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Cover illustration—
Staples Brewery, Motueka, erected about 1860 (artist unknown).
The map on p. 7 illustrating the article by Denis Brereton was drawn by C. H. Hyde.
The Nelson Historical Society has recently held its Twentieth Annual General Meeting and no doubt members will agree that our organisation is continuing to foster the purposes for which it was formed so many years ago.
We continue to interest our members and the public in the history which concerns the northern end of the South Island—the area which was originally the Nelson Province. Some of our field trips have been into the Marlborough region. It should be remembered that the early history of the two provinces is closely interwoven. We have most cordial relationships with the members of the Marlborough Historical Society and we value their co-operation.
It is our intention to publish material of historical interest which would not otherwise be published. As well we will continue to produce the Society Journal at intervals. To this end we would ask members to submit historical articles which could be considered by the Editor for publication. A wider circle of interest could thus be created.
It is with regret that we record the death of the well known Motueka historian, the late Mr H. N. Murray. His research, collection and writing, has greatly assisted the preservation of our local history. We trust that his example will inspire others in this task.
Mt Arthur Tableland
Small numbers of gold diggers appear to have sought the precious metal on the Mount Arthur Tableland over quite a period of years. In March 1868 a miner who had been at work there wrote a letter to the Nelson Evening Mail in which he stated that there were about 12 or 14 men then working there, and he complained that the track which was being made by the Government led to country where there was no one at work, while the Lodestone Track, which had been condemned by the Government, was the only one by which the diggers were obtaining their stores, and by which gold was being brought out. He suggested that with a small outlay this track could be 'rendered available'. His comments about the track being made would indicate that he was referring to Jones's Track which led from the Baton Valley to the Leslie River and Karamea Bend. Just when the track by way of Flora Saddle became the usual route is hard to say but the original Dutton's Track to Salisbury Open climbed to a much higher altitude and no doubt avoided a good deal of the bush country.
By 1874 the track by way of the Graham Valley and Flora Saddle must have become the recognised route as in that year John Heath held an hotel licence under the 'Goldfields Accommodation Act' which carried a stipulation that he 'keep track from Heath's house to Flora's Creek clear of slips and fallen timber'. In the same year settlers at Pangatotara petitioned the Nelson Provincial Council for the provision of a cart road up Graham Valley.
In the late 1880s suggestions were being made in Takaka that a track should be opened up from the head of that valley to the Tableland. The area was in the Takaka Riding of the Collingwood County and requests from gold diggers, as well as farmers running stock out there, felt that they should be provided with better access. By 1892 the matter was the cause of some friction as the Waimea County received what little revenue came from the Tableland and yet the Takaka Road Board was expected to improve the access. A request to the Waimea County Council for them to spend the revenue which they received there brought the reply that it would be done 'some time'.
Denis Brereton, a ranger in the Mt Arthur region of the North-west Nelson Forest Park, is a descendant of pioneers in the Motueka Valley, and is interested in the history of the mountainous region where he lives.
After graduating M.A. with honours he followed a seafaring life as a deck officer and also served in the sailing ship Pamir, later returning to the district he knows so well.
On a sunny summer afternoon I sat on a pile of stones near Richards' Creek on the Tableland while above me two keys were sporting in the sky. To the north-east could be seen the rather grotesque backs of Hoary Head and the Crusader; and eastwards were the dim outlines of the jagged teeth of the Mt Arthur Twins through the trees on the edge of the Leslie Valley.
Close by, in Richards' Creek, were mounds of washings from gold diggings which nature is rapidly covering with alpine vegetation in her ceaseless struggle to keep the soil on our planet. This was all that remained of Richards' works and my seat of stones was all that remained of his hut.
It is now fifty years since I set foot as a child on the Tableland. The diggers had come and gone some thirty years before my existence, with one exception, Edwin Moore, who is still on the Tableland in a lonely grave.
In 1858 James Mackay and John Lockett crossed the Tableland from the Cobb on an exploration journey to the headwaters of the Karamea River. On this journey they named Mt Peel, Mt Lockett, and the Diamond Lakes.
In 1863 Thomas Salisbury travelled from Pokororo up the left bank of the Graham River until he reached the junction of the north and south branches. He crossed the north branch and climbed the steep face in front of him to a leading spur on Lodestone. From the top of Lodestone he saw open tussock country to the north-west. From Lodestone Salisbury blazed a track via the spurs of Mt Arthur and Gordon Pyramid to the tussock country which was named Salisbury Open. A week later he returned to Pokororo little the worse for the journey. Salisbury's route became the first track to the Tableland. It was on this track in 1870, probably on Lodestone, that Herbert Grooby was lost and perished. No trace of him was ever found. (I have climbed Lodestone and enjoyed the same view that Salisbury saw, and have a considerable respect for his journey). The present day Tableland track was not made until 1878 and until this date diggers and stock have used Salisbury's route.
Gold Digging Commenced on the Tableland in the 1870s and many strange characters, including Chinamen, were attracted to the area. The diggers are responsible for such strange
Edwin Moore, a mariner, who died of a heart attack on 18th February 1892 (aged 49) was buried on his claim in Cundy Creek. Because of the unusual circumstances an inquiry was held, a party consisting of E. D. Dunn (surgeon), Richmond Hursthouse JP (coroner) and Thomas Boyes travelling to the Tableland where, after a post-mortem and inquiry held in Moore's claim, the burial took place. The North-West Nelson Forest Parks Board intends to erect a cross over the grave.
Richards is remembered as the bad man of the Tableland. Some claimed he was well educated, the son of a clergyman. Charles Sixtus, an early settler in Pokororo, maintained that when he crossed from Melbourne to Wellington, Richards was the mate in the sailing ship. If this is so Richards does not seem to have ever disclosed his profession by any word or act, but he led a very solitary life.
Richards is supposed to have fought with many of the diggers one of whom, Billy Lyons, is quoted as threatening to use his 'squirt' on the next occasion. Over the years the question has often arisen as to what became of Richards. No one knows—he simply left his hut and gear and disappeared. Possibly some of the stories told about him were not altogether accurate.
Billy Lyons may best be described as the 'grand old man of Balloon'. He was said to be a neat, dapper little man very quick in his movements. Much of his long period at Balloon was spent in attempting to dig a ditch to bring water from Peel Lake for gold washing at Balloon. The ditch has never been finished. Lack of water was always the trouble in washing for gold on the Tableland. Billy Lyons' staple diet appears to have been what he called 'poultry', in other words plain weka.
Visitors who stayed with Billy Lyons praised his hospitality and said that he enjoyed western stories and spoke with an American accent. A revolver was always known as a 'squirt' to him. He was also renowned for his ability to toss tea into a boiling billy from a distance of ten feet, little of the tea, it appears, ever being spilt. One wonders!
In his later years Billy Lyons left Balloon and settled in a hut in the Pearse Valley and apparently died at Richmond.
Many people think that the old Balloon hut is a restoration of Billy Lyons' hut but this is not correct, nor is the site the same. The old Balloon hut was financed by the Wellington drapery firm of Kirkcaldie and Staines in 1906 for a gold mining project to pipe water from Peel Lake. Nothing came of this venture except Balloon Hut which is no longer of any use.
The Hodges were cockneys and appear to have had their share of hard times and humour and may be classed among the more successful diggers. They gave their name to Hodge's Creek in the Leslie Valley and the small creek with the bridge about a quarter of a mile from the Cobb track junction on the Flora side. The parallel water races on the western side of the main Peel Ridge are also their work. Hodge's Open on Mt Arthur is another place where their name remains today.
No Tableland history would be complete without mention of Mr and Mrs H. F. Chaffey. The Chaffeys lived in their cottage near the asbestos mine for forty years. Mrs Chaffey's name was in the old Arthur Creek hut in the Leslie Valley dated 1913.
During this long period he worked at track maintenance and hunted and prospected in some very remote areas. He was the caretaker of the asbestos mine and in the early years of this century was blade shearing in the Pokororo area. He was renowned for the size of the swag he could carry. I met him many times on the track and on each occasion was impressed by the size of his swag and his friendly, courteous manner to young people. In later years when the Cobb was opened up, Chaffey used the Cobb route and was no longer seen in the Graham Valley. His knowledge of the country was very great, but like so many high-country people, he did not divulge it. He died at his cottage in 1945, and his wife at Takaka a few years earlier.
In the depression after the 1930s, diggers again appeared on the Tableland and log and shingle huts were built in the Flora, Takaka and Leslie Valleys. When better times came the diggers returned to other occupations.
Some of the Early Tableland names are still in use and their origins are of interest. After the track emerges from the bush at the edge of Salisbury Open, it slopes down to Salisbury Creek and the Rock Shelter can be reached by slanting up the bank to the bush edge before crossing the creek. [The North-west Nelson Forest Park has erected all necessary signposts and the track can be readily seen]. It is about 250 yards from Salisbury Creek to the Rock Shelter.
The Rock Shelter is simply a large overhanging rock face under which a tussock bed and a fireplace can afford warmth and protection from the weather for about a dozen people. It is the first-known shelter on the Tableland, being found by the Salisburys who used it when building their hut. It is a snug spot with a beautiful spring of water.
