Chapter III.
The Pakeha.

Steer, faithful helmsman, steer,
By stars beyond the line,
You go to found a realm one day
Like England's self to shine.

Within a comparatively brief period of the events narrated in the last chapter, Te Rauparaha became immersed in his larger schemes of conquest in the Middle Island, and these for the moment diverted his attention from the Rangitane to the Ngaitahu tribes. His mind was also engrossed in devising diplomatic methods by which he could quell the spirit of civil war which had broken out between the fiery Ngatiawa and Ngatiraukawa. He therefore had less time to devote to reprisals upon his old enemies, and before a suitable opportunity had occurred for avenging the killing of his people by Te Awe Awe, Christianity had been introduced to the tribes along the West Coast by a native preacher, from Tauranga, named page 111Wiremu Hamua. The peaceful teachings of the Gospel were readily accepted by the natives, who must have been weary of war. "The work of our fathers was continual fighting; there was no light period during those times"—is the testimony of an intelligent Maori which might well be applied to their life in these western districts, and when the doctrine of universal love was preached amongst them they seized upon it as the panacea for their thousand woes. One of the first and most enthusiastic converts was Tamihana te Rauparaha,^* who became greatly distressed at the havoc which the incessant battles and massacres were creating. His own influence was constantly exerted in uplifting the banner of peace, but so keenly did he recognise the need of some one more qualified than himself to expound the teachings of Christ, that he journeyed to the Bay of Islands for the purpose of securing the services of a resident missionary. There he met the Rev. Octavius Hadfield, whom he induced to return with him, and from December of that year, 1839, a new era may be said to have dawned upon the wild West Coast.

But long before the arrival of Mr. Hadfield^* a rude civilisation had been struggling for an existence on the shores of Wellington, introduced by the rough whalers, whose advent is so remote and uncertain that it is only possible to speculate upon its date. As early as 1793 whalers are believed to have visited New Zealand, but the relations of the crews with the natives were then of the most cruel and barbarous nature, and it is doubtful whether the sailors or the Maoris were the greater savages. It was not, however, until about the year 1827 that the system known as "shore parties" was established. With a keen eye to their natural advantages the whalers planted stations at Queen Charlotte Sound, Cloudy Bay, and Kapiti; and as it is to these latter that we owe the chief influence upon the tribes of the West Coast, they call for greater attention than the casual visits of itinerant ships. The men who comprised the inhabitants of these whaling stations were for the

^* Mr. Hadfield worked exceedingly hard, and the very highest testimony is borne to the value of his labours by those who saw what he had accomplished. Unlike most missionaries, he acquired no land, and by his unselfish demeanour he wielded a great influence over the natives, often preserving peace amongst them at great personal risk to himself In addition to his religious work he opened schools for both old and young, in which he estimates that about two thousand Maoris were taught to read and write in their own language. The results, however, were not so satisfactory as had been anticipated, for the young men who had learned to read soon began to "fancy themselves," and deserted the Pas for pakeha society, where they generally succeeded in getting their morals corrupted, while the educated girls were snapped up as wives by the whalers and settlers, and being removed from their own people could not exercise any influence over them.

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Map Showing Drainage Area of the Manawatu River.
Approximate area, 2,200 square miles. Scale, 16 miles to an inch.

page 113most part rough fellows who had been engaged in sealing operations on the southern coast of the Middle Island; an occasional runaway sailor; convicts from Australia, who had been liberated by the authorities; and convicts who had liberated themselves.

The sealers had been encouraged to join in the pursuit of the whales, which annually swam through Cook Strait, for the sake of the greater excitement and profit which it brought, while enhanced comfort and liberty were the inducements which led the seamen to desert their former calling. These men were a strange medley of nationalities, and in their habits they were at once the embodiment of order and disorder, of filth and cleanliness. Their occupation was one of the most unsavoury in the world, and yet they insisted upon everything round their little huts being kept scrupulously clean. The wild and riotous conduct in which they indulged during their drunken orgies stood in strong contrast to the discipline which they maintained in their boats, and their strict observance of the unwritten laws of the chase was a strange contradiction of their utter lawlessness in other directions. While they taught the natives many of the arts of peace, they supplied them with arms and ammunition to make war upon tribal enemies. page 114Their time was spent between spells of voluntary drunkenness and involuntary sobriety, between excessive work and excessive idleness; in fact, the only thing in which they seemed to be consistent was their unlimited and universal hospitality to strangers.

