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1996
Cover: McFarlane group in Model T Ford – Tyree Studio Collection.(Nelson Provincial Museum).
It is a matter of some regret that this first number of a new volume reverts to being the single Nelson Historical Society Journal. We of the Nelson Historical Society have welcomed and enjoyed the closer co-operation with the Marlborough Historical Society that characterised the years of production of two volumes of the combined Journal. The many Marlborough articles in these volumes have contributed greatly to the interest and the value of the Journal. We have not turned our back on Marlborough, indeed there is a Marlborough sourced article in this number, and we want future articles from our close neighbours on the other side of the hill, who share similar values but focus their activities differently.
The main reason for the change was foreshadowed in Derek Cordes' Foreword to the 1995 number of the Journal. Members of the Marlborough Society have a major and vital commitment to operating their Provincial Museum and Archives Centre and establishing a publication for their own membership. This has left them short of resources to help maintain the combined Journal and the title change is the result.
I want to thank the authors of the articles appearing in this issue. Particularly pleasing is Hilary and John Mitchell's article on Kehu, a man who has always been popularly known only as Heaphy and Brunner's helper. Thank you too to Editor Dawn Smith for her work in maintaining the high standard of the publication, and to Mike Johnston and Jock Braithwaite for negotiating the printing.
Published by
Nelson Historical Society Incorporated
PO Box 461
Nelson
ISSN 0111-8773
Copyright: Permission to reprint any part of the Journal should be sought from the Committee of the Nelson Historical Society and the source of any such reprint should be acknowledged.
We are grateful to the Nelson Provincial Museum and contributors for making photographs available.
Measurements: 1 mile = 1.6 kilometres: 1 acre = 0.4 hectares; 1 pound = 0.4 kilograms. At the time of conversion £1 = $2.00
Edited by Dawn Smith
Typed by Noelene Ford
Printed by Copyart, 5 McGlashen Avenue. Richmond
This biography is adapted from speech notes presented on June 30th 1995 at the Department of Conservation Field Centre, St Arnaud, at the unveiling of a carved memorial to Kehu. This short biography does not do justice to Kehu: there is a rich detail of his abilities, skills, character and personal demeanour in the journals of Thomas Brunner, Charles Heaphy and others, from which we have selected extracts: we recommend the complete journals to interested readers.
1
A number of Maori terms and place names are used in these notes: an English translation is given at first usage, and a Glossary is presented at the end.
Kehu's mother, Matanohinohi, was Ngati Apa, Ngai Tahu, Ngati Mamoe and Ngati Tumatakokiri; she spent the later decades of her life at Kawatiri, near the present town of Westport. Her earlier years were probably more itinerant as her whanau (extended family, tribal members) "beat the bounds" of her tribes' estates. Kehu's father, Tamane, was Ngati Tumatakokiri: unfortunately we have not yet found reliable details of Tamane's antecedents. Kehu is described in all the European colonial journals and the Native Land Court records as being Ngati Tumatakokiri. As near as we can be sure, Kehu was born circa 1798 AD (not 1821, as claimed by some). He is generally known as Kehu but his given names are recorded in Maori Land Court Minutes Books
4
as Hone Mokehakeha or Hone Mokekehu: on very rare occasions some European journals referred to his as 'Jackey'.
Kehu was born into a period of considerable strife for Ngati Tumatakokiri who had been in decline and by the late 18th century were maintaining only a tenuous hold over their previous large domain. That domain had been bounded to the north by the coastline from Croisilles to Farewell Spit, to the east by the ranges of Nelson and to the south to the inland lakes. Rotoiti and Rotoroa, and into the Maruia, Kawatiri (Buller). Inangahua and Mawhera (Grey) districts, from their headwaters to the coast. That is, over a period of two centuries they had come to assert their mana (dominion, sovereignty) over the north-western quadrant of this island. However, by the late 1700s there had been generations of skirmishing and battles between Ngati Tumatakokiri and their neighbours on a number of fronts. Ngati Apa had made serious inroads on the northern coastal flanks from Waimea to Mohua (now Golden Bay) and Te Tai Tapu, returning repeatedly by canoe from the Sounds and even from Kapiti and the Rangitikei Coast. Overland skirmishes on their eastern flank were frequently fought with Ngati Kuia and Rangitane.
5
To the south there was frequent harassment from Ngai Tahu parties, from both
There did seem to be a period of relative calm for a few years prior to about 1790, but this was disrupted when Wereta Tainui, son of Tuhuru of Poutini Ngai Tahu, abducted Kokore of Ngati Tumatakokiri and took her as wife. Ngati Tumatakokiri objected and another round of skirmishes began which escalated with the killing of the Ngai Tahu chief, Pakeke, at Maruia. As soon as intelligence of this tragedy was received by Ngai Tahu, two retaliatory taua (war parties) set out to avenge his death. One party came from Canterbury, led by Warekino, and the other from Mawhera, led by Tuhuru; these chiefs were near relatives. The two parties met at the Karamea River where, through mistaken identity, Tuhuru almost killed Warekino. The two chiefs combined their taua and proceeded on to Tai Tapu and into Mohua (Golden Bay) to deliver utu (revenge) to Tumatakokiri strongholds in those parts. Matters continued in this vein for the next 10 to 15 years, with Ngati Tumatakokiri gradually losing ground as their various flanks were assailed by the tribes mentioned. We are not convinced that the Ngai Tahu and the Kurahaupo iwi operated in a coordinated way against Ngati Tumatakokiri; it was more likely to have been opportunistic as each faction grabbed chances as they came their way. The final blow for Tumatakokiri on their south-western quarter was delivered by Tuhuru's warriors in about 1810 at the battle called Kotukuwhakaoho near the junction of the Grey and Arnold rivers; some say it was a few miles up the Arnold River at the place now known as Kokiri, itself named as a contraction of Tumatakokiri according to some Maori commentators.
6
Kehu's father, Tamane, was killed at this battle by the Ngai Tahu warrior, Tau, and Kehu was captured by Poutini Ngai Tahu. Kehu was a boy of about 12 at the time; he was already a seasoned traveller throughout the Tumatakokiri domains lying between Te Tai Tapu, Mohua and the West Coast and into the hinterlands and watersheds of the great rivers, Kawatiri, Inangahua and Mawhera. With his capture began a life as mokai (serf, slave); a status he never really shrugged off until well into colonial times. However, Kehu's adolescence and young adulthood were probably more peaceful than his early years, once the majority of his Tumatakokiri relatives had been killed or subdued in subsequent battles over the 2 or 3 years following Kotukuwhakaoho. His family's status as part Ngati Apa/Ngai Tahu of high rank possible saved him from the worst aspects of slavery under Ngai Tahu. We believe that during this period his life involved seasonal migrations to the mahinga kai (food-gathering places) of the inland lakes, rivers and river flats for eels, ducks and botanicals, and to the coastal food baskets.
By the late 1820s another invasion from the North Island, this time by the combined tribes of Tainui (Ngati Koata, Ngati Rarua and Ngati Toa) and Taranaki (Ngati Tama and Te Atiawa) had secured a stranglehold on the districts of Te Tau Ihu (Nelson and Marlborough) and had begun to look further south. Many pockets of Kurahaupo people had sought refuge in the
During this round of conquests, Kehu was, for the second time in his life, taken as one of the spoils of victory; he now became mokai to two rangatira of Ngati Rarua, Aperahama Panakenake and Poria. Eventually he was to accompany them back to Motueka where they and a large number of Ngati Rarua put down roots to hold their newly-won territories. The Ngai Tahu warrior, Tau (killer of Kehu's father, Tamane, at Kotukuwhakaoho), was also captured in the same skirmishes and became mokai to Wiremu Kingi Te Koihua, Te Atiawa chief at Pakawau in Mohua, about 15 km from Aorere (Collingwood).
We do not have much information about Kehu's activities over the few years immediately following his transfer to Motueka. We assume that he must have acquitted himself well, and that the mana of his whanau was recognised by his captors, for they eventually granted him life tenure of lands in that district (more about this later). An urgent task for the new conquerors was to consolidate their position by clearing the hinterlands of Waimea, Moutere and Motueka river valleys of remnants of Ngati Apa and other refugees. Kehu's knowledge of those districts would have been invaluable to his Rarua masters.
This was also the beginning of a period of major cultural transition for the tribes of Te Tau Ihu. New opportunities had emerged a few years previously for the Tainui and Taranaki tribes from right across the region to cultivate and supply European crops (mainly potatoes and corn) and pigs to the burgeoning whaling communities in the Marlborough Sounds. Kehu probably spent some time during the 1830s at Tory Channel and/or Port Underwood at the whaling stations; an entry in Charles Heaphy's journal
7
implies as much. He may have been baptised there. His mother, Matanohinohi, and uncle, Puaha Te Rangi, were certainly people of high birth and seemed to enjoy reasonable freedom of movement even though the Tainui and Taranaki iwi now dominated most of their former territories, at least in the coastal districts of Whakaru, Waimea, Motueka, Te Tai Tapu and Te Tai Poutini. A number of Kurahaupo and Ngai Tahu rangatira were installed as vassal chiefs to hold territories for their captors,
8
and members of Kehu's extended family may have been similarly treated.