The Potholes can be easily reached from the Gordon Pyramid track. In the flower season there are good specimens of ranunculi and Maori onion (bulbinella) in the Potholes, which are water-formed sinkholes.
Richards' Cave is about two miles south-west from Salisbury Hut but is not marked by guide poles (on account of damage) and is difficult to find. It is small and dry inside and is very beautiful, especially the 'Wedding Cake' formation of limestone columns.
From the back of the Salisbury Hut for about a mile the track follows a stunted bush spur, named Starvation Spur—on account of its stunted vegetation. The bush edge at the top of the spur where the track emerges into the tussock is Butcher Town. Sheep were led up from the Graham Valley and slaughtered there. Leading seems rather an unusual method, but there were not enough sheep to drive and no holding paddocks. Butcher Town must have presented a strange sight at those times, with bearded diggers coming to collect their mutton and, presumably, paying for it with gold.
Between Salisbury Hut and Balloon the track passes through a beautiful bush-clad gully–Cundy Creek. Before further mention of Cundy Creek it is necessary to describe Bishop's Cave which gives easy access to Cundy Creek. Bishop's Cave is simply a rock tunnel on the eastern side and near to the track, and is well signposted. At the Cundy Creek side of the entrance to the cave there is a stunted gooseberry bush which seems to cling to life year after year. Bishop Suter preached a sermon to the diggers at the cave during his visit to the Tableland in February 1885. He is also reported to have spent a night in the cave—my only comment is that he must have spent a very cold night. Cundy Creek is an enchanting spot and is well worth an hour or two fossicking about and seeing what can be found in this neighbourhood, especially fossilised shells in the roof of Bishop's Cave.
On the Balloon side of Cundy Creek, on a little mound in the bush, is the old diggers' smithy. This consists of a large overhanging rock on which the smoke stains can still be seen. Underneath this rock face there is a square raised stone fireplace. Lying around are a mattock head, horseshoes and other odd pieces.
As mentioned earlier the grave of Edwin Moore is in Cundy Creek, no distance from the blacksmith's shop.
Salisbury Hut was built in 1928 by the Mount Balloon Scenic Board and having now reached the end of its life is being replaced. From Salisbury Hut it is about four miles to Balloon Hut at the foot of the tussock spurs leading to Mt Peel. The old Balloon Hut is useless, but in September 1963 the Abel Tasman National Park Board built a new eight-bunk hut at Balloon. The Park Board deserves great credit for its initiative and foresight in erecting this hut. It is a great pity they did not carry on this initiative and add the Mt Arthur Tableland area to the Abel
Many years ago, some humorist carved on the door of the old Balloon Hut: 'Abandon hope all ye who enter here'. On cold nights in the old days I have felt tempted to agree with him.
The isolated patch of bush below the Balloon Hut is China Town. Here the Chinese worked and apparently did not mingle with the other diggers, nor do they seem to have been molested in any way. What their fortunes and their fates were no one knows. Today the young beech is growing rapidly and little can now be seen in China Town.
The Balloon Creek flows through a tussock gully below the Balloon Hut and China Town. This is Golden Gully. Cundy Creek and Commiskey Creek which is immediately below Starvation Spur, join Balloon Creek in this gully. The tussock has grown up high and it is difficult to see much of the old diggings. The gully provides a pleasant walk within easy distance from the Balloon Hut. Golden Gully was the best area for gold on the Tableland.
These notes describe a field trip of the Nelson Historical Society on 28th October 1972, led by the writer.
The party followed the route of the early explorers and settlers from the Waimeas, by way of Reay's (originally Rea's) Saddle to Golden Downs.
The first settlers going to the upper Motueka Valley to as far north as Tapawera travelled this way with their bullock drays. The track over Spooner's Range came later.
Stafford and Dillon were running sheep in the Motueka Valley by 1845 and George Duppa pastured sheep in the upper part of the valley. His shepherd was William Gordon, a Scotchman, and the locality was soon known as Gordon Downs, with Gordon's Knob and Gordon Creek naturally following.
Most of the land was held as large blocks until after World War I when the area was cut up for soldier settlement under the optimistic name of Golden Downs. The land was priced too high and some settlers knew little about sheep. One property abandoned in 1926 was planted in trees in 1927 and this was the start of the Golden Downs Forest originally set up as an employment measure.
The track by way of Golden Downs became the "Main South Road" and the only overland route to Buller, Wairau, and Canterbury for many years.
There were difficulties in crossing the Motueka River in time of flood so an accommodation house was started here in 1846.
Kerr's Hill at the head of the valley was so named after the David Kerr family who had the Blue Glen run in the locality from 1849 onwards. The original track followed a spur, still known as 'The Bullock Track', to the top of the hill, and simply zig-zagged down the face of the hill to Blue Glen homestead in the Motupiko Valley.
Big Bush was originally a heavily timbered area of beech forest but large areas have been felled and one fears that a great deal more will be removed. It is still possible to see the old logs from the uprooted trees from the great 'blow down' of 1867. A great deal of the present area is re-growth forest.
Tophouse Telegraph Station was opened in 1876 and from there the line was extended to the Lyell so giving Nelson a direct link with the West Coast.
The Tophouse Hotel was moved to this site in 1887. It is no longer a licensed house.
A tragedy took place at Tophouse in 1894 when two men were murdered and one committed suicide.
J. S. Cotterell discovered the Tophouse Pass in November 1842, and Lake Rotoiti in January 1843. Here the streams lead in three directions, north to Motueka, east to Wairau, and west to Buller.
The original track to the Wairau kept to the higher ground nearly as far south as the present road junction to avoid the swamps.
The track to the Buller kept to the west side of Black Valley, again to avoid the swamps.
A small hill in Black Valley is actually the terminal moraine of an ancient glacier.
There is also another terminal where the road descends into the Wairau Valley. The original track here kept to the ridge, and Wiesenhavern's Top House, built in 1859, was beside the track, the site not being visible from the present road.
(Stop at the old 'top house')
This is where Cooper and Morse were squatting with sheep in 1846, so becoming the first sheep farmers in the Wairau. Their place was simply the 'top house'. Goulds were occupying a mud building there as a licensed accommodation house in 1856.
When the survey was made in 1859 to decide the boundaries of the new Marlborough Province a peg, shown on the maps as Top 2, was driven into the wall of the building and a line was taken north from there to Ward's Pass and another east to Barefell Pass. The result was that when permanent buildings were erected at Red Hills homestead the house was in the Nelson Province while the woolshed was in Marlborough.
A good route south to Canterbury by way of Wairau Gorge, originally known to the Maoris, was discovered in 1855 and many of the North Canterbury runs, as well as those in the Wairau, were stocked by sheep shipped into Nelson and driven overland.
Land was taken up at Tarndale by J. W. and C. S. Saxton in 1857 (and possibly by others) about that time.
In 1863 an accommodation house was established on an accommodation lease held by William White.
In the late 1860s N. Edwards and John Kerr took over the Tarndale area.
They also took up the Rainbow in the Wairau Valley and had the licence removed from Tarndale to there in 1874. Rainbow was normally handled as part of Tarndale.
The name of Rainbow station has now been transferred to the land earlier known as the Red Hills run, originally the Top House run.
The Tophouse route was the only vehicle road to Marlborough until the Whangamoa was opened in the late 1880s.
The Red Hills are part of the mineral belt which follows the ranges north to Dun Mountain and D'urville Island.
The Wairau runs were largely taken up about 1850 as an investment by businessmen who knew little or nothing about sheep and relied on the shepherds they employed to run the properties. It was mainly taken under lease and was often grid-ironed by buying areas of frontage and then running the No-man's-Land adjoining it. Land was taken up by many investors and then aggregation took place by those ambitious enough or financial enough taking over neighbouring properties. The hey-day of the runs was in the 1880s and 1890s. Many of the larger holdings were being broken up by about 1900.
The present road from the Wairau to the Buller was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Bridge timber, cement, culvert pipes, and all other requirements, were railed to Kohatu station on the Nelson Railway and trucked through Tophouse.
The Wash Bridge, built about 1926, was 76 feet above water level when built but there is now only about 20 feet between the riverbed and the bridge deck, being the result of erosion in the back country.
The bridge took the place of the old Manuka Island crossing, a few miles further down the river. Always a dangerous stream to cross, the Wairau claimed the lives of many people, including a well known figure, the Hon. Constantine Dillon.
An accommodation house was suggested for this spot in 1850. This was established later but there were great difficulties in keeping it manned.
The Raglan, Manuka Island, Branch Point, and Leatham, were at one time part of Birch Hill but were cut off the old station, possibly about 1900, and became separate runs.
The Manuka Island homestead is on the northern side of the river and can be clearly seen from the highway.
The Branch River was shown as Cotterell River on early maps. This is now spanned by a modern bridge but there have been difficulties ever since the river was first bridged in the 1920s.
The Leatham in the valley of the Branch River formed a natural boundary between the Birch Hill property and the Hillersden back country behind it.
There were two sheep stations on the north side of the Wairau River. Northbank, at one time belonging to the Bell family, and further north, Langleydale, taken up by William Adams, and still held by the Adams family.
