Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 9 (January 1, 1930)

The Heart of the North

The Heart of the North.

There was much to be seen this day (Wednesday, 20th November), around the Kaikohe-Waimate country, the pleasant lands of Taiamai. The principal trip of the morning was to the Ngawha hot springs, between Kaikohe and Ohaeawai. Here there are boiling springs, warm pools, boiling mud pools and most of the thermal phenomena of Rotorua. A company is now busy there making preparations to develop the working of cinnabar, in which some of these springs abound.

An unfortunate happening here, a tragically sudden end to a useful life, was the death from heart disease of Mr. W. M. Passmore, an Auckland business man. He collapsed and died on the morning's excursion to Ngawha; the exertion of the walk to and from the cars was too much for his weakened heart. His friends of the Commerce Train attended at the railway station next morning for a reverent and regretful farewell to the remains of a much-liked member of the touring party.

In the afternoon there was a quiet visit to the annual Agricultural and Pastoral Show at Waimate North. This was the forty-second annual show. As the visitors approached in cars driven by Kaikohe settlers, they were impressed by the richness of the pastures and the charm of the old English mission settlement. They appreciated, too, the quality of the exhibits, which demonstrated well the resources of this district of good soil and mild climate.

The visitors were next driven to Okaihau, and before dinner were taken on a Public Works train over seven miles of half-made railway down to the rich Waihou Valley, towards Rangiahua. It was noted that there were great difficulties in construction page 16
The Kopa Maori. (Rly. Publicity photo.) Top: When the pie was opened. Centre: Strange food—fingers before forks. Below: Maori cooking.

The Kopa Maori.
(Rly. Publicity photo.)
Top: When the pie was opened. Centre: Strange food—fingers before forks. Below: Maori cooking.

page 17
“An Eden For The Tired And The Retired.” (Rly. Publicity photo.) Top: Famous Keri Keri, scene of the first wooden and brick buildings in New Zealand. Centre: Whangaroa Harbour, the glory of the east coast of New Zealand's Northland. Below: Commerce Train party entertained by residents at Willow Bay, Whangaroa.

“An Eden For The Tired And The Retired.”
(Rly. Publicity photo.)
Top: Famous Keri Keri, scene of the first wooden and brick buildings in New Zealand. Centre: Whangaroa Harbour, the glory of the east coast of New Zealand's Northland. Below: Commerce Train party entertained by residents at Willow Bay, Whangaroa.

page 18 caused by extensive slips in soft clay on the hillsides on both sides of the railway.
Later, the visitors were entertained at dinner in the Y.M.C.A. hall at Waimate. Mr. A. Wigmore, president of Okaihau Chamber of Commerce, presided over a large gathering. “We want population here,” said the chairman, “and we hope you will help us to get more settlers. After this tour you will be satisfied that it is not the ‘poor North,’ but the ‘rich North.’ The climate is better than that of any country in the world, yet vast areas
A Northern Holiday. (Rly. Publicity photo.) Scenes at Waimate North Showgrounds during visit of the Commerce Train party.

A Northern Holiday.
(Rly. Publicity photo.)
Scenes at Waimate North Showgrounds during visit of the Commerce Train party.

of good land are lying idle, growing weeds and rubbish, whereas if we could get sufficient settlers we could produce an enormous quantity of butterlat and other valuable products.”

Here, at Waimate, amidst rural scenes of a most satisfying comfort and charm, where cattle and sheep, and grain, grass, and fruit all thrive and flourish exceedingly, the travellers saw many reminders of the heroic era in pioneering. The missionary came inland here before the trader or soldier. The prettiest and most productive parts are those pioneered by the mission families. Waimate, Pakaraka, and surrounding places bear strong impress of the hands of the early apostles of the Churches—the Williams brothers, Selwyn, Davis, Burrows, and their contemporaries and successors. Shingle-roofed churches of antique design, stoutly built of heart of kauri and totara, stand amidst lordly groves of oaks and elms; around their doors the graves of the white pioneers and Maori warrior chiefs.

Waimate churchyard in particular is a place to take the eye and the fancy. The mission station dates back to the year 1830; its centenary is to be celebrated on this 12th of January by the erection of a lych-gate at the churchyard and by placing a tablet in the interior of the church in commemoration of the Rev. Samuel Marsden and the early missionaries. Here at Waimate is the oldest oaktree in New Zealand; it was originally grown from an English acorn planted at Paihia and transplanted to this mission farm in 1831.

In the afternoon, going from Waimate to Okaihau Station, the travellers’ cars skirted Lake Omapere, notable because it is the largest of the very few sheets of fresh water north of Auckland. Omapere is shallow; it is two and three-quarter miles in length and two miles in width; the area 2,880 acres; its surface is 750ft. above sea-level. It is proposed to generate electrical power for the district at the swift outlet, the Rere-a-tiki, which is the source of the Utakura River, flowing into Hokianga Harbour.