II.

On the Run.

Most of my readers will understand the meaning of this phrase. It is an antiquated one, reaching back to before the days of the settlement, and a license from the agent of the New Zealand Company entitled parties to occupy the country for grazing purposes.

Our first recognised runholder was Mr Archibald Anderson, who, in conjunction with Mr James Cullen, now of Outram, held the depasturing right of the country from the head of the harbour, including the site of Dunedin, southward along the Taieri, and including the whole of the Peninsula. The exact boundaries of the run were not specifically delineated. Sending down from Wellington a considerable number of cattle and sheep, Mr Anderson soon found that in his own interests his presence was absolutely necessary. The herds and flocks were satisfactorily increasing, the land getting fairly well stocked, but unfortunately no account sales or remittances were forthcoming, his manager not considering that a part of his duty to attend to. So, along with his family and friend Cullen, he came down to attend to his own affairs, arriving in 1845. His sole right of possession was soon after cancelled, as the company had arranged with the Edinburgh Association for a block of 400,000 acres, and in the following year Mr Kettle, with his assistant surveyors, arrived, and before his theodolite Mr Anderson was obliged to retire, and his right to the run was cancelled. There being no pressing necessity, however, he remained in undisturbed occupation, and was on the spot to welcome the first settlers on their landing in 1848.

Settlement had now taken place, and as very few animals in the shape of cattle had come along with the harbingers, the graziers retired leisurely, their number slowly increasing, the most prominent among them being Mr Edward Lee, who, along with Mr J. Hyde Harris, secured a herd, establishing themselves on the West Taieri, and gave the name Lee Stream to that rivulet which is destined to act such an important factor in the electrical system for Dunedin.

The great aim of Captain Cargill and his coadjutor, Mr Bums, was to keep their flock close at hand, well together, so that a better surveillance over them could be exercised, page 8 and the great advantages of kirk and school and social intercourse could be secured. But it was of no use; the land was rich, there was plenty of room for enterprise, and the feeling of complete liberty of thought and action must have full swing. So the purpose, however admirable it was, could not be carried out. The people would segregate; like the cattle, they would seek out pastures new and of better feed.

Another feeling animated a considerable number. They considered a great mistake had been committed in locating the centre at the harbour—that Dunedin should have been fixed somewhere else. A few of the more adventurous spirits sallied forth, well equipped for their perilous travels. It was well they should have been so furnished, as it was reported by Mr Kettle that no white residents would be met with, the principal inhabitants being a few scattered Maoris. Following the tracks of these nomads, the Taieri was passed over as swampy; Tokomairiro was not attractive, and only when the Clutha was reached were their expectations realised. In one respect there were grounds for the belief. The soil was infinitely superior to that around Dunedin. The land was much more level, and the area far more extensive. The fatal point was the want of a commodious and safe shipping port. This was a want that could not be remedied, and Messrs Kettle and Tuckett's selection has long been completely justified.

There were a few whites in the locality: Captain Wilsher and others, more or less connected with the whaling industry, who had secluded themselves on the coastline among the Natives. On the return of a portion of the explorers to Dunedin, a few remained behind to make the necessary arrangements for erecting whares for permanent occupation. Their report was received with enthusiasm, and a rush on a small scale was imminent. The great difficulty to overcome was the journey. Overland for wives and bairns could not be thought of, as there were no conveyances. Even the slow-moving bullock sledge was not available, and even though it had been, the route at several places was impracticable. The open ocean could alone be made use of, and to accomplish the voyage in small boats, either open or partly decked, occupying, it might be, weeks, was a perilous venture. The resolve once taken, it must be carried out. The greater the risk and danger, the greater the honour and glory in over-coming.

Among those who made up their minds for the change, were douce, cannie-going men, resolute in purpose, and with page 9 determined wills. Certainly the majority were young, unmarried blades, ready for any hazard, who had little impedimenta to bother them, and the overland route was their choice; those with responsibilities must go by sea, and by this means also must the necessaries of life be transported. Luck attended each, and with few calamities, but many grievous delays, the destinations were safely reached, and then the job of setting their house in order brooked no delay. Bitter privations were experienced, hopes and expectations were long in being realised; yet amid all the buffetings, a bright star shone above. "The smilings of a fortune were not beguiling," and a full fruition was the result, as the splendid, joyous, and happy gathering at Balclutha on Wednesday, the 22nd January, demonstrated.