Birch Hill was originally taken up by George Duppa who only held it for a few years and there have been a number of owners since. A stop on the roadside gives travellers a glimpse of the set-up with the woolshed on one side of the road and the bunk-house, cookhouse, and homestead on the other side.
The Wye River is the boundary between Birch Hill and Hillersden.
The Hillersden land was originally taken up in various blocks by a number of speculators including A. G. Jenkins and E. D. Sweet. When owned by Thomas Carter, with Jimmy Bell as manager, it became a vast run and employed up to 200 and more men and so became known as 'Nelson College' as so many young men from Nelson went there for employment. The undertaking was worked from several points. The Hillersden homestead was one mile from the Wairau Valley township; Wantwood was some miles further south, while Stronvar was over the ranges at the head of the Waihopai Valley. The station had its own flax mill, wagon teams, gangs of rabbiters, and so on.
Lansdowne, opposite the Wairau Valley township, was taken up by C. F. Watts. He was appointed the first constable of Wairau in 1849. His son, George Watts, became a very well-known figure in the sheep world of Marlborough during his ownership of Lansdowne.
Erina was taken up by G. W. Schroder, a merchant in Nelson, who had made his way to New Zealand independently. He took a lease of a wharf and built a brick warehouse but when this was taken over by the Government in 1851 his attention turned to land in the Wairau. He took up Erina run but eventually was beaten by the scab disease in his sheep so moved to the Amuri where he served as Constable, and carried out most other official duties. Erina was taken over by William Bell and later it was owned by George Watts who ran it as part of Lansdowne.
Bankhouse was taken up by Dr (later Sir) David Monro and the first homestead was at Craiglochart in the Waihopai Valley.
One of the problems here and at neighbouring localities was the depredations of wild dogs. Some museums have on display the hefty dog-traps used to catch the dogs. These were made by the local blacksmiths.
The Waihopai accommodation house was started in 1853 by G. W. Schroder on an accommodation lease granted by the Provincial Council. A few years later this was listed as an hotel under the 'Bush Licences'. Quite an important hostelry at one time, it is now closed.
(Waihopai Valley)
A short distance up the Waihopai Valley it is posible to see the location of several of the early runs.
On the west side is the homestead of The Delta run. Originally taken up by Edward Green (of Tahunanui fame) it became the property of Dr Thomas Renwick who founded the township which carries his name.
To the east is Leefield the country originally taken up by the Hon. Constantine Dillon.
The Benhopai station further up the valley was the land taken up by W. O. Cautley.
At the head of the valley the watershed is known as the Canterbury Spur. This was used as a stock route to Canterbury as, after crossing the range, mobs were taken down the Saxton and Acheron, to the Clarence River, and then over Jollie's Pass to the Hanmer Plain.
Hawkesbury was taken up by Cyrus Goulter and Brookby by his brother-in-law, Joseph Ward. Both Goulter and Ward had been in the survey party with William Budge and they picked the land they wished to buy.
Brookby was broken up into farms in 1892.
Hawkesbury is best remembered as the home of Charles Goulter, son of Cyrus, who was a well-known breeder of Merino sheep and Jersey cattle. He was proud of the trees which had been planted round the plains and hills.
Woodbourne was taken up by Henry Godfrey.
Fairhall was taken up by Ward and A. P. Seymour.
In the Renwick Museum are some very interesting exhibits although it is to be regretted that much of the material which belong to the area has been taken away to other parts of the country.
Dr Thomas Renwick's first plan of his private survey of the township of Renwick is a valuable historical record which is preserved there.
The dog-trap, as used by the early runholders to catch wild dogs, is certainly a massive and cruel-looking instrument.
Another item of real interest is the first bicycle ever built in New Zealand. This was made by the local blacksmith, John Vorbach, who originally came to New Zealand during the Collingwood gold rush.
Cotterell, in December 1842, found the Tophouse or Wairau Pass and saw the grassy plains of the Wairau Valley.
After the Wairau Massacre, Morse and Cooper drove sheep through this pass into the head of the Wairau at Tophouse. Then Mr George Duppa took up land at Birch Hill and others followed.
By 1850 the valley had been opened up to settlers and the following were the first licensed to occupy runs there.
In 1953, Captain MacKenzie, retired Bombay Infantry, visited Australia and New Zealand.
From Wellington he sailed to Flaxbourne and then set out for Nelson:—
Left Flaxbourne, travelled through Wairau and set out for Nelson. I started out about 6 o'clock up the Wairau Valley. Hills on the north side wooded and very broken and rugged. I overtook a man on the road going to Nelson, named Gibson. He is a shepherd and has charge of Mr Green's run, and appears a very decent old man.
[Ed. The run referred to is the Delta, then owned by Mr E. Green, Nelson]. I determined to go with him. We halted at Mr Dupper's station. [Ed. Mr George Duppa, Birch Hill].
We were overtaken by a storm but found a hut on Manuka Island. Saw a woodhen. Silly bird. Easily caught. After crossing streams and hills passed through a black birch forest to N. G. Morses Tophouse.
At sunset entered another forest where I perceived the road had been laid out with ditches on either side of it and about four miles further on we came to a house where we put up for the night. The owner, Mr 'Gork' Rodger, a Yorkshireman, was drunk.
[Ed. Likely John Gaukroger—hotel keeper at Foxhill. He never touched alcohol].
Up at daylight. On leaving this place the roadside shows signs of cultivation. A good many small cottages, fences, patches of grain had increased in number.
Halted at Richmond for breakfast and then into Nelson where I arrived at 12 o'clock.
I have determined to leave Nelson today. A man named Collier is going with me to Port Cooper. At last we set out and rode as far as 'Gork' Rodger's where I arrived at 1 o'clock and put up for the night.
Up early but my companion detained me until 1 o'clock when we rode off to Davie Kerr's, the furthest up house on this side of the bush. I found no difficulty in tracing my way back through these hills.
The house was full of people last night so I had to sleep on the floor, not liking the plan of going halves in a bed, which I find is thought nothing of here. I got up at 4 a.m. and called the others. We soon got breakfast and at 6 a.m. got away and rode to Mr Duppa's station. We took four hours to get through the bush. On the Wairau side we halted at the 'top house'. It is situated in a very pretty spot near a birch forest with the river below, some way off. It was an inn but has been deserted on account of the distance from the only place where supplies are to be had. Here we remained for two hours to let our horses feed and then went on to Mr Duppa's.
I slept in the store on some wool packs with a bloody disgusting-looking ram's head above me. This is the country to learn to rough it in and no mistake. A little rain fell this morning but it soon passed off and it is now a fine day.
Started about ten. Rode to Gauks. Waited there for rest of party.
Made a fair start. Reached Davy Kerr's about two and had a snack. Got through the wood a little after sunset and camped under the trees for the night.
A splendid morning. Rode down to Manuka Island and breakfasted at the accommodation house, the people very civil. Pushed on, the sun blazing down and got to the dairy, about an hour after dark, having ridden 53 miles.
Walked down in the direction of Godfreys and breakfasted there. Horses lost. I went up the Waihopai. Called at Frasers, found Mrs Fraser and had some excellent Scotch kale. No traces of horses. Met Weld.
Up at daylight and rode to Frasers. Then across to Leefield which is much shaken by the earthquake. Met Sam Eves. Horses are in Omaka. Found them.
Made an early start. Gave our horses a bite and washed in the pass (the Blairich Pass—which led into the Awatere). Then to Flaxbourne.
Extracts from the President's Annual Report June, 1973
Now that the Nelson Provincial Museum is a reality it is appropriate that reference be made to the part played by the Historical Society in getting this established.
The Nelson Historical Society was formed in 1954 with the object of collecting and preserving documentary material of historical interest, particularly with reference to the northern part of the South Island. Mr J. Stewart and Mr L. W. Field had both made suggestions how collections of material in Nelson could most suitably be preserved.
An able committee was elected with Mr Field as Secretary, a position which he held for some years, while Mr J. A. Jenkins became convener of the Records Committee.
Helpful advice was sought and received from the Alexander Turnbull Library and soon a great deal of material was being catalogued and card indexed.
Miss Frank signed an agreement to hand over the Tyree collection of photographic plates to the Society and the directors of Hallenstein Brothers generously permitted the collection to remain in their fireproof premises on a rent free basis.
The problem of where to house our material was temporarily solved when the Union Bank made three rooms available at the rear of their premises and a good deal of work was carried on there. Mr James MacKay was there at stated times to receive material or supply information.
In 1958 and 1959 committees were in operation investigating the possibilities of establishing a Nelson Provincial Historical Trust Board, as it was then called, to be financed by the local bodies in the area. To this end Mr L. W. Field made extensive enquiries in various parts of the country and delegations from the Society's committee attended meetings of the local bodies and put proposals before them.
In 1961 the Society's Collection was moved to Isel House and voluntary workers continued with the cataloguing of the vast amount of material which was being amassed.
In 1965 all the Society's material was handed over to the Trust Board, but the Society continued the activities of the Records Committee for the time being.
It is quite apparent that without the enthusiasm and dogged perseverance of Messrs L. W. Field, L. E. H. Baigent, J. A. Jenkins, and other members of the Society, the new museum would not yet be in existence.
