Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Contributions to the Early History of New Zealand

Appendix A. — Mr. Tuckett's Diary

page 203

Appendix A.
Mr. Tuckett's Diary
.

March 28th [1844].—Chartered schooner Deborah, and shipped bricks, timber, and stores.

March 31st.—Sailed.

April 1st.—Anchored p.m. off Port Nicholson; landed at Wellington by boat.

April 2nd.—The schooner came into port to facilitate the embarkation of J. J. Symonds, Esq., P.M., and in the evening sailed.

April 3rd.—Continuing to run with a fine breeze; before sunset we sighted Banks' Peninsula, at least twenty miles distant.

April 4th.—Instead of entering Port Cooper this morning, as we might have done, we had lost ground, having stood northward in the night and been drifted on the breeze, sailing by a strong northerly current; morning wet and foggy; weather cleared towards evening; Ports Cooper and Levy distinguishable about nine miles distant.

April 5th.—Becalmed off the entrance to Port Cooper; lowered my boat, and went in on a heavy swell; landed at the head of a bay on the S.E. side of the port, at the residence of Mr.——.1 Accompanied by Mr.——2 I walked over the hills along shore to obtain a sight of the upper part of Port Cooper, and the next bay opposite to Quail Island. The pasture on the hills is very abundant, the growth apparently rapid, the slopes undesirably steep, but not altogether impracticable to a road. In the bays the water is exceedingly shoal; otherwise these would afford a harbour for shipping sheltered from the swell of the ocean. On our return, the schooner having entered the Port, and anchored off the bay, I returned on board. Three boats were alongside, belonging to natives from Port Levy; with them were the chiefs Tuawaite and Tiroa; the former dressed as a European, and in manners a good imitation of his European associates; the latter, an uncivilised Maori, of marked but repulsive Jewish physiognomy. Mr.——3 made an abrupt and extraordinary remark to me, as I conclude, intending to convey his disapprobation of my having gone on shore, informing me that the Maories were very jealous, and did not like or understand the spying out of the land. The schooner went further up the Port, and anchored off Quail Island.

April 6th.—The water agitated and broken, making it difficult to go on shore in the boat without getting wet; landed on the east shore of the upper bay; prevented by shoal water from crossing to the west side on proceeding to the head of the bay; thus I missed a native settlement at which I expected to have procured a guide to conduct me to the Waiola, and thence to the dwelling of Messrs.——.4 To facilitate my wishes, Tuawaite had written in my memorandum-book a note to a Maori to this effect:—"Friend Korare, how do you do;

1 Greenwood.

2 Dr. (afterwards Sir David) Monro, of Nelson.

3 J. J. Symonds.

4 William and John Deans, of Riccarton.

page 204this is the word of John Tuawaite; it is for yon to conduct the gentleman—Tuckett is his name—for you him to conduct to the house of Mr.——"1.

There is ample extent of available land on this side of the mud flat, proceeding south to its head, for the site of a town, and the soil in the valleys is deep and fertile, each valley watered by a stream, but not convenient of access even to small boats for the supply of shipping.

There is a pass in the range of hills at the head, the ascent to which is easy, and even almost practicable for a cart without forming a road, descending on the other side, for the distance of about a quarter of a mile. Some considerable excavation and embankment would be necessary in the construction of a road. With the exception of this short interval of space, the great plain on the shore of the Waiola is easy of access, and from thence northward to Messrs.——,2 and onwards to the Waimakiridi river, about twenty miles, a cart road might be formed (metalling excepted) at a very inconsiderable expense. Looking down on the great plain, I was at first sight delighted and astonished to behold an extent of level land so unwonted, but much wanted in New Zealand; but the predominance of a russet tint far and near lowered my expectations, indicating too truly the extent of Raupo swamp (a bulrush) already struck by the frost.

The Waiola appeared to be at points scarcely separated from the ocean by a narrow sand, or bolder bank, and instead of being, as I had imagined, an inland lake, the source of rivers, it appeared to me an unattractive and almost useless lagoon, the recipient of the drainage of the great marsh, from which it filters through the bolder bank to the ocean.

The old charts convey an accurate representation of Banks' Peninsula. Supposing Port Cooper did not exist, or rather that the lofty hills which separate it from the plain on the west, and from the ocean on the N.N.E., were removed, then a neck of level land at the head of the Waiola would be the isthmus which is delineated. To this I descended, and found it to be almost a deposit of pure sand, apparently in its early stage of vegetation, covered with such plants as are peculiar to, and can exist in spite of, much saline moisture. Instead of sinking in crossing it, as I expected to do, I crossed it to the bank of a deep stream, dry-footed, a distance of two miles, and unable to obtain a draught of water, the copious supply which it receives from the range from which I had descended being almost immediately absorbed. I met with a Maori, and endeavoured to induce him to guide me to Mr.——.3 He pointed out the track by which I ought to have come from the native settlement, and also that which I was to pursue; but he would not go with me, nor did I care to obtain his company, for he was a most impudent and importunate beggar. The country was an easy one to explore, and, as there are, south of the river Waimakiridi, only two small pine groves visible on this great track, and I was apprized that on the skirt of one of them, and the nearest, was Messrs.——'s4 residence, I required no guide. I found generally a fine dry belt of land along the east bank of the stream, between which and the foot of the hills on the east there are frequent Raupo swamps, but these not very objectionable, as they would readily drain; probably afford fuel; and certainly when drained prove very fertile. Sometimes I crossed a projecting space of the hills to obtain a near view of the plain, and of my goal the Pine. Grove. For seven or eight miles the course of this stream upwards

1 Deans

2 Deans.

3 Deans.

4 Deans.

page 205was nearly north; so far as I followed it on my route, leaving it at a bend where it flowed from the west. On an average its course may be about three-fourths of a mile from the foot of the hills; its channel narrow, but deep and tranquil; easily navigated with boats inland; but of the facility of entering on the sea shore (near Goashore) [Sumner] I cannot speak. It affords a frontage for a series of valuable sections, and the hills at the back are well adapted for sheep farms; and in the ravines ascending the hills can be obtained, in many places, wood for fuel and fencing. On the west bank probably half a mile of swamp could be drained, although not available in its present state. Further in I fear that the central part of the plain would not be easily reclaimed.

I crossed over to it once; following a well-beaten track, which led to a native ferry, a float, a bundle of the flowering stalks of the Phormium tenax, with a rope of the leaves of the same plant. Unfortunately, instead of bestriding it as a horse, and submitting to immerse my legs, I attempted to escape all wetting, and knelt upon the float, which I had no sooner hauled into the current when it gave a turn and completely ducked me, soaking the change which I carried as well as the clothes which I wore. My companion, Mr.——1, profited of my experience, and rode across safely. But we had soon the disappointment of finding that we ought not to have crossed the stream, for the track conducting into the Raupo became wetter and wetter, until it terminated at an eel-trap in deep-standing water. I mention this circumstance in confirmation of my opinion as to the low level of the surface. However, the farther I proceeded northward from the Waiola the more decided was the rise of the surface, with a corresponding diminution in the proportion of Raupo. Wherever I observed the Tea-Tree frequent, although small and stunted, the land appeared superior; its growth a mixed one of Phormium tenax, fern, Toi-Toi, and a coarse sedge-grass. Such is the prevailing description of land between the stream which I next crossed (the Opoira) [Opiawa the Heathcote], and that on the bank of which Messrs.——2 reside (the Putarikamut) [Putarekamutu, the Avon]. The daylight vanished, and I was compelled to lay down on the wet ground in wet clothes, and without a fire or blanket. We had tried our best to reach Mr.——,3 but we found it impossible.

April 7th.—I shook on waking after a short sleep, as if I had an ague; warmed myself a little after the manner of hackney coachmen, viz., by thrashing myself; got another nap, and then at daybreak roused again by cold; started at a quick pace, and soon shook off the chills and damp of the night. Dr. ——,4 Mr. ——,5 and Mr. ——,6 had arrrived at Mr. ——7 over night, having walked by the direct course (about eight miles). After breakfast walked with Mr. ——8 about two or three miles west of their house, and then northward as far as the river Waimakiridi. The land deteriorates rapidly as far as I went to the west, producing little beyond detached trifles of grass perfectly withered or parched, which the cattle did not appear to feed upon. The cattle, however, appeared to be in fine condition, and their location has been a most judicious choice.

