A VISIT TO RAGLAN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2583, 31 January 1889, Page 2

A VISIT TO RAGLAN.

[By Mvosotis. |

"Can any Rood come out of Nazareth?" iviis sneeringiy askod by [he nrlunu mombars of a Jewish anstuaacy, so.ne eighteen hundred years ago. Tiio answer was similar to that of Galileo when the bigoted scientists of Ilia ihiy dein.uided proof of the UAiniuuuu i)f another planet—" Ci.-nii) and -ee." The same iriiiiic.il que.stijn hasufteii b.:uii usked re-i|jecung U-({i»ii, that villuffo ot JL'etflers and buttons, Moons and Mitchells, situated h >iiiu.\liure on the seaouaril across the Kaiiiwlianiwliaranges, but wlin.-u exact gucgraphiciil podium! is a mystery to tli<» liiillio.n To g<;i: such an nnpuitant jirubleiu solved—a on its solution the happiness of hundreds may ilepeud, I determined to gird my loins, tu iiibaway the c.ilnvubs of prejudice and to pay a long-promised \ i-ifc to Raglan. Thus, on the afternoon of a recent date, anyone might lu.vo observe.! an old family limso leisurely tiek-mjj a buggy up the steep slopes ot the Kaniwharnwha mountains, and giving me aliuiidance of time to study what lived and moved and had its I'Oiug around me. The Wahine drove. A casual glance; showed me the soil was of a marly nature, and consequently had bjen tot in 'd undo water aid upheaved ultimately into dry land. The tossils, numerous in some places, were marine, and as most of the species were easily distinguished little doubt existed regarding their history. Tney bad been deposited in the shallow seas of tlie Tertiary epoch, an epoch when the struggle fur existence was at its fiercest, owing to the immense number of individuals then living, and a time redolent of interest to the practical geologist and the speculative philosopher. The Malthuamn doctune had not then been evolved but—in the Northern hemisphere at any rate—a higher than Malthas slopped the tide, and the Great lee Age checked the exuberance of an adolesceut world. But we are nearing me summit, aud on looking back are gratified by a bird's eye view .if tlie Waikato plains. The contrast uetween the out-lines of the volcanic and liiiiestoiui hills are also well pronounced. The bold rugged peaks, the wild grandeur of the jagged ridges, the deep ravines, like angry scars, of the volcanic type contrast strongly with the .viill-rounddd summits, gently sloping shoulders and full embodiment of the sedimentary formations. A few more miles carried us t.o Waitetuna where we paid penance at a purgatorial mansion, or " Half-way House,' uetween the mundane Waip.i and the Heaven of our ambition— Raglan. The shades of night had alieady fallen, and doubting whether Peter might have locked Heaven's hospitable gates, we lemained here djring the night. Them ..re no rats nor spirits at \Vaitetuna ! l'he road so far had b«en excellent, and though soiuewjiat dangerous at places, owing to abrupt turning, precipitous sides, and ■-verhatiping cliffs, one with ordinary care and reasonable lnTseinanshipneed have no fear whatever of the journey. These only lend an additional zest to the churn) of one ot the most beautiful ami delightful drives I ever experienced in New Zealand, or anywhere else. Next morning wo travelled the remainder o! the route, under a regular burning antipodean sun, and, like the ancient Greek?, we rejoiced when we descried the sea lying at our feet, glinting and heaving in all its loveliness.- And there was Raglan, nsstline like a spoilt child, on the banks of the harbour, under the lee of a hill, and just recovering from an overdose of paint. It is not my intention to trouble you with the details of a dry diary, for the simple reason that I am de.oid of a diary with which to trouble you. But I propose inDieting on you some of my experiences, cogitations-, i.bieivatioiis and general con-c.u-io:-s made during our short stay in the district. In the first place, Raglan is standing on an exceedingly unstable foundation— in.t comnieieially it> r financially—but physicially. The man who built his house on the sand was the prototype of Raglan's architect, the township being built on a funn of quicksand, only partially consolidated into sandstone. It is still soft, but as iron exists abundantly in the sand and along tiie beach it is merely a matter of tune for the two t'> be welded by chemical