It is a matter of regret that owing to the lack of working space local research workers have not had access to the Society's collection which had been passed over to the Museum Trust Board but we look forward to the time when the Archives Section is open and the Society's collection, the Dr Bett collection, and other collections of material, will be available.
One last point of interest is the fact that our membership now stands at 150 and this in itself is proof that the Society is playing a useful role in the community. Some people had felt that our Society would fade out when the Trust Board was formed, but this did not happen. I, personally, believe that there is a great deal which we could and should be doing.
We have every reason to believe that we can go forward in confidence. Membership is increasing and with the new museum in operation, it appears that this Society will now be able to take its rightful place and fulfil the purpose for which it was formed.
Editor's note:—
In the early pioneering days breweries were established in most of the small settlements as no doubt this was an easy way to overcome the problems of transport. In many parts of the Nelson Province both hops and grain were grown from early times so, with ample supplies of good clean water, the raw ingredients were near at hand.
In his reminiscences the late David Drummond stated that he was the ferry boy at the Motueka River crossing, and said 'I used to pull Mr Thomas Rowling, a stonemason by trade, across the river morning and night. He was building a brewery for Mr John Staples. The building is still standing (1934), and, being built of stone, it will be there when most of Motueka's old landmarks have disappeared. Mr Staples kept the brewery going for a number of years. When I grew a bit older I often called in and had a glass of Staples' ale which was always on tap, and good ale it was.'
(Dominion Breweries Ltd. had considered rebuilding the old brewery as a Centennial project but the buildings had deteriorated beyond the stage where this was possible).
Extract from the Nelson Evening Mail Motueka News, 12th April, 1972
Was that once a tobacco or hop kiln?
How many vistors to Motueka have asked that question in reference to the remains of an old brick kiln seen from the road when travelling north along High Street, prior to reaching the Motueka bridge.
The old kiln was once part of a brewery. John Staples, one of Nelson's earliest settlers, arrived in the Fifeshire in 1842, settled in Motueka and established a successful brewery round about the years 1852 or 1853. The remains of the kiln are the only parts left.
Our cover photograph, taken in 1860, shows the imposing building that once stood upon the site. On the right can be seen the toolshed, the cooperage where the beer barrels were made, and the kiln where the hops were dried. The beer was brewed in the section on the left. This larger building was stoned up with river stones (not large enough to be called boulders) all the way round, nearly three feet above ground level, and allowed for a cellar of standing room height. From the rear of the building the cellar was downstairs and there was plenty of cellar space at both back and sides of the building. It is recorded that the late David Drummond rowed the late Tommy Rowling across the Motueka river each morning to erect the stone work of the
In the days when the brewery was in full production all sections of beer making were carried out in Motueka, both hops and barley being grown in the district.
The Motueka Brewery was abandoned in 1866 when John Staples and his two sons departed for Wellington where they started the Thorndon Beehive Brewery which they operated till 1899 when it was taken over by a company with fifty thousand pounds capital. This was a solid sum for those days and was an indication both of the progress that Staples had made and of the fact that the time had come for the investment of large scale capital in brewery enterprise. The Red Band label for bottled beer was introduced by the company—the idea coming from the red bands which the brewery then had on all of its casks.
As far as Mrs Phyllis Wilkins, Motueka, a descendant of John Staples is aware, the brewery at Motueka was not used as such after he left for Wellington. In the early 1930s the kiln was used for air drying tobacco, and at one time Mrs Wilkins' father stored grain and chaff in the building.
Information regarding Staples family, Motueka, original brewers in the district—supplied by Mrs Phyllis Wilkins, Birdhurst, Motueka on 7th July 1972.
As told by Misses Fanny and Florrie Staples about 1950
Mr John Staples and his wife and three children, John William, and a daughter who died later, came from England to New Zealand in the ship Fifeshire in 1842.
The family settled in Motueka and lived in a cob two storied house in High Street, opposite the Court House. Later they moved to the farm by the river and lived in a one storied house built of English timbers on the site where the present two storied house stands.
Mr Staples started his two elder sons in a brewery business in Wellington but the business began in Motueka in the old hop kiln, still standing on the side of the road, which was then the malt house.
Right from the beginning, crops of wheat, oats and barley were grown. Old Mr Limmer, a very stout man, always cut Mr Staples' crops with a sickle and the grain was threshed out with a flail.
Maori men assisted with the harvest and Maori women assisted Mrs Staples (Mrs Robert Staples) with the dinner. She would place their cooked food in a milk pan and they would eat it under the trees.
Beautiful bush of titoki trees stood where the Anglican Church now is. Mr and Mrs Staples would walk from their home through
Sheep were kept in the early days and a short time before shearing commenced, the Maori workers would wash the sheep in the river, dry them, and then drive them into clean pastures. Wool was shipped to Nelson when baled.
Robert Staples grew hops for many years and Richmond Hursthouse of Motueka and William McLean of Riwaka dried them in the malt house which was later turned into a hop kiln.
The sons of great grandfather John Staples were: John, William, Robert, Henry and Jim.
One of the most ambitious field trips ever organised by the Nelson Historical Society was that to Tua Marina and Port Underwood in October 1973. Members of the Marlborough Historical Society welcomed our party from Nelson at Tua Marina and Mr Frank W. Smith gave a very interesting talk on the affray which took place here between the Maori people and Captain Wakefield's party on 17th June, 1843. Later Mr Smith accompanied the party on the trip to Port Underwood and we are pleased to be able to present his notes here.
The brig Victoria anchored off the Wairau Bar on 11th June and the party rowed up the Wairau river and spent the night in the Big Bush at Grovetown. Next morning they rowed up and left their boats at the mouth of Blind Creek and then reached the fateful spot by walking along two of the tracks made by Barnicoat and Thompson's survey parties. At that time the hill reached right across to the creek edge. (This has now been cut back to allow for a railway and modern highway). The Maoris were camped on the west side of the creek near where a walnut tree now stands. The stream was deep and a canoe was put across just below the titoki tree for Captain Wakefield and party to cross. The trouble started on the other side towards the walnut tree. The party retreated up the hill firing as they went and stopped where the Monument now stands and that is where Te Rangihaieta did his dark deed.
The monument was erected in 1866.
It was the Reverend Samuel Ironside and party who came and buried the victims and fortunately he has been remembered both in the church here and at Ngakuta Bay by tablets in his memory.
We are very proud of our titoki tree which we maintain was there in 1843. People have scoffed and asked 'How do you know it was there in 1843?' The answer is simple. After the south-east storm had died down Michael Aldridge the whaler brought Mr Ironside across the Bay and up the river to bury the dead. Michael was a young man of 23 years at that time and he came to know the place intimately. Tua Marina and Pukaka swamp swarmed with wild pigs and he used to have pig hunting expeditions to fill the pork barrels of the whaling ships when they were about to return to Europe. On one of these expeditions in December 1846 he found the body of Thomas Maling, the chief constable, under a cabbage tree at the junction of Blind and Schooner Creeks. Forty-six years later when Michael was getting old and Tua Marina was settled his son kept the hotel (situated where the house stands this side of the Hall). He used to come up from Ocean Bay and stay with his son and he told the local people that the two titoki trees were there in 1843 and he also pointed out where he found Maling's body.
Following 1843 the Wairau was a 'No-Man's-Land' for some time and then in March 1845 William Fox, who had taken Captain Wakefield's place in Nelson, accompanied by Samuel Stephens, the Chief Surveyor, and three others came by boat to where Picton now is and made their way through the bush and swamp to here, where they located the graves and climbed the hill to get a good view of the Plains. Being an artist, Fox made a sketch and later worked it up into a water colour painting, this possibly being the first picture ever taken of the Wairau Plain. It is now in the Museum in Dunedin. Fox's party made their way up the valley by the overland route back to Nelson. When about to cross the Wairau river at what later came to be known as Vickerman's ford he made another sketch which shows the Bounds and the mountains near Top House. Stephens kept a good diary and in November 1966 his great grandson visited the area and stood on the hill (Tua Marina) and there he read what his ancestor had written in 1845. He was visiting New Zealand with the idea of seeing the locality where his forebear had lived as he hopes to publish the diaries.
After Sir George Grey bought the Wairau district legally in March 1847 surveys started again and in Tua Marina 90 acres were reserved as a site for a village. This was later surveyed into 118 small sections and put up for sale in the Nelson Land Office on 13th August, 1859. Remembering the events of 1843 streets were named Wakefield, Thompson, Cotterell, Patchett, England, and Howard.
Thirteenth August, 1859, is taken as the date upon which the Tua Marina settlement started and one hundred years later on
Some of the Tua Marina people are proud of the fact that the land from the Wairau Bar, north along the beach to Whitio Bay, and then west to Tua Marina on the north bank of the Wairau River, was in Survey No. 1, being the first survey contract let to the two young surveyors Barnicoat and Thompson. Certainly it was not their fault that the survey came to nothing. In honour of this survey one of the first proposals put before the Historic Places Trust when it was formed in 1956 was the request that this be suitably recognised. So far the proposal has not been successful.
This is an edited version of Mr Smith's address. Mr
On leaving Tua Marina the land to the left which is now market gardening and dairying land was in heavy bush in 1843.
