CHAPTER VIII._Brighter Britain! (Volume 2 of 2) or Settler and Maori in Northern New Zealand

OUR LUCK.

The sun has just risen, and brilliant gleams of light are playing

upon the waters of the Firth of Thames. Above, in the air, rise the

rugged summits of the mountains, that golden range which stretches down

through Coromandel, from Cape Colville to Aroha, a hundred and twenty

miles of El Dorado. And just before us, occupying a flat at the base of

the hills, is the gold-field centre, Grahamstown.

The steamer which has brought us from Auckland, leaving late last

night, is just drawing alongside the little wharf at Shortland, having,

for some occult reason, passed by the long wooden pier that runs out

into the stream a little lower down, at Grahamstown proper. She is

loaded to the water's edge with a human cargo. There is hardly standing

room aboard of her, though she is a fair-sized craft. Men crowd every

available part of her. Men of all kinds—from the smooth-faced, sleek

young clerk, clean as to linen, gay as to dress, fresh from the

city atmosphere which has hitherto bounded his experience, up to the

hirsute, sun-browned, rough-looking bushman, in jumper, moleskins,

and ankle-jacks. There are men of various nationalities, and of

every class, all eager, expectant, and excited, huddled together

promiscuously, and all have talked through the whole weary night of but

one subject—gold.

There is a "rush"; that is the explanation of the crowded steamer, of

other crowded steamers and sailing-craft, that have come and will come,

of men on horseback and men on foot, who are converging through the

roadless country from all sides upon the valley of the Thames. A day or

two hence, a new extension of the gold-field is to be proclaimed and

opened. Rumour says the prospectors have struck a reef of unexampled

richness; and almost every one in Northern New Zealand is burning with

anxiety to be on the spot and take up a claim.

Our shanty has experienced the gold-fever, mainly through the influence

of O'Gaygun. Things had not been very brisk with us of late, and so

it was determined to take a temporary spell of gold-mining. All the

community are partners in the enterprize, but only four of us are

actually going on to the field. Old Colonial was not to be drawn away

from the Pahi, and he, with some of the others, remains to carry on the

farm. O'Gaygun, the Little'un, and the writer, are now landing from the

steamer, while Dandy Jack, who preceded us, is already in Grahamstown.

You see, even gold-seeking requires some little capital to start one

at it. Here, the mining is all in quartz, which necessitates it. There

is no alluvial washing to enable one to pan out one's dust, and pay

one's way with it from week to week. Now, it happened that we had

scarcely any ready money, so we had to raise it. About a fortnight ago

we chartered a schooner in the Kaipara, loaded her with fat steers, a

few horses, some sheep, barrels of pork, sacks of potatoes, and other

produce, and sent her off. She was to round the North Cape, and to run

for the Thames, and Dandy Jack went with her. In anticipation of the

coming rush, we reckoned that he would be able to sell all the cargo at

a good figure, and have a tolerable sum in hand to carry us on when we

took up our claim. Subsequently, we three others went down to Auckland,

and took the steamer thence.

The crowd, slowly disgorged on Shortland wharf, turns to walk towards

Grahamstown for the most part. The two places are one town now, being

connected by a street about a mile long. Less than ten years ago

Shortland was the original and only township, and then consisted of a

single store, kept by a half-breed. The land was all owned by natives,

and the stubborn old chief of the district, Te Moananui, could not be

prevailed on to part with territory to the Pakeha.

Then came the discovery of gold; and at last government got a strip of

land from the Maoris. It was opened as a gold-field on July 27, 1867.

Messrs. Hunt, Cobley, Clarkson, and White are closely connected with

the early history of the place. They were the original prospectors, and

struck it rich. Though having scarcely money enough to buy tools with

at the start, they made a princely fortune out of their claim.

Later, the Caledonian eclipsed even the enormous success of Hunt's

claim, yielding no less than ten tons of gold during the first year.

Some other claims have done well, and more, of course, have altogether

failed. But the most money has been made on the Stock Exchange. Each

claim is necessarily worked by a company, and some of its scrip is got

into the market. A share may one day not be worth a five pound note,

nay, has even been given for a day's board at an hotel; a month later a

quarter of that share may change hands at £10,000.

This young town looks a good deal more than its actual age. A good

street runs right from Shortland to Grahamstown, and though there are

gaps here and there, showing how close the untilled wilderness is to

the pavement, yet the shops, the public buildings, the vehicles and

foot-passengers, all evidence a settled town life. There are some short

side-streets, neat houses and trim gardens; there is quite a nucleus at

the Grahamstown end, where the principal batteries and crushing-mills

are situated. There are ten churches and five banks, besides other

public establishments in the place; for the borough has a resident

population of over five thousand, and about as many more in the suburbs

of Tararu and Parawai, and in the district of the gold-field generally.

Such a rush as is now taking place must also largely augment the

population.

We make straight for the Governor Bowen Hotel, for we are thoroughly

ready for breakfast. There we meet Dandy Jack, calm as ever amid the

stormy excitement that is raging all around, though a feverish glitter

in his eye shows that inwardly he is as other men. He tells us that

he has realized the cargo, but has not done so well with it as we had

sanguinely expected. The Thames was better supplied with provisions

than we supposed. Nevertheless, we have a fair sum in hand to make a

start with.

Dandy Jack has kept the horses; he says we shall need them. It appears

that the new field is twenty miles or so from here, in a district

called Ohinemuri. The Warden is camped there, and will proclaim the

gold-field two days from now. Not until that is done can any one take

out the necessary permit to dig for gold. And then there will be a

terrible race from the camp to the range where the prospectors' claim

is situated; for every one, of course, will wish to peg out his claim

as near as possible to that reserved for the original discoverers. It

seems that every one is buying or stealing horses for this exciting

event; and Dandy Jack has refused incredibly handsome offers, and kept

the animals he so luckily brought here in order that we may have a

chance of picking out a good claim.

It is settled among us that Dandy Jack and O'Gaygun shall at once start

for the Warden's Camp. They will go by the native track through the

bush, and will ride, of course. The other two horses they will lead,

loading them with our tools and swag. The Little'un and I remain at

Grahamstown, as we wish to see all we can of gold-mining there. We

shall reach the new field in time for the reading of the proclamation,

getting there by means of a steamer, that is already plying briskly up

and down the river Thames.

After seeing off the two cavaliers and their packhorses, the Little'un

and I begin roaming about the settlement. By certain friendly offices

we are enabled to visit various claims, among which are Hunt's, the

Kuranui, the Caledonian, and the Golden Crown, of course. We have here

opportunity for seeing all the methods employed for quarrying out the

auriferous rock, and we get much valuable information, and many useful

practical hints regarding geological strata, the lay of the quartz, the

character and variations of gold-reefs, etc.

Then we visit the great pump, the principal feature of interest in

Grahamstown, as it is, perhaps, the most stupendous enterprise in

the colony as yet. Water had proved a source of much trouble in the

Caledonian and other claims, which penetrated to some depth. An

association was therefore formed for the erection of a pump. £50,000

was the cost of its erection, and as much more is being spent in

sinking to lower levels.

The engine has a nominal force of 350 horse power. The cylinder is

eighty-two inches in diameter, and the length of stroke ten feet. The

pump pipes are twenty-five inches diameter; and the machine can raise

ten tons of water per minute. Its operation already extends to a depth

of four hundred feet below the sea-level. The output of the field,

from 1867 to 1875, has been roughly estimated to have been 1,080,202

ounces, valued at £3,465,093.

The next objects of interest to us are the quartz-crushing batteries.

Of these we are told there are thirty-six on the field. The smallest

has four stampers, and the largest sixty-two. Most of them have between

twenty and forty stampers.

