the Pouti. Mr Johnson, with that geuero-ity foi which he is pioverbial, asked his newly found friend to take a seat, but the lattei, though he appreciated the kindly s|)ii it which prompted tho offei, said that, nil things consideicd, ho pi cf cited to walk. Tiavelhng in a \ehiclo over such a road might have its advantages, but it had its diavvb.\cks also. As one who wore the Queen's unifoim he was quite prepared at any time to lay down his lifo in a righteous cm*, but there was nothing very hon.»n able in being crushed to death by a falling buggy, and if Mr Johnson had no objection he would keep on terra h'rtna and render any assistance he could from tint coign of vantage. The pedestrian 's disinclination to take a ride was appreciated by Mi Johnson when they reached the bndle tiack as fully as was his now invaluable help. With the aid of a rope he held on to the buggy behind dov\ n each dccliv ity, and guided the wheels o\cr numeious un ceitam places. Three times the buggy pet formed a picturesque homersault. but the pedestrian held on to tho rope and Mr Johnson stuck to tho horse, and so no material damage was done. The buggy was not diiven over this pait of the toad at a breakneck pace, a id consequently the Pouti (Hi miles from Okoko) was not reached until half-past eight. Two miles an hour is not fnst tiavelling, but Mi Johnson thlllks It .safer tlinn ti> attempt i speed five tunes greater. At the camp Mr Johnson was met by Capt. Taylor, and most hospitably entertained for the night. On the following morning (Friday), accompanied by Capt. Taylor, Mr Johnson diove on to Kawhia (five miles) in about threequ.uteis of an hour. On the beach below the camp, they weie met by Major Tuke mid about .jOO or 000 Europeans and Natives, who one and all opened then eyes in .simple astonishment at the .sight of a buggy. Numeious applications for " a tide in the pnki," were made, and acceded to, to the infinite delight of tho N.itne.s. The chief Hone to One was enraptured with the vehicle, and at once made overtmes to Mr Johnson for the purchase of it. The latter, not hankering after a repetition of the previous day's experiences, consented, after a very necossary show of reluctance to pat with his tteasuio, for a small pecuniaiy considciation, though with a piaisoworthy de••iie to spread abroad the benefits of civilisation, he accepted a sum picatly below cost puce. Fortunately Mi Johnson had taken a saddle with him, and he therefore leturned to Waikato on horseback, \ia Aote.v and Wait-tuna. Leaving Kawhia at !>.30 ;i.in. on Sunday, he was at home in Hamilton at 8.10 p.m. the same day, having traversed (iO miles between the hoius named. Dining his stay at Kawhia Mr Johnson witnessed tho vtry successful lesjatta held there on Friday, a repoit of which will be found in another part of this issue. From the foregoing it will Im gathered that the Hikitrangi Kawhia road h not yet in a condition fit for driving upon, but it is well adapted for riding. That \ia Aote.i, though somewhat I longer, is a better road, and is passable for light trapv. It is to be regretted that Kawhia does, not possess hotel accommodation. The menthol" of the A.C. Force aie unremitting in their kindness to visitoi.s, but this spuit of hospitality ought not to be imposed upon. Yielding to tho representation of tho temperance p.uty, tho (Jovernnipnt has included Kawhia in the Native District whciein tho sale of liquor is prohibited. It is not to bo supposed that this prohibition will have the effect of making the Natives abstain. As a matter of fact it has not li id thy effect, though assuredly it will lower the quality of the grog consumed. Hut bs this as it may, tho want of a decent hotel is much felt by Euiopeans, who are nattually a\eise to being taken under the wing of the plulauthropical individuals who aie so careful of Native inoials. Moicover, when tho town allotments were sold, noiesttictioiis as to the sale of liquor weio imposed, and it is strongly felt that tho (Government, m acceding, to the application of tho Blue Kibbointes, has broken faith with tho land buyeis. __^__________