Across to the west is Mount Dobson named after Alfred Dobson our first provincial engineer and a member of the well known Dobson family. The gully coming down on the left from Mt Dobson is Battles Gully named such because James Battle who was killed by the Burgess-Kelly gang on the Maungatapu in 1866, lived there for some time previously. This bush land was taken up originally by Dr Vickerman and then passed into Henry Redwood's hands, both of whom were well known in early Nelson. The last patch of Redwoods bush was milled in 1906.
About a mile on, the lands on the left, in the original survey were allocated to the Hon. Lord Petre one of the directors of the New Zealand Company in 1840.
Further on at the foot of Strachans Peak stood the 'Half Way House' opened as an accommodation house by William Strachan in 1854. Strachan was one of our most capable and energetic settlers and if you look up the lengthy reports of Thomas Brunner in the Proceedings of the Nelson Provincial Council for 1857 you will find that Strachan was let the contract for constructing the southern and most difficult half of this road. Following the huge 1868 flood he got into financial difficulties and was sold up. At home I have his surveyor's chain used on the job.
A mile away to the left stood the two storey home of Captain Baillie the 2nd of the Superintendents of the Provincial Council days. It was demolished about five years ago.
On the right stood the home of Captain Dalton, a sea captain who had a large sawmill over by the railway.
On the left notice the lovely little church 'St. John in the Wilderness' built 102 years ago. That name aptly describes it, as this area was dense milling bush and it was built in a little clearing in the heart of the bush. Its centennial was held two years ago conducted by Bishop Sutton.
Notice the Deer Park on the right, opened a few years ago, it attracts a lot of visitors.
Following the first attempt to settle the Wairau district which ended disastrously at Tua Marina on 17th June 1843, it was not until March 1847 that Sir George Grey the Governor bought the district legally from the Maoris and surveys and settlement started again. It was soon realised that a port to serve the district was necessary and that the mouth of the Wairau River exposed to the south-east gales was not very suitable. Port Underwood was examined and though a splendid harbour it was much too inaccessible so Waitohi Bay (where Picton is now) was decided on.
But there were difficulties, as there was a large Maori pa on the site. However after delicate negotiations, which took some time, the Maoris were shifted to a new settlement built for them in the next bay, Waikawa, which is still a Maori settlement.
The site of Picton was surveyed and the sections offered for sale on 1st July, 1850. But the place didn't go ahead very fast.
Even after Strachan got the road open it was only a muddy track for years and until the railway opened on 17th November 1875 most of the produce from the Plain went down the river and was lightered to ships anchored off shore or in Port Underwood. But the river trade didn't give up without a struggle. It was the coming of the Aramoana and the other roll-on ferries that finished it. The last trip of the scow Echo was on 21st August, 1965 and if you go down to the Bar you will see the memorial to the river trade that we have put up.
Mabel Island in Picton Harbour is named after the eldest daughter of Colonel Gore Brown the first Governor to visit Picton (in 1856) and who was later responsible for the naming of Marlborough, Blenheim and Picton.
The chief Maori settlement since 1850 is now mainly a boating and holiday resort.
Karaka Point, on which stood a strongly fortified pa, which was attacked by Te Rauparaha and his men armed with muskets, and overwhelmed during his raids in the early 1830s, is now very overgrown with manuka and rubbish, but when I first visited it, over 50 years ago it was grass and the wall and ditch on the landward side and many pits and house sites were visible. An
Whatamango Bay was settled in the early days by members of the McCormick family. The mountain at its head is Mount McCormick. From this bay the road made in 1957 by the Marlborough County Council, over the range to Oyster Bay gave road access for the first time to the settlers in Port Underwood. It was made with a grant of back country access money and was just a matter of bulldozing wider the bridle track that had been there for many years.
A breastwork for launches was built at Oyster Bay. Though Port Underwood is one of the first districts in New Zealand to have white settlers it had to wait a long time until 1957 to have road access. The island in the Sound visible from Whatamango is Allports Island named after a member of the Nelson family who was prominent in the life of Tua Marina, Koromiko and Picton in the early days.
From this 1400 ft high saddle on a clear day a lovely view of Port Underwood to as far away as Cape Campbell across Cloudy Bay can be seen. To the north some of Queen Charlotte Sound and to the east is a glimpse of the Electricity Department's road to Fighting Bay.
Port Underwood is named after a Sydney ship owner James Underwood who very early in the 1800s had ships whaling in the area.
Hakahaka, where the road descends to the Port was the home from the very early days of an American negro who came ashore from an American whaling ship. He married a Maori wife and to my knowledge had a son and a daughter. In my young days the son was a highly respected figure of the community in Blenheim. A fine upstanding figure and when in his Salvation Army uniform and beating the big drum in the band he was a person to take notice of. He had a traction engine driver's ticket and many a thousand sacks of chaff he helped cut on our farm. After oat growing for chaff became a thing of the past he was employed by the Blenheim Borough Council for many years. He died in 1960 aged 95 at the home of his son in Raglan, the son being the postmaster there. The Davis daughter married and had a son who after holding a responsible position in the Works Department in Blenheim for many years, retired just recently.
On the site of the original Davis home at Hakahaka some old orchard and poplar trees are to be seen.
Turning north and going up to the head of the Port the next bay is Whangataura.
The County Council had received a grant and were widening and forming the road on to this bay when the decision was made to go on with the power cable project. The bay was the home from very early times of members of the Baldick family, of which more later. It is now owned by a Christchurch businessman.
Opihi Bay, the next small bay was occupied by members of the Daken family and a number of their graves are there, and at the present time one member has a seaside cottage in the bay.
Crossing over the Tongue which divides the inner part of Port Underwood into two arms, and from where a good view can be had, the road descends to Whangakoko Bay which was early occupied by the Claverley family. A very fine white marble headstone over one of their graves is unfortunately smothered in a thicket of gorse, but a growth of arum lilies marks the site of the home.
A short climb and then the road descends to Ngakuta Bay. It is impossible in this short account to do justice to this bay. But briefly the Rev. Samuel Ironside established his mission station here at the end of 1840, it being the second mission station to be established in the South Island. It had been estimated that as well as the whalers there were 1500 Maoris in villages on the shores of Cook Strait. With his station situated here he was able to minister to the whalers and natives in the Port. After a short climb up Ironside Ridge and a descent down Missionary Ridge to Missionary Bay in Queen Charlotte Sound, where he kept a boat, he ministered to the Maoris in the Sound where 12 native chapels had been built. It is on record that in his boat he went as far away as Nelson, Motueka and Collingwood. The white cairn marks the site of the Rev. Ironside's large church, and was erected by Methodist Church people as their contribution to Marlborough Centennial in 1959. A sketch of the mission house came to light some years ago and is the only picture of any of the mission buildings that we have. When I visited the bay many years ago the mouldered remains of the mission house chimneys were to be seen, but ploughing operations removed them. However the site on the beach where he kept his boat is still to be seen.
Samuel Ironside will be remembered for interviewing Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata after 17th June 1843, then rowing across Cloudy Bay in stormy weather and up the Wairau River to Tua Marina to bury the 22 victims of the affray. The boat in which he travelled was rowed by men from Michael Aldridge's whaling station.
The poplar trees on the west of the bay mark the site of Michael's home and the fine oaks to the east are where his brother Henry lived. After the trouble at Tua Marina most of the Maoris fled to the North Island and Ironside was transferred to Wellington. A layman named William Jenkins lived in the mission house for six years and was then transferred to Motueka and the station here abandoned. If you read your Motueka church history you will find Jenkins's name figures prominently. Several times we have had his descendants visiting this spot. Just recently I have received a copy of a map of 1842 showing the mission station in the bay. We are very fortunate in that Mr H. G. Bothwell who owned the bay and gave us permission to erect the cairn, very generously donated to the church the quarter acre on which it stands. It was surveyed off and is now church property.
Continuing round we come to Hakana Bay where reside Mr and Mrs G. S. Yorke and Mr and Mrs C. H. E. Harris and then at the end of a narrow road constructed by the Marlborough County Council we come to Whataroa Bay where for many years lived members of the Daken family but now owned by Mr G. D. Russell.
From Hakana Bay the very steep road constructed by the Electricity Deparmtent goes up and over to Fighting Bay, where the power lines from Benmore join the cable to cross the Strait.
Fighting Bay gets its name from an event in the early 1830s when Te Rauparaha's party armed with muskets all but exterminated the local Maoris on this side of the Strait. Assistance for the local Maoris came from their friends of Foveaux Strait when the chief Tuhawaiki with several canoe loads of warriors arrived and a naval battle took place in the bay.
Returning to Hakahaka, the next bay is Oyster Bay where the settlers put up breastwork for their launches when the road was constructed over from Whatamonga. In this bay stands the cottage in which John Guard the younger spent his married life, and his nephew Walter Guard also. Walter died last year and, his son and daughter living in Blenheim, Mrs Guard has been in a quandary and it is possible the bay is to be sold.
In this bay was the large camp of the Electricity Department when the power lines were being erected.