We watch some of them at work; seeing the mighty pestles thundering

down upon the blocks and fragments of stone, grinding them slowly into

powder. We see tons and tons of hard shining quartz fed under the feet

of the rows of stampers. Then we see the sandy dust into which the

rock has been disintegrated, undergoing a washing to separate from it

the minute particles of gold. We see it puddled up with water in great

vats, and converted into a thin mud. We see this liquid sent over

"beds," and "floors," and "ladders," and "blanketings," and washed

again and again. Finally we see the gold that was in it collected as

sediment from the various washings. Yellow heaps of it are piled in

appointed places, waiting for removal. Then comes the final process,

the refining with mercury and fire, and the casting of the gold into

ingots.

Not all the batteries or claims are being worked, for many of their

crews are either gone or going to the new field. But this stoppage is

merely temporary. After the fresh excitement has subsided, the men will

come back to their work, finding that £2 10_s._ or £3 a week of wages

is better than making nothing out of a claim of one's own.

So we see as much of the place as we can, even climbing up the rugged

ranges, and from their wild summits looking down over the whole

panorama of the gold-field, with the waters of the firth beyond it,

and the bush-clothed heights upon the further shore. And then we

find a novel interest in the _table d'hôtes_ at the hotels, with the

singularly mingled company assembled at them. Everywhere is a feverish

excitement; everywhere every one can talk of nothing but the new Ophir

that is so soon to be opened.

We even indulge in a game or two of billiards, a rare novelty and

luxury to us bush-farmers of the Kaipara. And we gaze with admiration

and reverence upon the well-displayed charms and attractions of the

barmaids in the saloons.

One of these ladies, more affable and less assuming than her sisters,

who are haughtily inflated with the deep reverence and homage of

thirsty crowds of men, actually condescends to favour us with a few

words of conversation. We are gratified and honoured beyond measure.

This most gracious lady informs us that the proprietor of her bar is

about to erect an hotel on the new field, and that she is going up

to tend bar there. But it appears that the glorious profession of

which she is a member is not what it was. Certain regulations that

mine-owners have lately made, anent the taking of "specimens" from

the mines by the paid miners, have almost destroyed a poor girl's

chances. She relates a legend about "the first barmaid" who appeared

at Grahamstown, her predecessor at this very bar. That lady was the

cynosure and magnet for countless courtiers, of course, and she would

seem to have been a very practical and square-headed young woman. Her

many admirers found that to gain a word, a look, a smile, a ravishment

of whatever kind, it was needful to offer a frequent "specimen" for the

lady's acceptance.

"She was dashing, you know, but not a beauty by any means," says our

informant, with a toss of her be-chignoned head. After a few months,

she sent a boxful of "specimens," the cherished donations of her

hundred slaves, to be crushed at one of the batteries. They realized,

so rumour hath it, some ten or twelve thousand pounds. And the fair

one, satisfied with having blandished this pile out of the Thames, and

probably finding her opportunities at an end, winged her triumphant

flight back to England.

The gorgeous and bedizened beauty who treats us to this tale, hopes to

do likewise at Ohinemuri. Her attractions are greater than those of

the lucky princess she has been telling us about; or, no doubt, she

secretly considers that they are. She hopes to see us at her new bar,

and trusts we will remember to bring her a "specimen" now and then.

This with a flash of black eyes, that makes the giant Little'un shiver

with emotion in his number fourteen boots, and leaves us both helpless

victims of the siren.

The afternoon of the next day finds us on board the river steamer,

making our way to the spot where, as we fondly hope, fortune lies

waiting for us. The steamer is cram full, of course, but the voyage

is not to be a long one. Although the Thames river is navigable for

nearly fifty miles, up to the base of Aroha Mountain, we have not got

to go very far up it. Something under a score of miles separates the

new gold-field from Grahamstown. Perhaps a dozen miles from the mouth

of the river we enter its tributary, the Ohinemuri creek. The whole

district around is known as the Ohinemuri Plains, being a portion of

the lower valley of the Thames.

Our experience of the Grahamstown neighbourhood had led us to expect

anything but a picturesque country. We are agreeably disappointed. The

river winds through what are called plains here, but the term is only

relatively applied. The "plains" are broken with spurs and undulations

from the higher ranges that bound them, and the country is anything but

one uniform level.

On either hand rise heavy mountainous ranges, sometimes receding far

into the distance, sometimes approaching nearer to the river. Tracts

of splendid forest clothe the country, interspersed with bare rock,

open fern-land, low jungles of light scrub, marsh, and fen. Forest and

mountain form a background to the broad valley through which winds the

(really) silver Thames, abounding with fish, its low banks and firm

sandy shores rich with a luxuriant shrubbery. Further up, every mile

adds to the beauty of the scene around.

And all this great valley, containing a million acres doubtless, is as

Nature made it, unmarred by the hand of man, save some little spots

here and there, where Maori kaingas are situated, and that limited area

which the gold-seeker now calls his own. It is easy to see that this

must eventually become a magnificent expanse of farming tracts.

At present all this land is still owned by the natives, a morose

and sullen tribe. Great difficulty was experienced in getting the

Grahamstown field out of their hands, and still more trouble has

surrounded the acquisition by Government of the new extension. The

chief, Te Hira, has been overruled by his counsellors, and has

reluctantly consented to the sale of a portion of his territory.

Already is he disgusted with the advent of the Pakeha, and talks of

retiring with his chief adherents to some wilder solitude. But his

sister, Mere Kuru, who holds equal dignity with himself, seems disposed

to change her ancient habits. She is said to be even welcoming the new

order of things, and is qualifying herself to become a leader of modern

Maori fashionable society. She rules a large kainga, situated on the

Ohinemuri creek, about midway between Cashell's and Paeroa, the two new

landing-places for the gold-field.

At the latter place we disembark, and proceed at once to the Warden's

camp, which is not far off. It is a scene of glorious confusion. Round

about the tent of the official, with its flag, are grouped sundry other

tents, huts, wharès, breakwinds of every conceivable kind, and of every

possible material. It is dark now, as evening has descended, and the

numerous camp-fires make a lurid light to heighten the wildness of

the scene. Crowds of men are grouped about them, eating, drinking,

singing, shouting, or talking noisily of the everlasting subject—gold.

Through the camp we pick our way, stumbling over stumps and roots and

boulders, splashing into deep mud and mire, visiting every fire, and

asking for the whereabouts of our chums. We begin to think we shall

never find them amid the confusion of the wild, disorderly camp, and

have some thoughts of applying for hospitality at the next fire. At

length one man, whom we have asked, replies to our questions—

"Do you mean a pretty sort of chap, looking like a dancing-man or a

barber, and a big, red-headed Irisher with him for a mate? They're over

yonder, camped in Fern-tree Gully. Got some horses with 'em, yes!"

We thought this evidently must refer to Dandy Jack and O'Gaygun, so we

stumbled down the little dell, and found our surmise was right. We were

quickly welcomed, and supplied with supper.

Our friends had erected a rude breakwind of poles and fern-fronds,

sufficient to shelter our party from the rain while we slept, should

there be any. A huge fire blazed in front of it; while not far off,

and well in view, the horses were tethered. They were secured in far

more than ordinary fashion, with headstalls, and lariats, and hobbles.

Dandy Jack said there was momentary fear of their being stolen, by

miners anxious to use them on the momentous morrow, and it was even

thought necessary for one of us to keep watch over them all night,

which duty we performed by turns. There was little fear of anything

else being plundered; indeed, next day we left our swag exposed on

the ground without anything being taken. But horses meant odds in the

coming lottery, and the most honest men were willing, just at that

excited moment, to annex temporarily the first they came across.

At length morning comes, bringing with it the eventful day, the 3rd

of March, 1875, which is to see the opening of the new field. From

earliest dawn the camp is astir; and as the sun climbs the sky, so does

the intense hubbub increase. Oh, for an artist's brush to delineate

that scene! Pen and ink are far too feeble.