affinity into a oonip i< t, liaid mi durable sLone. Now, as geohyy is one of my weak points and Ragla'i a perfect u'useimi of litholojry, one cannot well disueiiso with tliu subject before making a few additional remarks. What strikes a Waikato stranger most on first visiting RagLiu are the limestone rocks on the opposite side of the harbour. These are in the form of tabulated blocks, cut and carved by frush and salt water into a thousand dillL-rent and imitative forms. Caverns run in all directions, and are rare storehouses for the relic* of the sea ; huge castles rear aloft their battlements, and bear the seams and scars of elemental war; and one never tiros of wandering amoin; the cool recesses and hidden itri.tooes of th.s sculptured fairyland. Another interesting feature is the saiid-dunss, seen to perfection in this locality. One d.iy we crossed the ferry on the Opetura Creek for ihe purpose of studying uetter this destructive formation. It is gradually, especially on the To Akau station, encroaching on tlie fertile lands, and carrying waste and desolation in its course. The Maoris now, as in ancient limes, use these dunes as burial places, but nature is Bver ruthless and knows no human law. Slie has miooiered in many places the dry tiuues of her children, and theic they lie, a ghastly monument to the tenuity of human life. Wo reverently lift a skull and observe on the lett temple a comminuted fracture, showing death had been ciused by a heavy blow. Another had ha bones of an eye-socket pierced ~nd all gave evidence of a violent death. If one of these skulls could but speak what a freezing talc of horror might it not relate ! But what interested me most in those sacred mounds were the implements find ornaments found along with the dead. I picked up one rudely-chipped stone adze bu'onginD; to the paleolithic or ancient stone period, before man had learned the art of smoothing aud polishing with water. It may have been a heirloom in some Maori family, handed down from a remote ancestor who flourished when the genus homo began t.o exorcise the faculty of invention. If so, I trust that illustrious pre-Adamite in iy pardon my temeiity and forgive my s icreligious fi.igers for according it a nook in my private museum. B-.t a truce to geology, as I must hasten to other matters of perhaps mure general interest. One cannot always bj digging for bones. Ni.w, were I asked the question, " what is tho future of Raglan ?" I should say, " Us commercial prospects are encouraging, but it will mainly take its stand as a health resort." The sea has ever been recognised as a great natural sanitary agent, dealing out health to all who entrust themselves to its care. In New Zealand it has been the practice of late years to patronise the various medicated hot springs, for the relief of numerous internal and external maladies. These pools of Bethesda are undoubtedly useful in certain complaints, but I fancy a reverse fooling is gradually developing, and invalids are beginning to discover there is virtue in the briny sea after all. Raglan is peculiarly adapted for a. seaside resort owing to its protected position, its beautiful and comparatively safe harbour, its numerous interesting natural features and its picturesque vicinity. The Whaingaroa hot springs—if people will scald themselves —are readily accessible. A ride to Te Miita and through the bush to Wairenga Falls will always form a red letter day in my memory ; and numerous other excursions, nw;ie by flood and Held, were no lass (Icl.ghtful than instructive. Tho RagUmites aio fond of their settlement, and though hospitable to strangers, are a sect by themselves. Every one is not received into their confabulations, and it is a mark of honour if such a favour is extended to a stranger. They are minded but of short memories, especially"" when they own a penny to a native ferry child. They d suuss the affairs of State and the state of affairs of one another with remarkable perspicuity, and seldom fail to elicit the history of anyone travelling in cognito. But. lh j ir mothes are good, and after living a short tim* in their midst, nua becomes like them. So, let me grip their horny hands. I wish thrfin ever-increasing prosperity. May e.ch man bo infinitely better than hie father—and the patient little ferry-gill noc live to die uf starvation.