Waerenga-A-Hika is eight miles north-west from Gisborne, on the road lying between Makaraka and Ormond. It is in the county of Cook, and is a splendid sheepfarming district, occupied chiefly in large holdings. In the immediate neighbourhood a great deal of maize is raised, the climate being found very suitable for this cereal. The settlement has a hotel, a store, a bakery, a blacksmith's shop, a butcher's shop, a public school, and a fine college for Maoris, but there is no church. Close to the township a fine block of land, one square mile in size, is owned by the Church of England as a mission endowment, and the rentals from this estate are devoted to the maintenance of the Native College.

The Waerenga-A-Hika Public School was established in the seventies. It has two class rooms, with accommodation for 120 pupils, of whom there are 115 on the roll, and the average attendance is eighty-four. The school property stands on a section of two acres of land, part of the mission estate, and in the playground there is a shelter shed. The staff consists of the headmaster and an assistant mistress, and the teacher's residence of six rooms adjoins the school.

Mr. William David McClure, who holds a D1 certificate, has been in charge of the Waerenga-a-hika school since 1886. He was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1850, accompanied his parents to the colony at an early age, and was educated at the Dunedin High School and at Christ's College, Christchurch. In 1871 he entered the service of the Canterbury Board of Education, under which he taught for twelve years and a half. He went to Southland in 1884, and was a year at Knapdale, and two years at Thornbury, near Riverton. As a Freemason Mr. McClure is attached to Lodge Montrose, S.C. Mr. McClure was married, in 1877, to the younger daughter of the late Mr. W. Scott, of Leithfield, Canterbury, and has three sons and five daughters.

Cox, photo.
Mr. and Mrs W. D. McClure.

Mrs Agnes McClure, who is Assistant Mistress at the Waerenga-a-hika school, was born at Elderslie, near Glasgow, and came to Lyttelton in 1863. She was educated in Canterbury, and became sewing mistress in connection with schools in that district, and afterwards in Southland. Mrs McClure has been assistant mistress at Waerenga-a-hika since February, 1887. She teaches on the kindergarten system, and also gives lessons in cookery.

The Waerenga-A-Hika Native Boarding School stands on a portion of the Church of England Trust Estate, and was established in June, 1890. It is under the control of a Board of Trustees appointed by the Church of England, and the Government Native School Department holds periodical examinations. The building is of two stories, of wood and iron, and contains two class rooms, besides accommodation for fifty pupils, and quarters for the headmaster and his family. In the last term of 1900 twenty-seven pupils were in residence. In the eastern wing there are four rooms upstairs, and three on the ground floor, besides a bathroom and pantry, and in the western wing there are five rooms below and four dormitories above. A large playground and shrubbery adjoins the school. The pupils are taught up to the fourth standard.

Waerenga-a-hika Native School.

The Rev. Edward Jennings, Master in charge of the Waerenga-a-hika Native Boarding School, was born in 1854 at Motueka, Nelson. He was educated at Government schools, at Nelson College, and at Bishopdale Theological College, and was ordained deacon in 1881, and priest in 1887. Mr. Jennings was for five years in charge of the Native Mission School, Otaki, whence he removed to Gisborne, and became tutor at Te Rau Kahikatea Theological College, Gisborne. After five years' service in that capacity Mr. Jennings was transferred to his present position. He was married, in page 1008 1883, to a daughter of Mr. B. H. Darnell, civil engineer, and has one son and four daughters.

Rev. E. Jennings.

The Turanga District of the Church of England in New Zealand extends from Motu to Waimata, a distance of over seventy miles, and includes most of the county of Cook, outside the parish of Gisborne. It terminates at a point about three miles from Gisborne post office. It is intended to have a church at Patutahi, and that the principal church of the district shall be at Waerenga-a-hika, where there is a vicarage of ten rooms, with ten acres of land. At present (1901) services are held by Canon Fox, the vicar, at the public schools in Waerenga-a-hika, Ormond, Karaka, Makauri, Makaraka, Maraetaha, Motu, and Waerenga-o-kuri, and in public halls in Waimata and Patutahi, and in Te Arai Maori church.