The next major milestone in Kehu's life followed the arrival of the New Zealand Land Company in late 1839 and the beginnings of the development of the Company's Nelson settlement 18 months later. An immediate and urgent task of the advance guard of Company agents to Nelson, led by Captain Arthur Wakefield, was to survey the districts to establish the boundaries of the separate land blocks for allocation to the waves of settlers who were expected to follow within a few weeks. In order to expedite the surveys, Maori labour was hired to assist as chainmen, and track and line cutters, to cut and supply survey pegs and marker posts, and to provide information about the districts and to act as guides. Kehu was employed in these latter roles: in 1842 he was hired from Panakenake and Poria by 9
Kehu's knowledge of the inland localities of the Motueka and Moutere valleys, and the inland districts of Tapawera, Motupiko, Korere and neighbouring districts was invaluable, and he spent several months with Brunner's survey team in these parts.
From this point on in his life, Kehu appears to have enjoyed considerable freedom, although the influences of Christianity, the establishment of British law among Maori following the Treaty of Waitangi, and the colonial ways of life had by now somewhat diminished the worst vicissitudes of slavery. Kehu seems to have spent much of his time between surveying 'contracts' living at or near Nelson, sometimes in the homes of people like Brunner. His relocation to Nelson may have been prompted by his marriage to a woman who was a runaway slave from Te Iti, another of the Rarua chiefs of Motueka (and close relative of Poria and Panakenake). At some point in this period Kehu must have become a Christian of Wesleyan persuasion,
10
and possibly he learned to read, at least the book of Scripture which he treasured.
The New Zealand Company's affairs reached a crisis when, by late 1842, it became obvious that even after surveying the Upper Motueka and Moutere valleys and the Takaka and Aorere districts of Golden Bay there was still insufficient land available to satisfy the requirements of the Nelson settlement scheme. The scheme needed 221,100 acres of arable, cultivable land and after all of these surveys were completed by early 1843, the Company was more than 120,000 acres short of this target. Arthur Wakefield therefore turned to the Wairau. He and other Company Agents insisted that the Wairau had been purchased from Te Rauparaha and other chiefs, and tried to enforce the purchase by sending surveyors into that district. They dismissed or ignored the protestations of several delegations to Nelson and Wellington of Ngati Toa chiefs, and others; the armed confrontation and killings in June 1843 at Tuamarina in the Wairau were the result. The inquiries and investigations following this tragedy confirmed the illegalities of the Company's attempted takeover and exonerated Te Rauparaha and Ngati Toa from blame for what had happened. One of the immediate impacts on the Nelson settlement scheme was that the additional land required would have to be found elsewhere. The outcome was an upsurge of exploratory activities to the hinterlands of Nelson and to more southern districts. Again the Company agents turned to local Maori for assistance. Over the ensuring years Kehu was frequently hired as porter-cum-guide to lead a number of exploratory parties back to those districts which he had known so well as a
Authority for the employment of Kehu in this capacity appears in a letter from Frederick Tuckett dated 8th November 1843, confirming that he had authorised Thomas Brunner
"…
to employ a native, Ekehu, as a guide on his recent journey of exploration at the same rate of remuneration as the other, Epito11, has received – 14/- a week and rations."12
Tucket went on to say that as Kehu had not consumed any rations, his weekly rate had been adjusted to £2/2/- per week; apparently he had been able to live off the land during the expedition.
For the first couple of years Kehu and other Maori guided parties on a number of exploratory expeditions of two to three weeks duration, into the various inland districts of Nelson. None discovered the hoped-for great plains of arable, cultivable pasture lands which the Company desperately sought and therefore by the mid-1840s longer excursions further afield were being undertaken. In February and March 1846 Kehu led Brunner, Charles Heaphy and William Fox
13
through the Rotoiti and Rotoroa districts en route to the Matakitaki. The previous year, apparently in anticipation of their own possible occupancy of these parts, Kehu and a group of his whanaunga (extended family) had made their own excursion to the lakes districts, to build shelters in a number of places, and to clear areas for planting; in at least one locality, Lake Rotoroa, they built a small canoe and hid it for future use. These shelters and huts, and the canoe, were used on this expedition with Brunner, Heaphy and Fox, and on subsequent exploratory journeys.
One evening while in these parts Kehu showed his superior fishing skills and a rather curious mix of Christianity, vulgarity and ancient beliefs:
"The Maori watched to see the eels at the bottom, and putting the bait in their way, had them the next moment in the canoe, splashing the more unfortunate sportsmen who still had nothing but nibbles. After supper, when we had relinquished the spot, he recrossed the river, and, to dispel all feelings of lonesomeness, commenced chanting his Wesleyan missionary service, mixing with the translated version of the ritual special incantations to the taipo of the lake and the river for propitious weather and easy fords, together with request to the eels to bite quickly, and not keep him longer in the cold. Then, as he caught one which would not die quick enough to please him, would he introduce some decidedly uncomplimentary language which he learnt at a whaling station, and again subside into the recitation of his Wesleyan catechism and hymnbook, bringing in our various names in the versification. He did not leave off till long after we were asleep: and in the morning when we awoke, four fine eels were roasting for breakfast, and another four were hanging from an adjacent tree."14
Of the February 1846 exploratory party, only Kehu's name has been immortalised in these districts by the naming of a peak in the Travers Range behind Lake Rotoiti. Heaphy did try to
Kehu proved to be the complete guide; Charles Heaphy often wrote disparagingly of the Maori people he met, but even he spoke glowingly of Kehu in his report published in the Nelson Examiner on 7th March 1846:
"E Kehu, our guide, is thus a perfect bushman, and is of very great service on an expedition; he has none of the sluggishness of disposition so common to the Maori, but is active and energetic, displaying far more of the characteristics of the Indian savage than are to be seen in the usual lazy inhabitants of a pa; thoroughly acquainted with the 'bush'he appears to have an instinctive sense, beyond our comprehension, which enables him to find his way through the forest when neither sun nor distant object is visible, amidst gullies, brakes, and ravines in confused disorder, still onward he goes, following the same bearing or diverging from it but so much as is necessary for the avoidance of impediments, until at length he points out to you the notch in some tree or the footprint in the moss, which assures you that he has fallen upon a track, although one which he had not been previously acquainted with. A good shot, one who takes care never to miss his bird, a capital manager of a canoe, a sure snarer of wild fowl, and a superb fellow at a ford, is that same E Kehu; and he is worth his weight in tobacco!".15
By this time, Kehu was approximately 48 years of age. Kehu appears in sketches by Heaphy and watercolours done by Fox as part of their pictorial record of this journey.
Almost immediately after their return from the February/March expedition Brunner, Heaphy and Kehu were off again. This time their task was to see if a route existed to Westland via the coast from Mohua. On 17th March 1846 they sailed from Nelson to Aorere and set off tramping from there on the 23rd, carrying horrendously heavy loads. By the time they reached Pakawau, about 15 km from Aorere, they realised that another porter was going to be needed. They stopped overnight at Pakawau Pa where they hired from Hemi Kuku, son of the Te Atiawa chief Wiremu Kingi Te Koihua, the services of a slave who turned out to be none other than Tau, the killer of Kehu's father at 'Kotukuwhakaoho' over 36 years earlier. Brunner recorded the irony of this situation.
"Kehu had every reason to suppose him to be the man who had killed his father: a friendship consequently commenced and they became merry at the idea of journeying to Kawatiri together."
The next hurdle the party had to face was the angry old Rarua chief, Niho Te Hamu, who was still living at Te Tai Tapu. He had to be placated with gifts of tobacco before they were allowed to pass south into his domains. Their journals and reports in the 'Nelson Examiner' in September 1846 record the hardships, privations, endurance and excitements of their journey which lasted over five months. They discovered the wreckage of at least two European vessels; they almost drowned more than once and they identified the old Ngati Hapa (Apa) route from the mouth of the Kohaihai River to Aorere – parts of it probably following the route of the present-day Heaphy Track. At the mouth of Kawatiri Kehu and Tau stated that this river was the boundary between Poutini Ngai Tahu and Niho's territory through which they had just passed.
Just south of Kawatiri they met a party of Maori en route to Kawatiri where they were intending to clear land to plant potatoes; the leader of that party was
"…. Mawika, the half-brother of Ekehu."
The journals do not state whether this was Henare or Hoani Mahuika.
16
A few miles further south they had to brave the old Maori ladder made of vines running up the precipitous Te Miko Bluff, just north of Punakaiki.
Brunner and Heaphy were reputed to have been the first Europeans seen at many of the West Coast kainga visited en route. At Kararoa, north of Greymouth, where Tau was well known, they were accorded a grand welcome. They continued to Taramakau which, incidentally, Heaphy later described as a Ngati Rarua village with approximately 70 people engaged in working greenstone for their Rarua rangatira.