But paradoxical and full of contradictions as the lives of these men were, they played an invaluable part in paving the way for the finer grades of civilisation. They explored the country, endured the keenest hardships, and, while they introduced new vices simultaneously with new wants, they also reconciled the Maori to the presence of the pakeha by compelling a respect for his physical prowess. Long, therefore, before 1839, the prophecy of Waka Nene had been fulfilled. Cook Strait had then become a centre of considerable importance; and when the Tory arrived at Kapiti with Colonel Wakefield as the agent of the New Zealand Company, there were already several whaling stations established on and about that island, each with its complement of boats and its crowd of native retainers.

The influence which the whalers had upon the natives of the Manawatu and Rangitikei districts was but small compared with that which they wielded over the followers of Te Rauparaha, for the stations did not extend beyond the shelter of Kapiti. Safe anchorage and good boat harbours were an essential requirement of their business, and these the exposed coast did not afford. Moreover, the shoal waters of the South Taranaki Bight were regarded as protected ground, for here the cows resorted in the calving season, and while sporting in "Motherly Bay," as it was called, they were never disturbed.

Thinking the circumstances demanded that he should extend to the native the courtesy of a greeting, Mr. Wakefield drew towards the shore for that purpose, but the chief, assuming that he had merely come to trade, repulsed him with the imperative command, page 121"Go to the sea; I have no pigs." Not even the gift of a plug of tobacco could induce "Full Tide" to relax into a more genial mood, and when Mr. Wakefield jumped into his boat and shouted the customary farewell, "Remain in thy place," as he shoved off, the haere ki tai^* came back deep and gruff from the grumpy old man as he lit his pipe and pulled his blanket more closely about him.

Fortunately, Mr. Wakefield found the majority of the natives of the Manawatu very much more sociable than surly Tai Kapurua, and many of his best friends amongst the Maoris belonged to the Ngatiraukawa of this district. But in his rare and valuable account of "Adventure in New Zealand," that gentleman gives an entertaining story of an encounter which he had some years after with another chief,^† and which cannot be better told than in his own words:—

"I often afterwards." says Mr. Wakefield, "spent several days with this chief at his various residences, and we have been ever since warm friends."

During this and former visits to the Manawatu Mr. Jerningham Wakefield was delighted with the appearance of the country. The magnificent bush, the grassy lands, and wellcultivated gardens around the Maori pas, caught the eye of the young Englishman, who saw in these factors great possibilities for settlement, and the wisdom of securing the district from the natives for that purpose. When returning to Wellington he called at the island of Mana, and here he met Rangihaeata, who was at some pains to impress upon him that the locality he had been inspecting page 127belonged to Rauparaha and himself, and that it was not for sale. Where there is a buyer, however, there can generally be found a seller, and it was not long before the Ngatiraukawa chiefs entered into negotiations with Colonel Wakefield for its sale.

The flattering reports brought by his nephew, and the need for more land upon which to settle the rapidly-arriving colonists, induced the Colonel to entertain the Ngatiraukawa proposal, and a great conference was held at Otaki, at which a large portion of the district was formally offered to the New Zealand Land Company.^* In the debates which followed Rangihaeata stoutly resisted the sale, but his objections were ridiculed and overridden by Te Puke and Te Ahu Karamu, who deserves to be remembered as the chief who burned his village to compel his people to follow Te Rauparaha. In his oration to the assembled tribes, he reminded them of the sacrifices which they had made to conquer the land; that after its conquest Te Rauparaha had assigned the Manawatu to them; and he asked who, therefore, had a better right to sell it than Ngatiraukawa.

A survey party was then set to work under Mr. Charles H. Kettle,^* and everything was being got in readiness for the reception of the expected settlers. Although he had been frustrated in his desire to retain the Manawatu, Rangihaeata was by no means reconciled to its loss, and while the survey was going on it was his wont to go about the various pas storming at those who had agreed to its sale. He was particularly violent in his language and gestures when under the influence of liquor, a condition in which he was not infrequently found.

