The future home of the Waikato settlers

94

THE FUTURE

HOME

OF

THE

WAIKATO

SETTLERS.

[By

Lieut. Col. Chesney].

Although

some

twenty-six years' have cla2->sed since the

first English colonywas foundedin

New

Zealand,butlittle is

known

of the interior of those beautiful islands which

now

formpartof the scattered empire of Great Britain.

A

few

travellershave crossed

some

of therivers, ascended thehills

and

skirted thelakes; missionaries havefixedthemselvesin

places where native population invited theirresidence;

and

traders were located in spots easily accessible from the settlements: but, owingto the rugged natureof theMiddle

Island

and

tothe jealousy of thenatives inthe

North

Island, the

Eughsh

race are tobe foundchieflyatthe seaports

and

near the Coastline.

To

thebulkofthe coloniststhe interior of theislandshasbeen hithertoa terra incognita.

Discoveriesof gold combined with the explorations of Dr.

Hector

and

others are

making

us acquaintedwiththeMiddleI.,

and

the campaignof 1864against the nativeraceshas opened a

highway

intothecentre of theNorthern Island.

Whether

thathighwaywillbe againclosedby theactionof the present ministry of

New

Zealandis partlyapolitical,partlya mihtary

questionandistherefore nota fitsubject for discussionwithin these walls, but,inasmuchas

many

peoplehaveleft

Tasmania

and

the Australian colonies to

become

militarysettlersin

New

Zealand, a short accountof the the physical

and

geographical features of the territory recentlyacquired

may

be of interest to

many

of the Fellows of the Society.

It is proposed to lay before you a brief account of the

interior of the North Island of

New

Zealand,toreview the

causes thatled tothecampaigninthevalley of the

Waikato

and Bay

ofPlenty,toglanceattheproposedschemeof military occupation,

and

todescribe thefuture

home

and

prospectsof the

Waikato

settlers.

Near

the centre of the islandthevolcano of

Eua-pehu

rises

from

what

isevidently the water-shed. Itssnow-cladsummit, andthat oftheneighboringmountain, Tongariro, whichrises

to a height considerably greater than that of

Mont

Blanc,

may

be seenfromCook's Straitsin clear weather. South of Tongariro the countryis ofa singularly broken

and

difficult

character,

and

throughitwindstheriver

Wanganui,

carrying quantitiesofpumicefloatinglikeballsof froth

upon

itssurface.

At

first a swift shallow stream, after a course of about50

miles it enters a cleft in therock,

and

foraboutdouble the distance is

bounded

on either sidebyperpendicular walls of

sufficientgroundto

camp

on without climbingoneofthe root-ladders that form the communication between the native villages

and

theriver. There are occasionalrapids here,but

the general course of the streamisquiet, in

some

placesthe current being quite imperceptible on account of the great

depth of the water. Gradually the country becomes

more

open,

and

the walls of basalt are replacedbyfertilebanks.

About

20 milesfromthe

mouth

the lastrapidoccurs,

whence

the river is navigable for smallcraft,

and

here thetraveller findsthe settlement of

Wanganui

inthe provinceofWellington, the

town

being about four milesfromthebar.

An

attempt

was

formerly

made

to call the place Petre, but the

more

euphomious oneof

Wanganui

hasbecomethe one by which it isknown.

Ducks and

teal

abound

on the upper

Wanganui, amongst

whicha duck with a spoonbillis occasionallyfound. Itis a shy

and

ratherrare bird.

The

river

Wanganui

isadmirably adaptedforsalmon. These

fishwould have a run of 150 to 170 miles to their upper

spawning-beds, the deep pools affording ample shelter

on

theirway. Eels, akind of small mullet,

and

a freshwater

crayfishare atpresentthe only fishin thisfinestream.

Returning

now

tothe centre of the island,

we

will take a

northerly course.

The Waikato

river rises at the foot of

Eua-pehu and

flows into the south of lake Taupo, which is

some

30mileslongby 25 broad

and

is surrounded

by

a fine,

park-like country. Leaving the north end of

Taupo

the

Waikato

meanders through rugged, difficult ground, and,

tumblingover a couple of cataracts, becomes navigable for steamersatMaungatautari, Thirty miles further

down

the rapidstreamabsorbs the quiet Waipa,

and

the joint river, stillcalledtheWaikato,flows

onward

swiftlyinawide channel

overa sandy bottom,

and

is so shallow as to be almost unnavigable for boats or canoes in certain seasons.

The

Waikato

emptiesitselfonthe

West

Coast

and

isaccessible to craft ofmoderate size infineweather.

A

township)has been

recently laid out within the heads.

The

shores of

Taupo

andof the other lesser lakes to the

Northare ofitarepeopled by finetribes of Maories, mostly

heathens.

The

chief,

Te

Heu

Heu, dismissed a missionary

fromhisdominions ontheground that he interfered with his

authority,and he consistently refused to be called by the

English

name

Matene

(Martin),

by

which he was

known

inthe settlements.

Very

fewofthe nativesin thisdistrictcan speak a

word

ofEnglish, notwithstandingwhichtheir agricultureis

extensiveand well carried on.

The

Waikatos have been

more

water-9G

millwasfinished atMaungatautari, ploughswore busy between

the tworivers

Waikato

and Waipa,

and

theMaoris werelarge

growersofwheat, maize,

and

potatoesfortheAucklandmarket.

The Waikato

tribes are physically a finerace of

men

and

had

always beenconsideredtorank

among

the most warlike of therace;

many

of

them had

beentrainedtotheuseoffirearms

inthe

Auckland

police force; and, althoughforyears it

had

been illegalto sell

arms

to thenatives, they never

had

any

realdifficultyinprocuringmuskets

and

powder.