The party proceeded as far south as Arahura before turning for home. Brunner and Heaphy wanted to cross the Alps to Port Cooper (Akaroa) from Mawhera but Kehu wouldn't here of it – he said that the alpine routes were too dangerous and they they would be killed in such an attempt. Therefore they returned to Nelson via the same coastal route to Te Tai Tapu and Aorere.
"On the 7th we reached Pakawau in Massacre Bay, where, the natives, being aware of the privations which we had undergone, treated us with the greatest kindness and attention; furnishing us with fresh pork, four, tea, and sugar; and finally bringing us in their canoes to Nelson, where we arrived on the 18th of August, after an absence of exactly five months."17
They were only back in Nelson for three months when Brunner set out again on 3rd December 1846, not accompanied by any other European, but assisted by Pikiwati as well as Kehu, and their wives. Pikiwati was also of Ngati Tumatakokiri and mokai of Motueka chiefs, and like Kehu, had been in the employ of Europeans since at least 1842. He had been known as Sylvanus Cotterell's "Man Friday" and in November 1842 had been his guide on a major journey of exploration from Nelson to Tophouse, down the Wairau Valley to the coast and south to the Clarence River. Two months later, in January 1843, Pikiwati led Cotterell to 'discover' Lake Rotoiti and the Buller outflow; they also tramped to the head of the lake and up the Travers River for some distance before climbing to the ridge of the eastern range, to find only mountains all around and not the great plains which Cotterell was seeking. Cotterell was killed at the Wairau Affray in June 1843 and Pikiwati had apparently been devastated by the death of his mentor and friend at that tragedy. Pikiwati then became Williams Fox's guide on some of his early journeys of exploration.
Brunner arranged for the men to be paid £5 for their services and they were supplied with outfits and stores for the journey, but he was not happy about being accompanied by the wives who would also have to be outfitted and fed. However, he was given no choice in the matter. We have not been able to discover any further details about these women.
18
The intention of this journey was to reach the furtherest point of the February expedition in the Matakitaki district, and proceed from there to find a route down the Kawatiri to its mouth, retrace the coastal route south to Arahura again, and from there as far into South Westland as possible. This turned out to be the most rigorous of all expeditions ever undertaken in the colonial exploration of this country. Despite having the assistance of a mule to reach Rotoiti it took six months for them to reach the mouth of the Buller. Brunner's accounts record with great admiration the Maoris' ingenuity at net-making, rapid construction of water-tight bark shelters, river-crossing, fishing, eeling, bird-snaring and raft construction. Again they used the shelters previously built by Kehu and friends in 1845, and the canoe which was still safely hidden at Lake Rotoroa. Despite the Maoris' skills there were many periods during which they almost starved; at one stage (May 1847) they were so desperate for food that Brunner's dog had to be sacrificed. On other occasions Brunner was utterly frustrated when Kehu would get onto a good run of eels and refuse to budge, sometimes for days, until he had caught every last available fish. The Maori sometimes quarrelled among themselves; one of the women was stricken by the taipo (evil spirits) and was missing for a time; all got cramps and other afflictions. Brunner noted how his companions became disgruntled by the stresses and demands of their situations but that
"…I had trouble with all but my own native Kehu. "
It was July before they reached Taramakau, and Kehu and Pikiwati refused to travel any further south; probably for them, this was another homecoming of sorts. Brunner was forced to wait three months before any of the local Poutini chiefs were prepared to guide him south; in October he set out with three of them. While at Okarito Brunner noted that the chief, Tuhuru, who had been captured by Niho 16–17 years earlier was now at that place:
"…also took Tu Uru, the chief, prisoner, whom he has since released to return here to work the greenstone for him. "19
Brunner got as far as Paringa where a serious injury to his ankle forced him to recuperate for a period and then return north. It was Christmas Day 1847 (over a year after leaving Nelson) that Brunner arrived back at Mawhera where he had a further wait of about 10 days for Kehu who had gone fishing with the locals.
Again Brunner wished to cross the Alps to Canterbury and again Kehu refused. Kehu and Pikiwati also refused to take the easier route back to Nelson via the coast to Buller, Te Tai Tapu and Aorere. They argued that to do so would place the lives of all in jeopardy, given that their wives were runaway slaves and would be recognised at the Rarua and Atiawa kainga they would have to pass through on that route. Eventually they travelled for the first 60 miles by another new route (for Brunner, that is), which was via the Upper Mawhera valley. Brunner was most impressed with the hospitality and kindness of the Poutini Ngai Tahu; despite his having nothing left in his stores to reward them with, these people took him several miles up the Mawhera River to the limit of canoe travel, and then presented him with half of their tobacco stores as a farewell gift. As they passed Kotukuwhakaoho he noted
"This is the place where Kehu, my lad, lost his father and was taken prisoner himself by the Ngaitahu tribe."20
Eventually they came to the Inangahua where they re-entered the dreaded Upper Buller Gorge where the party faced further cycles of feast and famine; they were near to starvation in late February, but then on March 1st they had 54 eels, each an average 31bs in weight, all of which Kehu insisted they carry with them….and then four miles on he found another eel-hole where
"…nothing would induce him to pass it. "
Pikiwati became lame for a period and then in mid-April Brunner suffered a severe stroke and was paralysed for a time, with lasting defects in his vision and balance as well. Were it not for Kehu and his wife, Brunner would have surely died:
"Kehu refused to leave me, but Epike and his wife started forward by themselves. I received great kindness from Ekehu and his wife for the week I was compelled to remain here; the woman kindly attending me, and Ekehu working hard to obtain food for us all, always pressing me to take the best, and frequently telling me he would never return to Nelson without I could accompany him. "
During their enforced delay as Brunner slowly recovered, Kehu spent some time fashioning shelters, planting potatoes and making other preparations for a possible return to reside in the district.
When they finally moved, on May 20th 1848, Kehu virtually carried Brunner who could only stand on one leg. Kehu would first carry their gear ahead and return for Brunner "…partly carrying, partly leading me along. " And so it went for almost a month, out of the Gorge, across the Matakitaki, up the Tiraumea and the Tutaki and back to Lake Rotoroa. Here, Kehu's wife again came to the fore, swimming out to the middle of the lake to retrieve the canoe which had floated off in a fresh. They journeyed back through Rotoiti and eventually to Frazer's farm in the upper Motueka Valley.
The final sentence of Brunner's account reads:
"I found my native Ekehu of much use – invaluable indeed… … to Ekehu I owemy life – he is a faithful and attached servant. "
So ended The Great Journey – some would say the greatest journey of colonial exploration in New Zealand – a saga of over 19 months!
Kehu guided several other expeditions. Later in 1848 he, Brunner and Alexander Campbell crossed the Bryant Range to the Pelorus River near the confluence with the Tinline; and from there travelled down to the pa at Wakamarina. Here they made a mokihi (a raft of dried flax flowers) and experienced a most exciting and memorable ride down the heavily flooded Wakamarina and Lower Pelorus Rivers to the pa at Motueka (Havelock). They then travelled out through the Kaituna Valley to the Wairau before returning to Nelson.
What were the final chapters in Kehu's most eventful life? We can't be absolutely certain about this for he seems to 'drop out' of the European records as the era of major explorations drew to a close in the late 1840s, and there was a decline in the settlers' dependence on the assistance, knowledge and skills of local Maori. However, as well as commanding tremendous respect from those Europeans who had come to know him well, Kehu must have enjoyed considerable mana in Maori communities as well. Why do we say that? We say it because even his masters, the Ngati Rarua chiefs Aperahama Panakenake and Poria (themselves also baptised Wesleyans), granted to Kehu a life interest in six acres of their land in Motueka, and his name appears as an owner of this section (Pt Section 181, Motueka S.D.) on an original cadastral map of that district, Kehu may have returned to the Matakitaki as he had intimated in mid-1848, but we think it most likely that he returned to Motueka to work his land; why else would Panakenake and Poria formally grant him life tenure if he was not in occupation? In regard to Kehu's land tenure, Hohaia Rangiauru (Motueka chief of Te Atiawa) gave the following evidence to the Native Land Court 1901:
"Hone Mokehakeha belonged to Ngati Tumatakokiri the original tribe who occupied the district. He was a slave of Aperahama and Poria's, and according to Native custom the land occupied by him would go back to his rangatiras. He accompanied Mr Brunner on his exploration of the interior in1846,Pikiwati of the same tribe went with him."
Tuiti Makitonore (later M.P.) of Rangitane was next witness and confirmed Rangiauru's evidence:
"Hone Mokehakeha was a captive. He belonged to Ngati Tumatakokiri, the original tribe. Aperahama and Poria were his rangatira 's… "21
Hohaia Rangiauru also intimated that Kehu had an interest in Section 165 in Motueka:
"…Heard that Mokehakeha was allotted a portion of the land. "22
We hope that Kehu's wife was forgiven by Te Iti and was also allowed to return to Motueka with him.