He was in this angry mood one day when Mr. Wakefield met him at the little accommodation house which Toms, the whaler,

^* Father of District Judge Kettle, of Whanganui.

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Te Awahou.
Now Foxton, Sketched by Mr. J. T. Stewart in 1859.

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The Old Punt at the Gorge.

page 129had opened at Paremata. After demanding in a very insolent tone that Tiraweke should buy him a bucketful of grog, which Tiraweke declined to do, he went on with boisterous tongue to declare that "Wide-awake" should have no more land. Manawatu had been taken from him, but Porirua had not been paid for, and he would never allow the white people to come and live there unless he received for it "money gold" in casks as high as he could reach—no small price considering that he stood six feet two inches without the aid of boots. Mr. Wakefield sat upon a rough bench, coolly smoking his pipe, while this whirlwind of invective had been going on around him, and Rangihaeata, finding that his bounce produced no apparent effect, turned to leave the room. As he did so the hitherto passive pakeha administered a sarcastic rebuke to the chief's angry volubility, by remarking that he had been all ears because Rangi had been all mouth, and that he had remained silent because two mouths could not talk where one filled the house, a gentle jibe which was greatly enjoyed by the crowd of amused onlookers.

Later in the day Mr. Wakefield found Rangihaeata sitting in the pa in a much calmer frame of mind. He enquired of his visitor whether Te Ahu would arrive soon, page 130and on being informed that in all human probability he would, he again expressed the greatest annoyance at Ngatiraukawa having sold Manawatu. " You shall see," he said, " how I will boo-boo-boo at Te Ahu about it when he comes," implying thereby that he would give that chief a considerable piece of his mind. The verbal castigation was not, however, quite so severe as might have been expected from the bravery of his threats, and those who were present were quite satisfied that he scored no advantage over the cool and collected Te Ahu. In anticipation of the meeting clean fern had been spread on the court-yard of the pa, and when Te Ahu arrived he was forewarned by Mr. Wakefield as to what was likely to happen. But the old man^* rather enjoyed a row, and therefore his only comment upon the information given him was to roguishly wink his eye and laconically remark, " Be a looker on."

Nothing could have been in greater contrast to the violent behaviour of Rangihaeata than the calm and dignified manner in which Te page 132Ahu rose to reply, " You have said," he began, " that all the land is yours. I do not know; perhaps it is. You relate as an evil deed that I took upon myself to sell Manawatu to the white man. You say that it was not straight. Look at me! I, Te Ahu, sold Manawatu. I alone, of my own accord. I came not to consult you. I was not good to do so; I still am not good to do so. I care not for your thoughts on the matter. You have described your pedigree and spoken much of your good name. I, too, had ancestors and a father. I have a name. It is enough; I have done." The cool defiance of this speech completely nonplussed the angry Ngatitoa, who saw that he could not bounce or bully the incorrigible Te Ahu into agreement with his views. Moreover, the reference to his ancestors and his birth was an unanswerable argument, for it was well known that Te Ahu was of more aristocratic line in the Maori nobility, and as such he had the greater right to be heard in the councils of the tribe. The nett result of the conference was that Manawatu still remained with the pakeha.

On the 9th February, 1842, the ship " Brougham " arrived in Port Nicholson, bringing with her Mr. Brees as chief surveyor to the Company, and also a number of cadets, page 133who were at once despatched to assist Mr. Kettle in the survey of the Manawatu These young gentlemen were fresh from London offices, and were without the slightest conception of what colonial life meant. When they set out along the Porirua road to walk to the scene of their labours, their dandified appearance provoked great amusement amongst those who had been roughing it in the settlement for some time. They carried brand new guns slung across their shoulders by glossy patent leather straps; their forage caps were of superfine cloth; their stiff white collars were relieved by new silk ties, while some of them even had their hands encased in gloves. As they walked along they picked their way with dainty steps between the muddy pools, and sheltered their well-shaven faces from the rays of the sun with handkerchiefs tied under their chins. The spick and span attire of the " new chums " was the subject of much comment amongst the older hands, who speculated as to how long they would retain their faultless appearance, while the cadets looked with a mixture of surprise and disdain upon the long beards and uncouth dress of the colonists.