The

causes that led to the recent campaign in the

Waikato

are too

complextobe treated of at length in this paper, yet it is

necessarytotouch slightly

upon

them.

The

Maories were

nominally subjects of the

Queen

and amenable to the

law, but were virtually as free from its power as

any dweller in

Connemara

a hundred years ago. If

an

Englishman

offended against a Maori he was sure

to be heavily fined or otherwise punished by his

countryman the magistrate, whereas

when

the Maori

hap-penedto be theoffender,heeitherdid notappearas defendant or ignored the decision of the bench.

The

few scattered

English residents in the

Waikato

valley were there on

sufferance,

and

the natives enforcedtheirold customof utu

(i.e. payment, or revenge) atthe willof their chiefs.

They

even

became

so insolent as to have formedaproject forthe attack

and

plunderofAuckland. Sundryof

them

went

down

to join theTaranakitribes in

arms

against the Government,

and

they set

up Te

Whero

Whero,

a notedoldwarrior, as

king over

them

at Ngaruawhia, the confluence of the

Waipa

and

Waikato. All acknowledged the old chief under the

name

of

King

Potatou.

It

became

necessaiytohold theserestlesswarriorsincheck

and

toprotect thescatteredsettlersoftheprovince of

Auckland

fromoutrage.

The

valleyof the

Waikato

approaches within forty milesof the city, from which it is separated bysteep

hills covered with denseforest.

Two

plans of defence

seem

to have presented themselves, the first

and

simj^lest would have beentohave established a chainof defensive posts from

theeast tothewest coasts ontheaccessiblecountrybetween

Auckland

and

the Forest ranges. This planwould have been no punishment tothe turbulentWaikatos,

who

couldmuster

at theirpleasure in

unknown

force close toourlines; it

was

notentertained,

and

wasreplacedbyacomprehensive scheme

of conquestwhichwas submitted byministerson5th

August

1863. In Mr. Domett's

memorandum

it was proposed to

open

up

the country by

making

roads, to establish military

posts where necessary, to introduce 20,000 settlers

97

millions, tlicestimated costof the project, wliicli was to be repaidbytheconfiscation ofpartofthenatives' land

and

by

the increased customs

and

other revenue.

Owing

to the presence ofalargebody oftroopsa road was

made

across the ranges withoutserious opposition

and

aredoubt (called after

ourgracious Queen) establishedontheplainbeyond.

Nobly

did theMaories fight atKohiroa, Rangiriri,

and

Orakau, but

theywere no

match

for superior

numbers and

disciphne,

and

eventuallytheyretired to their mountain fastnesses, leaving the wholevalleyapreytotheirconquerors.

It

was

necessary tocomplete the firstpart of the plan the

Waikato

conquest should be connectedwiththe

Bay

ofPlenty,

but

what

wastobedone?

The

nativeswere loyal,and, with

some

exceptions, well-behaved. Orders were sent for the

troopsto

march

overtheirland occasionally.

They

resented

this,

and

built a strong pa atthe gate or entrance to their property. Reinforcements werehurriedtoTauranga,

and

the position

was

takenafteradesperateresistance.

The

Maories

made

one

more

effort to entrench themselves at the

Bay

of Plenty,but were defeated with great loss.

The

conquest

sufficientforthe chain ofposts

was

complete. Unfortunately forthesettlers,the

Whitaker

Fox-Ministry were replaced

by

men

ofSouthernproclivities,the

money was

not forthcoming, the governmentsteamerswhich suppliedthe transport on the

Waikato

aretobesold,

and

the pledges

made

to the military

settlersby oneset ofministers have been ignored by their successors.

They

mightat leasthavebuilt

them

the promised

blockhousestoenable

them

to hold their land in troublous

times.

At

present their only defences are slight works of

earth

and

fern here

and

there, and their arms. In such situationstheyare tobe leftwiththeir diminished

numbers

:

we may

therefore expect to hear of disasters,

and

either a

warfare like that which was carried on with the

North

American

tribes, orthattheobjectgained

by

the exertions of

ourtroopshasbeen abandoned.

The

soil

Tauranga

is ofa deep volcanic nature

and

the set-tlers

who

haveland theresonear agood harborarefortunate.

The

country of the upj^er

Waikato

is curiously formed, consistingofa seriesof plainsorflatsat differentlevels.

The

uj^per level atCambridge,our farthest advanced post, isvery good,rich soil.

The

river is rapid between

Cambridge and

Alexandra, atthe confluence ofthe

Waipa

and Waikato.

By

the

way

theriveris oftenerroneously

named

Horatiuinmaps. Horatiuisthe

name

ofadistrict, not of the river.

The

soil

belowthe junction oftherivers isnot so good it beingsandy

in places.

£,icain puiposcs. Everywherethere issufficient

wood

without thegroundbeingencumbered bydense forests.

The

foliage ofthispart of

New

Zealand is very beautiful, for although

the kauriisnotfoundso far south,there are other

handsome

pines,andthe eye isrefreshedbythelaurel-like green of the karat a (Corynocarpus levigata)

and

other

handsome

shrul)s,

such asthe Cordilinestricta

and

the bright greeniPittosjporvm Eufjenoides.

The

banksof the

Waikato and some

of its islands are

or-namented

with the waving flowers of the Toi-toi (Arundo

conspicua) whichresembles the

pampas

grass,but isyet

more

graceful.

When

peaceshallhave beenrestoredto this

unhappy

land, the hot springs that Ibrought under yournoticeona previous occasion, will probably

become

theSaratoga ofthesecolonies,

and

prosperous cities

and

smiling villages will spring

up