Raetihi is a small township seventeen-and-a-half miles north-east of Pipiriki, in the County of Waitotara, and in the Electoral District of Patea. The white settlers number about 400, and as the land for miles around is rich bush country a considerable increase is probable. Government co-operative labourers have been engaged in making roads there. Mails arrive at the settlement once a week in winter and twice a week in summer, the postmaster being Mr. T. Garner, manager of Messrs. Hatrick and Co.'s store. Religious services are held in the township every Sunday afternoon by Wesleyan local preachers, and a good public school has recently been erected. Visitors will find fair accommodation at the boardinghouses. Among the institutions of the place are football, cricket, and sports clubs.

Raetihi Public School —a wooden building containing two rooms—was opened in June, 1896. The number of children on the roll is thirty-six, with an average attendance of twenty-five. The first four standards are taught. Mr. W. Hird, who is in charge of the Raetihi Public School, was born in Nelson, and received his education there and at Manaia.

Mr. A. L. Soufflot, Inspector of Roads, Raeithi, was born in 1862 at Paris, and was educated there and at the Channel Islands. He landed in 1874 at Wellington, where he passed the next four years, joining the Survey Department at Wanganui in 1878. In 1885 he was transferred to the Forty-mile Bush, where he served till 1891, when he received his present appointment at page 1460 Raetihi. There was at that time very little road-making going on in the district, but now (1896) there are no less than forty-five miles of dray-roads formed and a great portion metalled, with forty miles of horse-roads. There are over forty men employed at road-making at present. Mr. Soufflot has always taken a keen interest in sports. He married Miss Whitlock, of Wanganui.

Raetihi Boardinghouse (George Ellis Pike, proprietor). This business was established in 1893. The house is built of wood and iron, and contains fourteen rooms, of which eight are well-furnished bedrooms; there is also a large, well-ventilated, and well-furnished dining-room, capable of seating twenty-eight persons, and a very comfortable sitting-room. The house is patronised by commercial travellers and tourists. Mr. Pike has also a twelve-stalled stable, with secure paddocks for travelling stock.

Punch, Mrs., Boardinghousekeeper, Raetihi.

Hatrick and Co. (Alexander Hatrick), General Merchants, Raetihi (Thomas Garner, branch manager). Head office, Wanganui; branch, Pipiriki.

Mr. Thomas Garner, Manager of Messrs. Hatrick and Co.'s Raetihi business, was born in Wanganui in 1865. On leaving school he became assistant to Mr. O. G. A. Harvey, remaining with that gentleman twelve years. He subsequently moved to Pipiriki, where for two years he managed Messrs. Hatrick and Co.'s store, being appointed to his present position in 1895. Mr. Garner has always taken a lively interest in the Volunteer movement, serving in one of the Wanganui corps for three years, during which time he gained several prizes in shooting. He is a member of the Raetihi Athletic Sports and School committees. In 1888 Mr. Garner married Miss Bullock, and has three daughters.

Webberley, J. A. H., Bookseller, Tobacconist, etc., Raetihi. Born at Worthing, England, in 1870, and educated at Worthing and at Brighton, Mr. Webberley went to sea in one of the White Star liners, running between Liverpool and New York. He subsequently sailed under the flag of the Hill Line, and worked his way to New Zealand on the s.s. “Coptic,” which he left in Lyttelton, subsequently serving in the “Tekapo,” “Wairarapa,” “Taviuni,” and “Mahinapua.” In 1893, hearing of the far-famed Waimarino Country, Mr. Webberley made his way there, taking up a town section at Raetihi, upon which he has erected a substantial building, and fitted up one of Messrs. Wright, Ranish and Co.'s billiard tables. In another portion of the building Mr. Webberley carries on the business of bookseller, stationer, tobacconist, hairdresser, etc. He is a member of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, and of the Foresters' Court Lilly, West Sussex.

Mr. J. A. H. Webberley.