Mr. Kettle had scarcely completed his work before the New Zealand Company became involved in disputes with the natives page 134concerning the title which they believed they had acquired to the country surveyed. In each of the new settlements serious unrest was being created by the claims which were everywhere springing up on the part of natives who had not been heard of when the original sale took place. The work of colonisation was practically paralysed at Port Nicholson and Whanganui by the interfering and turbulent temper of the natives, who were constantly demanding payment for the land which the settlers believed they had purchased in England. Trouble was also brewing across the Strait in Nelson from the same cause, and it was not long before the general dissatisfaction spread to the Manawatu. The absence of a proper appreciation of the Maori idea of land tenure on the part of Colonel Wakefield doubtless led him to treat with many chiefs who had less right to sell than some who had not been consulted, for he failed to recognise the important part which conquest played in the Maori land code, residence being to his mind a far clearer title to ownership than that obtained by force of arms. This undoubtedly contributed largely towards the unfortunate misunderstanding, but the real germ of the trouble lay in the mischievous effect of the missionaries' political policy. In former times the power of the chiefs had been absolute, and as they page 135were men of honour, they seldom repudiated a bargain to which they had committed themselves. But when the missionaries began their reconstruction of Maori society, they made no effort to preserve the dignity of chieftainship, but on the contrary devoted far more time and attention to some plebian who had become a convert than to the men whose word was law amongst the people. The effect of this mistaken policy was to undermine the authority of the chiefs, and to incite the cupidity of some slave who would not have dared to lift his voice in the councils of the tribe "before the gospel came."

But the missionaries were not alone responsible for this policy of levelling down, for Governor Hobson hurt the pride of the chiefs, and destroyed their influence, by treating all members of the tribe as equal, and ignoring their natural leaders. The result was that many natives, who would have cowered beneath a single look from a chief at the time the bargain was made with Colonel Wakefield, now came boldly forward and protested a right of ownership of which they would never have dreamed under the old order of things. These claimants were all the more arrogant in their assumptions from the knowledge that the chiefs could no longer silence their demands by the practical if not page 136judicial methods of force, for the law established by the pakeha and acknowledged by the chiefs was a complete bar to a resort to arms or personal violence. This feeling was admirably expressed by a Whanganui chief named Te Kai, who, in sympathising with Mr. Wakefield over the troubles which these aspirants to ownership had brought upon the Company, said to him, " In the old times we should have fought to have maintained you in possession of the land against those who fairly sold and have since repented and told lies, but now we are " missionaries " we can only be sorry."

But from whatever cause these disputes arose, their existence gave great concern to the authorities at Home, and a Commissioner in the person of Mr. Spain was sent out to adjudicate upon and adjust the differences between the many buyers of land and the greater number of self-constituted sellers. When the British Government decided upon this mode of settling the disputes, Colonel Wakefield contended with Governor Hobson that under their agreement the Company was entitled to a Crown grant for an area of land equal in value to their expenditure on immigration and on the surveys of the country, and that the investigation of the Court could only apply to such transactions as had been page 137effected by the missionaries and other individuals prior to the establishment of British authority in the colony. Captain Hobson, however, took a much broader view of the functions of the Court, holding that under the Treaty of Waitangi all purchases from the natives must come under review. He therefore refused to grant a title for the Colonel's purchases until the Commissioner's judgment had been pronounced upon them.

In determining the line upon which he would require proof of purchase, Mr. Spain decided to accept the position as he found it, with its multitude of claimants, and not to confine his investigations to ascertaining the position of affairs at the time the land was sold. He thus had not only to decide whether the chiefs who conducted the sale with Colonel Wakefield had the right to sell and did so with the full knowledge and consent of the tribes, but he also gave himself the task of enquiring into all the mushroom-like claims which had sprung up in every direction —a course which, as may be readily supposed, involved enormous delay in the settlement of each disputed case. The tedious details of this litigation need not be paraded to weary the reader, nor are we concerned in the many decisions given, it being sufficient to know that here, as page 138elsewhere, the claims of the Company were considerably reduced, 900 acres of land being awarded to them for their £900 in trade. This small area was in due course conveyed to the Company, the balance of the block, 23,000 acres, reverting to the natives to be afterwards sold by them to the Provincial Government.