Men move about like swarming bees, eagerly talking and shouting with

all and sundry. Groups are gathered here and there, their eyes one

minute glancing anxiously towards the Warden's tent, the next moment

looking out across the wooded plain, as it swims in the morning

sunshine, towards the towering ranges in the distance, where an abrupt

alteration in their outline shows the situation of the Gorge, the spot

where the prospectors' claim is known to be, the goal of every hope

to-day.

No one dares to leave his horse now for an instant. Those that have

any, like ourselves, for the most part remain mounted, restlessly

circling about the camp. Every man that could beg, borrow, or steal

it, appears to have got a riding-beast of some sort. A few are even

bestriding bullocks, judging, probably, that in the general scrimmage

and stampede, even those ungainly steeds will distance men on foot.

We are all equipped with everything immediately necessary, and are

ready for the start. A tumultuous assemblage it is that is now moving

in a perfect frenzy of excitement about the Warden's tent. A concourse

of men—rough men and gentle men, blackguards and honest, young and

old, ragged and spruce, grave and gay, but all fevered to their heart's

core with the burning fury of the gold-digger.

Amid the throng there move a few Maoris from the neighbouring kainga.

Queer, old, tattooed worthies, half-dressed in European rags, half

draped in frowzy blankets. These are stolid, disdainful. They have come

to see the Pakeha in their mad state. And there are others, younger

men, smiling and chattering, evidently anxious to get excited, too,

could they only understand what all the fuss is about. There is a

contemptuous air about them, a kind of pity for the curious insanity

that is rife among the Pakeha about them.

And now the wished-for hour approaches. A rude table is rigged up in

front of the Warden's tent, at which clerks take their places. Two or

three of the armed constabulary are visible, ostensibly to keep order,

which it would take more than all the force to do. And a riotous throng

of horsemen and footmen wrestle and struggle for front places near the

table. Apparently, two or three thousand men are waiting eagerly for

the word to start.

Then the Warden steps forth, looking grave and dignified in his

official coat and cap. He is the only calm person present, and is

received with vociferous exclamation by the crowd. He holds in his

hand a roll of papers, which he proceeds at once to open, mounting a

convenient stump by way of a rostrum. Then he commences to read—the

Riot Act, one would say, looking at the seething, roaring mob around.

In fact, it is the proclamation of the Ohinemuri gold-field, under the

Mining Act of the colonial legislature. But no one can hear a word.

Presently the reading is done, the Warden lifts his cap with a smile,

announcing that the field is open. A tumult of cheering breaks forth,

and then every one rushes at the clerk's table, and, fighting and

struggling for precedence, dumps down his note (£1) for the "Miner's

Right," which is his license and authority to dig for gold within the

limits of the field.

I cannot describe that fierce conflict round the table and tent; it

is all confusion in my mind. It is a wild jumble of warring words,

and furiously struggling shoulders and elbows, arms and legs. Somehow

we get our licenses early, mainly owing, I think, to the stalwart

proportions and weighty muscles of the Little'un and O'Gaygun. Out

of the plunging crowd we fight and tear our way, duly armed with our

"authorities." As does every one so do we, namely, fling ourselves

on our horses' backs, and ride headlong across the country in the

direction of the Gorge.

What a race that is! No run with a pack of English foxhounds could

compare with it. Never a fox-hunter that dared have ridden as we rode

that day, across a country so rough and shaggy. But our incitement is

greater than ever fox-hunter had, for it is a frantic chase for wealth,

with all the madness of gambling thrown into it. It is a race whose

goal is gold!

There is no road, of course. Our way lies across a country jungled

with fern and scrub and bush. The ground is broken with abrupt descents

and short but rugged rises. There are streams and marshes to be plunged

through or jumped over. There are devious twists and turns to be made

to avoid insurmountable obstacles. Scarce is there a track to show

the way, merely the faintest indication of one cut through the wooded

tracts by the surveyor's gang. And we have six miles and more to make,

riding with frantic eagerness and reckless speed, conscious that two

thousand men have entered for the race, and that only a few can win.

Thoroughly well mounted, and accustomed from our cattle-driving

experiences to such rough riding as this, we four chums do justice to

the start we managed to get. Not more than a score or so are ahead of

us, and some of them we are overhauling.

There are dozens of casualties, of course. As we gallop along I see a

man and horse go down, on the steep side of a gully. They roll over

together, and together flounder to the bottom. The unlucky rider

screams with pain, for his legs and ribs are broken, and calls to us

to help him. We hesitate half a moment, but the gold-fever is on us,

and we hurry on. At such a time humanity is dead, even in the most

honourable breast. It is like a battle.

Again, Dandy Jack and O'Gaygun are in front of me. Before them rides a

regular Thames miner, bestriding a lean and weedy horse of very poor

description. It is easy to see, too, that he is not accustomed to the

saddle, though he is urging his beast to its utmost, and doing all

he knows to get on. We are coursing along the side of a slope, dense

ti-tree jungle above and below us, and only a rough narrow way through

it. The miner's horse ahead stumbles and trips, grows frightened, and

becomes unmanageable, turning broadside on in the narrow path and

blocking it.

I hear Dandy Jack and O'Gaygun shout in warning, but the miner has no

time to get out of their way. Riding abreast they charge down upon him,

utterly regardless of consequences. Over goes horse and man beneath the

shock of their rushing steeds, and, a moment later, my nag leaps over

the fallen and follows at their heels.

Oh, the rush and fury of that ride! My head still swims as I think

of it. All sense of care is gone; all thought of risk or accident

banished. A wild, mad excitement surges through every vein, and boils

up within my brain. I only know that hundreds are hurrying after me,

and before me there is a dazzle and glitter of gold. Who heeds the

fallen, the vanquished, the beaten in the race? Who cares for peril to

life or limb? There is but one idea the mind can hold—on! on!

By-and-by, and when our panting, foaming horses seem utterly giving

out, responding neither to voice nor spur, bit nor whip, we find

ourselves within the Gorge. A splendid mountain scene is that, had

we but time to look at it. We have not. Our worn-out steeds carry

us wearily up and along the steep hill-side, beneath and among the

trees that cast their umbrage all over the golden ground. Climbing,

struggling, pressing ever onward, we pass the grim defile, and, in the

wild and beautiful solitude of primeval nature, we find our goal.

Through the trees we spy a clearing, lying open and sunlit on the steep

mountain-side. A clearing, hardly to be so designated, for it is merely

a space of some few acres where fallen, half-burnt trees lie prostrate,

jumbled in inextricable confusion with boulders, rocks, jutting crags,

and broken mounds of fresh-turned soil and stone. A handkerchief upon

a post, some newly-split and whitened stakes set here and there around

the _débris_, the babble and vociferation of men, those who have got

before us, around and about, all sufficiently proclaims that our race

is at an end, and that this before us is the prospectors' claim.

There is no time to be lost, for many behind us are coming on, and

will be upon the ground a few minutes later. And more and more are

coming, pressing onward from the rear with feverish ardour. We spring

from our now useless steeds and hasten to select our ground. Above, and

on each side, nay, even immediately below the prospectors' claim, those

lucky first ones are already pegging out their lawful areas. Depending

on certain indications that a hasty glance reveals, and on advice that

Dandy Jack has previously received in mysterious confidence from one of

the prospectors, we pass below the ground already seized, and there,

a little to the right, we proceed to set up the stakes and clear the

ground that we claim as ours.

As we proceed to make the dispositions which secure to us that which

we have already named "O'Gaygun's Claim," the row and racket around

rings fiercer over the mountain side. Parties of men are arriving every

moment on the ground, and proceeding at once to map out rock and bush

into squares and parallelograms, and to peg out their several claims.

With the prospectors' claim for centre and nucleus, the area of the

occupied ground momentarily increases. Above, around, below, we are

hemmed in by earth-hungry gold-seekers, who each and all are greedy as

starved tigers for their prey.

