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A Compendium of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs in the South Island. Volume Two.

Report by W. L. Buller, Esq., on a portion of the Native Settlements in the Province of Canterbury

Report by W. L. Buller, Esq., on a portion of the Native Settlements in the Province of Canterbury.

1. Kaiapoi.

Contiguous to the township of Kaiapoi, and about 12 miles to the north of Christchurch, lies an extensive Native reserve, embracing 2,000 acres of rich agricultural land, and 640 acres of valuable forest. Long anterior to the colonization of this Province there existed almost within the precincts of this reserve a Maori pah, or fortification, known as Kaiapoi. About the year 1835, the notorious Te Rauparaha invaded this stronghold, subdued it, and reduced it to ashes. A few of the inmates fled to the neighbouring mountains, but the greater part were carried by him into captivity. On the return of the fugitives they located themselves near to their old habitation, and on the liberation of the captives some years subsequently they too repaired to this spot. Kaiapoi pah has never been rebuilt, but that name was attached to the new village, and is not infrequently applied to the more modern one of Rua Taniwha, in the immediate vicinity of the town.

Kaiapoi—considering alike its population and general prosperity—is unquestionably the most important of the Native settlements in this Province.

Its principal village, Rua Taniwha, commences on the outskirts of the town of Kaiapoi, and extends about a mile along the eastern bank of the Korotuaheka stream. Many of the houses are of European construction, and have a neat appearance. It is pleasing, also, to observe that instead of being huddled together, as is too frequently the case, they stand apart, each having an allotment of ground for industrial purposes—varying in extent from one to three acres—enclosed with a substantial "post and rail" fence, and fronted by a main street. The present church is a small Maori edifice, but an endowment of two acres of land, as a site for a new one, has already been made. The cultivations are exclusively wheat and occupy about twelve acres. About a mile beyond, and situated on the margin page 127of the forest, is the more primitive village of Kaiapoi proper. It contains now but few houses, and these are of an inferior class to the former. The cultivations, however, are in good order, and comprise about sixteen acres, in the proportion of fourteen of wheat to two of potatoes.

Twenty acres of good land, in the neighbourhood of this village, have been conveyed by the Natives to the Commissioners of Native reserves, as an endowment for a school; and they are now engaged in sawing timber for the erection of the necessary buildings.

Aggregate population, 125.

2. Kaikainui.

A reserve of five acres of open terrace land in the Mandeville district, about eight miles from Christchurch. There are no Natives at present located there.

3. Rapaki.

A reserve of 856 acres of hilly fern and bush land. Pleasantly situated in a grove of Ngaio trees, on the northern side of Port Victoria, and about three miles from Lyttelton, is the small village of Rapaki. The houses, fifteen in number, are for the most part of wood and clay, and much in the style of the whaler's cottage. All are tolerably clean and comfortable, one in particular presents a most neat appearance, having a thatched verandah, painted doors, and whitewashed walls. The principal article of trade is firewood, which is obtained in the neighbourhood in gullies, and from its general scarcity, realizes a high price.

About a mile further up the harbour is the smaller village of Taukahara, commonly known as Little Rapaki. The houses are few and rather dilapidated.

Total population, 27. Land under cultivation, about 10 acres.

Rapaki is the favourite halting place for parties of Natives on their journey between Kaiapoi and Banks' Peninsula.

4. Purau (Rhodes Bay).

A reserve of 10 acres of open fern land. The few Natives who permanently reside here, dwell in a neat boarded house, and cultivate a few acres of ground.

5. Kokorarata (Port Levy.)

The Port Levy reserve contains 1,361 acres of hilly bush and fern land. The village is spread along the beach at the head of the Bay. On the sides it is hemmed in by steep hills which rapidly converge, with a wooded ravine between. The cultivations, comprising about 20 acres, occupy the low land, and extend up the adjacent slopes. The crops consist of wheat, oats, and potatoes, the surplus of which, together with firewood, is carried to the Lyttelton market. Of the houses two in particular deserve mention, viz., those of Te Wiremu Te Uki, (a Native assessor), and Paora, (a christian teacher). Both of these are weather boarded, and are furnished with chimneys, windows, and other conveniences. Intercourse with the other settlements is secured by two fine boats belonging to themselves.

Population, 93.

6. Wakaroi (Pigeon Bay).

There is no reserve here, but an intelligent Native from the Northern Island, named Wiremu Te Rangipupu, has leased an acre of land from a European, and has erected a respectable whare thereon.

7. Akaroa (Onuku and Wainui).

A reserve of 800 acres, nearly all of which is bush land. At Onuku, the principal village, there are but few houses, and these are inferior to those of the other settlements. There are five or six boats here, which serve for whaling, and communication with other parts of the Peninsula.

Population, 53. Land under cultivation, about 25 acres.

8. Wairewa (Little River).

A reserve of 400 acres, in the proportion of 280 of bush to 120 of flax and fern land. The village is well situated on a rising ground near to a fresh-water lake of that name. A stream called Okiri supplies the inhabitants with good water, while the surrounding bush affords excellent wood. Every house has a chimney, and one house in particular—that of Tamati Tikao—is in a very comfortable condition.

Population, 40. Land under cultivation, about 10 acres.