The limitation of their Manawatu settlement to 900 acres was a serious blow to the Company, for it not only reduced the value of their assets enormously, but it contracted the field of settlement to such an extent as to render it almost worthless to the rapidly-arriving colonists, who were clamouring for land. Under these circumstances, its colonisation was practically abandoned for a time, only 400 of the 900 acres being taken up. Of these Captain Robinson acquired 200, and John and Thomas Kebbell the remaining 200; but it was not until Governor Grey's first term of office that the Crown grant was issued, and as compensation to those two settlers for the delay in being put upon their holdings the Governor doubled the area which they had agreed to take up.^*

Captain Robinson, who had been an officer in the East India Company, walked overland from Hawke's Bay, and began his life in the Lower Manawatu as a trader with the natives, and the Kebbell Brothers as the pioneer sawmillers. Here about the middle of the year 1842 they commenced the erection of a 20 horse-power steam saw-mill, which they had brought from England to Wellington, and thence by sea to the Manawatu. They hoped to derive a considerable profit from cutting and shipping the timber which grew so luxuriantly along the banks of the river for thirty miles. In spite of many difficulties, they persevered with their undertaking in a remarkable way until it was complete. As each portion of the machinery was laid down, gable after gable was added to their long irregular building, which was mainly composed of a thatch roof set upon a light frame of wood. During the course of its erection the natives displayed the keenest interest in what was going on, and when the cast-iron chimney, forty feet high, rose from out of the heap of angles, and the steam was sent hissing through the pipes, the recollection of their old home at Taupo came back to the Ngatiraukawa natives, who worked themselves into a high pitch of delight and excitement at what they regarded as he puhia mokai, or "a tame boiling spring." As page 140a speculation, however, the mill was not a success, for there was too much good timber in the country immediately surrounding Wellington to allow a demand for the Manawatu product. By a misfortune, too, the day came when the thatched roof caught fire, and although the machinery was saved from serious damage, a considerable loss of other property was sustained, in addition to the complete disorganisation of the little trade that had so far been developed.

Under the Company's original scheme of settlement it had been their intention to lay out the town for Manawatu at Paiaka, and, although nothing was ever done towards the completion of the scheme, the prospect of acquiring corner sections when the township was laid off had a magnetic influence, and shortly in advance of Captain Robinson and the Kebbells came several other traders, who established their headquarters at Paiaka. Prominent amongst these were Messrs. Thomas Uppadine Cook and Charles Hartley. The former built a wooden store, which for several years formed the central point around which the trade of the district revolved; while the latter maintained an itinerant commerce with the Maoris, until he, in company with Mr. Bevan, adopted the more permanent occupation of rope-making. The trade of the page 141district soon grew to be both varied and voluminous, and consisted chiefly of pigs, potatoes, wheat, and flax. Pigs ran sleek and fat in all parts of the district, and the Maori quickly learned their commercial value and became enthusiastic bacon raisers. Potatoes, too, were grown with comparatively little effort, and yielded a plentiful crop, while on many a small clearing wheat was sown broadcast and then chipped into the ground with the native adze. Owing to the fertility of the soil, even this crude method gave very satisfactory results, and after the harvest had been reaped and ground by the enterprising Kebbells, who had added a grinding plant to their sawmill, the flour was shipped to Wellington in small schooners^* and the mosquito fleet which had by this time sprung up, for the trade of the time was not confined to the Manawatu, but all the smaller rivers, such as the Otaki and Waikanae, were being systematically exploited for the sake of Maori commerce.

The ranks of the few whites who were already settled in the district as traders or otherwise, were now gradually reinforced by the arrival of others anxious to make a beginning for themselves; and a notable page 143addition to their numbers took place about this time when several of the men who had been engaged on survey with Mr. Kettle, decided to come and throw in their lot with the pioneers. These men were Robert Nankevill, William McDonald, Thomas Scott, and William Barnett, each of whom proved a useful member of the infant community.

Towards the year 1844 the European settlers were becoming fairly numerous, while the natives were not diminishing, and to minister to their spiritual welfare the Cameronian Church of Scotland sent out the Revs. James Duncan and John Inglis to be resident missionaries in the district. They established their first mission station at Te Marie, near Shannon, but Mr. Inglis did not remain long, as the field was not sufficiently large for two energetic men, and he and his wife left for page break

Surveying the Oroua River.
Sketched by Mr. J T. Stewart 1859.