On past Coles Bay and then Tom Canes Bay, named after a very early whaler. Documents in the Archives record that for the right to start a whaling station in this bay the price paid to the Maoris was a barrel of gunpowder and a barrel of tobacco. A descendant of Tom Cane came from Wanganui to attend the unveiling of the Ironside Cairn at Ngakuta.
Kakapo Bay comes next, the home of the Guard family since it was occupied by the ancestor Captain John Guard in 1827. In 1963 the Historic Places Trust erected one of their standard markers here to record the establishment of the first whaling station on the Port. Since then our Marlborough Historical Society has put one of the Guard's trypots and also mounted nearby a historic gun, which had been lying in the grass for many years.
A visit to the Guard family cemetery is worthwhile. It has recently been tidied up and a stone put over the grave of Kuika the wife of James Wynen who was murdered here in December 1842 and which event, and the allowing of Richard Cook the murderer to go free, was partly the cause of the trouble at Tua Marina the following year.
The Rev. Samuel Ironside landed here on 20th December 1840 and on Christmas Day he conducted the first Christian service in the Port, in the home of the storekeeper James Wynen. On 20th December 1965, exactly 125 years later a church service was held on the site of Wynens home and the clergyman, the Rev. C. B. Oldfield, used the same text as Ironside had used.
James Wynen later is moved to the Wairau Bar and Blenheim and the site of his first store in Blenheim is marked by an Historic Places Trust marker. (Incidentally James Wynen died on 13th April 1866 in an accommodation house known at 'The Fleece' in Waimea Road, Nelson, aged 60 years, and was buried in St. Paul's Churchyard Brightwater. If any of you Nelson people can locate the site of his grave I would be pleased to hear of it).
Shortly after leaving Kakapo Bay an AA marker points across to Horahora Kakahu Island where on 17th June 1840 the flag was hoisted and the South Island taken possession of following the obtaining of the signatures of the South Island Maoris to the Treaty of Waitangi. If the day is clear it is possible to see the white Historic Places Trust marker which was unveiled on 3rd October 1964. Admiral Washbourn, in command of two naval vessels, came across from Wellington and unveiled the marker and re-enacted the ceremony of 1840. It was a fine day and the ceremony went off well. The dark tree on the island is a macrocarpa and it stands on the exact spot where the flagstaff stood in 1840. At that time the island was a strongly fortified pa.
Continuing on, the next bay is Ocean Bay, so named because from here the first view of the ocean can be seen. For many years after 1850 it was the home of Michael Aldridge who in one of his whale boats took the Rev. Ironside to Tua Marina to bury the dead in 1843. He is buried in the bay. For a number of years after 1905 the Rev. John Crump, a retired missionary, owned the bay and conducted a very successful boarding school for boys.
At the present time some of the old pupils are trying to organise a re-union. It was in this bay that Messrs Clifford and Weld in August 1847, unloaded their shipments of sheep from Australia and then drove them to start their huge Flaxbourne sheep station.
Robin Hood Bay is the next bay, so named for its similarity to the bay of the same name in Yorkshire near Whitby where Captain Cook first went to sea. This bay is historic in that immediately after the fight at Tua Marina on 17th June 1843 the Maoris packed up their belongings, put Te Rongo's body in a canoe and paddled round to Robin Hood Bay, arriving there after dark, and that Te Rongo was buried on the flat above the beach.
The whalers and settlers in Port Underwood knew of the grave and soon after the incident Captain George Jackson of the schooner 'Shepherdess' (who was trading in the port at the time) settled in Robin Hood Bay, and kept the grave in order and did so until his death in 1884. Mr H. J. Stace the new owner of the property cared for the grave until he left the bay in 1918. Thus for over 70 years the grave was looked after but since then it has been neglected and I understand the new road goes over it.
For many years Mr Stace and family conducted a boarding school there for boys.
At the head of the land in the bay stands Mt Robertson, 3397 ft high, and visible from well out in the Strait, and the eastern cape at the entrance to the Port is Robertson Point. The reason for the names is unknown but they probably date from very early in the whaling days.
There are several hundred acres of very good land in Robin Hood and a small stand of good native timber trees at its head. The Deer Park that you saw this morning is named the 'Collins Deer Park' after two brothers of that name who were killed in the bush nearby.
Continuing on along a high road with wonderful views from its highest point it is possible to see in a north easterly direction a group of rocks beyond Robertson Point. These are the Coombe Rocks named after Captain Coombe, the captain of the Hope, a sailing ship which in June 1840 was sent over from Sydney by Unwin & Co. with a cargo of cattle and other equipment to found a settlement on the Wairau Plain. These rocks are interesting as they were used by early American whalers as a lookout to spot the movement of whales through the Strait. It has been suggested lately that the rocks should be examined as we have heard that there are ships' names and dates chiselled into the rock.
The story of the Hope and her crew is a most interesting one, but much too long to record here. But descendants of the party who were to start the settlement and were in charge of the cattle and cargo are very numerous in our district in all walks of life.
Around the turn of the century our M.P. the Hon. C. H. Mills, Minister of Marine was a resident of Pelorus Sound and he had bridle tracks formed to serve the settlers in most of the bays. Since leaving Waikawa Bay this morning the whole of the road we have travelled over has been just the old track widened out to road width. Such was the good engineering of the surveyors who laid them out originally. From now on down to Whites Bay and over to Rarangi the old line was not suitable and a completely new line was formed.
This name dates from before the days of organised settlement. The Rev. Ironside mentions it in his reports and J. W. Barnicoat on his two journeys to survey the Tua Marina country early in 1843 went ashore in the bay and mentions it by name. The bay is named after an American negro slave boy who came ashore from an American whaling ship in 1828 and lived there for a number of years. Commonly called Black Jack White, after an adventurous life during the Maori War, for which he was granted a pension, he spent the last 20 years of his life as handyman for Captain Baillie at Para.
He died on 3rd July, 1894 just two days short of his 82nd birthday and his obituary notice (of 297 words) in the Picton paper ends with 'One who knew him well says he was a trustworthy and faithful old man, and those in the valley who knew him well have nothing but kind words to say of him.' It was also recorded that he had been '66 years in New Zealand' which dates his arrival to 1828.
Whites Bay is the site of the South Island end of the first telegraph cable laid across the Strait and brought into use on 26th August 1866. The original cable station building still stands and on 26th August 1966 a Centennial function was held and a little museum opened in which are on view photos of samples of the early cables that came ashore as well as a sample of the power cable. No cable comes ashore here now; the present shore end is at Blind River south of Seddon.
The bay is now a Reserve administered by a Reserve Board. The beach—the only sandy beach within easy reach of Blenheim —is very popular, but vandalism is the problem.
Over the last hill from which fine views of the Wairau Plain can be seen, with snow capped Mt Tapuaenuku in the distance, we arrive at Rarangi a seaside resort on the Cloudy Bay Beach. The beach front is vested in the Harbour Board and they have been letting sections on which some fine homes have been built.
This section discusses the origins of some of the lesser known names on Nelson maps.
Short contributions from readers are invited.
Lake Sylvester is named after Samuel James Holden Sylvester (1899–1931), the only child of pioneer English parents who settled on a farm in the outbacks of Hawkes Bay.
"Sylvie" or "Sam" as he was known to his friends and associates was the epitome of a "character". Mildly eccentric, a man of all occasions, gentlemanly, courteous, generous and humorous. Nevertheless he was a most forcible and forthright person, a loyal friend, scornful of vacillation and weakness (of character) and monumentally intolerant of humbug and self-importance, and not in the least backward in saying so in forcible and picturesque terms.
His strength and endurance were remarkable and some of his trips and feats were legendary in his time—e.g. carrying his pack and bicycle over one of the minor alpine passes; later, with the aid of an axe, shovel and wire strainer he took his old car over places that would now be possibilities for four-wheel drive vehicles. One of his old associates still recalls with awe that on a field trip when accommodation was short Sylvie slept out unperturbed under an old truck, surrounded by five inches of snow!
He attended Canterbury University College near the end of World War I, going on active service and getting as far as England when the war was finished. On his return he majored in geology and for some years acted as laboratory demonstrator where his keen analytical mind and wide knowledge made a strong impression on the students. In the university vacations he worked on the geological survey and in the mid-twenties was in the Mt. Arthur-Cobb area. His superiors describe him as a most able, methodical and painstaking geologist who would have gone far in his profession. He was particularly suited to fieldwork with his untiring energy and strength allied to his acute perception and thoroughness. At the time of his death he was a Junior Lecturer.
Sylvester himself used to describe how on such surveys particularly difficult and objectionable geological features were facetiously and temporarily named after various members of the party. One theory is that Lake Sylvester was originally named after an early morning dip in it.
It was a great tragedy when he was drowned with a companion in 1931 when attempting to sail a small boat from New Plymouth to Lyttelton, an action that was strangely out of character.
Gouland Downs are named after Henry Godfrey Gouland who was born in London in 1801.
He became a business man and in 1841 he bought two allotments in Nelson. In 1847 Gouland arrived in Wellington in the ship London. In November 1847 he walked from Nelson through Top House and the Wairau Plain to the mouth of the Wairau River to interview William Budge. On the way the only people he spoke to were George McRae, John Kerr, Dr Cooper (Top House), and William Sweet (Hillersden). In April 1848 cattle and sheep from Sydney for H. G. Gouland were landed at the mouth of the Wairau River. He took up land between Spring Creek and Tua Marina, and the river crossing there became known as Gouland's Ferry. In 1863 the Gouland's Ferry Post Office was opened in Hathaway's Ferry Hotel.