It is evident that there was formerly an extensive pine forest, which has been from time to time diminished and destroyed by fire, and since then successive and frequent fires on the grass completely exhausted

1 Wm. Davison.

2 Deans.

3 Deans.

4 Monro.

5 W. J. Barnicoat.

6 Wither.

7 Deans.

8 Deans.

page 206and impoverished a once fertile district. The Messrs. ——1 have a few acres of land in tillage (previously grass land without manure); it has produced a moderate crop of wheat and potatoes; it appeared to work easily. Mr. ——2 states that he can break it up with two horses; in depth and moisture it far exceeds the average of the land on the plain. I was surprised to find the halm of the potatoes entirely perished already by the frost.

April 8th.—Returned to Port Cooper to make arrangements for native guides, intending to return to the house of our hospitable friends, and start from thence on a long journey overland to Otago, crossing to the hills at the west side of the plain (about fourteen or fifteen miles across), and then south to the Waitaki, there re-crossing the plain, following its course to the coast. Found on board Tuawiki and Tirra, who promised to secure for me six Maori guides in the morning. In returning from Messrs.——,3 the land from their house to the foot of the hills which we crossed appeared to be of good quality. Should it be surveyed, and subdivided into small sections, the most valuable would be obtained on either side of and between the Putarikamut and Opaira streams, which discharge their waters on the shore where the beach terminates at the peninsula. The entrance from the sea is into a tideway; a mud flat, and a large boat may enter and ascend either of these streams for a few miles. We descended from the hill to the shore of Port Cooper. At a small native settlement, inhabited apparently almost exclusively by a few aged Maoris, one of whom, Tuarve, was seated in state on a mat, his head decorated with a plume; he had a dignified countenance and manner—the hair of his head was grey, whilst his beard and bushy eyebrows were of a jet blackness, probably stained; he appeared to fancy himself holding a court, and graciously giving audience; and however ridiculous were his pretensions, they were at least attended with this practical good—that in his person he was more attentive than is usual amongst them to the decencies of life. Another old man was named Mauraki; and another (badly scalded on the neck and shoulder) Arumataina. There was one able-bodied man, of middle age, named Pigewarre; a number of unspeakably wretched and hideous aged women completed the group.

April 9th.—Tuawaiki informed me on coming on board in the morning, that he had only one boy whom he could send, and that six could not be obtained without taking them from the boats of which they composed the crews.

After a tedious talk, finding that I was not disposed to relinquish the overland journey, they at last pointed out three boys (apparently the most feeble and incapable), who should accompany me, and these I engaged at 4s. a day (forward). I then reduced my baggage by one half, and was about to leave the schooner, when the owners of two of the lads demanded prepayment, which, when I had refused, they immediately left the vessel, taking them away.

Thus thwarted, I was compelled to proceed by sea. I might, without guides, have walked south along shore, but from such a route I should have gained but little knowledge of the quality and character of the land.

Sent a man immediately to Messrs.——4 to inform Dr.——5, who waited there my return.

Wednesday, 10th.—Mr.——6 Wesleyan, and Mr.——7, a Lutheran

1 Deans.

2 Deans.

3 Deans.

4 Deans.

5 Monro.

6 Rev. Charles Creed.

7 Rev. J. F. H. Wöhlers.

page 207missionary, hailed from shore this morning; they had landed on the morning of the 7th (Sunday) intending to walk to Port Levy on a visit to the Maoris, but had failed to accomplish their intention, having lost their way on the cloudy summits of the hills, and continued to wander to and fro without food, and exposed to inclement weather, for three days and nights; they were much exhausted, but the sufferings and anxiety they had endured was of no further injury, neither of them appeared even to have caught cold, although long exposed to both cold and rain. Dr.——1 returned, accompanied by Mr.——2, unable to sail.

Thursday, 11th.—Landed Mr. ——3 at Mr. ——4; found there Captain ——5 of H.M. brig Victoria with several passengers. Sailed—saw the brig at anchor in Pigeon Bay.

Friday, 12th.—Wind contrary.

Saturday, 13th.—Passed off Akaroa with a fair, light wind. Spoke with an American whaler, the Romulus, of Mystic. Might have made a fair run south, but shortened sail at night.

It would have been a gratification to me to have visited Akaroa, to have had an opportunity of seeing what progress had been made by the industry and enterprise of the French colonists; but I felt it more important to proceed without delay on my own immediate expedition, having been already unexpectedly, though unavoidably, detained longer than I contemplated. However fertile and sheltered may be some of the bays and wooded valleys of Banks' Peninsula, the quantity of available land is so limited, and so difficult of access in continued, connection, that the district, as a whole, appears to me to be of no higher importance than as a locality adapted for fishermen and gardeners, or ornamental grounds for future proprietors, who may hereafter acquire property as stock-keepers on the more available and valuable land of the main.

Port Levy and Pigeon's Bay, as harbours, are, it is evident, superior to Port Cooper, and Akaroa to either; but the increased expense and difficulty attending the construction of a road from either of them is conclusive, in my opinion, in justifying a preference for Port Cooper as the only port, excepting Peraki, on the south side, from which the plain is accessible.

Each bad in particular, and the district as a whole, it is of little moment which may be the best. The great plain is not worth occupying in small sections. It would be absolute ruin to the occupier, however able and industrious. It should never be subdivided into sections less than a square mile, and at a price not exceeding ten shillings per acre. It might be an attractive locality for persons of property. On the north extremity of the plain, beyond the river Waimakiridi, there is a great extent of pine forest, and the general growth indicates a better soil than exists to the south. If not accessible from Kaikora it might be made so from Port Cooper, by establishing a ferry over the Waimakiridi; but as this river overflows the land to a great extent, and the best land is farther north, the former is the preferable point of access if practicable.

Sunday, 14th.—Wind light, weather thick, stood in towards land. Twelve fathoms water near shore, no landing for the surf.

Monday, 15th.—No progress—latitude 44° 39′.

Tuesday, 16th.—Stood in towards land, water discoloured for some miles. Off the outlet of some great river—probably the Waitaki. Ten fathoms water.

1 Monro.

2 Deans.

3 Deans.

4 Greenwood.

5 Richards.

page 208

Wednesday, 17th.—A fog, vessel becalmed, sea very rough; tumbling about all clay, unable to sail.

Thursday, 18th.—A reef off a headland. Believing we were near Moeraki, landed in the boat, accompanied by Mr.—1 Mr.—2 returned to the schooner in the boat, and following a track I soon arrived at a large native village opposite to the reef, between which and the shore is a wide and deep channel. From the village I walked on to the bay, about a mile and a half further north, at which there is a whaling station, conducted by Mr.—3, by whom I was hospitably entertained.

From the spot where I landed, the distance to his house is probably three miles. The headland which I walked along was lofty, and steep towards the shore, but level on the summit. The growth, chiefly grass and bush, the most luxuriant which I have yet seen in New Zealand, perfectly rank.

A vessel, not exceeding fifty tons, might, I imagine, lie in security in any weather within the south headland of this bay. There is, however, but a very limited space in which there is shelter, and unbroken waves.

Friday, 19th.—Mr.—4 provided me with a guide to show me the country. Walked to the north headland of the bay, called the north bluff, about seven miles; and to the north bluff river, the mouth of which is about two miles further north-going. Went some miles inland up the course of the Kori, and so forward until intercepted by the north bluff river. Following this towards the coast, and passing over the north bluff headland; then descended to the shore, returning along the beach. Nearly along the whole shore of the bay, the land terminates in an almost vertical cliff, showing in section its formation. Beneath a vegetable mould appears a yellowish loamy clay, ten to fifteen feet in depth. Beneath this is a very deep bed of dark substance, probably a bituminous shale, saturated with water, which flows freely beneath the clay, on its surface, and mixed with a large portion of sparkling sand or mineral, which gives it great weight. For about two miles along shore, immense nodules of stones, pudding stones, some ten feet in diameter, almost as round as if they had been cast, lay on the beach, and are thickly imbedded in the earthy cliff. These nodules are intersected with thick veins of spar. They are very similar to such as are found at Lyme and Weymouth, slabs from which are cut and polished for tables.

