Good Land, But A Bad Harbour.

Tuckett had no delusions about the value of Molyneux Harbour. In a letter dated Otakou, August 16, 1844, written to Dr. Hodgkinson, Tuckett gives a glowing account of land, but is not satisfied with the river entrance: “The Matau district alone would afford all the land required for the settlement, and there I would have established it could I have entered the Matau with the schooner. But without the aid of steam power, neither this nor the other principal rivers on the East Coast can be entered. Here there is rather more than 12ft. of water at low water on the bar. No vessel can remain in the Bay with an easterly wind. With the aid of a steam tug, I consider it perfectly available and eligible for vessels drawing 15ft. of water.”