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Carved Figures at Mararatapa Pa.
Near Awakuni Sketched by Mr. J. T. Stewart in 1859.

page 145the New Hebrides to still further spread the light of the gospel. Mr. Duncan, however, continued in the sphere of labour appointed for him by his mother Church, and there are none of the old settlers who will not bear the most willing testimony to the value and sincerity of his efforts to impress upon white and brown alike the blessings of Christianity.

There were, of course, no roads through the bush, and any land journeys which had to be made to the outlying settlers could only be accomplished with the greatest difficulty. The river was the real highway of the district, and, paddled in his canoe by a crew of natives, Mr. Duncan was unremitting in his visits to the pas and settlements along its bank. The earnest ministrations and helpful example of so worthy a man could not fail to make a deep and lasting impression, for not only did he bring consolation to the mind of many an anxious pakeha, but he carried conviction to the receptive soul of the Maori, many of whom, through his labours, discarded their heathen gods and died in the full acceptance of the Christian faith.

But it was not alone in spiritual matters that Mr. Duncan came as a blessing to the brown people of the Manawatu, for he was the first man in the Wellington province, if not the first in New Zealand, to teach the page 146Maori the use of figures and of weights and measures. At first this was no light or simple task, for while the natives had a very keen appreciation of the difference between yellow and white coins, and knew perfectly well when they were getting a sovereign and when they were getting sixpence, they had no conception of the value of arithmetic. Thus, while Mr. Duncan could show them that two sixpences made a shilling, the moment he put the calculation into figures he was repeatedly met with the query, " But where's the shilling?" His pupils appeared to have some idea that the money should rise as if by magic out of the chalk marks, and because no such miracle happened, it took all the more time and pains to convince them that there was any merit in the system. However, after much patient labour the initial difficulties were overcome, and henceforth those who wished to trade had in self-defence to be able to demonstrate by an arithmetical calculation that 2 and 2 did not make 5.^*

The pioneer stages of the district were thus proceeding slowly but satisfactorily. Every year saw a slight increase in the population page 148and an addition to the volume of its exports. The township of Paiaka, too, was showing signs of the general advancement, for it was no longer marked by a single store, but had quite a number of wooden buildings of no great architectural beauty, certainly, but substantial and sufficient for their purpose.

In a general way little friction had been experienced with the natives, the two races living together on very amicable terms. Still, irritation and inconvenience was caused by the narrow area within which a freehold title could be obtained, and here and there a settler who desired to establish himself at a particular spot came into conflict with the alleged owners, who in some cases agreed to accept payment, and in others refused to permit settlement under any circumstances whatever. It was evident that the Maori now began to realise the value of his land, for seeing the hunger which prevailed amongst the Europeans to obtain it, that which had formerly been a drug on his hands, though a fruitful cause of strife, now became a marketable commodity, for which he could obtain the much-coveted " money gold."

Further, the conservative type of chief like Rangihaeata, saw that with the sale of the land the Maori must retire before the advance of the whites, for they knew that their page 149barbarous methods could not prevail against the civilisation of the pakeha, and that in the race of the future their people must be outrun and their own power dwindle and die. The efforts of these men were therefore constantly exerted to prevent the alienation of the land, and, so far as the Manawatu was concerned, they succeeded for a time in over-ruling their more progressive brethren.