Gouland, like many others, failed as a runholder and he was appointed Magistrate at Collingwood for the goldfields from 1857 to 1860. During his period as Magistrate Gouland was granted a grazing lease over the area now known as Gouland Downs (and now well known to trampers walking the Heaphy track).
From Collingwood he transferred to Lyttelton as Immigration Officer in 1861. He revisited England in 1865 and on returning bought sections in Waimea Road, in the city of Nelson.
Gouland died in Nelson in November, 1877.
Gouland Downs, Golden Downs and Gordon Downs, sometimes confused (especially by newcomers), have their origins briefly described in the "Wairau Field Trip" on p. 11 of this journal.
Canaan and Canaan Downs. Amidst the weird outcrops and sink holes of the "Marble Mountain" region of the Takaka Hill road a side road leads northwards through the mountainous Canaan Valley. After about eight miles of rough road it ends in a prehistoric dry lake bed, now an area of rolling native pasture known as Canaan Downs.
It must indeed have seemed a "Land of Promise" to early European settlers about a century ago, so they named it Canaan and found other landmarks for contemporary biblical names including Pisgah Mount (3,526 feet)—after the peak from which Moses was permitted only to view his long sought country—and a miniature Jordan "Creek" as well.
Maoris appear not to have inhabited the Canaan region, the valley having a damp, cold climate for much of the year. There is an air of mystery about it too, probably enhanced by the strange noises from rock falls and water movements in numerous underground limestone caverns; and these holes give a forbidding appearance to the many large sink holes into which livestock can easily fall and be killed.
The valley, however, has great interest and charm for those keen on nature and who are prepared to walk and explore.
In addition to the many birds there is a wide variety of plants,
As well as the strange marble outcrops, there are many mineral deposits in the granite region, some being uncommon and of real beauty, but most are not plentiful enough to be of real commercial value. There are numerous fossils.
There are many large caves, notably Harwood Hole with its shaft over 650 feet deep and awesome in its immensity. For details see "Abel Tasman National Park" Handbook.
The Wairau Valley occupies a fault line. The rocks in the mountains to the north are quite different from those on the other side of the valley. In fact these rocks have more in common with the rocks and formations which occur in the Eglinton Valley and at the head of Lake Wakatipu, some three hundred miles away. Geologists consider that once they were joined and have since moved apart along the line of the Alpine Fault which runs up the west side of the Southern Alps and curves round the northern spurs of Mt Robert to run down the Wairau Valley.
The new Lord Nelson will still be George to his friends.
The Hon. George Nelson, who inherited one of Britain's most famous titles on the death of his brother, spent yesterday unsure of many things, but certain of one. That the title won't change him.
In fact he went to work in his Swansea accountant's office and, after a heady day of TV and press interviews, stayed modest enough to say: "I think people are impressed by the title—I'm very proud of it myself, but it doesn't make any difference really." Sentiment
Lord Nelson, ex-licensee of the Hanbury in the city centre, is great-great-great nephew of the renowned Horatio Nelson, England's heroic victor of the Nile and Trafalgar.
Apart from the title, however, all that has been passed down from his illustrious ancestor to the present Lord Nelson is a silver snuff box.
A Government pension stopped many years ago and the 3,411-acre estate with its 18th century mansion in Wiltshire, was sold in 1948 to pay off mounting death duties.
Lord Nelson knew the family home well.
"I lived there for long periods as a boy," he told me. "It was a beautiful place and a great shame we couldn't keep it. Just about everything has been sold over the years."…
Lord Nelson and his Swansea-born wife, Wynn, live in Bishopston.
Timber mills that have operated in Rai Valley and adjacent valleys over the years from 1898 to 1974.
It is safe to say that the first timber cut in the Rai Valley was by means of pit sawing, producing telephone poles for the first telegraph line from Blenheim to Nelson built in 1866. There used to be an old pit and some pieces of totara, where this sawing was done, at a site across the river about a mile south of the Rai township. The sawyers were W. Anderson and Walter Seymour. The totara slabs, which were off-cuts from the telegraph poles, were used by my father to build a hayshed over seventy years ago when he owned the property.
I have seen 58 mills erected in the Rai and Upper Pelorus Valley and am the only one lucky enough to be able to say I have seen them all. There have been six in the Ronga Valley, six in the Tunakino Valley, 14 in the Opouri Valley, nine on the east side of the Rai River, and eight on the west side. In the Upper Pelorus and Tinline Valleys 15 mills have operated over the years. Today there are only two operating in the area, one in the Opouri Valley and one in the Rai Valley, within two chains of the site where the first mill started.
The first mill to cut timber in the area was one erected by Hans Fanselow near where the Rai Valley Post Office now stands. The first timber from that mill was carted by Mr Orsman of Havelock on 11th January, 1898. It could be possible that I was there with my mother when this left the mill, but I would have been only about one year old then. Fanselow would have secured his logs from Forrest's property.
The second mill was built by Nees and McLean about half a mile on the Rai side of the Pelorus Bridge, their gear being deposited on the site there on 6th June, 1900. They milled the area of country between the road leading up the Pelorus River and the main road to Nelson, the area now owned by the Scenic Reserve Board.
The next mill to start operating in Rai Valley was erected by Robertson Brothers of Nelson about 1902 on the area where the Rai Valley Dairy Company secretary's house now stands. Robertsons milled the area west from here. This was Crown land at the time but was later drawn in a ballot by E. Wiffen. Bullock teams were used at that mill for a time. Robertsons milled much of the Rai, Carluke and Ronga Valleys, and the area of flat land between the Rai Dairy Factory and the turnoff to Carluke (now owned by Jim Hughes) and the area at present being farmed by M. Maule and D. Leov. (This land was open for selection in 1916 as Soldier Settlement farms and was originally drawn by Jack Laird and Joe Simpson. Fifty acres of hill country on Laird's
Key to Map
A wooden tramline was made up the Ronga Valley, horses generally being used to draw the trucks. An old Puffing Billie tried by Robertsons was more off the rails than on them! It is possible that Robertsons cut some timber on Seymour's property as he owned the land where the mill was built.
Brownlees extended their operations into Rai Valley early in this century. They didn't build a mill at the time but extended their tramline to take their logs to their existing mill at Blackball, a short distance on the Rai Valley side of Havelock. They simply logged an area of bush on the west of the main road and river south of Bulford bridge. (This country is now owned by Wearing Brothers but could have been either Crown land or owned by R. Forrest senior at the time). Brownlees also milled the area known as Blicks Estate. (Miss Brownlees bought this from Blicks and when they had finished milling the area was sold and it made six nice farms). Brownlees really only took the easy going, leaving plenty of scope for the other small sawmills that followed. The big Rai flood of 1904 washed away all their tramline bridges.
About 1906 Brownlees erected a big mill at Carluke (on the east side of the river from Rai Valley township) capable of cutting 20,000 feet of timber per day. (The mill and township were named Carluke after their home town in Scotland). There were about 100 whares and small cottages, and also a store, hall, school and post office. About one hundred men were employed here and the Blackball mill was still operating as well. They eventually had a tramline to near the head of Ronga Valley, half-way up the Opouri Valley, and well up the Tunakino Valley. Three steam locomotives operated on the lines and the biggest one hauled up to 24 trucks at a time. Brownlees only took the cutting rights over half the Opouri bush areas thinking that the rest would be theirs in due course. But such was not to be.
About 1907 the Mariborough Timber Company applied for, and was granted, the rights to mill the area at the top of the valley. Two mills were erected right at the top of the valley under the management of one John Craig, generally known as "Bull" Craig who was a tiger for work. Craig's Mills, as they were known, started in 1907 and operated for about 12 years. The timber was taken over the high hill to Nydia Bay, for shipping, by means of horse trams and winches—no mean feat considering the steepness of the hill. (Bob Spitall who used to run the boarding house and eating house for the mill workers later drew the land, where the mills were situated, in a ballot).
These earlier mills operated in a fairly big way and only worked the areas where the logs were easily collected. Brownlees closed down about 1913 and the Marlborough Timber Company a few years later and it was after the cessation of these larger concerns that the smaller mills really came into their own.
Bryant Brothers started milling about 1906 near the first Rai Valley School (then Flat Creek School) and Bryant Brothers, both the older and the younger generation, have operated mills until recent years. They logged the bush areas near the mill and also from an area of Crown land well back from the road. (In recent years S. J. Couper has built a mill on his property close to where Bryant's mill was, milling logs from far and wide including some from their Tinline property). About 1911 Bryant Brothers erected a mill on my father's property, situated on the east side of the Rai River about a mile south of the township and milled an area of Crown land to the east of this section. (About 1917 Jack Nolan drew this area in a ballot, and it now belongs to C. T. Leov). This mill was burned down soon after it was put up. D. Higgins and Dean Eyes were baching in a whare about twenty chains away when the engine driver raised the alarm about midnight. They leaped out of bed and dressed in such a hurry that later one man found that he had put his jersey on upside down in mistake for his pants.