I observed a fine stream of water, and the wood with abundance of timber—the red pine, or, as it is here called, the black, at intervals of about a mile and a half or two miles, throughout the district.

The land would be eligible for sub-division into small sections, not exceeding probably three miles inland from the coast, valleys excepted. Further inland the range of hills are lofty and steep, and their ascent most fatiguing from the dense growth of fern and toot. There is every reason to believe what my guide assured me, that on the other side there was a very considerable extent of level land. Near the shore, the highest land I found to be the richest, affording a good level surface not broken, but sloping gradually inland, well adapted for tillage or grazing, and not to be surpassed for orchards; replete with conveniences, in regard to the facility of procuring timber, wood, and water: the only bad land is that on the lowest level, particularly near the North Bluff River. This in many places I observed to be stony

1 Dean.

2 Davison.

3 Hughes, whaler, at Onekakara.

4 Hughes.

page 209on the surface, and only produced grass, parched, and in detached tufts, such as is the prevailing growth in the vicinity of Port Cooper, on the dry land; here, however, such land was of limited extent. Looking northward from the north bluff, there appeared to be a preponderance of good land along the shore. Had Mooraki Bay been accessible to emigrant ships, a better site for a settlement could hardly have been desired.

It is very difficult to obtain correct information, either from Maories or Europeans; either of distances, or of the names of rivers and districts. I hardly ever find two persons agree, and both on this account and because my hearing is defective, though I have taken pains to obtain correct information, I am sensible that my accuracy is very uncertain, especially that of the nomenclature which I may have adopted. My guide, who had walked from Banks' Peninsula to Mooraki, stated the distance from Mooraki to Waitaki River to be about thirty miles, and that intermediate were seven lesser rivers or streams, viz.,—the little and big Kori, the North Bluff, the Alde, the Kokenu [Kakanui] the north and the south Womru; at there, about seven miles in extent of rough rich land, which he distinguished as the Womru [Oamaru] Plains; a great extent of level land on the Waitaki, the growth chiefly that dry grass which grows in tufts. From the Waitaki to the Timaru, forty miles; thence to Orewenua (a native settlement), ten miles; to the Mukimuki (or big river), forty miles (intersecting a river the name of which he could not remember); to Tamut, ten miles; to Goashore, twenty-five miles—total from Mooraki to Goashore, 155 miles.

This man, and others of whom I made subsequent inquiries, represent the land adjacent to the river Timaru as the most fertile on this line of coast. As population and capital increase, at some future day each of the large rivers will be probably accessible with the aid of steam-power, and become the site of a prosperous settlement. The European residents are chiefly engaged in the whale fishery, but each appears to pay some attention to cultivation; they appear to abound in the means of a comfortable subsistence; each to possess a native wife or mistress, some of whom were of prepossessing appearance, and their children especially. It is much to be deplored, that they should grow up wholly uneducated, and left destitute in the event of the death of the father. Some provision might easily and justly be made for them, by securing to them in right of the mother, a home, and sufficient land of good quality for their permanent maintenance; about ten acres of good bush land for each child would not be too much, as the continued culture of potatoes must rapidly exhaust the best land. If the British public, who contribute such large funds in aid of missions, would require in return, as a primary object, the formation of industrial schools, their labours would be far more useful, and need not be any the less pious. (—1 has grown wheat, erected a good barn, and milks two cows. He claims land, but the claims were not investigated.)

Saturday, April 20th.—Left Mooraki, accompanied by Mr. —2 for Waikauwaike. At the Maori village, hired a man to carry my bag; here, as everywhere else, the Maories were inclined to talk, disinclined to work, and unreasonable in their demands for remuneration. Thanks to petticoat-government, when —3 had failed to induce either of them to accompany us, a woman promptly persuaded her wavering man to go: once off, he proved to be both willing and able.

1 Hughes.

2 J. Hughes.

3 J. Hughes.

page 210

Along shore of the next bay to Mooraki, we found good walking on a firm beach; frequent streams and ponds, on which ducks were very numerous. The land low and rather marshy, not equal to the uplands. After walking about nine miles, we came to a fishery at a boat-harbour, where a few families of natives were occupied in curing fish: they had obtained a large quantity. Thence the land rises, terminating in a cliff along shore; the soil deep and rich; the subsoil a loamy clay, very similar to the good land north of Mooraki, but not affording such abundant supplies of timber. Two or three miles further we arrived at Matakaea, another fishery with a narrow entrance for boats between the rocks to the shore. There is a bed of coal exposed to view here, of much the same quality as that at the Motupippi Massacre Bay, but not to be so easily worked: the strata are here much dislocated; the higher bed of coal about a foot thick, being vertical; that below high water mark horizontal, but thin. I had come some miles out of the direct route to see this coal formation, and was disappointed in finding it of so little promise. A few families of Maories residing here have cultivated the flax and grass land, and obtained a fine crop of potatoes. They urged us to remain there until the morning, stating that the flood tide would prevent us proceeding along shore, which is here very rocky, or detain us at a river, the Waiomu [Waihemo: the Shag] which we must cross; and the dense rank growth equally opposed our progress inland. However, at my desire, we pushed on as rapidly as possible, and, sometimes clambering and sometimes wading, we succeeded in getting past the rocks to the mouth of the river, following its bank inland for a mile or two until it appeared fordable.

The valley of the Waiomu appears to extend twelve or fifteen miles inland; its course about N.W.; and from its head there is an easy pass to another valley, probably conducting to that of the Waitaki, the course of which inland is nearly S.W. Should this conjecture be verified, a very large tract of land will be found here easily accessible. The river has a bar entrance, but can be entered with the flood by large boats. The valley does not exceed in width one mile; but it is fertile and beautiful, and affords the best natural pasture which I have yet seen in New Zealand—not surpassing the pasture land of England, but such as even a Somersetshire man would be satisfied with. Whoever comes out to New Zealand with the expectation of obtaining land on which he can graze more head of cattle, and have larger crops of grass or of grain, than in England, will be disappointed. The high land which we ascended south of this valley was also of particularly good quality, and affords at convenient intervals an ample supply of timber. In one of these woods we camped for the night; a copious rain fell, and the trees, which were our only shelter, soon dripped with water.

Sunday, 21st.—Starting early, after walking four or five miles on the hill-land, we descended to a valley called by Mr. —1 that of Pleasant River. I should call it rather unpleasant River, for one so muddy and fetid in its bed I have not seen in this country; and in respect of quality and extent, the land is far inferior to the valley of the Waiomu, which we crossed yesterday. We were obliged to make for the sea shore, and cross there at the bar to avoid the mud. We ascended immediately on grassy hills of higher elevation, and soon arrived at a farm belonging to Mr.—2 about four miles north of Waikauwaike.

The condition and produce of this farm was certainly not very

1 Hughes.

2 John Jones.

page 211encouraging. A poor crop of smutty wheat had been harvested, and on the ground was a shadow of a crop of turnips; but this I consider is rather a reflection on the management than on the land, which is, I am confident, more eligible for occupation than is often to be found in New Zealand. I was much pleased with the respectable appearance of the families occupying a group of cottages at the foot of the hill descending to the shore of the bay; one of them, which I entered with my guide Mr.—,1 was a pattern for cleanliness and order. I obtained a delicious draught of milk. These cotters, who have wives who are helpmates, cultivate land for themselves when they have no other profitable employment, and they appear to obtain a very comfortable subsistence.

The low land inland from the bay, at Waikauwaike, north of the river, appeared to be for the most part sandy or swampy, but south of the river is a considerable extent of table land, partly bush, part flax of very good quality and surface.

Found the schooner at anchor in the roadstead. Went on board.

Monday, 22nd.—Messrs. Barnicoat and Davison, surveyors to the expedition, commenced by my direction, having previously obtained consent of the proprietors, a survey of the bay.

Mr.—,2 disapproving of this necessary proceeding, informed me that he could no longer accompany the expedition.

Tuesday, 23rd.—Mr.—3 sailed per Scotia for Wellington.

The survey completed, I sent the schooner to Otago, having first engaged as pilot for the future Edwin Palmer, recommended to me as a capable man, intimately acquainted with the south-east, south, and west coast.