But early in the year 1855 the little settlement received a much ruder shock than had yet been experienced by any refusal on the part of the natives to transfer their heritage to the settlers. At 9 o'clock on the night of January 29th, the whole colony was shaken by one of the most severe seismic disturbances which had been felt since its establishment, or within the memory of the natives. Its vibrations were felt with especial severity in and around Wellington, and extended all over the Manawatu. In many places the face of the country was considerably altered by the upheavals, and the terror-stricken people rushed from their creaking houses only to be turned sick by the giddy motion of the earth. Huge gulches were torn in the hillsides, and long fissures were opened on the flats, in some cases a few inches and in others many feet wide, which to-day may be traced as blind watercourses page 150with no entrance and no outlet. Many of these gaping holes were seen upon the few cleared spaces, others were well within the bush and were not discovered for many years afterwards, but the most apparent effect of Nature's contortions was to be seen in the twisted and wrecked condition of the Paiaka township. Such rude houses as the settlers had already erected suffered considerably, not a few of the less substantial being thrown to the ground, while the remainder were left so inconveniently angular that their owner's only option was to demolish them with as little delay as possible. In the general wreck the mill of Messrs Kebbell Bros. seemed to suffer most, for steam-pipes were snapped in all directions and the machinery thrown out of level, to say nothing of the serpentine condition in which the long irregular building was left by the undulations of the land. The distorted condition in which everything was left, after the last vibrations had died away, made it plain to the Kebbells that work could be resumed only after the expenditure of much labour and money in repairs, and, as the trade had not up to that time justified their enterprise, they decided not to re-erect the mill, but to transfer the plant to Wellington, where they believed a more profitable field awaited them.

This decision, together with the fact that page 151the district immediately surrounding Paiaka had suffered more severely than that nearer to the mouth of the Manawatu River, caused the principal traders resident in the township to consider the advisability of moving to what they deemed to be safer quarters. Those houses which the earthquake had not destroyed were accordingly pulled down, and the pieces of those which had fallen were gathered together and transported to the site which is now Foxton.

To facilitate his business as a trader, Mr. Cook also built a small wharf, to which the vessels came to load and discharge their cargoes in the days of the " Mary Ann," the " Mary Jane," the " Hanna," " Scotia," and " Wellington." These craft varied from ten to forty tons,^* and were worked by the whalers from Kapiti, doing yeoman service for the district until the year 1860, when Captain Kennedy brought the "Wongawonga" into the river. She was the first steamer that had crossed the Manawatu Bar, but the experiment was sufficiently successful to induce others to make the same venture, and it was not long before she was followed by the " Napier," and the more recent steamers which have gradually displaced the slower sailers in the regular trade.

It is a fact here justly worthy of observation that at this period there appeared to be no one who claimed any right of possession in the native land except the three conquering tribes—Ngatitoa, Ngatiawa, and Ngatiraukawa. The dominion of each of these tribes, too, was well defined, and in no case do we hear of the original inhabitants contesting the right of ownership with them.

The purchase of the first block of land in the Manawatu by the Provincial authorities was thus perfectly satisfactory, as the title was disputed by neither Maori nor European, and it was not long before the township of Foxton was laid out and started on its career with a white population of about one hundred souls.

Almost immediately overtures were made by the Rangitane chiefs for the sale of the adjoining block, known as Ahuaturanga, which included the area that has since become the site of the town of Palmerston North. There was at first some friction between the Ngatiraukawa and Rangitane chiefs as to the right of the latter to sell, but by the generosity of the former these difficulties were soon overcome, and in October, 1858, the preliminary survey of the blocks was commenced by Mr. J. T. Stewart, under instructions from Mr. Donald McLean, then at the head of the Native Department.

The survey included the defining of the general boundaries of the blocks and the marking out of the reserves to be kept by the natives when selling to the Government. Of the two blocks the Ahuaturanga was the more important, and its boundaries are officially page 158stated as starting from Te Weki and Rotopiko on the Manawatu River, and going in a S.E. direction across the Makurerua swamp to Mangawharawhara and on to Arawaru in the Tararua range of hills. From this point the boundary follows this range of hills northerly to Te Apiti (Manawatu Gorge) and thence along the slope of the Ruahine range of hills to a gorge on the Pohangina River called Te Anaowiro, and thence to the River Oroua at a place named Te Imutoi, and thence follows the course of the river downwards to Te Rua Puha, a point about ten miles by the river course above Te Awahuri, the highest native settlement; from Te Rua Puha the boundary leaves the river and goes in a southerly direction by Waikuku and Te Puka and on to the starting point at Te Weki, on the Manawatu River.