The Rev. Canon John Elliott Fox, M.A., Vicar of Turanga, was born in 1845 at Demarara, West Indies. He was educated at the Charterhouse, and at Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. in 1868. Canon Fox is a late scholar of Christ's College, Cambridge, and a Crosse and a Tyrwhitt scholar of the University. He was ordained deacon in 1869, and priest in 1870. For the years 1869–71 he was curate of Holy Trinity, Marylebone, London, and for six years subsequently was incumbent of Christchurch, Demerara. He then returned to England, and was curate at Stalbridge, Dorset, for one year, and vicar of Bourn, Cambridge, for three years. He was again curate of Stalbridge for three years, and became incumbent of Gisborne, Poverty Bay, in 1884. In 1891 he removed to Napier, where he was in charge of St. Augustine's till 1893, when he settled at Waerenga-a-hika as vicar of Turanga. From 1885 to 1894 Canon Fox was chaplain to the Bishop of Waiapu. He was made Canon of Waiapu in 1880. Canon Fox is examiner to the Bishop of Waiapu, and has long been one of the examiners of the Board of Theological Studies. He was married, in 1872, to a daughter of the late Dr. Phillips, headmaster at Cheltenham College. This lady died in 1886, leaving two sons and two daughters. In 1890 Canon Fox was married to a daughter of Mr. H. J. Biyth, of the Admirally, London, and afterwards of Auckland, and two sons and one daughter have been born or this union.

Lougher, Henry John, Blacksmith and Farrier, Waerenga-a-hika. Mr. Lougher was born in Poverty Bay in 1873. He served his time as a blacksmith in the Waerenga-a-hika district, and commenced business on his own account in 1893. Mr. Lougher is a member of Turanganui Lodge of Druids. He was married, in 1898, to a daughter of Mr. H. F. North, of Te Karaka.

Schmidt, George, Gardener and Orchardist, Repongaere, Waerenga-a-hika. Mr. Schmidt was born in Willenburg, Germany, in 1845, and was brought up as a professional gardener. Before coming to New Zealand he was employed for six years at Stuggart as a gardener to the late Emperor William of Germany. In 1870 Mr. Schmidt anaed at Lyttelton from the ship “Merope,” and has since been more or less engaged in connection with garden and orchard work, though he was for a few years on the goldfields in Otago. He was farming for four years at Lake Wakatipu, and was in Queenstown for two years. For seven years subsequently Mr. Schmidt was head shepherd at Mr. McLean's station. He came to Poverty Bay as a gardener for Mr. H. Finn, and laid out that gentleman's garden and grounds at Roebuck Road. Three years later he entered the employment of Mr. W. K. Chambers, at Repongaere, and during the four years and a half that he was so employed, he planted about 27000 orchard trees. Subsequently Mr. Schmidt leased ground at Te Arai, and planted an orchard containing 1500 lemon and fifty orange trees. After four years he sold this property, and leased an orchard and paddock at Repongaere, where he grows magnificent lemons, which he ships to various parts of the colony.

Brooking, Benjamin, Farmer, Waerenga-a-hika. Mr. Brooking was born in Wellington in 1855, and was brought up to country life in Hawke's Bay, where he had been taken by his parents when he was two years of age. In 1874 he settled in the Poverty Bay district, and, after working for wages for some time, settled at Waerenga-a-hika, where he engaged in general farm work. Mr. Brooking was married, in 1877, to a daughter of the late Mr. Robert Breingan, of Gisborne. Mrs Brooking died in 1894, leaving one son and six daughters.

Brown, Alexander, Farmer, Waerenga-a-hika. Mr. Brown was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1857. He was brought up to farming, and came to Wellington in 1878 by the ship “Fernglen.” After some years in Australia he left Sydney for Lyttelton, but, calling at Gisborne on the way, he decided to remain in the district. Mr. Brown leased a section of over fifty acres acres in Waerenga-a-hika, and afterwards increased his holding, but subsequently sold his interest. In 1880 he purchased thirty acres of land, and has since then increased his holding to 179 acres. Mr. Brown keeps sheep, cattle, and horses, and has two teams working. In February, 1899, he unfortunately lost one of his legs, but is still able to take an active part in the management of his farm. He earned his first £100 in Poverty Bay by stone-breaking. Mr. Brown was married, in 1885, to a daughter of Mr. D. Boyd, of County Donegal, and has three sons and two daughters.

Mr. John Hyland, Old Colonist, was born at Breton, Tasmania, on the 16th of June, 1855, and was educated at Bagdad public school. He worked on his father's farm till April, 1874, when he came to Wellington, New Zealand. Mr. Hyland had four years of station life at Whareama, near Castle Point, and was one summer in Hawke's Bay—the driest summer on record in the history of that province. He settled in Poverty Bay in 1879, and became a member of Court William Gladstone, A.O.F., in 1880. Mr. Hyland made a trip to Sydney in the ill-fated “Tasmania,” in April, 1895. He served for several years on the Waerenga-a-hika school committee, and was once a member of the Matawhero Road Board. He has been connected with the butchering business and with farming operations for the past eighteen years. Mr. Hyland was married, in 1881, to Miss Lange, daughter of the late Mr. Lange, of Hope, Nelson, and has four daughters and one son.

Cox, photo.
Mr. J. Hyland.