Not without many disputes is the work accomplished. Oath and

remonstrance, angry quarrelling and bandying of words soon transform

that peaceful fastness of nature into a pandemonium of humanity; and

words give place to blows, as boundaries are fixed, and claims measured

off. Fierce fights are waged over many an inch and yard of ground. The

heated blood of the gold-seeker brooks little opposition, and I fear

that even revolvers and knives are shown, if not used, between rival

claimants.

Yet the hot fury of the rush subsides after a time, and each party

proceeds to investigate what authority allows it, and to reconcile

divisions with its neighbours. Fires are built and camps are formed,

for no one dare leave his claim unoccupied, and preparations are made

for a night more confused and uncomfortable than those previously spent

at the Warden's camp.

Next day the work commences. The Warden and his aids register the

claims and their respective owners. Parties are told off to cut and

construct a road. Miners begin to build up huts and habitations, and

to bring up from the river their swags, provisions, and tools. Trees

fall beneath the axe; rocks are shattered and the ground disturbed

with pick and spade; while pounding and panning, assaying and testing

goes on vigorously. For no one knows exactly how the reefs will run,

or where the richest stone will be found. Nor can that be more than

conjectured until tunnelling has been carried to some depth. Most of

the claims will prove abortive and valueless; only a few will yield

paying quantities of gold; only one or two, perhaps, will bring wealth

to their owners. We work and hope.

* * * * *

Three months later, what have been the results, and what are the

prospects? I stand at the door of the rude hut we live in, and look

abroad over the gold-field, pondering. It is evening, a memorable

evening for us, as will presently appear. But we are depressed and

down-spirited, for luck has not been with us. "O'Gaygun's Claim"

is apparently one of the blankest of blanks in the lottery of the

gold-field.

What a difference is apparent in the scene around from that it

presented three months ago, when we rode here in wild excitement and

hot haste. The grand and lonely Gorge is now populous with life. Trees

have fallen beneath the axe, and even their stumps have altogether

disappeared over a great extent. The wide hill-side has been riven and

torn and excavated by pick and spade, and gaping tunnels yawn here and

there. Houses and huts and tents have risen all around, and a rough

young town now hangs upon the mountain's shoulder.

Newness and rawness and crudity are prevailing features of the place,

yet still it begins to look like the abode and workshop of civilized

men. Stores and hotels, primitive but encouraging, hang out their signs

to view; and a road, rough but practicable, winds down across the lower

ground to Paeroa, the river landing-place, where, too, another township

is being nursed into existence. Down below a couple of crushing-mills

are already set up and hard at work, belching forth volumes of smoke,

that almost hides from my view the turbid, muddy waters of the creek

in the gully, as it rolls furiously along. The thunder and thud of the

batteries, the jarring and whirring of machinery, the bustle and stir

of active and unceasing toil, reverberate with noisy clamour among

the rocks, and proclaim that this stronghold of wild nature has been

captured and occupied by man.

We four chums have not done well; indeed, we have done very badly. We

have prospected our claim in all directions, but without success, and

are now sinking a tunnel deep into the hill-side, in hopes of striking

the reef that ought, we think, to run in a certain direction from where

its upper levels are being successfully quarried in the prospectors'

claim above us. We have stuck to the claim so far, urged by some

fanciful belief not to give it up, and it bids fair to ruin us. Our

funds are quite exhausted, and in another week we shall be compelled to

give up the claim, to take work on wages here or at Grahamstown, and so

raise means to get ourselves back to the Kaipara.

For the expenses have been great. What with buying provisions at

frightful prices, buying implements and some bits of machinery, paying

for the crushing of quartz that never yielded more than delusive traces

of gold, and so on and so forth, our slender capital has melted away

into nothingness. True, we have formed ourselves into a company, and

have tried to sell some scrip. But the market is flooded with mining

shares just now, and ours are not worth a bottle of whisky apiece.

Moreover, "O'Gaygun's Claim" is fast becoming the laughing-stock of

the field. There are no believers in it except ourselves. Every other

claim that proved as valueless as ours has been long ago abandoned;

only we stick to our tunnel, driving at it with frantic energy. And

our life is harder here than in our shanty. We are ill-provided, and

have all the wet and mud and mire of the rainy season now to help make

things uncomfortable for us. Our food is coarse, and not too plentiful.

Damper, tea, salt-pork, potatoes, and not always all of those. Is it

any wonder we are despondent?

As I stand there that evening, cogitating over the gloomy outlook, two

of the others come out of the tunnel bearing a sackful of stone between

them. I see a new expression on their faces, and eagerly turn to them.

"Something fresh. Hush! Not a word. Come into the house, quick!"

So says Dandy Jack to me, hoarsely and hurriedly. Alas! poor man, he is

hardly a dandy at present, and even his complacent calm seems to have

forsaken him at last.

In the hut we anxiously crowd together, examining the specimens just

brought out of the mine. There are lumps of grey and dirty-white

quartz, flecked with little spots and speckles of metallic yellow. Is

it gold? That is the question.

"Ah! it's just the same ould story!" growls O'Gaygun. "Mica or pyrites,

that's about all we've the luck to find, bad cess to them! All's not

gould that glitters, boys; an' there's precious little av the thrue

stuff comin' our way."

"Shut up, you Irish croaker!" says Dandy Jack, without moving, as he

lies on his face near the fire, intently examining a piece of quartz,

licking it with his tongue, scratching it with his nails, and hefting

it in his palms. "There's many a rough dirty stone that hides good gold

within it. And," he adds, rising up, "we _have_ got it this time. Boys!

_we've struck the reef!_"

A few minutes later we were scouring down to the battery, bearing

samples of the precious stone; and before the camp had gone to rest

that night a hubbub and excitement had spread through it, for, it was

the common topic of talk that rich stone had been discovered upon

"O'Gaygun's Claim." Next day and next week we were besieged. Crowds

wanted to see the claim, numbers wanted to buy shares in it, and would

give hundreds and even thousands of pounds for them. We were elate,

excited, conceited, madder than ever with our luck, that at last had

come.

Well, eventually it proved that the find was but a "blind reef," a

"pocket," a mere isolated dribble from the main continuous vein we had

at first supposed we had struck. But it filled our pockets, giving us

more wealth than we had ever before possessed. Had we been wiser we

might have made more money by selling the claim directly after the

find; but we held on too long. However, we made a very pretty little

pile, not a fortune exactly, but the nucleus of one; and finally we

sold the claim for a good round sum to a joint stock company, cleared

out, and separated on the various ways we had chalked out for ourselves.

* * * * *

I find I can write no more, for many things are happening. O'Gaygun has

set up as a stockbroker in Auckland, and will gamble away his share of

our luck in gold-mine scrip. Dandy Jack has bought a large improved

farm, and is collecting and importing a stud of brood mares. He is

going to develop the equine resources of the colony. The Little'un has

gone to Canterbury, intending to run sheep upon a large scale. And I am

going to Australia and Fiji, perhaps home to England—who knows!

At Te Pahi amazing progress is taking place. A wharf is being

constructed at the township, and a fine new steamer is being contracted

for. Some new settlers have been tempted to come up into the district,

and gangs of workmen are being hired from afar. A church has been

subscribed for, and will soon be built. The Saint is erecting an hotel;

and the Fiend is putting up a flour-mill. Old Colonial is going to get

married, and a grand mansion, in the style of the Member's residence,

is going up near the site of our shanty.

As I stand on the deck of the vessel that bears me away from New

Zealand, I am filled with profound regrets at leaving the life I have

grown to love so well. But it is not for long; only for a season have I

said farewell to the friends with whom I have toiled and struggled so

long. I shall return some day, soon, to make my home in the beautiful

land where the kauri grows. And the sun shines more brilliantly

than ever upon the shores receding from my gaze, fit emblem of the

prosperity of that glad new country, which we who love it like to call

our "Brighter Britain."

APPENDIX.

SOME BOOKS ON NEW ZEALAND.

George F. Angas. "The New Zealanders." Folio. London. 1847.