Landed and lodged at Mr.—,4 through whose kind assistance I engaged three reluctant Maories to accompany me overland to Otago, in order to judge of the practicability of forming a road inland to that harbour. I have omitted to mention that from Mooraki to this place the stacks and leaves of the potatoes, wherever cultivated, were as verdant as at midsummer, the distance of the snowy mountains west of these parts of the island more than compensated, in respect of climate, for its southern latitude; whilst in superiority of soil, it possesses a decided advantage over most of the districts of available land on the island adjacent to Cook's Straits.

Wednesday and Thursday, 24th and 25th.—Walking inland from Waikauwaike, on the south side of the river, there is a considerable quantity of good elevated land covered with grass, fern and flax. Nearer the coast is a forest, which extends along shore to Otago. On the summits of the hills the surface is almost covered with large blocks of stone (a species of trap rock); the soil beneath them must be fertile, for the growth completely covers them; the stones would be easily removed, and prove serviceable for fencing and building.

Heading the course of the river, and crossing the ridge, the land falling south-east is more broken, the waters, etc., are discharged at the south extremity of the next bay in the angle formed by the protection of the Otago Peninsula. Here three streams have their outlet, the Totara, the Waiputi, and the Waituti.

The Totara is accessible to a schooner, the land on its banks available; the course of the Waituti appeared to be from S.W., in the direction of the head of Tiarea—its waters collected from the Whakaori, a mountain on the south side, and a vast extent of hill land; its banks are wooded, the level land limited in extent. If a road is

1 J. Hughes.

2 Symonds.

3 Symonds.

4 Jones.

page 212formed from Otago to Waikauwaike, it will cross this stream near the mouth; on crossing it we immediately ascended a long grassy slope, affording a gradual ascent to the summit ridge; further inland the land attains a mountainous elevation, the head of which the Kapukataumahaka [Mount Cargill], along the opposite slopes of which they have a track to the head of the Tiarea valley.

From the point to which we ascended, a forest intervenes to the shores of Otago harbour. The Maories usually descend to a little bay and creek, on the north shore of the peninsula, where they have a settlement called Purakouniu [Purakanui]. There is a good harbour for small vessels, and some very fine sections of land, chiefly wooded, might be surveyed, if the Maories will fart with it.

They then proceed to Otago alongshore, a very circuitous and stony route, impracticable for a road. My guides were not at all disposed to attempt a new route, although it had been fully explained to them that it was my desire to strike the head of the harbour, and my object to ascertain the practicability of forming a road inland, which along shore was obviously impracticable.

I therefore struck into the forest in spite of all objections, and they reluctantly followed. For the first two hours I almost despaired of achieving my purpose, so impenetrable was the forest, with its labyrinth of briars and supple-jack, fallen trees, and narrow gullies, also, continually interrupting my progress. However, the Maories spurred me on by continually twitting me with the inquiry of, "Where is the road now? Maories know no road here; this is Tuckett's road." Frequently I could only get through the briars by cutting a way with my knife. Nature be thanked, there is only one species of briar to punish invading man in the woods of New Zealand, but that one scratches cruelly. I crossed the summit ridge, and found the ground easier, and obtained frequent glimpses of the harbour; night, however, closed in before we could gain the shore, and were obliged to bivouac a second night in the bush.

Friday morning, 26th.— Descended to the water side exactly opposite to the schooner, which was anchored, as I had desired, nearly at the head of the outer or lower harbour.

I am satisfied that a cart road is practicable from Waikauwaike, across the river Waitaki, ascending the hills to the edge of the forest; and although I encountered so many impediments, walking for the first time as in a labyrinth, yet I have no doubt, following a very circuitous route nearer to the summit ridge, the road may be made to a central point on Otago Harbour.

The distance not exceeding sixteen miles—although the journey occupied me with the greatest exertion more than two days, owing to the growth on the land. One thing is certain, that nowhere does the elevation of the hills prohibit the formation of a cart road; but from the head of the harbour I expect a less difficult line, avoiding the forest.

I wished to retain two of the Maories to accompany me in a few days south to Molineux, but they had had enough of it, and declined going further; the elder of the three, named Kirikiorika, was a powerful man, and, what is better, patient and more faithful than Maories ordinarily prove. Messrs. Barnicoat and Davison proceeding with the survey of the harbour, after obtaining consent of the principal Maories. Karitai was absent; gone to Tiarea.

Saturday, 27th.—Landed at the head of the inner or upper harbour, the length of which must be full seven miles, that of the lower about six. On either side the forest continues unbroken; good timber is page 213abundant; the soil, notwithstanding that the surface s often rocky and stony, appears to be fertile, the rock being probably a species of basalt. There is certainly more available and eligible land on the shores of this vast inland sea than on any portion of Banks' Peninsula; and in respect of the facility of constructing a road, it possesses a corresponding superiority. But if in this respect comparatively better, it is yet so formidable that I shall leave Otago and proceed south, in the hope of finding as good a district as I have seen north of this, to be connected with its port with far less expenditure of the fund for public works than will be necessary here. A space of less than a quarter of a mile intervenes at the head of the harbour between it and the ocean shore; here, for a space of two miles, there is a water frontage to the harbour, of unwooded land rising gently inland. Landing, I followed the native track for about two miles towards the Tiarea, and then returned to the boat at this point; had I kept further inland, and always on the grass-land skirting the forest, I should have arrived from Waikauwaike. It offers an ornamental and commodious site for a town, most suitable in every respect save the distance from the deep water of the lower harbour; the channel throughout is on the west side, and generally narrow, and a fathom and a half of water would be found to within two miles of the extremity of the harbour. Two-thirds of the space covered by the flood is left dry at the ebb. Whilst I was there the surface of the water was almost unruffled, and no swell entered from the ocean, where the entrance is narrow. The schooner lay without motion.

Sunday, 28th.—Went to the mouth of the harbour; visited the natives on either side, and engaged three to accompany me to Molineux.

A person named ——1, an agent of Mr. — 2, of Sydney, conducts a store and tavern; he has a good house and a flowery garden. There are nearly twenty other Europeans residing here, most of whom have enclosures of cultivated land. I have not seen elsewhere in New Zealand such fine potatoes; supposing that I saw only a picked sample, they excelled all other picked samples. If any claim has been advanced by any of these squatters, none has been approved by the Land Commissioners; yet they will consider themselves aggrieved if ejected from their dwellings without compensation; whilst, on the other hand, if the land is purchased for New Edinburgh, this locality will probably be a portion of the town. However, that is the affair of the Government, who must deliver the land which they permit us to purchase only through them. A Danish whaler lay here; came in yesterday. The captain intends to proceed to Akaroa or Port Cooper. Yet the whales are numerous about here; whilst at Waikauwaike each morning one or more was pursued by the boats, and the day that I left one was captured.

Monday, 29th.—Morning wet; gave directions for the schooner to proceed to Molineux as soon as the survey of the lower harbour was completed. p.m., landed at the head of the harbour; passed here a wet night with very poor shelter. Maories discouraged, and predicting much rain. One of them was a native of Taranaki, another of Porirua, and the other of Otago.

Tuesday, April 30th.—Ground white with hoar frost, the sun rose with warmth, and a brilliant day succeeded. Walking over the hills towards the head of the Tiarea with the Kapukataumahaka on our right to the north, the first two miles the ascent is easy, and the land

1 Octavius Harwood.

2 Weller Brothers, whalers.

page 214of tolerable quality, but bearing more fern, flax, and toot, than grass, the soil pretty stiff but impoverished by frequent fires. I estimate the distance of the Tiarea valley as about six miles, of which I would survey in sections the first and last two miles, and omit the intermediate two miles over the summit. From near the Tiarea valley a road might diverge to Waikauwaike, or a road might be formed nearer the coast past the conspicuous peaked mountain called the Saddleback [Saddlehill], on the north side to the centre of the Tiarea plain.

The first sight of the plain was very prepossessing; as we approached nearer it was apparent that much of it was subject to constant irrigation. I estimate its extent as equal to twelve miles by three and a half, the land at the head was very rich and free from swamp, and there appeared a continued line of high rich ground along the south-west side of the plain in the direct course to Molineux, this course I wished to pursue, but encumbered by Maori guides, we unfortunately walked down the north-east side of the plain. At the foot of the Saddleback mountain, my guides expecting to find other natives of whom they might procure a canoe to convey us down the plain and across to the west side, landing at a point from whence there is a beaten track to Molineux.