Kehu's end is cloaked in mystery. There is a curious death notice/obituary in The Colonist of 16 June 1893 of "Ekehu, better known as Charley Brunner…at the age of 75 years"; this man had died at Wakapuaka Pa where he had spent his declining years with Huria and Hemi Matenga. This creates a real mystery because the man known as "Charley Brunner" who died at Wakapuaka that day was Eruera Rawiri Te Rauhihi, who was of Ngati Rarua/Ngati Tama descent. Te Rauhihi was certainly not Hone Mokekehu of Ngati Tumatakokiri. Understandably, historians have taken the newspaper report as gospel e.g. the Wastney history which has later been retold by others such as Lesley Richardson and Phillip Temple (although Lesley was sorely exercised trying to reconcile the whakapapa and biography of Te Rauhihi with the then known biography of Kehu). We do not believe the newspaper account to be accurate; the confusion probably arises from Rauhihi's nick-name, "Charley Brunner". We have never seen any reference to Kehu in the 1840s journals, diaries or official records as "Charley Brunner", although he was called 'Jackey' on rare occasions (Hone = John = Jack = Jackey?),
23
There are other difficulties in trying to reconcile Kehu's age with the above account (and other indications in the journals). In 1893 Kehu would have been near to 100 years old. Even though Brunner sometimes referred to Kehu as "my lad", and Heaphy's pencil sketches are claimed by some to represent a young man, we believe that by the mid-1840s Kehu would have been in his late 40s. Commentators have also referred to the then life-expectancy of Maori and have even claimed that 48 was "old" for a Maori; however, any number of tipuna of Nelson and Marlborough reached grand old age, as recorded time and again by anthropologists and historians and in the Native Land Court records. The simple conclusion is that at the time of writing, Kehu's later life remains a mystery as does the date and place of his death.
He rangatira tino mohio i nga takiwa o Te Tau Ihu me Te Tai Poutini hoki, He tohunga tino mohio i nga mahi tururu o tana tipuna.
While it is difficult to be exact about some of the dates we believe that the following chronology is a reasonably accurate record of the sequence of some of the main events in the life of Hone Mokehakeha, better known as Kehu.
Birth. Father: Tamane, of Ngati Tumatakokiri Mother: Matanolunohi, of Ngati Apa, Ngati Mamoe, Ngai Tahu Ngati Tumatakokiri.
Childhood: frequent traveller around the outposts of N. Tumatakokiri, from Te Tai Tapu and Mohua (Golden Bay) to Whangarae (Croisilles) and south to Rotoiti, Maruia, Mawhera (Greymouth), Kawatiri (Buller) and the inland trails and mahinga kai (food baskets).
Kehu's father, Tamane, killed at the battle 'Kotukuwhakaoho' in the Mawhera valley by Ngai Tahu warrior named Tau; Kehu captured and enslaved by Poutini Ngaitahu.
N. Tumatakokiri defeated throughout their previous large domain and virtually annihilated as an iwi of manawhenua (dominion over lands).
Kehu in bondage to Ngai Tahu; continued seasonal, itinerant lifestyle in Te Tai Poutini, to and from the coastal and inland resources of those districts.
Moved to Motueka with Panakenake and Porta and employed by them in strengthening their hold on that district through battles to subdue refugee remnants of Ngati Apa and other iwi in inland districts, and ground-breaking for new cultivations. Rarua and other conquering tribes become suppliers of produce to whaling communities of the Marlborough Sounds.
Tainui and Taranaki tribes conquer West Coast, led by Niho Te Hamu of N. Rama and Takerei Te Whareaitu of N. Tama, Kehu taken as spoil of war and now bonded to the N. Rarua chiefs, Aperahama Panakenake and Poria.
Kehu possibly at one or more of the whaling stations at Tory Channel or Port Underwood.
Became a Wesleyan Christian, possibly while at Marlborough Sounds.
New Zealand Company established Nelson settlement.
Assistant to Thomas Brunner, Surveyor for NZ Company of Motueka and inland river valleys.
Spent time with other Maori in Rotoiti and Rotoroa districts building shelters, huts and a canoe, and established eeling stations and gardens, in anticipation of a possible re-location by them to this area. Mother, uncle, half-brother and other whanaunga baptised by Wesleyan, Rev Aldred.
Guided Brunner, Heaphy and Fox on journey of exploration from Nelson through Rotoiti and Rotoroa districts and beyond to Matakitaki (Murchison).
Guided Brunner and Heaphy to Arahura, Westland, via Aorere (Collingwood), Te Tai Tapu, Kawatiri and Mawhera, and returned to Nelson by same route, Party assisted by Tau, killer of Kehu's father.
Guided Brunner through Rotoiti district en route to Buller Gorge and on to its mouth and south to Taramakau; returned to Nelson via the Mawhera (Grey) and Inangahua Valleys. Assisted by Pikiwati and their wives, also of N. Tumatakokiri. This was the most arduous of the overland journeys of colonial exploration ever undertaken in this country; 19 months of utmost hardship and privation.
Guided Brunner and Campbell over Bryant Range to Upper Pelorus down to Wakamarina. Built them a mokihi (flax flower raft) for an exciting ride down the Pelorus River in high flood, to Havelock. Tramped through Kaituna Valley to Wairau River mouth; returned to Nelson by sea.
Uncertain. May have moved to live at Matakitaki but probably returned to Motueka where he was granted life tenure of six acres of land by his masters. Panakenake and Poria of Ngati Rarua.
Date of death and place of burial unknown.
E Kehu, he rangatira tino mohio koe i waenganui i te ao tawhito me te ao hou. Haere e Kehu, Haere, Haere.
Herbert Clapham came to Nelson early in 1890. His training in herbal treatment had been in Leeds with his uncle, John Clapham. After coming to New Zealand he had spent some months in Gisborne, Whangarei and New Plymouth and was then in Auckland for two years.
In Nelson an advertisement in The Colonist of 15 March 1890 heralded his treatments on offer.
Mr Clapham
(Late of Leeds, England)
Medical Botanist
Corner of Nile and Collingwood Sts NelsonSpecialist for the Scientific and Speedy Cure of Chronic, Nervous and Special Diseases, by the Purest and Safest method – Nature's own herbal remedies.
The diseases he was prepared to treat were Blood, Skin, Kidney, Urinary complaints, Indigestion, Liver complaints, Premature Decline, Nervous Debility and Special Diseases. Patients could feel assured they would receive the advice of a man fitted by superior skill, the result of special study and long practice as a Successful Specialist. He promised absolute secrecy in all cases. His free consultations were to be held 10 am to 12 pm, 2 pm to 4 pm and in the evening.
This advertisement appeared until 18 July 1890 and then on 4 July 1891 the paper told its readers that Mr Clapham had moved from Hardy Street to new premises in Bridge Street. Tins site was opposite Mr W H West, and appears to have been near the present (1995) shop know as 'Knightsbridge'.
The Mayor and Councillors paid a visit to this new establishment and saw over every part, seeing where herbal extracts, pills and the Healtheries Soap were prepared. A separate entrance from Bridge Street, through a hall decorated with shrubs and scarlet hangings, led to a stairway to the treatment rooms. Here were a handsomely furnished cooling room, dressing rooms and the bath rooms. Special baths gave electro-medical treatment and there were baths specially designed to treat consumptive patients.
The Mayor congratulated Mr Clapham on his venture. Dr Webster, another visitor, commented that he had been using herbal treatment for twenty-six years and to this he attributed the present health of Mrs Webster. Councillor Akersten, aged 67, said that he had also benefitted from herbal treatment. Mr Clapham thanked his visitors for their remarks and said that he was now a citizen of Nelson.
An advertisement on 10 October 1891 described the range of baths more fully. There were Turkish Baths. Warm Plunge Baths. Graduated Showers. Plunge Baths. Thermo-Electric. Electro-Vapour. Electro-Hydric. Electro-Chemical. Hot Air. Vapour. Sulphur. Russian. Roman and Turkish Baths. There were the Fac Simile Baths of Te Aroha and Rotorua, including the famous Priest. Madame Rachael and Blue Baths.
These were open daily for gentlemen on Mondays. Tuesdays. Thursdays and Saturdays 9 am – 7 pm and on Wednesdays and Fridays 9 am – 1 pm. The ladies might attend Wednesdays and Fridays 1 pm – 6 pm. Tickets for a single Turkish Bath cos four shillings, which included attendance and refreshments.
From 17 December 1891 Clapham's Alpine Soaps were also advertised.
All did not go smoothly however, and Herbert Clapham found himself in the Nelson Magistrates" Court on 5 July 1892. Joseph Mallamo, fisherman, was the plaintiff in relation to his wife's unsuccessful treatment by Mr Clapham Mary Ann Mallamo had an internal tumour, which had been diagnosed by Doctor Boor and Doctor Mackie in August 1890. They had felt that an operation would be too dangerous, and Mrs Mallamo had turned to Mr Clapham, who had examined her and prescribed medicines and pills. He had visited her every day for three weeks and she continued under his care for twenty-five weeks.