_A large collection of handsomely coloured plates._

"Rambles at the Antipodes." 8vo. London. 1859. Illustrated.

_Contains a slight account of New Zealand, in addition to matter

relating to Australia._

"The Australian Hand-book." (Gordon and Gotch.) London, Sydney, etc.

1881, and annually.

_Extensive and varied information. Copious details of much value

relating to New Zealand._

Lady M. A. Barker. "Station Life in New Zealand." London. 1871.

_Description of home-life and experiences in Canterbury Province._

Alexander Bathgate. "Colonial Experiences." Glasgow. 1874.

_Chiefly relates to Otago, and mining matters._

Alexander Bathgate. "Waitaruna; a Tale of New Zealand Life." London.

1881.

John Bathgate. (Judge.) "New Zealand; its Resources and Prospects."

Edinburgh. 1880.

_A useful summary of facts and figures._

C. D. Barraud. "New Zealand; Graphic and Descriptive." London. 1877.

Illustrations by C. D. B. Letter-press by W. L. Travers. Folio.

_An elaborately got up and beautiful album of New Zealand scenery.

Coloured plates._

Beaven's "Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand." London. 1842.

J. C. Bidwell. "Rambles in New Zealand." London. 1841.

_One of the earliest recorded visits to the Lakes, the Hot-springs,

and Tongariro._

S. C. Brees. "Pictorial Illustrations of New Zealand." London. 1846.

Walter Brodie. "Past and Present state of New Zealand." London. 1845.

W. Brown. "New Zealand and its Aborigines." London. 1845.

Brunner's "Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of the South

Island." In the Geographical Society's "Proceedings." 1846.

_B. received the Society's gold medal for this exploit._

"The Laws of England, compiled and translated into Maori." By desire of

Governor Browne. Auckland. 1858.

Lord Brougham. "The New Zealanders." Published in Knight's Library of

Entertaining Knowledge. London. 1830.

_Edited by Lord B. Compiled from all the data available at that time.

Contains the narrative of Rutherford, a sailor who lived among the

Maoris. Has very quaint woodcuts._

James Busby. "Our Colonial Empire, and the Case of New Zealand."

London. 1865.

_The writer was British Resident for a short while before colonization

in 1840. The book deals with governmental matters._

Rev. J. Berry. Narrative in "Constable's Miscellany." Vol. iv. London.

1820.

W. L. Buller, Sc.D. etc. "A History of the Birds of New Zealand."

London. 1873. Quarto. Coloured plates.

_The best and most complete work on New Zealand ornithology.

Handsomely illustrating 145 species._

W. L. Buller, Sc.D. etc. An Essay on the "Ornithology of New Zealand."

Published for the Commissioners of the New Zealand Exhibition. Dunedin.

1865.

Rev. Jas. Buller. "New Zealand, Past and Present." London. 1880.

_A short historical sketch._

Chambers' "Emigrants' Manual." Edinburgh. 1849.

_There have been more recent editions of this._

George T. Chapman. "Gazetteer of Auckland Province." Auckland. 1867.

G. T. Chapman. "The Traveller's Guide to New Zealand." Auckland. 1872.

G. T. Chapman. "The Circumnavigator. Cook Centenary." Auckland. 1870.

_This volume is a creditable performance for the young publishing

industries of the colony._

"A Chequered Career; or, Fifteen Years in Australia and New Zealand."

London. 1881.

_Amusing light reading._

The Church Missionary Society's Proceedings, Reports, and Publications.

From 1814 and after. London.

"Captain Cook's Voyages."

A. Clayden. "The England of the Pacific." London. 1879.

_Lectures, and letters furnished to the "Daily News." Illustrated._

An Old Colonist. "Colonial Experiences; or Incidents and Reminiscences

of Thirty-four Years in New Zealand." London. 1877.

_Some interesting details of early days in Wellington and Nelson._

J. C. Crawford. "Travels in New Zealand and Australia." London. 1880.

_Of slight interest._

Major Richard A. Cruise. "Ten Months' Residence in New Zealand."

London. 1823.

_He commanded a detachment sent in charge of convicts to Tasmania,

afterwards proceeding to New Zealand in the "Dromedary," which vessel

had been despatched by the British Government to cut spars of kauri

timber._

M. Crozet. "Nouveau Voyage à la Mer du Sud." Paris. 1805.

_Contains an account of the massacre of Marion du Fresne and his

people in 1772._

C. Darwin. "Voyage of a Naturalist." London. 1845.

E. Dieffenbach, M.D. "Travels in New Zealand." 2 vols. Illustrated.

London. 1843.

_This was considered the standard descriptive work until Dr.

Hochstetter's book appeared and superseded it._

Sir Charles W. Dilke. "Greater Britain. A Record of Travel in

English-speaking countries." London. 1868. 2 vols.

_He visited New Zealand, among other places._

Dumont D'Urville. "Voyages dans l'Astrolabe." Paris. 1833.

_Contains some excellent plates of New Zealand plants._

Augustus Earle. "Narrative of Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand" in

1827. London. 1832.

_Readable. This author was inclined to be antagonistic to the early

missionaries._

William Ellis. "Polynesian Researches." 5 vols. London. 1831.

Captain Fitzroy. "Voyages of the 'Adventure' and the 'Beagle.'" London.

1839.

_Captain F. was subsequently Governor of New Zealand._

Sir William Fox. "The Six Colonies of New Zealand." London. 1851.

_Sir William was at one time Premier of New Zealand and has recently

received the honour of a baronetcy._

Sir William Fox. "The War in New Zealand." London. 1860 and 1866.

Captain F. Fuller. "Five Years' Residence in New Zealand." London. 1859.

_The writer was a settler in Canterbury._

Sir George Grey. "Journal of Expedition overland from Auckland to

Taranaki, in 1849." Auckland. 1851.

Sir G. Grey. "Ko Nga Moteatea, etc.—Poems and Chaunts of the Maori."

Wellington. 1851.

Sir G. Grey. "Ko Nga Mahinga, etc.—Mythology and Traditions of the

Maori." London. 1854.

Sir G. Grey. "Ko Nga Whakapehapeha, etc.—Proverbs and Sayings of the

Maori." Capetown. 1857.

Sir G. Grey. "Maori Mementos." Auckland. 1855.

Sir G. Grey. "Polynesian Mythology, and Ancient Traditional History of

the Maori Race." London. 1855.

_Sir George is, perhaps, the best living master of the Maori tongue._

J. E. Gorst. "The Maori King." London. 1864.

_The history of the Waikato War, admirably related._

John Gould. "Birds of Australia." 8 vols. Large folio. London. 1849-68.

_The supplement to the eighth volume contains some of the New Zealand

birds. They are accurately drawn and coloured, life-size. The same

author's "Handbook of Birds of Australia" contains scientific

descriptions of some New Zealand species._

Dr. J. Hann. "Meteorological Report, and Essay on the Climate of New

Zealand." Colonial Meteorological Department. Wellington. 1874.

T. Heale. "New Zealand and the New Zealand Company." London. 1842.

Dr. J. Hector. "Reports." Geological Survey Department. Wellington.

1868, and since.

Dr. J. Hector, and E. von Martens. "Critical List of the Mollusca

of New Zealand." Colonial Museum and Geological Survey Department.

Wellington. 1873.

Dr. Ferdinand von Hochstetter. "New Zealand, its Physical Geography,

Geology, and Natural History." Translated into English by E. Sauter.

Stuttgart. 1867.

_A valuable and standard work. Well illustrated in colours._

Sir Joseph D. Hooker. "The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M.

Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror. Part II. Flora Novæ Zelandiæ." 2

vols. Quarto. London. 1853.

_A splendidly illustrated work._

Sir J. D. Hooker. "Handbook of the New Zealand Flora." London. 1864.

_The standard botanical work._

W. Howitt. "The History of Discovery in Australia, Tasmania, and New

Zealand." London. 1865. 2 vols.