On the east side there is one large wood of pine timber, and two or three smaller ones, to the further of which we walked, and then stopped for the night. The Saddleback mountain is also wooded to the summit from the ascent from the plain—it is a great pig cover.

Guides much disappointed at not finding any Maori huts in either wood. On the west side opposite to this wood there is one of great extent.

Wednesday, May 1st.—Having found the grass under water for some distance the preceding afternoon (the water flowing), to-day we kept along the low hills on the east side of the plain, on which side also we presently observed the course of the river Tiarea—here a considerable river, deep and tranquil, not saline, but rising and falling with the tide, and well adapted for inland navigation. Maories insufferably tedious, found that they were ignorant of the way, and discouraged, being disappointed of procuring a canoe, pursued a fatiguing walk over hilly and broken ground without any track, till twilight, when we camped in a wood on the east bank of the river.

Thursday, May 2nd.—About half an hour's walk through the wood, and beyond on grass-land at the skirt of another wood, we arrived at a Maori settlement [at Henley], two or three decent huts made of totara bark, and as many raised stages for potato stores, still we found no inhabitants nor canoes. From hence our course was by a branch of the Tiarea to a vast lake on the west side, unable to pursue this we were reluctantly compelled to follow the river Tiarea to the coast; from hence in a course about east nearly at a right angle to that of the plain, from hence to its mouth it is shut in on either side by steep hills, these, rent asunder perhaps by volcanic action, or cleft by constant denudation, have offered a passage to the waters once accumulated in the vast basin of the Tiarea. Another most fatiguing walk, wind and rain, bitterly cold and the growth frequently difficult to penetrate, impossible to proceed at the rate of a mile per hour. From the last a cent we joyfully gained sight of the seashore and the whaling station on an island at the mouth of the Tiarea [Weller's, on Moturata]. We descended on a gentle slope of fine strong land. Maori followers lagging behind, and sulky, their legs and feet rather sore. Made fires and discharged a gun on the beach.

page 215

A Maori came from the island and conversed across the water with our party, gave us cold comfort in the assurance that a boat would come for us in the morning. A short distance up the river was a Maori dwelling and a canoe on the bank, one woman only there, who would not or could not launch the canoe. Grumbling all night on the beach.

Friday, May 3rd.—One of the whalers came from the island along the sand bank opposite to us, and having informed him of the reason of my being there, he promised that a boat should be sent as soon as the tide would permit to carry us across; early in the afternoon, the boat came in which we crossed. The Maories then inquired where I was going, and on my replying to Molineux, they refused to proceed. I reproached the Taranaki native. Thomas, the Maori minister at Otago, with his faithlessness, but to no purpose. I then intimated they were not entitled to payment, on which they walked away in great dudgeon, but leaving all the baggage. Meanwhile the boat which had gone up the river for firewood returned, and the headsman, on hearing of the strike, offered to take us to the island, and pressed me to go, which I accordingly did. They were busy cutting in a captured whale of large size. Mr.—1 received us with hospitality, his wife, a sister of Tiroa, is one of the few Maori women that I have seen capable of being a helpmate to a civilised man, and they keep a very comfortable fireside, not the less so from the bleak barrenness which surrounds their dwellings; nowhere, perhaps, do twenty Englishmen reside on a spot so comfortless as this naked inaccessible isle. Sometimes at low water there is a dry bank to the main land, at other times the entire bank has shifted and the mouth of the river has taken its place. The waves break to and fro that it seems impossible to get across without being swamped.

Saturday and Sunday, May 4th and 5th.—Paid the Maories on demand up to the present time, on condition of their completing their engagement; then, accompanied by a competent guide, Teraki, started for Molineux, encouraged by the assurance of Mr.—2 that it was only a good day's walk along shore, and that I should easily get there to breakfast on Sunday morning. After the first three miles of sand beach the shore becomes very rocky; five or six miles from the Tiarea mouth is an inlet, which with the flood tide affords a convenient harbour for large boats; the land slopes generally gently towards the shore, terminating in a very low cliff. A frontage of good land is to be obtained along shore, and about two miles inland a stream of water every half mile, or more frequent, on the course of which is some extent of woods, affording convenient supplies for fuel and fencing, but scarcely any timber; the prevailing growth is flax, fern, toot, and grass.

About noon on Sunday we reached a fine sand-beach; on it a solitary rock of remarkable elevation, called Captain Cook's Head; behind which there is a wide bank of level surface encumbered with little vegetation, over which we had good walking. This flat terminates on the banks of a river into which the tide flows; but over a bar which obstructs the entrance of boats. I observed here the track of a bullock and a pig. Crossing this river, the——[Tokomairiro], at the bar, we had for a few miles further good walking along a firm beach, crossing another fine stream, on the banks of which the land appeared to be of good quality; precipitous cliffs succeed at the termination of the beach. It being high water we were obliged to mount and walk on the high land. Thence we could see Molineux Bay and the rocky islands

1 Tommy Chaseland.

2 Chaseland.

page 216called the Noggets. A fine platform of level deep land extends back from the face of these cliffs, similar in its growth and formation to the best land at Mooraki, excepting that here the deep subsoil of loamy clay is based on a rock of sandstone, some places on a conglomerate of quartz, and not, as at Mooraki, on a bituminous shale. It was laborious walking along this rich cliff-land, which extends to the river Mataau or Molineux; as soon, therefore, as the recession of the cliffs from the seashore permitted, we descended to the beach, and again stopped for the night, still many hours' walk from the Mataau; made an excellent supper of roast ducks, which the Maories basted carefully, catching the dripping fat on feathers, and dressing the birds constantly, but licking off the surplus after each stroke by drawing the feather between their lips; this part of the process was not gratifying.

Monday, May 6th.—As we proceeded about the time of low water along shore, I was gratified to observe very abundant large pieces of drift coal of good quality, still no bed was visible in the face of the cliff. Further on the beach became again rocky, and quantities of coal were lodged between the rocks, and soon appeared in view a black cliff. I felt certain it must be a vast formation of coal, although Mr.——1, at Waikanwaike, had declared that there was no other coal discovered along the coast, but the insignificant appearance which I had examined at Matakaea [Matanaka]. Approaching this cliff, I found it to be a mass of coal for about one hundred yards' length, in thickness from twelve to twenty feet, as seen in the face of the cliff above the sand, and to what depth it exists beneath the sand I could not ascertain; I should suppose, from appearance of coal, adjacent to the depth of low water.

The beach is not accessible on account of the heavy swell and great surf. The coal must, therefore, be worked inland and the bed will be no doubt discovered near the bank of the Mataau river, which, in a direct line inland, is probably not more than four or five miles distant. My next discovery, proceeding along shore, was a carcass of a fine young whale, recently stranded, and quite fresh, of which I took possession by cutting out a few steaks for my hungry dog; it measured upwards of fifty feet in length.

Within the Noggets I was glad to observe the schooner at anchor, for this overland journey having occupied six days instead of three or four, as I had expected, and not arriving until the seventh, I was afraid that she might have left and returned to Otago.

We fired the grass along shore, which was observed by Mr.—,2 and when we reached the bank of the Mataau his boat was coming across the river to carry us over.

The Mataau is a river which even an American would not contemn; its course inland is so distant that I cannot pretend to estimate the distance. The hills west of its course are certainly twenty miles from shore, and no snowy mountains are visible. Mr.—3 informed me subsequently that he had ascended it in a boat for at least fifty miles, and that it was still navigable for a large boat; also that many navigable creeks unite with it, by one of which a boat may be taken to a lagoon, called Kai Tangaba, and then by a narrow channel to another lagoon, called Rukitoto, from whence the distance to the Tiarea valley does not exceed six miles. Mr.—4 is an agent for a Mr. —5 of Sydney, and has the care of a few head of cattle landed four or five

1 Jones.

2 Willsher.

3 Willsher.

4 Willsher.

5 John Jones.

page 217years ago; beyond erecting a good dwelling house, neither he nor his neighbour Mr. —,1 appear to have made much progress. This Mr. —2 pretends to a claim for land here preposterous in extent; it was not submitted to Col. ——'s3 investigation. Mr.——4 states that he has purchased land here of ——.5 They appeared to be all supplied with the comforts and necessaries of life. This Mr. ——6 is well-known by some of my rela ions, and I had become acquainted with him, and pleased with a brief intercourse which occurred a few weeks previous to his embarkation at Bristol for Sydney; but I did not recognise him, and had he not alluded to the circumstance I should have left Molineux without an idea of having ever seen him before.