She spent three months in Motueka and then commenced another three month's course of treatment with Mr Clapham which had finished in August 1891 Mrs Mallamo said she believed that she had been promised a cure of her tumour, but in fact it continued to grow larger. By this time the costs had risen to twenty-five pounds, which Mr Mallamo found difficult to pay, and Mr Clapham threatened to sue him in court for the money owing. This did not eventuate, and in response Mr Mallamo decided to try to recover the money he had already paid.
Mrs Mallamo gave evidence that the tumour had increased, not decreased and this was confirmed by Doctors. Boor. Mackie and Cressey, who also said that medicines could not be expected to affect the tumour. She did accept that Mr Clapham had "livened her up".
Herbert Clapham's evidence was to the effect that he had been in Nelson for a little over two years, that his first experience of herbal treatment was in Leeds with his uncle John Clapham, and that he had not promised Mrs Mallamo a cure. The outcome was that Judgement was given to Mr Mallamo for twenty-one pounds five shillings, being the amount actually paid, and costs of eight pounds ten shillings.
Mr Clapham apparently was not deterred, as a big advertisement appeared in July 1892 for The Sanatorium. Nelson for the Special Care. Nursing, and Scientific Treatment of Invalids. Founded in 1891, under the auspices of the Mayor and Members of the Nelson City Council, it had a fine view of sea and mountain, and was set in a beautifully laid out garden.
Treatment specialised in the Clapham Combination Cure for Consumptives using a secret electrical treatment.
A fortnight later Mr Clapham was encouraged when he received a large number of patients in his dispensary who presented him with an illuminated address, in token of their appreciation of his services. Twenty of them had signed the address. Mr Langley Adams spoke on behalf of his fellow patients, mentioning Mr Clapham's skill, kindness and gentle feeling. Mr Clapham returned thanks, saying that he had always tried to do his best. Mr Jules Simon of Westport, who had been at the Sanatorium for six weeks, said that he was about to return home a different man and he thanked Mr and Mrs Clapham.
How long Mr Clapham was in Nelson is uncertain. By 1915 the Directories show that Herbert Clapham was living in Auckland, a botanist of 480 Queen Street, and he was still recorded as living there in 1928 but not in 1930. Perhaps he had died by then.
Source:
On the slope below the Father Garin chapel, in the Catholic section of the old Wakapuaka public cemetery, is a headstone on which is inscribed:
Warder. Samuel AdamsNative of Ireland Who was
cruelly murdered in Nelson Gaol
while in the execution of his duty
On28 July 1883
Aged 40 years.
Samuel Adams had had 17 years experience as a prison warder "in the old country and this", and was on duty at Nelson Gaol early on Saturday morning 28 July 1883.
At 5.50 am he had roused convicted killer John Davidson, to light the fire and prepare to cook breakfast for the inmates of the prison.
Davidson aged 38, together with the illfated Mrs Mary Gramatica, had been tried for the murder of Tipperary born Irishman Dennis Quinlan at Lyell. Mrs Gramatica was found not guilty and discharged, after being admonished by the Judge for her immoral lifestyle. Davidson was given a life sentence for manslaughter and started his sentence in the Nelson Gaol on 15 March 1883.
He was appointed cook on 18 May 1883 because he was considered a model prisoner and was, at the time, the only inmate who spoke English. The other prisoners were Maori.
It was the practice in those days for long term prisoners to serve their time in Wellington Gaol. That Davidson was still in Nelson Gaol several months after sentencing was due to bureaucratic oversight.
A few days before the dramatic events of early morning 28 July 1883. Davidson had been informed that instructions had been received for him to be transferred to Wellington. This information was received very badly. He had, shortly after the murder of Quinlan, cut his throat in an attempted suicide. The doctor had given a certificate that he was fit to travel. Davidson had expressed a hatred of Irish Catholics and stated that he did not intend to go to Wellington where, he believed. Irishmen controlled the gaol.
Gaoler Robert Shallcrass, formerly Inspector of the Nelson Provincial Police, and his wife Annabella occupied the Gaoler's quarters upstairs in the gaol. On the fateful morning they were awoken by a scream, followed by a gun shot. Shallcrass went to investigate and was confronted by Davidson, who presented a revolver at him and demanded to be freed by the opening of the barrier gate.
Shallcrass, "with great coolness", kept Davidson "parleying" for 50 minutes. During this time Warder White arrived on the scene, as did Annabella. White made all haste to the Police Station and returned with constable Roscoe.
In the meantime Shallcrass made plain to Davidson that no matter what happened he would not escape, and suggested that rather than make matters worse he should shoot himself. Just as White and Roscoe arrived at the scene. Davidson carried out the suggestion and shot himself.
Immediately after the shooting Shallcrass and White went to rescue Adams, who they believed had been locked in a cell. Instead they discovered Adams' body. He had been stabbed by Davidson with a butcher's knife from the kitchen. The gun had been obtained by breaking into a cupboard in the warders' office.
At a subsequent enquiry Shallcrass was criticised for his role in the tragedy, and for placing trust in a desperate prisoner. The Gaoler responded by stating "I never could wish for a better prisoner, always orderly, civil and obliging to everyone."
A coroner's jury found that Samuel Adams was wilfully murdered by John Davidson, and of felo de se against John Davidson for taking his own life.
The body of John Davidson was interned in an unmarked grave just "without" the Hallowell cemetery.
Funeral services were held for Samuel Adams at St Mary's church and at the graveside, conducted by Rev Father Mahoney. A procession of considerable length followed the cortege from the church to the cemetery. There were prison officials, a detachment of police under Sergeant Nash, and many prominent citizens. Boys of St Mary's Orphanage brought up the rear.
Warder Adams' wife. Elizabeth, was left destitute to bring up a family of four children. The Nelson City Council petitioned the Minister of Justice for assistance for the Adams family, whose provider had died at his post of duty.
References:
The school opened with Miss Eva Cheek, the teacher, and the following pupils – John, Frances. Frank and Walter Bown, Amy, Ada, Horace and George Gardiner, Lesley and Gwen Dryden, Amy and Rita Couper, Phylis, Edwina, Thelma and Warn Mills. They were farming families and some of their older members could have worked at Nees & McLeans Mill that had opened in the area in 1899.
The Drydens kept the Rai Falls Accommodation House and its small acreage of land which has a history of its own. It was first opened by Mrs Mary Luxton in 1896 and, three years after that was bought by Archdeacon T S Grace of Blenheim. He never lived there and leased it to Septimus Eyes. On 19 November 1900 Eyes opened a Post Office and ran it and the telegraph in conjunction with the Accommodation House. Newman's coaches stopped there for meals and a change of horses. On 10 April 1910 Shalto Gardiner took it over and stayed on about two years. Following a fire which burned down the Accommodation House the Gardiners
The Accommodation House was rebuilt and the Drydens came then, followed by the Raymond Wells and then Sarah and Harold Griffith. History tells us that the Rehab must have bought it. 7500 pounds was paid for it to Archdeacon Grace. A returned service man, Mr Rickleton, settled on it but he disappeared one night and was never heard of again. After the 1914–18 war the George Flintoff family came, but by then only the occasional wagoner stayed overnight with his team of six horses. I remember as a small girl looking down and perhaps seeing twelve draught horses feeding out of their chaff bags. The bags were often strung underneath the wagon while travelling. Following the Flintoffs came Mr and Mrs Tom Francis from Blind River, who were there until another fire burnt the Accommodation House down a few years later. This time it was never rebuilt. Bert Bown took it over, but when war came in 1939 he. Bill and Bruce Bown went away in the early echelons, and Bert was killed in action. His brother Frank kept an eye on the land till 1946, when it was joined with our farm next door and was again offered as a Rehab farm. Dick Hall bought it and that was the end of our association between the Smart family and Rai Falls farm. All the families had contributed to the Pelorus Bridge School.
I cannot find the date that Mr Charlie Bryant's mill came to this locality, but it was possibly about 1912, and that would have increased the school roll considerably. I apologise for any I didn't know or can't remember, but longtime residents were the Gartners, Thorns, Grangers, Luffs, and Billingsleys. Some that came, stayed a time, and went were the Prentice's, Neil Simonsen, Harry Stratford and the single men.
Each family was allowed to keep a cow and they all had fowls and a vegetable garden. The cows wandered round the mill and in the large area around. In the late 20's the Boyes family came to the mill and started a small shop. There had always been two grocery carts – Orsmans from Havelock and Mr Coppins from Carluke – with their goods.