_The second volume contains some account of exploring expeditions in

New Zealand._

Charles Hursthouse. "Account of the New Plymouth Settlement." London.

1849.

Charles Hursthouse. "New Zealand or Zealandia, the Britain of the

South." London. 1857.

_Copious information of a thoroughly reliable and practical sort.

Racily written. The best book ever offered to possible emigrants._

F. W. Hutton. "The Tertiary Mollusca and Echinodermata of New Zealand."

Colonial Museum and Geological Survey Department. Wellington. 1873.

F. W. Hutton. "Catalogue of the Echinodermata of New Zealand." With

Diagnoses, etc. Colonial Museum and Geological Survey Department.

Wellington. 1872.

F. W. Hutton and G. Hector. "The Fishes of New Zealand." Illustrated.

Colonial Museum and Geological Survey Department. Wellington. 1872.

_Good._

F. W. Hutton. "The Marine Mollusca of New Zealand." Colonial Museum and

Geological Survey Department. Wellington. 1873.

"Land Mollusca of New Zealand." Collected from various authors.

Colonial Museum and Geological Survey Department. Wellington. 1873.

J. Jameson. "New Zealand." London. 1842.

Lacy Kemp. "Pocket Vocabulary of Colloquial Maori and English."

Auckland. 1848.

Alex. Kennedy. "New Zealand." London. 1874.

_A capital history in brief._

Professor Lee (Cambridge). "Grammar of the Language of New Zealand,"

compiled from data furnished by Mr. Kendall, Hongi and Waikato. London.

1820.

_Known as "Kendall's Grammar."_

Judge Maning. "Old New Zealand; being Incidents of Native Customs and

Character in the Old Times." By a Pakeha-Maori. London. 1863.

_A stirring narrative of "the old days" of war and cannibalism._

Judge Maning. "Old New Zealand; together with a History of the War in

the North against the Chief Heke, in 1845, as told by a Chief of the

Ngapuhi." Edited by the Earl of Pembroke. London. 1876.

_The addition is striking and characteristic._

A. Marjoribanks. "Travels in New Zealand." London. 1846.

Rev. Samuel Marsden. "Journal of Visits to New Zealand." London. 1822,

etc.

_Originally published in the C.M.S. "Proceedings." Mr. Marsden made

five visits to New Zealand. He was the first to preach the gospel

there._

Dr. S. M. D. Martin. "New Zealand, with Historical Remarks." London.

1845.

Rev. R. Maunsell. "Grammar of the New Zealand Language." Auckland.

1842. Revised edition, London. 1862.

Colonel Mundy. "Our Antipodes." 3 vols. London. 1852.

_Vol. 3 contains an account of New Zealand._

D. L. Mundy. "The Southern Wonderland. Rotomahana, etc." A series of

Photographic Views. Folio. London. 1875.

_Very fine. There are other photographs published in London, besides

those contained in this volume._

"The Natural Wonders of New Zealand." London. 1881.

_A revised edition of Chapman's Guide. An historical and descriptive

account of the Hot Lakes._

"The New Zealand Company's Reports." London. 1840-1858.

_These are very copious._

John L. Nicholas. "Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand." 2 vols.

London. 1817.

_An interesting account of the Rev. S. Marsden's first landing

in New Zealand in 1814. The author went with the pioneer band of

missionaries._

Commander R. A. Oliver. "Lithographic Drawings from Sketches in New

Zealand." Folio. London. 1852.

_Coloured pictures; fair, but not equal to Angas'._

"Outline of the Political and Physical Geography of Australia,

Tasmania, and New Zealand." Collin's Series of School-books. London and

Glasgow. 1876.

"Poenamo. Sketches of the early days of New Zealand." London. 1880.

_Deals with Hauraki Gulf. Of very trifling interest._

J. S. Polack. "Travels in New Zealand." 2 vols. London. 1838.

J. S. Polack. "Manners and Customs of the New Zealanders." 2 vols.

London. 1840. Illustrated.

_Both Mr. Polack's books are very quaint and amusing._

G. S. Baden-Powell. "New Homes for the Old Country." London. 1872.

_Mostly deals with Australian life, but also contains some New Zealand

information._

W. T. Power. "Sketches of New Zealand." London. 1849.

Abbé Rochon. "Voyages aux Indes Orientales." Tom. iii. Paris. 1802.

_Contains accounts of the voyages of the French explorers, De

Bougainville, De Surville, Marion du Fresne, Crozet, and others._

Richard Rose. "The New Zealand Guide." London. 1879.

_A little manual for intending emigrants. Gives some useful

information._

"Robinson Crusoe," translated into Maori. Wellington. 1851.

E. Shortland. "The Southern Districts in New Zealand." London. 1851.

E. Shortland. "Traditions and Superstitions of the New Zealanders."

London. 1854.

John Savage. "Some Account of New Zealand." London. 1807.

_He visited the Bay of Islands, and brought home a Maori to England.

Extremely interesting._

W. Swainson. "New Zealand and its Colonization." London. 1859.

W. Swainson. "New Zealand and the War." London. 1862.

_Both books deal with details of law and government._

(S. W. Silver and Co.) "Handbook for Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji."

London, etc. 1874.

Rev. Richard Taylor, F.G.S. "A Leaf from the Natural History of New

Zealand." Auckland. 1848.

Rev. R. Taylor. "New Zealand and its Inhabitants." London. 1856.

Rev. R. Taylor. "The Past and Present of New Zealand." London. 1868.

Rev. R. Taylor. "Te Ika a Maui." London. 1870.

_This is the best of Mr. Taylor's books, containing a very exhaustive

and studious account of old Maori manners and customs. All his books

are good; but missionary class prejudice is occasionally somewhat

strong in the others._

Rev. R. Taylor. "Maori-English Dictionary." Auckland. 1870.

Charles Terry. "New Zealand, its Advantages and Prospects." London.

1842.

_Refers to Auckland._

Arthur S. Thomson, M.D. "The Story of New Zealand, Past and Present,

Savage and Civilized." 2 vols. London. 1859. Illustrated.

_A good and valuable work. A standard authority on the history of

the wars between the first settlers and the Maoris. Appended is a

Catalogue of New Zealand bibliography down to 1859, fairly full and

accurate._

Mrs. C. Thomson. "Twelve Years in Canterbury, New Zealand; from a

Lady's Journal." London. 1867.

_Small details of home life and personal matters._

Anthony Trollope. "New Zealand." London. 1874.

_The result of a rapid tour through the Colony._

Miss Tucker. "The Southern Cross and the Southern Crown, or the Early

History of the Gospel in New Zealand." London. 1855.

_A big title, but a little book._

Sir Julius Vogel. "Great Britain and her Colonies." London. 1865.

Sir Julius Vogel. "New Zealand and the South Sea Islands, and their

Relation to the Empire." London. 1878.

_Deals with the author's great scheme of federation and colonization,

enunciated by him when Premier of New Zealand._

Sir Julius Vogel. "The Official Handbook of New Zealand." Papers

by various hands, collected and edited by Sir Julius Vogel. With

illustrations and maps. London. 1875.

_The best and latest compilation of the kind._

Sir Julius Vogel. "Land and Farming in New Zealand." Information

respecting the mode of acquiring land; with particulars as to farming,

wages, prices, etc. Also the Land Acts of 1877, and maps.

_Contains very good maps. This, together with the Handbook, are

published at the New Zealand Government offices in London, and are

designed to furnish every information to all classes of inquirers._

E. Jerningham Wakefield. "Adventures in New Zealand." 2 vols. London.

1845.

_Interesting. Together with it was published a volume of sketches and

views._

E. Jerningham Wakefield. "Handbook of New Zealand." London. 1848.

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce. "Annual Reports." Wellington. 1864,

etc.