Tuesday, May 7th.—Paid my Maori guides, or rather followers, and engaged two other Maories, resident at Molineux, to accompany me inland to Tutukau, a district separated from Molineux Plain only by low grassy hills, and said to present a very extensive district of level and good land; from thence I was to proceed along the south-west bank of the Totoi river to its mouth, an uninterrupted succession, they say, of rich land on the banks of a navigable river. Impossible as I should have thought this to be, while surveying lands in the settlement of Nelson, it was almost credible after seeing the plain of the Mataau. From the mouth of the Totoi I was to walk along shore to the Bluff, and thence to the New River. The journey to the Bluff, they assured me, would be accomplished easily in eight days.

On starting I should have gone some miles up a south-western branch of the Mataau, and across the lowest land of the plain to the rising ground, which would have afforded me an opportunity of estimating the extent of swamp land, and the facility of draining it. For, provided there is a sufficient fall, and that the earth will nearly sustain a man's weight in walking without his sinking, I consider that land in New Zealand can hardly be too wet in its natural state. At the first view of this plain, as I looked down upon its extent, I observed a continued line of dry land, indicated by the number of Te trees, and the frequent succession of pine groves. The captain of the schooner and the pilot examined, at my desire, the entrance of the Mataau; it has but a narrow channel and a bad bar adjacent, so that the water breaks across, although there is more than two fathoms at low water, and five fathoms in a beautiful basin within.

I believe that the schooner might have entered, and with the aid of a steamer a much larger vessel. To the owner of a vessel, it may not be very agreeable to be the pioneer, but time will verify my present opinion. Messrs. Barnicoat and Davison engaged with permission of the resident Maories, in surveying the roadstead and mouth of the river; they remained on shore, and I returned on board to complete my arrangements for another journey overland. During the night a swell set in from the north-east, and the master fearing a gale of wind might ensue, heaved anchor and stood out.

The principal Maori resident is an old woman named Toki, the widow of Tahui, formerly chief of Kurreroo, the native name of Molineux Bay. She is a relative (aunt) of Tuawaike, who does nothing to make the remainder of her existence comfortable, though he can well afford to do so. I sent her a half-hundredweight of sugar, a blanket, and shirt. Her daughter Makarin protects Mr.—7; these, with an old man, Tawera, and three young men, Raki Raki, Minihou,

1 Russell.

2 Jones.

3 Godfrey.

4 Russell.

5 Jones.

6 Willsher.

7 Willsher.

page 218and Tahabu, are the only resident natives, as far as I could ascertain, excepting Te Raki and his family, who sometimes reside here, but usually on the Tiarea. The native name of the south-east point of Kurreroo Bay, opposite the Noggets, is Tuwata.

The river Mataau, and a branch called Te Koau, contain between them an island called Jack's Island, said to be twenty-five miles in length and about one mile in breadth.

Wednesday, May 8th.—Sailing southwards along shore, passing Catlin's Bay (next to Molineux), where there is a boat harbour, and there is said to be coals; but the rocks, which are precipitous and high, appeared to be of basalt, their surface much covered with a white lichen. Catlin has a claim. Ten or twelve miles from the Noggets is Long Point, or the South-East Cape; about thirteen miles further, being south-west by south, is another prominent point called Chasland's Mistake. Intermediate is the south headlands of Tautuke Bay, at which there is a whaling station managed by Palmer, a brother of our pilot; north of it another small bay, into which the river Tapuke flows; off the point which separates these two minor bays, is an island well stocked with rabbits.

The next point south-west of Chasland's is called the Brothers, distinguished by three rugged and detached rocks, from thence it is about eight miles to the harbour of Waikauroa (or Success River) [Waikawa], the entrance to which is narrow, and shut out from view by the high land passing along shore from the north.

With a southerly wind, or from south-east to west, a vessel may enter; the passage is narrow, with a sudden turn, and close along the rocky shore on the east side there is a reef projecting from the southern headland within which is a sheltered beach for landing boats about two miles below the mouth of the harbour. A large rock, covered at high water, is situated in a line with the extremity of the reef, and the opposite rocky headland about intermediate, on which the waves break with great violence; it looks formidable to attempt to enter; but passing it, as I subsequently did, I found a very sufficient channel on either side of this rock. The wind not being favourable for the schooner to enter this evening, I proposed going in with my boat in the morning, the schooner to return with the first wind to Molineux to bring the surveyors to the Waikauroa.

The Waikauroa is supposed to be about intermediate between the Noggets and the Bluff harbour. Our pilot, Palmer, who has often run his boat along this shore, noting the time it occupied, estimates the distance either way at thirty miles.

Thursday. May 9th.—Morning.—Schooner almost out of sight of land, having stood off shore during the entire night, taking the chance of having a wind to return in the morning (a very safe and comfortable system when time is of no consideration). Having also been set north by the current, and having a light southerly wind, I landed with the pilot at Tautuki, retaining my boat, the schooner proceeding to Molineux with instructions to return to Waikauroa with the Messrs. Barnicoat and Davison.

Friday, May 10th.—Made an excursion to the adjoining bay Tapuke [Taukupu], unable to enter the river, the water being very shoal at the entrance, and the ground rocky. Walked up the bed of the river about two miles, and obtained a view inland to the head of the valley, eight or ten miles in a course nearly west.

The river at Tautuke has about the same course and source. The ridge which separates them is low and of easy elevation. A block of land, with a frontage of four miles along shore, would embrace the page 219two rivers; and inland, west about eight or ten miles, of which more than half would be very eligible for subdivision into sections, one unbroken forest of timber trees, of which Rema, Totara, and Rata are the prevailing species, all indicating a rather sandy and ferruginous soil. The mass of rock along shore appears to be basalt. It has a very rectangular cleavage, a very level bed, and is easily to be drawn in blocks of about one foot in thickness, in some places there is above this ferruginous sandstone. Where this occurs, and I imagine it prevails inland, the soil is not so good. Tautuke is a good roadstead, and would afford a tide harbour for a vessel not drawing more than a fathom of water.

The British residents have erected some good houses, and cultivated a considerable extent of land. [There was a whaling station here.] Palmer has grown wheat and barley as well as potatoes, and has plenty of fine fowls and ducks and some goats. He is, I believe, the only resident who has purchased land off the native proprietors, but his claim was not submitted to investigation. He has a Maori wife, of very prepossessing appearance and manners, the mother of two or three fine children—on whose account alone, independent of any consideration for his enterprise and industry, a sufficient estate ought to be secured to them. A number of whales had been seen and pursued, but as yet without success. There were two boats manned, and a third would be ready shortly. Returning from Tapuke, we landed on the island, and with the assistance of a capital beagle caught six rabbits alive and uninjured.

There were only one native man (deformed in his feet) here—a number of the women, all kept by or keeping white men as they are called. There is a young man and his sister, the children of an Englishman deceased, by a Maori woman. They are grown up—the former about eighteen, very tall and good looking. They are the proprietors of a portion of land at Otago, in their mother's right, which is admitted by the other natives.

Mr. Palmer informed me that he once ascended the Mataau in a boat for a distance, he imagines, equal to fifty miles, in a straight course (not estimated by that of the river); and he was still, he believes, very far from its head. I was much pleased with the Tautuke. It is not merely rich and picturesque in scenery, but very productive. I have no doubt but that a road might be easily formed up the valley, and over the summit ridge to the unwooded plains of Tutu-rau and To-toi.