The Hughes children joined the school roll about 1920. Four brothers had gone to war and Robert was killed in action, but Tom had married and their growing family began to attend, along with the Strange's who lived opposite our home. Mr Strange worked at Bryant's Mill. Mr Alex McDowell was put on a rehab farm up the Heringa, the last flat land before one started to climb the Maungatapu on the way to Nelson. It was always known to us as the Moki. The two McDowells had a very long way to come. Sharlands from Nelson started a mill halfway between the McDowell's farm and the school, and when a small school started, Mary and Alex went there. Mr Bert Thorn had a farm above Bryant's mill, but his wife died young and left five small children, the youngest being twins. He came down to live at the mill and his farm had various occupants.
So this was Pelorus Bridge's school area. The teachers boarded with Gardiners or Bowns or, a bit later, with Miss Winnie Couper after her father had died. The male teachers stayed at Gardiners. We had many teachers. One reason given was that the young women, after getting ready for tomorrow at school, found it was quite frightening walking through the bush to Miss Couper's. It was dark by five o'clock in the winter. I'm sure we were not unruly kids. I can
This photo was taken when Miss Mapp was teacher and the pupils Lilian and Florence Strange. Valerie and Doreen Prentice. Una Couper, Gladys Smart beside Miss Mapp (she was kept on for a year to help with the primers), Elizabeth and Isabel Bown, Pearl Smart. Olive Strange. On fence: Lil Gartner, Thelma Simonsen, Ada Gardiner. Trizie Luff, Bert and Dean Simonsen. Walter Bown, Warn Mills. Sinclair Couper. In front: Edith Hughes, Earl and Neil Simonsen. George. Dave and Darcy Mills. Leo Stratford and Frank Hughes.
The burnt out trunks of trees were part of the scene in many places, till they eventually fell. Later the stumps either rotted or were rooted out by stump jacks and horse and chain or gelignite. All the farmers had gelignite, to the delight of us kids when we knew it was going
The early service cars were part of the scene. I remember Newman's cars with their hoods folded back down and big straps bolted to the side to keep the luggage secure on the running-boards. The ladies wore picture hats with scarves over the top and tied under the chin. Mr Anstice of Nelson started up an amazing service for those days. He drove from Nelson to Christchurch in one day, starting very early and just travelled till he got there. People marvelled – this was about 1926. Readers will be surprised to hear that the service cars, either Curran's. Rink's, Gibb's Motors, Stent's, Wilfred Pope or Newman's would occasionally pick us up and drop us home. These service cars all ran during my time at school, 1921–28, and longer.
Newman's carried the mail and a small shelter shed was built at Pelorus Bridge where Thelma Mills the Postmistress would wait for the mail and, of course, for the mailbag that she had filled to be taken. That shed was covered with our names either written or carved in, as was the Pelorus Bridge.
What wonderful picnics we had – it was the special school event of the year. Someone went around getting money donations and the single men were very generous. Mrs Bown and Mrs Mills got on a service car and went off to Blenheim to buy the prizes. The picnic was on the Saturday after we started school after Christmas holidays. It always seemed to be a fine sunny day and we all collected at Couper's, where the picnic was held on the terraces below the road. Some came in horse and gig, by bicycle, or walked. One time, when the Simonsens lived at the mill, they had a big pet goat. Mr S made up a two wheeled cart with bicycle wheels, the goat was put in the shafts, rugs and cushions put in, and the babies and little ones came in that. Tables and boxes were put up under the chestnut trees for the older women and rugs spread around. It was lunch time by then and the goodies came out, with each family bringing their own contribution. Then the races began, with races for everyone, men, women and children. We school children were placed in age groups and, as each one came in, the presents were set out on a table. The 12 prizes had much the same value, but the winner had 1 st choice of all the articles, the 2nd second choice and so on down to the last child. The single men had theirs but no prizes for them, only glory, and it was the same for the single women, the married women and the married men. An extra for us was the three legged races. We'd be round after Dad's large white handkerchief and tied it on while gingerly stepping away from the odd fallen chestnut, although it was a bit too early for them to fall really. Coupers had one long row of chestnut trees along the main road and they employed children to pick them up in the season. There was many a tumble practicing for the three legged race, but what fun we had. The men had sack races. After all the races were over, the school children would be lined up and the teacher presented a book to one and all, with a nice decorated label with name and standard or primer inside the cover.
Mr Akersten would have arrived by this time and everyone would assemble on the bank and get their photos taken. It is great thanks to him that he stated the occasion, put the date, and his name on all his photos.
In the early twenties the young women were cutting off their lovely locks of hair. The same at school till there were just three of us left, all different families. No matter how we begged and wheedled, the mums would not budge, until the smallest of us did the deed herself and, for punishment, she was made to come to school with the same dreadful mess. Eventually my mother gave in, but Zoe had her lovely long hair for some time, and she did have a lot of sisters to do it. The Buster cut was the "in thing" – the shingle came later.
It was a straight road from the school up past Gardiners, down the cutting, over a small bridge, up a small cutting and on up to the shop on the right hand and all the mill houses along the left of the road. What work it must have been with pick and shovel and horse and dray to make a cutting as big as the one at Rai Falls. Hard manual work.
A memory of those times was hearing the whistling of Mr Arthur Blick about 6 o'clock in the morning, winter or summer, in his gig on the way to near Canvastown to let his horses have a good chaff breakfast before starting work at 8 am. He used to work with a two horse grader on the road and the time he went by depended on the area where he was working. Sometimes it would be nearer his home on the Opouri Road turnoff to Turakina.
Autumn and fern fires went together and how we loved going with Dad to light them. He taught us to lie face down on the ground if the smoke billowed back, there were no sparks with fem really. However we didn't enjoy having to go with him to cut the foxgloves in flower. The law said all foxgloves had to be cut one chain from a boundary fence, and our boundary went to the top of the hills joining Couper's and Dalton's on the very top. Another law was the Queen's Chain along the river. Brownlee's railway line went the 3/4 length of our place and one long paddock that Dad said was the Queen's. We would pick up lumps of coal and Dad explained that the loco drivers threw it at cattle who loved to lie on the dry line. Our farm was over the Rai River, with the house beside the main road on two acres of ground. To get across in all weather Dad would build a bridge on the part with the steepest and closest banks to walk across. It was a swing bridge that the floods were forever washing away, not so much by the water, but by the trees and branches that came down in a flood. In 1934 my 18 year old brother must have decided to carry a stump jack across without thinking and the extra weight was too much for the board he trod on. It broke and let him through into a small flood and his body wasn't found for six weeks. My father died the next year.
The Anglicans and Methodists had church in the school, with services for each on alternative Sundays. Frances Bown played the organ. The congregation wasn't very big, the singing was poor and the young ones often not very attentive, although the Rev Arthur Milgrew did try to get the message over. He drove an open sided Tin Lizzie, was very asthmatic and lived in Havelock for over twenty years, until he died at 54. He was part of the area and everyone knew and respected him. Although it was the Depression times, their home was an open home.
The organ helped with our singing lessons, where previously the tuning fork sufficed. I never remember ever having a concert, but lantern slides came to the school, and what excitement! Whole families came. Mr Flintoff harnessed his horse to the dray and came with Mrs Flintoff and the little ones on board, while the bigger ones ran behind. What pleasure we had; the school was overflowing. On another occasion Edwina Mills, an old pupil who had joined the Salvation Army, came and held a meeting. A few women had tears in their eyes. Another exciting event was the Rev Seamer with his travelling Maori Girls Choir. Darky Roberts from the Pa was a girl in the choir. The school was full to overflowing that time too.
Back to our education. Arithmetic, reading, composition and writing, alluded to as the three R's, were very much the main subjects, along with spelling, geography and history.
Arithmetic was first tiling in the morning and, for the primers, their tables; one times two are two, up to the 10 times tables. Even with all the different teachers, this did not vary. Singing with the tuning fork and, later, the organ was Friday afternoon and our nature teaching was the gardens.
Out on the sports field we played rounders, football, basketball, hopscotch and kick the block. Kick the block was six squares and a small wooden block. One player kicked it into each square. 1st, 2nd to 6th on one leg, not touching any lines, and out, with players taking turns. Hop scotch was five squares and a small flat stone. The player had to throw the stone, hop in, pick up the stone and hop round and out again, without treading on a line.
Quite unique was our annual breakup. For weeks before, the older pupils took newspaper to school and playtime was spent in the shelter sheds tearing up the paper into 1-1/2 inch pieces and putting it into two sacks. For the event two of the eldest pupils were voted the hares and the rest except the little ones, were the hounds. Came the day before school breakup and at 1 o'clock the hares were given 10 minutes on the route they would have decided on, while the hounds were kept in school. Then they were let out to find the paper trail. Plenty of hills, trees and fern, and everyone was home by three o'clock, caught or not. One pair of hounds dared to go through the empty Flat Creek School grounds, but the teacher noticed them through the window and came out and made them pick up every piece of paper. We didn't catch them that day.
I hope I haven't only given the reader a personal view of farm life, as all the farmers were doing the same thing… stumping, ploughing, and sowing oats for chaff for the horses, rape for fattening lambs for the freezing works, or turnips for help with the winter feed. Everyone had a few cows for milk, butter and cream to the factory for the extra money.