The Wesleyan Missionary "Reports." London. 1820, and since. Also,

from the same date, various publications of the Society for Promoting

Christian Knowledge; of the Aborigines' Protection Society; of the

London Missionary Society; and, the "Missionary Register."

Whateley's "Easy Letters on Money Matters," translated into Maori.

Wellington. 1851.

Rev. John Williams. "A Narrative of Missionary Enterprises." London.

1838.

Rev. W. Williams (Bishop of Waiapu). "A Dictionary and Grammar of the

New Zealand Language." Auckland. 1844.

_Later and improved editions have been published in London, in 1852

and 1871._

Ven. W. L. Williams. "First Lessons in Maori." London. 1872.

N.B. I cannot claim that the above list is a complete one. It is not.

It merely contains the books I have been able to come across. Dr.

Thomson compiled a careful list of all publications relating to New

Zealand down to the year 1859. Such a task would be very much more

arduous now, and the result would not repay the trouble bestowed on

it. There have been, both before and since 1859, shoals of pamphlets

bearing on matters connected with the colony. Since that year, too, the

periodical literature of Great Britain, Australia, the United States,

and other countries, has contained countless articles on New Zealand

subjects. Finally, "Brighter Britain" has now a literature of its

own. Its press and its publishers are busy. Yet, I think, that in the

foregoing catalogue will be found all, or nearly all, the substantial

volumes immediately relating to New Zealand that the general reader, or

particular inquirer, need care to become acquainted with.

THE NEW ZEALAND PRESS.

(Transcriber's Note: This table has been split into two sections)

--------------+------------------+-------------------------+---------+

|Population accord-| | |

|ing to Census and | | |

|estimates 1879-80.| | |

Name of Town. +--------+---------+ Title of Newspaper or | Issue. |

--------------+--------+---------+-------------------------+---------+

| | | The New Zealand Herald | " |

| | | The Evening Star | " |

| | | The Weekly Herald | " |

| | | The Saturday Night | " |

| | | The Church Gazette | " |

| | | | |

| | | The Coromandel News | " |

| | | | |

| | | Enoch | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Whangarei | 1,288 | 2,906 |The Whangarei Comet and | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Ngaruawahia | 277 | -- |The Waikato News | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |The Hawke's Bay Telegraph| " |

| | |The Hawke's Bay Weekly

| | Z Telegraph | " |

| | | Mercury | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Wellington Independent| " |

| | |The Wellington Tribune | " |

| | |The Evening Post | " |

| | |The Evening Argus | " |

| | |The New Zealander | " |

| | | Zealand News | " |

| | |The New Zealand Bradshaw | " |

| | |The Church Chronicle | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Carterton | 446 | -- |The Wairarapa Guardian | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Foxton | 563 | -- |The Manawatu Herald | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Wanganui Evening Herald| " |

| | |The Weekly Herald | " |

| | | | |

Carlyle | 405 | -- |The Patea Mail | " |

| | | | |

Hawera | 500 | -- |The Hawera and Normanby Star| " |

| | | | |

Marton | 850 | -- |The Rangitikei Advocate | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Nelson Evening Mail | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Westport Times | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |The Inangahua Times | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |The Marlborough Times | " |

| | |The Weekly Times | " |

| | | | |

Kaikoura | 200 | 600 |The Kaikoura Herald | " |

| | | | |

Picton | 703 | 3,009 |The Marlborough Press | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Evening Star | " |

| | |The Leader | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Greymouth Star | " |

| | |The Grey River Press | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |The Lyttelton Evening Star| " |

| | |The Canterbury Times | " |

| | | Illustrated Press | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Evening Globe | " |

| | |The New Zealand Sun | " |

| | |The Illustrated News | " |

| | |The New Zealand Presbyterian| " |

| | |Te Mokomaka (_Maori_) | " |

| | |The New Zealand Wesleyan | " |

| | | Gazette | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Rangiora | -- | 2,888 |The North Canterbury News| " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |The Evening Herald | " |

| | | | |

Te Muka | 200 | -- |Te Muka Herald | " |

| | | | |

| | |The South Canterbury Times| " |

| | |The Evening Telegraph | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Waietangi Tribune | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Otago Morning Herald | " |

| | |The Otago Guardian | " |

| | |The Otago Evening Tribune| " |

| | |The Otago Evening Star | " |

| | |The Otago Southern Mercury| " |

| | |The Christian Record | " |

| | |The Otago Penny Post | " |

| | |The Age | " |

| | |The New Zealand Tablet (R.C.)| " |

| | |The Saturday Advertiser | " |

| | |The New Zealand News | " |

| | | Temperance Herald | " |

| | |The New Zealand Churchman| " |

| | |The New Zealand Presbyterian| " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Cromwell | 424 | -- |The Cromwell Argus | " |

| | | | |

Gore | 300 | -- |The Mataura Ensign | " |

| | | | |

| | |The Southland News | " |

| | | The Weekly News | " |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Balclutha | 900 | | The Clutha Mail | " |

| | | | |

| | | The Oamaru Evening Mail | " |

| | | The Oamaru Weekly Mail | " |

| | | | |

Palmerston | 825 | | The Shag Valley Herald | " |

| | | The Waikouaiti Times | " |

| | | | |

Arrowtown | 363 | | The Arrow Observer | " |

| | | | |

Queenstown | 574 | 2,266 | The Wakatipu Mail | " |

| | | | |

Riverton | 867 | 4,194 | The Western Star | " |

| | | | |

--------------+----------------+-----------

|County in which |

Name of Town. | the Town is | Former

| situated. | Province.

--------------+----------------+-----------

Auckland |Eden |Auckland

| |

Coromandel |Coromandel |Auckland

| |

Grahamstown, |Thames |Auckland

_with | |

Shortland_ | |

| |

Gisborne |Cook |Auckland

| |

Kororareka |Bay of Islands |Auckland

(_Russell_) | |

| |

Whangarei |Whangarei |Auckland

| |

Hamilton |Waikato |Auckland

| |

Ngaruawahia |Waipa |Auckland

(_Newcastle_)| |

| |

Tauranga |Tauranga |Auckland

| |

New Plymouth |Taranaki |Taranaki

| |

Wairoa |Wairoa |Hawke's Bay

(_Clyde_) | |

| |

Napier |Hawke's Bay |Hawke's Bay

| |

WELLINGTON |Hutt |Wellington

| |

Greytown |Wairarapa West |Wellington

| |

Carterton |Wairarapa West |Wellington

| |

Masterton |Wairarapa West |Wellington

| |

Palmerston |Manawatu |Wellington

(_North_) | |

| |

Foxton |Manawatu |Wellington

| |

Wanganui |Wanganui |Wellington

| |

Carlyle |Patea |Taranaki

| |

Hawera |Patea |Taranaki

| |

Marton |Rangitikei |Wellington

| |

Nelson |Waimea |Nelson

| |

Westport |Buller |Nelson

| |

Charleston |Buller |Nelson

| |

Reefton |Inangahua |Nelson

| |

Lyell |Buller |Nelson

| |

Blenheim |Marlborough |Marlborough

| |

Kaikoura |Kaikoura |Marlborough

| |

Picton |Sounds |Marlborough

| |

Hokitika |Westland |Westland

| |

Greymouth |Grey |Westland

| |

Ross |Westland |Westland

| |

Lyttelton |Selwyn |Canterbury

| |

Christchurch |Selwyn |Canterbury

| |

Kaiapoi |Ashley |Canterbury

| |

Rangiora |Ashley |Canterbury

| |

Akaroa |Akaroa |Canterbury

| |

Ashburton |Ashburton |Canterbury

| |

Te Muka |Geraldine |Canterbury

| |

Timaru |Geraldine |Canterbury

| |

Waiemate |Waiemate |Canterbury

| |

Dunedin |Taieri |Otago

| |

Clyde |Vincent |Otago

| |

Cromwell |Vincent |Otago

| |

Gore |Southland |Otago

| |

Invercargill |Southland |Otago

| |

Lawrence |Tuapeka |Otago

| |

Tapanui |Tuapeka |Otago

| |

Tokomairiro |Bruce |Otago

(_Milton_) | |

| |

Naseby |Maniatoto |Otago

| |

Balclutha |Clutha |Otago

| |

Oamaru |Waitaki |Otago

| |

Palmerston |Waikouaiti |Otago

| |

Arrowtown |Lake |Otago

| |

Queenstown |Lake |Otago

| |

Riverton |Wallace |Otago

I must apologize for any omissions or inaccuracies that may be found

to appear in the above list. The materials were not collected without

considerable trouble, and every care has been taken to ensure fulness.