Saturday, May 11th.—Rose before daybreak, and left in my boat for Parkauwa [Waikawa]. Schooner just in sight, going apparently south-east, as usual giving the land a wide berth;—could not communicate with her. It was nearly a calm along shore. Flood tide against us for three or four hours. We had to pull nearly the whole distance, fourteen miles, and it occupied nearly six hours. Had we started one hour later, we should have failed to get into the harbour. As it was, for the last three miles from the Brother's inn, we could scarcely move ahead against the squalls of wind which quickly raised a dangerous sea. My boat, although shallow and slight, has proved very buoyant.

We slanted the boat sails from the face of a projecting cliff, and with this shelter kept ourselves dry during a wet night.

Sunday, May 12th.—Schooner in sight, passing near the Brothers, but standing out. Lit a fire on the hill to attract attention. Afternoon, went to the south-west headland. Schooner standing south-east almost out of sight.

page 220

Monday, May 13th.—Schooner not in sight; left the pilot to keep a look-out for her, and went up the harbour in the boat. The tide overflows a space of four or five miles by two and a half, the reflux from which surface has sufficient velocity to keep a clear channel along shore. Like Otago it is a fine place for spearing soles or patike (the best of fish). The land on either side of the harbour inland is a forest, timber larger than at Taupuki; the exterior headlands are grassy, most probably cleared by whalers for the purpose of keeping a lookout on them; the direction of the harbour and river at its head island, was N.N.W., or nearly north, and it appeared to strike the heads of the Tautuke and Tapuke valleys, the course of which is west. The river is navigable for a mile or so above the harbour; here there was a fall of about six feet; up this we dragged the boat, and successively in the next two miles up three other falls and four rapids; having then reached an open plain, we landed and walked to the summit of the ridge which bounded the valley on the N.W. hoping to get sight of an extensive plain, but were disappointed. The descent on the other side was to a similar valley, at the head of which other ridges interrupted the view. There were traces from the river which we had ascended, in the course which I walked, of recent fires, which confirmed my opinion that in that direction was an easy route, frequented by the natives, to Tuturau. I was afterwards informed that in the summer, when the waters are low, the Maories frequent the valley to catch a small species of eel, which they obtain in great numbers; they say that these eels ascend the falls unitedly in a train, intertwining with each other. This is the locality for wonderful stories of wonderful beings; the Maories declare that there are hairy giants, who inhabit a mountain near these valleys; they call them Miroroi, and have a great dread of them; we were very anxious to procure a specimen, and quite willing to hazard the capture, thinking it would be a fine spec., other resources failing, to return to England with.

A road may be easily formed on the west bank of the harbour and river, throughout the entire length of the valley. Beyond the bush land, that which is called grass land chiefly produces a very cutting wiry species, very similar to that which in swamps we call tree grass, but without the stem or trunk on which the former is elevated above the water surface; these plumes of grass on this dry land in burning diffuse a fragrant and aromatic odour, but as food for cattle they are valueless.

Tuesday, May 14th.—Descended the stream, and with care preserved the boat from any injury; it was bitterly cold wading in the water. Disappointed at not finding the schooner in harbour, and at learning from the pilot that she was not in sight, I have not the least doubt but that there was a desire not to be brought into the harbour, and thus I lost an opportunity of making a survey of one which is comparatively unknown; sufficiently safe and commodious when known, and in many respects similar to the Port of Nelson.

Wednesday, May 15th.—Unable to loiter about waiting for the schooner, I proceeded in the boat, intending to enter and proceed up the river Totoi (Mataura is, I believe, the proper name) to Tuturau, or as far as might be practicable; unfortunately we fell in with the incapable schooner, and went on board, requesting to be put off in the boat again as soon as the schooner had run in as near as soundings would permit; then came some obstacle or hindrance which prevented its being accomplished by daylight; the night closed in, the usual safe course was adopted, and in the morning we were not quite so near to page 221the Chatham Islands as to the mouth of the Mataura. Unless in a vessel owned by one's employers, an explorer had much better visit the coast in a large sailing boat of thirty or thirty-five feet in length. Sometimes he would be detained longer than he would desire at one place, waiting for favourable wind or weather; then he might pursue a more minute or extended examination of the interior, which would be a far less hindrance to the object of the expedition than being continually carried out to sea in another person's vessel, to avoid all danger and interruption, to sleep.

Thursday, May 16th.—Bad weather, knocking about to no purpose; desired the pilot to take the schooner to Roebouki, if he could not make the Mataura.

Friday, May 17th.—Lay-to off Roebouki; landed Mr. Wohler, the Lutheran missionary; sailed for the New River, and lay-to off its mouth.

Saturday, May 18th.—Entered the New River, the Orebe [Oreti] with the tide and a light breeze; soundings very good, generally above five fathoms, and only once and for a moment at a quarter less four. A great sandbank to the west of the channel breaks the force of the waves, and forms the harbour. On the east shore the land slopes gently, affording abundance of good building ground. Messrs. Barnicoat and Davison commenced the survey, with the consent of Koupatiti, Karoua, and Kapi, the only Maories now here, of whom one only lives here usually.

Sunday, May 19th.— Walked with —— from the New River to the Bluff harbour, about eight miles. A narrow neck of low, swampy land, about a mile in breadth, intervenes between the inner waters of the two harbours. Stopped at the house of Mr. ——,1 by whom we were hospitably entertained. He has made three claims to land here, which are approved of by the Commissioners, one of them to an island at the head of the deep water channel, the other two adjoining on the S.W. shore of the harbour. —— claims seventy-two acres east, and —— the remainder, including the point at the S.E. headland, the whaling station. —— has a large claim, also approved, west of ——, extending nearly to the neck; thus the only eligible town site, as a seaport, is already in their possession.

From the neck, N.W., to the head of the harbour towards that of the New River, the land is finely timbered, but the frontage is towards shoal water.

I invited these proprietors to communicate with me, in writing, the terms on which they would dispose of their claims, which they promised to do, and seemed fully to appreciate the advantage which would attend the formation of a settlement here, and to be disposed to promote it by a fair and liberal arrangement on their part. Mr. —— and Mr. ——, of Jacob's River, are whaling this season in concert, on their own account. Each has a schooner and a shore party. Both schooners were then in the Bluff harbour. They had just taken and cut in a fine whale, and when I arrived were busily engaged landing the blubber to be dried out.

There are two fine channels into the Bluff, one from N.E., the other from S.E., separated by a central sand-bank; the harbour is therefore more accessible than that of the New River. The whaling station is very convenient, and a particularly pleasant site for a residence.

Monday, May 20th.—Provided by Mr. —— with a boat and Maori,

1 Most of the blanks to the end now relate to three old whalers, Howell, his son, and Stevens, a step-son.

page 222we went up with the flood the N.N.E. branch of the harbour, which extends seven miles inland towards the Mataura. It was extremely cold; the mountainous parts of Stewart's Island, and the distant mountains in the west were covered with deep snow, which had fallen in the night. On landing I walked about two miles further inland, until stopped by a deep and sluggish stream, which prevented my entering the woodland beyond it about a mile distant. The greater portion of that which I walked over was a bed of excellent and deep peat. I dug out two spits' depth, and then thrust the spade downwards to the handle without touching gravel. Between this tideway and the sea-shore there only intervenes an immense bank of quartz gravel in its early stages of vegetation, with little accumulation of vegetable mould. On the west side island, the surface earth was much deeper, but everywhere beneath a bed of quartz gravel. The peat bed, lower in surface, separates the gravel from the higher bush land. Grass on the west side was abundant, the tracks of cattle numerous; but with little exception the soil is not sufficiently deep for tillage. Deep cushions of moss are spread over much of the surface. Returned to —— discouraged by what I had seen this day. It was as much as we could do to get back, it blew so hard from the south, and already wet and cold, to be out all night was trying; but persevering, though in the dark, we at last succeeded.

Tuesday, May 21st.—A Maori crew of whalers, under a Scotch headsman, left the schooner to walk to their shore station, west of Jacob's River; we accompanied them, and stayed at the New River that afternoon.