Tex Morton was born Robert William Lane in Nelson on 30 August 1916. He was a fifth generation Nelsonian and a direct descendant of Ann Bird, the first woman to land in Nelson in February 1842. He is probably the most internationally acclaimed and recognised Nelsonian (Nelson City) who has lived. Yet apart from a small plaque outside the Trafalgar Centre, he is virtually unknown and unrecognised in his own birthplace.
He was undoubtedly Australasia's greatest showman and its first real Country music superstar. He led a diverse and utterly extraordinary life. Over a fifty year period he sang, yodelled, played guitar, composed, recited, recorded, was a travelling showman, sharp-shooter, whipcracker, buck-jump rider, hero of a comic strip, radio star, academic, hypnotist, memory expert, movie and TV actor, entrepreneur and entertainer extraordinaire. He was a colourful and charismatic character who became a legend in his own lifetime.
He was brought up in the family home at 18 Riverside. Nelson and was educated at Bishop's School, Central School and Nelson College. He had a good student record and developed an avid interest in radio and transmission and loved music and singing.
Early in the 1930 depression he left Nelson and tried a variety of jobs, which included cutting his first record in Wellington, before departing to Australia in 1932. He followed the showground and talent quest circuit and soon established himself on radio as Tex Morton, the Yodelling Boundary Rider. He made many records for Regal Zonophone Co and toured with various well known-variety shows. He quickly became a household name and was outselling every other artist on record in Australia. By 1937, he was an established national identity loved for his cheery smile, battered guitar and honest songs. In 1937 he married Marjorie Brisbane and the marriage produced twin sons in 1941.
He formed his own Wild West Circus Rodeo, the biggest touring extravaganza ever seen in Australia. The war intervened and put the show off the road, so he toured and entertained the troops all around the country and the Pacific theatre. After the war he successfully reestablished the show and continued it until 1949 when he sold it. He then ventured to Canada and the USA, where he established himself as the Great Morton and gained huge success as a hypnotist, illusionist and through ESP demonstrations, along with his other entertainment talents. Hypnotism became his forte. He studied at Palo Alto University USA and McGill University in Montreal, where he passed his BA degree, obtained a Doctorate and became fluent in the French language. By now he was an internationally recognised authority on hypnosis and operated a hypnotherapy clinic in Toronto.
Unable to settle to the regular life style he returned to Australia in 1960. He toured Asia and the show circuits and began recording again. He came back to New Zealand and hosted the top-rated TV show Country Touch for four years. Until his death in Sydney in 1983, the Kiwi country singer who became an Australian legend worked mainly in Australia and won further
In January 1976 he became the first person to be elevated to the Australian Country Music Roll of Renown at Tamworth and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame there in 1977. In 1991 a bronze memorial bust of Tex Morton was unveiled in Bi-Centennial Park. Tamworth – a gift from the Tex Morton Memorial Association to all people who admired and loved his many talents.
Tex Morton is buried beside his parents at Marsden Valley Cemetery in Nelson. On his plaque is the epitaph "A Millionaire in the Experience of Life".
A motorist who knows much of early motoring in Nelson and the surrounding districts is Mr A. Guy, now of Bunnythorpe, Manawatu. Mr Guy was brought up a Nelsonian and lived as a boy at Brookside, in the city. On a recent visit Mr Guy was interested to seek out his old home, through which he was taken by the present occupier.
Mr Guy called on the Automobile Association and a pleasant half hour was spent in recalling early motoring days. Photographs on the walls of the members' room brought back many experiences.
Mr Guy was employed as a chauffeur to Mr Jenny, better known possibly as Count Jenny. Mr Jenny was one of the first motorists in the district and lived for some time in Cambria street, close to the residence of the late Mr G.M. Rout.
Mr Guy's first charge was a Thorneycroft single cylinder car on gig wheels with solid tyres. This was in about 1905. Later came an Alldays and Onions, a twin cylinder vehicle of 8 h.p. on pneumatic tyres. Pneumatics, though they improved the riding qualities, were for a time a doubtful benefit on account of their poor wearing qualities. Punctures and blowouts were numerous but as the quality improved the advantages over the old solids were very obvious. There were no windscreens in those days and goggles were worn in dry weather for the dust and in wet weather for the rain. Mr Guy recalled many country trips with Mr Jenny. The Rai Valley was visited frequently. The Whangamoa Saddle was then little better than a track through the bush. The surface was poor and frequently rutted by the narrow treads of the wagon wheels which brought timber out from the valleys. Mr Guy had something to say about the destruction of the timber on the Saddle. It was a beautiful run in those days but little of that beauty now remains.
A trip to Motueka or Moutere in anything but really dry weather called for chains on the wheels for the section over the hills. Bogging in clay was not uncommon. What a contrast with the conditions we have to-day!
Mr W. W. Squires may remember what Mr Guy states was that gentleman's first ride in a car. A day had been spent at the Tadmor Sports and it was arranged that Mr Jenny should use Mr Squire's rail ticket, while the latter should ride home as passenger in the car. It was on this trip that Mr Guy received the first of two tips which he got in the whole of his career as a chauffeur. On setting his passenger down at his residence in Nile Street five shillings changed hands. It is not revealed whether it was out of appreciation of the trip or whether the passenger was glad to get down onto solid land again. Anyway it was not long before Mr
In answer to a question regarding fuels Mr Guy replied, "The old Yellow Label Pratts was in most country stores as soon as a few cars got on the roads." The name of Yellow label must bring back memories to some of our older motorists.
One of the chauffeur's jobs was to carry Mr Jenny's camera on the trips. The Count was an ardent photographer but his gear was heavy and cumbersome compared with the cameras of to-day. It was no small load to carry up some of the tracks in the Ronga Valley and such places.
Mr Jenny was interested in boating, too. He sent his chauffeur to Wellington to superintend the transhipping of the hull of the Naumai III at Wellington. This boat was 36 feet in length and was built by Baileys in Auckland, and was fitted with her machinery by the Anchor Company in Nelson. The engine was a 28 hp Gardiner. The fittings were said to be of the best, and the cabin was panelled in mottled kauri. In this craft many cruises were made round the bays and to the Sounds.
On the arrival of the Rakaia, the first overseas steamer to come through the new cut, Mr Jenny put the launch at the disposal of the Harbour Board. The Pilot. Mr Cox (who normally was conveyed to the boats in a row boat) was taken up the bay to Mackay's Bluff to meet the Rakaia. That was a gala day for Nelson, said Mr Guy.
Mr Guy recalled as early motorists the names of Messrs W.G. Vining and Frank Moore and Drs Gibbs, Lucas and Barr.
After leaving the service of Mr Jenny, Mr Guy was employed for some considerable period by Sir George Shirtliff in Wellington.
The family of Lucy Malanta Hunter-Brown settled in Nelson in 1866.
1
Charles Hunter-Brown (1825–1898), her father, had arrived in New Zealand from England in 1849 on the Mariner.
2
For some years he moved around New Zealand, taking a variety of positions which included being a land owner in Canterbury and a member of the first New Zealand parliament of 1854. Charles married Ellinor Jane Abraham (1840–1929) in Auckland in 1861.
They came to Nelson in 1866 and lived at Long Look Out, in Cleveland Road, which had been the home of J. C. Richmond, the artist and politician.
4
The family entered into many of the church and social activities of the city and province.
5
Lucy was born in Nelson 1 August 1882, the youngest of a family of four boys and five girls.
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She was a student at Nelson College for Girls from 1897 to 1900 and retained her interest in her school, becoming a member of the Golden Jubilee committee of the college in 1930–33 and donating a prize for reading.
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Church activities were important for the family, which worshipped at the Anglican All Saints' Church, Nelson. Charles Hunter-Brown worked for missions and the church has a memorial window to Charles and Ellinor.
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Lucy's eldest sister, Delia, was accepted for missionary work in Japan in 1892/3 and Lucy became an active member of the Church Missionary Society and was superintendent of the Cathedral Sunday School.
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When Lucy was resident in Tasman she attended the local Presbyterian church and presented the church with its first organ.
10
Lucy participated in many organisations, being chairwoman of the Women's War Service Association following World War I, a member of the Nelson College for Girls Old Girls' Association and a committee member for a number of organisations such as SPCA. Plunket Society, Girl Guides and Red Cross. She was secretary of the Ladies' Swimming Club, a founder member of the Nelson Women's Club and was involved in the rebuilding of Christ Church Cathedral.
Another interest was her collection of photographs of old Nelson buildings, including a number of cob or clay houses. Her photograph album contains notes about the builders and owners, and her notebooks reveal how she went about obtaining the photographs and the relevant information. The album is held at Nelson Provincial Museum.
A more unusual occupation for a woman at that time was her involvement with the developing apple orchards of the Tasman-Kina area. When the development of these apple lands commenced about 1911. Lucy became an ardent supporter of the scheme. She planted a large commercial apple orchard there about 1911/12 and helped to promote the building of community packing sheds. This in turn assisted the development of the settlement of Tasman.