Fletcher, Joseph Alfred, General Storekeeper and Carrier, Raetihi. Born in Collingwood, Nelson, where his father arrived in 1858, Mr. Fletcher was educated in Nelson. After engaging in general work for several years, he opened a store in Raetihi in January, 1895, which he has since enlarged. His business has expanded with the settlement, and he now employs two assistants. Mr. Fletcher acts as agent for the Canterbury Times and the Auckland Weekly Herald. Mr. William Ross, who is chairman of the local school committee, is the manager of the store. In winter, Mr. Fletcher has to bring his goods by pack-horses from the steamer at Pipiriki. In all local sports, but especially cricket, he takes a keen interest.

McInnes,—., Chemist, Raetihi.

Osborne and Meuli, Carpenters and Builders, Raetihi.

Waldron, John, Blacksmith, Raetihi.

Ingram, Samuel, Blacksmith, Raetihi.

Kean, Frederick, Bootmaker, Raetihi.

Bennett and Punch, Sawmillers, Raetihi.

Brass, Peter, J.P., Farmer, “Highlands,” Raetihi, Born in the Orkney Islands, Mr. Brass in his early years followed farming pursuits, and came to New Zealand about 1866, settling in Southland and Otago, where he remained for some years. Coming to the North Island, he was engaged to manage a farm for Mr. Hazelden, on the Mangawhero River, and he subsequently bought a farm for himself in the vicinity. In 1888 Mr. Brass took up the Huikunui Run of 1200 acres, where he remained until 1895, when he sold out and purchased his present holding of 640 acres. Mr. Brass was the first Justice of the Peace appointed in the district.

Leggins, A. E., Farmer, “Orautoha,” Raetihi. Born in Dunedin in 1866, and educated at the high school, Mr. Leggins was brought up to a farming life. He took up his present holding of 400 acres, which was then all dense bush, in 1893, and has worked hard in making a home for himself. He has now 230 acres in grass, carrying over three sheep to the acre, with a number of cattle. Mr. Leggins has always taken an active part in athletic sports, and is captain of the Raetihi Cricket Club. He is a staunch supporter of the Good Templars' Lodge of the same place.

Scarrow, C. D., Farmer, “Konini,” Raetihi. The son of an old settler, who landed in New Zealand in 1841, served through the Maori war, and died at Sandon in 1894 at the age of eighty-four, Mr. Scarrow was born in 1861 at the Hutt. In 1892 he went to the Hunterville District, where he occupied land on the Watershed Road, and a year later he took up his present farm of 300 acres, which was covered with dense bush. Over seventy acres have been laid down in the best mixture of grasses, on which a small herd of well-bred shorthorn cattle are depastured. Mr. Scarrow takes a lively interest in sport, and is a member of the local cricket club. He served for eight years in the Rangitikei Cavalry as trumpeter, and is a member of the Raetihi School Committee. In 1890 Mr. Scarrow married Miss McLean, of Invercargill, and has two sons and two daughters.

Mr. C. D. Scarrow.

Smith, Philip G., Farmer, “Herrington,” Raetihi. Arriving with his parents in Wellington at the age of four years, in the ship “William and Jane” in 1855, Mr. Smith, who wa born at Stepney, London, was brought up to a country life. His father, Captain Smith, owned and occupied land for many years on the Wanganui River. Mr. Smith afterwards tried his luck at Kimberley and other goldfields in Western Australia, but owing to failing health he travelled, visiting China, Japan, India, and many other countries. Returning to New Zealand, he took up his present holding of 1440 acres in 1890, in its rough state, there being no roads except a bad bridle-track to Pipiriki. Mr. Smith, who first stocked his land with sheep, lost large numbers of them through wild dogs. In athletic sports he has always taken an active part, having played in his younger days in almost every important football match in the Colony. He was captain of the Wanganui Club for several years, and is now captain of the Raetihi Club. Mr. Smith served in the Alexandra Cavalry for many years, gaining a lieutenancy. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. In 1873 Mr. Smith was married to a daughter of the late Mr. Meredith, of the Heath, Herefordshire, —who was murdered by the Maoris at Drury, near Auckland, early in the sixties—and has one daughter.

Mr. P. G. Smith.