Wednesday May 22nd.—Blowing hard from S.W.; left in my boat, intending to proceed by the principal and north-west branch of the river Orebi within land, to a point where but a narrow space intervenes between it and the beach, about half-way to Jacob's River; but in the first bend of the river, in which we had to encounter a head wind, we found it in vain to contend against it, even with a whaling crew; we therefore landed, hauled the boat up under shelter of a sand-hill, and lashed it down on the steer oar, and then crossed to the beach, the sand and hail driving plentifully. The Maories went ahead for some hours merrily, but after a while they dropped off, all of them, not being able to keep up the pace, and the Scotchman and I went in, and that scarcely with daylight. Two men belonging to the little schooner, chartered by —— came across for us, and kindly returned for Palmer and others of the drenched crew; but some of them did not arrive until morning. Mr. —— not being at home, I was entertained at the house of his father-in-law, whose daughter is the wife of the headsman of the schooner. I never valued more the shelter of a good roof than I did this evening. Mr. ——'s father, Mr. ——, is a Sussex agricultural labourer, a worthy man of the right stamp, such as are not often induced to leave their fatherland. He and his family might have had a free passage as emigrants to New Zealand, but he was afraid of the natives. He entered into an engagement to work for a gentleman going to Australia, who paid their passage, and having worked out the amount within twenty pounds, and paid that in cash, he proceeded to Jacob's River, by the desire of his son-in-law, who, from the circumstances of a plough boy, has attained to the possession of a schooner and a herd of cattle. — has a very pleasing, pensive-looking young Maori wife, and one or two young children, but like ninety-nine out of a hundred of Maori women, no helpmate for a civilised man, at least within doors. A Mr. —— has an Irishwoman for wife; all the other men, perhaps twelve or fourteen, have page 223Maori women; thus from Port Cooper to this place two-thirds of the native women, who are not aged, are living with European men. No wonder, if in addition to measles, other diseases, and ardent spirits, the aboriginal population is fast diminishing. At each place which I have visited, I have been assured that the Maories are dying rapidly—"perishing like rotten sheep," these people often say; thus at Kurreroo or Molineux, where there are now half-a-dozen natives, they say that formerly, and at no remote period, about two generations previous to the present, there were above a thousand; and in many other places within the last sixteen years, which is about the extent of the experience of the older beachers, there has been, in many places, a corresponding diminution of numbers. If this is an unexaggerated statement, it is a very distressing one to reflect on. Since Dr. —1 visited this settlement, one of the residents, Mr. ——, an educated man, has opened a school for half-bred or any other children, and the progress which the children have already made is very encouraging.

Thursday, May 23rd.—Rain and squalls unabated, called on Mr. —— to see the wheat which he had grown. It was in very good condition and heavy, grown on cleared bushland, a nice sandy loam, but too sandy to last long without manure. Mr. and Mrs. —— keep a good fire and a clean comfortable house. —— has the reputation of being a good lime burner. Deferred going up the river as it was impossible to judge in such weather of the extent of the land.

Friday, May 24th.—Weather much the same, but rain less frequent, the horizon to the north-east distinct and clear. Went up Jacob's River or the Aparima (a far more euphonious name) in a boat of ——, with a volunteer crew to show me the land, the course of the main river is generally about N.N.W.; that of a branch about one mile and a half up, called the Paruparuka, to the east; thus there can be only a few miles of land between the Oreti and the Paruparuka, and the ground being low a continued line of inland navigation might be opened from the Bluff to Jacob's River by the construction of two short and inexpensive canals. I landed on the east bank of the Aparima on the grass land, and provided with a spade, I examined the soil for two or three miles inland, and then returned towards, the south-east, crossing the land to the banks of the Paruparuka. As far as I could see north-east, certainly beyond Tuturau, the land appeared to be one continued prairie, not low and flat nor much broken, but a fine swelling surface, slightly elevated, just such a surface as is most compatible with beauty and utility. All the land required for a large settlement might be here obtained in one continuous block, and it appeared that there would be scarcely any variation in the quality and value of the sections, excepting as they were more or less remote from the town, the high road, or water carriage. Fine groves of timber resembling the backwoods of England, and scattered over the prairie, on the west side of the Aparima, there is a continued forest; the river is near to the foot of the hills, consequently there is little available land. The prevailing species of tree are remo, totara, and tall manuka, all indicative of an inferior soil. On the west side is a dip in the wooded hills over which is a short route to Kolluck's Bay [Colac's, Koroko]. The bush-like woods on the east side are of white birch, likewise no recommendation of the soil, but the chief objection to the district is, that the prairie affords scarcely any food for cattle. Like the narrow plains of the Waikauroa, it grows only the wiry tree grass or something

1 Edward Shortland.

page 224similar, and Phormium termax, no aniseed, perennial groundsel, or milk thistle, and very little couchgrass, and I feel confident if tilled—until manured it would not return a crop. Mr. ——'s cattle graze on the sandy land between the cast branch of the river and the beach-land wholly unfit for tillage, but bearing common edible grass. I ascertained, however, that they, the cows, gave scarcely any milk, not more than a good goat well fed.

I regretted that I could not form here the settlement, where there are so many facilities and beauties to recommend it for selection; but my duty was clear to me. I had seen far better land with a better climate; the frequent recurrence of rain here at all seasons of the year reduces the number of working days equal to 25 per cent. on the cost of labour compared with some other districts.

The degree of cold is extreme. I was assured (which I believe to be true) that it rarely exceeds what was now experienced. I abandoned my previous intention of visiting the Maori settlement called Wakapatu, where there are about fifty natives in the district of Pau, about thirty miles south-west, considering that it would not counterbalance my objection if that land, which was so remote from any port, and difficult of access by land, should prove, as it was represented to be, a very fertile district.

I recommended the residents to endeavour to obtain a title in right of their wives and children to the land which they had enclosed and built on, before a settlement should be formed by strangers, which at no distant period they might look forward to, and this consideration considerably lessened their disappointment at my decision. I was informed that there is one river between this and Preservation Bay, with a bar entrance not accessible to boats; its source said to be an immense lake, from the head of which one may walk to Jackson's Bay in two days.

All the people frequenting this coast believe in the existence of an extraordinary bird, or phantom, which they can never see, but only hear rushing past them through the air with the rapidity of a falling rocket, and making a terrible rushing sound. The Maories declare that it is a bird possessing many joints in its wings. The whalers call them break-sea-devils, after the name of an island where this phenomenon is of most frequent occurrence.

Saturday, May 25th.—Returned to the New River, estimated the distance along the beach as exceeding eighteen miles; a portion of it was traversed and claimed by Mr. ——; and had the weather been more favourable, the whole distance would have been measured.

Monday, May 27th.—Messrs. Barnicoat and Davison went by my desire to the Bluff to survey a portion of that harbour, in order to show their relative position and propinquity. Unable to leave the river for want of wind.

Tuesday, May 28th.—Left the New River with the ebb tide and land breeze; becalmed in the straits.

Wednesday, May 29th.—Off Paterson River, Stewart's Island, becalmed; went in with the tide and anchored.

Thursday, May 30th.—Occupied the whole day in writing. Messrs. Barnicoat and Davison landed to explore the district, and report on its qualities and extent.

Friday, May 31st.—Messrs. Barnicoat and Davison returned last night after midnight. They went about five miles up the river in fresh water, where it is very narrow. They report the valley to be about two miles in width, the land level on either side, the quality very inferior; they could hear the surf on the opposite shore of page 225the island. The wooded land on either side of the bay, which is about twelve miles in depth, although presenting a face of rock to the sea, appeared to be very fertile; but the surface is extremely broken, although the numerous ridges are of slight elevation. Mr. —1, who is a Cornishman, and has no dread of hills, considers the locality to be an inviting one for a small settlement (the rocks basaltic). Sailed for Roebouki with a fair wind. Paid Mr. —2 a short visit, and informed Tupaki and other principal Maories that I purposed proceeding to Otago to remain there, and requested them to inform Tuawaiki and Tiroa (who still remained at Port Levy), that I wished to treat with them for the purchase of land.

5 o'clock p.m.—Sailed; in the next four hours ran nearly forty miles.

Saturday, June 1st.—Am about to land at Molyncux to explore the land on the Matau, and walk to Otago, expecting to join the schooner there on the 11th. Mr. Davison will proceed direct to Waikauwaite to inquire for letters; and if no obstacle presents, commence the discharge of our effects.

(Signed) Frederick Tuckett.

I have not time to make or have made a copy of this prolix Diary. I send a specimen of coal from the cliff north of Molineux Bay.

1 Barnicoat.

2 Rev. Mr. Wöhlers.