The total area of this block was 250,000 acres, and it was described by the surveyor in 1859 as follows:—

" The large area included in this block is mostly bush land, only a portion of which is liable to floods. This portion is on the lower part for some way on both sides of the Manawatu River, from Te Weki up as far as Karere, extending on the northern side inland by the head of the Taonui swamp as far as Te Waiti, and on the south side page 159across the upper end of the large swamp called Makurerua. There is a considerable-sized piece of clear land called Te Horo on the south side of the river, lying surrounded by bush at the foot of the hills. There are also several old clearings on the banks of the Manawatu, such as Pihauatua and Raukawa on the south side, and at Karere, Ruahine, and Te Wi on the north side, and several others smaller in area, which are covered with coarse grass and scrub. There is also a fine clear space in the bush northward of the upper part of the river, between Maraetarata and Te Wi. This opening is called Papaioea^* and would form a good site for a township."

As the country was nearly all dense bush, to cut lines through it would have involved considerable labour and long delay. The surveyors, therefore, used the river margins for survey purposes, crossing from side to side as was most expedient to get easy lines. This was especially the case with the Pohangina River and along the upper course of the Oroua, where one side might give a good line over the shingle banks and river-bed flats, while on the opposite side the water washed against high bluffs and steep cliffs.

This close adhesion to the river courses did not escape the notice of the natives, and they were not a little concerned about it, fearing that a report based upon the limited view thus obtained might be unfavourable. Te Hirawanu, the principal chief, then residing at the Raukawa pa, therefore made it his business to see Mr. Stewart, and said to him, "You are keeping to the rivers in your survey, and you will tell the Government that there are only water and shingle in our block. Come with me and I will show you something better." He accordingly took him through the bush on the following Sunday, and showed him Papaioea clearing, with which the surveyor was so impressed that he marked it on the map as "a good site for a township."

While the survey was in progress, the nearest supply for provisions was at Hartley's, who then lived at Te Maire, near the present town of Shannon; at the Kebbells,' a little lower down; at Cook's store at Foxton; and at Scott's accommodation house at the mouth of the Rangitikei River. Native produce such as potatoes, etc., could be got at the several small settlements along the Manawatu and Oroua river banks, and no provisions were page 161carried by the party except such necessaries as tea, sugar, flour, and rice. The meat supply was obtained from wild pigs, pigeons, and eels. There were no wild cattle in the bush then, but the pigs were plentiful enough, and a large proportion of them were fit for food.

The services of the Maoris were freely enlisted in connection with the survey; in fact, they formed the greater number of the men employed, and they and the natives generally proved themselves most trustworthy in all their dealings throughout the extended survey in which they were so much interested. When Mr. Stewart entered the district there were no native pas in the Pohangina Valley; nor any along the lengthy course of the Oroua River above Te Awahuri. There was, however, a stockaded pa at Awahuri itself, one at Puketotara (Oroua Bridge), one at Maraetarata (near Awapuni), and one at Raukawa (on the south side of the river near the Gorge), all of which were decorated with the strangely-carved figures familiar to all acquainted with Maori art. There were, of course, no roads, and the surveyors had to pick their way as best they could through the bush and scrub, which was occasionally pierced by a narrow, half-cleared native track.

In the upper parts of the Oroua and page 162Pohangina, the succession of deep pools and bluffs made it necessary to carry the survey line across the river two or three times in a mile, and sometimes in a shallow reach right up the centre of the stream^* to avoid climbing the bush-covered and hilly banks. Boots and shoes gave out in this water and gravel travelling, and all the party, except the Maoris, whose feet were stone-proof, were reduced to wearing sandals made from the dry leaves of the ti,^† or to covering their feet with pig skin laced over the remains of their shoes.

The narrow strip of land between the western boundary of the Ahuaturanga Block and the Oroua River, called the Oroua Block, was also included in the survey, although not purchased from the natives. It contained 20,000 acres, and has since been mostly settled by private negotiation with the Maori owners. The land near the mouth of the Manawatu River, known as the Te Awahou Block, was also surveyed in 1859, the boundaries being as follows:—

This block contained about 25,000 acres, part of which had been surveyed by the New Zealand Company into sections and allotted to their shareholders, but for reasons already given were never occupied by them. These sections extended along the river bank from Shannon to a line opposite Karere, and after the dispute regarding the original sale, the selectors were given the option of taking up land elsewhere, or of waiting until the Government acquired the land and could give them a satisfactory title. The majority availed themselves of the former choice, but for those who preferred to wait, sections were laid off when the district was finally surveyed for settlement in 1865.