C. T. Leov's sons and G. Young's sons erected a small mill on Nolan's section a few years ago and cut a small amount of timber, mostly tawa. Also on Section 2 Block V (the land which my father owned) Baigent & Sons of Nelson erected a small mill a short distance east of Bryant's mill and cut out an area of Crown land behind the section owned by Nolan.
Robertson Brothers of Nelson erected a mill at the foot of the Rai Saddle, about the site where the piggery now stands, and they logged the area on the south side of the road which was later drawn in a ballot by Harry Horton. A few years later Baigents erected a mill on the other side of the road from Robertsons (where the Stale Forest Service buildings now are). This was when the war was on and there was a shortage of petrol. A man named Ingram burned the mill slabs for producer gas to be used in cars.
Baigents erected a mill on Hewetson's property in the Ronga Valley about 1915 and milled timber from this and a neighbouring section. Robertsons erected a mill at the head of the Ronga on a property which I owned and milled an area of adjacent Crown land about 1923. (Bill Holland was manager of the mill). Another mill was erected on my place about 1930 by Hewetsons and they worked an area of Crown land on the west side of the Ronga Valley. (It must have been a lean time for Hewetsons as the slump
The other mill in the Ronga Valley was erected by Simpson and Templeman on Turner's property. They logged an area of country which had been by-passed by both Brownlees and Robertsons (now owned by Don Leov).
Adrian Leov erected a small mill on his property (now owned by a Mr Biggs). This is a property that has changed hands numerous times.
Small mills operated in quite a number of places in the Tunakino and Opouri Valleys. W. Carr erected a mill and was there for quite a number of years. Robertson Brothers had a mill in the Tunakino and when the immediate area of bush was cut out, the mill was shifted to another site in the same locality and they cut timber there for some time. Robertsons also erected a mill further up the valley. The firm of Griffiths and Holland erected a mill only a short distance from Robertsons on the opposite side of the river.
After Craig's mill had gone Jack Kerr acquired a section in the Opouri and erected a small mill there. He cut timber for his own house and several of his neighbours, all new settlers in the valley. Prentice Brothers bought Kerr's mill and cut some timber on a neighbouring section, then shifted down the valley and worked out other areas of bush. This mill finished up at Rimu Bay in the Pelorus Sounds.
Webley Brothers then started up in the Opouri Valley and this was re-sited several times. When the bush was cut out in the head of the Tunapai Gully, the mill was taken over by Hill and Papps and erected up Alfred Creek, logs being obtained from adjacent areas of both Crown and privately owned land. Baigent and Sons set up a mill in the Opouri close to where the first mill had been. When the immediate bush area was cut out it was moved to a new location, and eventually as the bush finished was moved away to the Wairau Valley.
De Boo Brothers and three mates erected a mill in Kaiuma Valley on Pretty's property and after cutting the timber on that property they moved to an area of Crown land further up the Kaiuma Stream. At this stage the mill was taken over by Goslings. When the bush was cut out there the plant was bought by Simpson and Templeman and this is the one previously mentioned as being used in the Ronga Valley. Again, later, the mill was moved to the Rai township and operated there by Fred Templeman for quite a number of years. Today this same mill is being operated by Mr Gibson. Logs are collected for near and far, operating in
W. Carr erected a mill in the Opouri to clear out an area of bush which remained there. A. De Boo and K. Douglas later took over the plant and moved it a few miles down to the valley to work out another stand of timber. Finishing this they moved the mill setting it up at Carluke only a few chains away from where Brownlees had their big mill. The De Boo family operated the mill here for many years but could not have kept going for so long had it not been for crawler tractors and motor trucks to collect the logs.
A small mill was operated by Max Wallace at his place in a valley called Staghorn near the head of the Opouri Valley.
There were two mills in the Rimu Gully area milling areas of bush that Brownlees had left. One, owned by Ingram and Partner, was on the right hand side of the road, and the other was at the head of the Gully, being operated by Baigents.
The first mill in the Upper Pelorus Valley west of the Pelorus Bridge was put in by Bryant Brothers. After milling the immediate area they logged an area of Crown land across the Pelorus River having to use a very high tram bridge for trucking the logs to the mill. This plant operated for a number of years. About 1923 Sharland Brothers erected a mill at the mouth of the Tinline River milling timber from land owned by Jim Sharland. About 1924 Baigents started a mill at what they called Sunny Side, further up the Pelorus.
Bill Gardiner started a mill quite close on the right side of where the bridge crosses the upper Tinline River. Bryants shifted their first Pelorus mill up the Tinline and erected it close to where Bill Gardiner had his mill, milling country further back into the hills than where Gardiner went. Bryants shifted this mill to the Tunakino Valley and milled an area of country which they bought there. Again, Bryants started in the head of the Tinline Valley, and when they had finished Adam Gibson took over the mill and continued to log an area of country there.
The mill which had been operated by W. Carr, in the Tunakino Valley, was bought by Ward, Taylor & Co. and moved into the Tinline Valley and started milling above Bryants scene of operations. Later Carr took the mill over again. Baigents moved their mill from Dalton's at Canvastown and erected it near the same spot as Bryants had been. About 1931 Baigents of Nelson erected a mill near the bridge which crosses the Upper Tinline River opposite where Bill Gardiner had had his mill. About 1938 Robertsons started milling an area of Crown land well up the Pelorus, their logs having to be brought across the Pelorus River.
The new Bryant Brothers (junior) company also started milling in the Tinline Valley, and later shifted to the end of the road in the valley to mill an area of bush left there. Most of these milling operations were only possible through the use of crawler tractors to collect the logs. Bryants had a Fordson half-truck, and one wonders that they are still alive considering the places where they took it. When they finished milling in the Upper Tinline Bryants shifted to a different site and, when finished there, moved their mill to the Heringa Valley.
One of the last mills erected in the Pelorus Valley was that of F. Sharland.
The latest mill to be erected in the whole district Number 24 on map, is in the Opouri Valley, the logs being trucked from Tuna Bay, in Tennyson Inlet, the bay close to Duncan's Bay where Duncans had a mill about 100 years ago. (This latest mill is the plant that Hewetsons ran in the Ronga in earlier years).
It would be interesting to know the quantity of timber milled and the value of the timber sold. The first sawmillers were paid 5s to 10s per hundred feet (board measure) for their good timber and at times white pine could be had for the taking. Even in the early 1930s good timber could be bought for 8s to 16s per hundred feet. The small mills came and went, cutting out areas of bush in gullies and on hillsides which the bigger mills left. The crawler tractor was the greatest factor as the small mill owners brought logs from steep hill country that was impossible to work years ago.
Today the two mills operating are having to cut a good deal of pinus which is poor timber when compared with the good totara, matai, rimu, white pine, and birch, that the first mills sawed. At today's prices the value of the timber milled could represent a very considerable sum.
Today the green pastures and well-fed herds of cows give quite a different picture of the district. A modern tar-sealed highway with high-powered vehicles creates new industries in place of the sawmills and the timber trade of a few decades ago. With its clear streams, steep hills, areas of native bush, its lush pastures, and herds of cows, it is the home of many happy and contented people. The district has the atmosphere of prosperity!
Mr Leov is a descendant of the first settlers of Rai Valley, being the first baby boy of the valley.
Travellers between Nelson and Blenheim must be accustomed to the sight of an old steam locomotive beside the main road through Havelock. Perhaps few of those who pass by will realise that this is "Aunt Sally", one of the three engines used by Brownlees on their tramlines carrying logs and timber from the valleys in the Rai-Pelorus area. The other two were named "Opouri" and "Aunt Mary". "Opouri", which was much heavier than the other two engines, was usually driven by Dave Young of Canvastown. One day when returning to Blackball with a full load the tram bridge, known as Dalton's (on the site where the road bridge now stands) gave way and Davey, engine, and all, went crashing through. His only complaint when he called at a nearby house after scrambling the thirty feet or so out of the riverbed and wreckage was that his pipe was broken. He was mighty lucky it wasn't his neck!
The other two engines were driven by Bill (Stumpy) Morrison and Joe Barber. Nearing Blackball one day when driving "Aunt Sally" with a load, and Mrs Morrison as a passenger, Barber felt a jerk so leaned out to see what had happened. It was a derailed truck and as Joe was leaning out the coupling broke and the engine gave a leap ahead and threw him out on to the ground. He jumped up and waved to Mrs Morrison to stop the engine and, although she could drive quite well, panicked, and instead of shutting the throttle she opened it wide, and then jumped out. The engine travelled at top speed towards the mill. A Mr Bagget, who later became Harbourmaster at Picton, was at the Blackball mill and, seeing the engine speed along, realised that something was wrong, so switched the points so that instead of crashing into the mill it went tearing past and over the wharf into the sea.
For years I have wondered how that engine was rescued, and supposed that it must have been a tough job for a teamster and his horses. Only recently Mrs H. Higgins of Wakefield looked at the engine and said "My Dad (Arthur Hewetson) pulled it out of the sea with his traction engine." (Arthur Hewetson owned the first steam traction engine in the locality).