11
Reports of apple industry meetings in contemporary newspapers only mention 12
Today's older residents remember Lucy as an impressive figure in the district. She was a tall woman and well-dressed, in a tweedy style, and she drove one of the first cars in the district – a Willys-Knight. Her brother also had an orchard in the district and Lucy took a keen interest in both properties, using modern cultural methods and planting shelter trees. She built one of the first modern houses in the district, on the foreshore at Kina, between 1914 and 1918 and spent a considerable time there, particularly in the fruit season.
Hugh Johnstone was the manager of the orchard from 1918–1928. Lucy was keen and knowledgeable about the orchards but because it was not usual for orchardists' wives to work in the orchards, she probably also did not do so.
13
Lucy Hunter-Brown died on 14 August 1956 and is buried in the Wakapuaka Cemetery of Nelson.
14
William Gordon Bell arrived in Nelson with his family in 1847, five years after the foundation of the settlement. They had spent the previous six years in Wanganui, endeavouring to establish a home and farm in a climate of Maori hostility to the land buying proceedings of the New Zealand Company agents. They had finally come to a decision that a move to another district was the only viable option. Nelson was a New Zealand Company settlement, and replacement land for the abandoned Wanganui farmland was able to be negotiated.
William Gordon Bell was then 62 years old. His wife, Alziere, was 70. The daughter of a French naval surgeon and a West Indian mother, she had married Scottish owner of the Bellevue Estate, Carriacou, West Indies. After his death Alziere married William G Bell who was the estate manager. A daughter, Margaret, was born in 1811. The prospect of the abolition of slavery and market competition depressing the sugar price was making the economics of the estate doubtful, and the family returned to Scotland. Here more children were born, Mary 1815, James 1817, Elizabeth 1818 and William Gordon, the Younger in 1820. The family lived and farmed near the village of New Abbey not far from Dumfries in the southwest of Scotland.
In 1839 the decision was made for the whole family, including Mary's husband, James Wallace and their two young children, to come to New Zealand. Son James, now 21, wanted to come as a surveyor working for the New Zealand Company, Margaret was in poor health, and no doubt Alziere found Scotland cold. But what a momentous decision; the conclusion that life in Scotland was less than comfortable and lacked prospects is inescapable. They sailed from Liverpool on the Lady Lilford and reached Australia early in 1840. William Gordon Bell sought land there, but drought and frustrations in land negotiations persuaded him to move on to New Zealand, with his cows, working bullocks, implements and seeds. The Lady Lilford brought them to Wellington on 16 March 1840.
He first used his plough on fellow passenger James Watt's land at Miramar, in an attempt to grow wheat. Not surprisingly the crop was poor and William Gordon Bell sought out better land, purchasing some near Wanganui from the New Zealand Company. After a reconnaissance, the cattle were walked up the coast, with care being needed at the major river crossings. The family and effects followed by schooner, 50 acres were under cultivation by the time they had to leave for Nelson. The family were still together, apart from James, who had had adventures in the Wairarapa and was moving to Otago to help with the survey for the new settlement, and the Wallaces, who did not move immediately to Nelson.
The land William Gordon Bell obtained from the New Zealand Company was in what became Lower Queen Street, Richmond, on the eastern corner of Swamp Road. Daughter Bessie (Elizabeth), who was to spend a lifetime as a
Flax had to be grubbed, gathered and burnt, posts and rails carted from a nearby wood and fashioned into stockyards and pig pen, and crops sown.
Neighbours donated some assistance with the early ploughing. By the end of September Margaret had made the first cheese. By November potatoes were planted, more fencing erected to prevent the cattle from straying, and drainage ditches dug and bridged. Even today it is easy to see how necessary were these latter tasks. There was no work on Christmas Day; the hired man spent the day in the Ale House. The neighbours came first footing at 5 am on New Year's Day, bringing suitable refreshment with them, and no work seems to have been done that day.
The early months of 1848 were taken up with harvesting the cereal crops and helping neighbours with their harvest. Sunday dinner on 6 February saw them eating their own new potatoes. By late summer grass was being sown, firewood gathered and threshing of cereal crops continued. Income was earned from the sale of cheese to a Nelson shop, barley to a Nelson brewery and stock were traded at sales. There was a cart road to Nelson for transport of produce and infrequent visits by William Gordon Bell to the bank, for Grand Jury service and for settling the ownership arrangements with the New Zealand Company. Sundays were visiting days and in March young and old enjoyed a couple of days at the races.
In 1849 a census return records that the family had a wooden dwelling house, with a shingle roof, and an outbuilding. The holding was listed as 100 acres, 42½ cultivated in wheat, oats, barley, grass, potatoes and garden. Livestock numbered 3 horses, 40 cattle and 1 pig.
This same year, William Gordon the Younger married Eliza Morley. She had arrived in Nelson in 1842, aged 18, accompanied by her brother. By 1846, she had had the tragic misfortune to suffer the loss of her fiance, her young son and her first husband, all by drowning.
The New Zealand Company ceased to exist in 1850, and the following year Crown Grants were issued to its land purchasers. William Gordon Bell's grant was for 110 acres which appears to be the original farm, now named Bellevue, Sections 167 and 169 and a smaller piece to the west of Swamp road, part of Section 198. Also recorded is a grant in the name of WG Bell the Younger, of a smallish acreage of land adjacent to the Waimea River, a few kilometres inland from Bellevue (part of Section 200). The year 1851 also marked the death of Alziere, buried at Fairfield. Nelson.
The Crown Grant to William Gordon Bell for two areas totalling 1900 acres in the Upper Motueka valley, now Golden Downs, is dated 1852. The smaller area was river flats
The rest of the 1850s decade appears to have been troublesome. Money was raised by mortgage on the Bellevue property, Section 200 was sold, and strife between father and son caused the Upper Motueka property to be sold to Robert Hooker in 1860, but money was left in it on mortgage. James left to try goldmining at Waikoropupu, near Takaka, where WG Bell the Younger appears to have gone as early as 1859, if the electoral rolls are to be trusted. Old William Gordon Bell was probably becoming more difficult for his family, as he seems to have suffered a stroke about 1860, and he was but a shadow of his former self for his last four years. On his death in 1864, the Nelson Examiner remarked how "the clear ringing voice and vice-like grip of the hearty old Lowland farmer" was missed, and concluded. "His work as a man and a colonist will be conceded by all who
Bellevue was now in the hands of the second generation. James and William Gordon Jnr returned with their growing families to share the estate and apparently expanded it over the next decade or so. Details are somewhat sketchy, and the death by misadventure of William Gordon Bell Jnr in 1870 at the age of 49 was another tragic blow for Eliza Morley and her young family.
The family's holdings in 1882 are clearly stated in the published Return of Freeholders for that year. James Bell farmed 70 acres, presumably Bellevue, because that was his residence and James Bell Jnr, his son, farmed 125 acres, probably another purchase, possibly financed partly by a mortgage taken out in 1878 on Bellevue. Elizabeth Bell separately owned and farmed 99 acres at Hope (Overton), and Eliza Morely Bell owned 47 acres, her share of Bellevue, but lived at this time in Masterton.
This second generation lived out their days on these Waimea acres which they had worked so hard to develop. Margaret had earlier married Bernard Gordon in New Zealand, but he had returned to Scotland without her. She lived with Elizabeth at Overton until her death in 1882, when she was buried beside her parents at Fairfield. Eliza Morley died in 1897 and was buried beside William Gordon Jnr in St Alban's Churchyard Appleby, close to Bellevue. Alongside is the grave of a first cousin. Thomas Bell Smith who died while on a visit from the United States in 1888.
The Wallaces had land in the Wai-iti valley, beside the railway line, and Mary Wallace died in 1899, two years after her husband. James Bell survived into the new century passing away in 1902. His sister Elizabeth, the last to go, in 1909 and both were buried in the Richmond cemetery. Elizabeth's house. Overton, in Aniseed Valley Road, renovated and still very much is use, is a striking memorial to the pioneer generations.
The next generation were more numerous and tended to seek their livelihoods and opportunities out of Nelson, which was by now, in the New Zealand context, a small, somewhat sleepy, agricultural settlement, with predominantly small holdings on limited land. The horticultural expansion which was the economic salvation of the small farm was yet to come.
More exciting things were happening in the cities and the now more rapidly developing North Island. The elder sons of James. James Jnr and Thomas, and Eliza Morley's eldest, Winham Morley, headed to Murchison and the West Coast, an adjacent developing area, and all three used their Waimea land inheritance as a source of capital by mortgage. Thomas Bell returned to Richmond from Murchison following the death of his first wife, Eliza, in a Wellington tram accident in 1907, and some of his family have remained in the Nelson district.
Another long standing resident was Alziere Jane Grierson, youngest daughter of James, married to Louis Palmer. Their house, The Gables, still stands in Waimea West, a grand reminder of its era. Some of James Jnr's descendants are still on the West Coast. Most of the