The figures are derived from returns published according to the census

and estimates of 1879 and 1880. Their incompleteness was unavoidable.

POPULATION OF NEW ZEALAND.

_European._ In 1844 the total European population was 13,128

" 1851 " " " 26,707

" 1856 " " " 45,540

" 1861 " " " 99,021

" 1866 " " " 204,114

" 1871 " " " 256,393

" 1874 " " " 299,684

" 1879-80 " " " 463,729

_Maori._ In 1820 the total Maori population was 100,000 (supposed).

" 1874 " " " 46,016

" 1879-80 " " " 42,819

The present total population of all New Zealand, both of Europeans and

Maoris, may be set down at 506,548.

POLITICAL DIVISIONS.

In 1876, the old provincial divisions, with all their cumbrous local

governments and legislative machinery, were finally abolished.

Politically speaking, therefore, the provinces of Auckland, Taranaki,

Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, and

Westland no longer exist. The names are still retained to some extent

in general use, but they will probably pass away as the new arrangement

takes deeper hold. The colony is now divided into sixty-three counties,

which are here enumerated, together with the three principal cities,

towns, villages, or settlements comprised within each. The arrangement

is from North to South.

County. Towns or Settlements.

Mongonui Mongonui, Whangaroa, Ahipara.

Hokianga Hokianga, Whangape, Kaikohe.

Bay of Islands Kororareka, Kawakawa, Waimate.

Whangarei Whangarei, Mangapai, Waipu.

Hobson Tokatoka, Aratapu, Pahi.

Rodney Mangawai, Omaha, Mahurangi.

Waitemata Helensville, Whangaparoa, Riverhead.

Eden AUCKLAND, Onehunga, Otahuhu.

Manukau Waiuku, Papakura, Pukekohe.

Coromandel Port Fitzroy, Kapanga, Tokatea.

Thames Grahamstown, Tairua, Ohinemuri.

Waikato Mercer, Hamilton, Cambridge.

Waipa Ngaruawahia, Te Awamutu, Alexandra.

Raglan Raglan, Port Waikato.

Piako Piako.

Tauranga Tauranga, Maketu, Ohinemutu.

Kawhia Kawhia, Aotea, Kuiti.

West Taupo Orakau, Tokano.

East Taupo Tapuaeharuru, Cox's.

Whakatane Opotiki, Whakatane, Matata.

Cook Gisborne, Ormond, Uawa.

Wairoa Mahia, Clyde, Mohaka.

Hawke's Bay NAPIER, Hastings, Havelock.

Wanganui Wanganui, Makirikiri, Kai Iwi.

Taranaki NEW PLYMOUTH, Oakura, Raleigh.

Patea Carlyle, Hawera, Normanby.

Rangitikei Bulls, Marton, Turakina.

Manawatu Foxton, Palmerston, Fielding.

Waipawa Waipawa, Waipukerau, Wallingford.

Wairarapa East Akiteo, Mataikuna, Whareama.

Wairarapa West Featherston, Greytown, Masterton.

Hutt WELLINGTON, Hutt, Karori.

Collingwood Collingwood, Clifton, Takaka.

Waimea NELSON, Wakefield, Foxhill.

Sounds Picton, Gore, Bulwer.

Marlborough BLENHEIM, Renwick, Tuamarina.

Inangahua Reefton, Howard, Hampden.

Buller Westport, Charleston, Lyell.

Grey Greymouth, Cobden, Ahaura.

Amuri Waiau, Hanmer Bridge, Tarndale.

Kaikoura Kaikoura, Hapuka, Clarence.

Cheviot Cheviot, Hawkswood.

Ashley Kaiapoi, Rangiora, West Oxford.

Akaroa Wairewa, Akaroa.

Selwyn CHRISTCHURCH, Lyttelton, Selwyn.

Westland HOKITIKA, Ross, Kumara.

Ashburton Ashburton, Rangitata, Rakaia.

Geraldine Timaru, Geraldine, Te Muka.

Waiemate Waiemate, Makikihi, Waihoa.

Waitaki Oamaru, Herbert, Moeraki.

Waikouaiti Palmerston, Waikouaiti, Port Chalmers.

Peninsula Calversham, Tairoa.

Taieri DUNEDIN, Outram, Berwick.

Maniatoto Naseby, St. Bathans, Hamilton.

Vincent Clyde, Cromwell, Gladstone.

Lake Queenstown, Arrowtown, Cardrona.

Fiord (No settlement).

Wallace Riverton, Wallace, Howells.

Southland Invercargill, Dacre, Athol.

Tuapeka Lawrence, Tapanui, Roxburgh.

Bruce Milton, Kaitangata, Waihora.

Clutha Balclutha, Clinton, Waipaheu.

Stewart Island Paterson.

PRONUNCIATION OF MAORI NAMES.

The letters of the Maori Alphabet are only fourteen in number. They

are—a, e, h, i, k, m, n, ng, o, p, r, t, u, w. The vowels have an

Italian sound.

The Maori a is pronounced like aw and ah.

" e " " a and eh.

" i " " ee.

" o " " o and oo (short).

" u " " oo (long).

When two vowels come together in a syllable, both are pronounced in a

single breath. Thus:—

The Maori au becomes ow, as in _cow_.

" ao the same.

" ae becomes i, as in _sigh_.

" ai the same.

" ei becomes ee, as in _keep_.

Ng always has a nasal sound, as in _ringing_. G is never hard.

In common use among colonists, many names are becoming corrupted,

principally by the shortening of vowel sounds. Thus, Wakatipu, the

proper pronunciation of which should be Waw-kah-tee´-poo, has become

Wacky-tip. The elision of a final vowel in certain instances, is common

among the Maori themselves.

The following examples, selected from names occurring in this book, may

be of use. Chief stress is to be laid upon the syllable indicated by an

accent mark.

Arapaoa Ah-rah-pow´-ah

Ararimu Ah-rah-ree´-moo

Aratapu Ah-rah-tah´-poo

Ariki Ah-ree´-kee

Atua Ah´-too-ah

Hauraki How´-rah-kee

Hinau Hee´-now

Hokianga Ho-kee-ang´-ah

Hone Heke Ho´-nay Hek´-ky

Hongi Hika Hong´-ee Hee´-kah

Hoteo Ho-tay´-o

Hue Hoo´-eh

Kahikatea Ki-kah-tay´-ah

Kai Ki

Kainga Ki´-ng-ah

Kaipara Ki´-pah-rah

Kamahi Kah-mi´

Kapai Kah´-pi

Kapuka Kah´-poo-kah

Kararehe Kah-rah´-ray

Kareao Kah-ray-ow´

Kauri Kow´-ree

Kawa Kaw´-ah

Kawau Kah-wow´

Kawiti Kaw´-ee-tee

Keri-keri Kirry-kirry

Kiwi Kee´-wee

Kihi-kihi Kēē-kēē

Kiore Kee-or´-eh

Kopura Ko´-poo-rah

Koraka Ko-rah´-kah

Korero Kor´-ră-ro

Kororareka Kor-or-ar´-ek-ah

Kotuku Ko-too´-koo

Kowhai Ko´-i

Kumera Koo´-meh-rah

Mahurangi Mow´-ă-rang´-ee

Maire Mi´-ray

Manukau Man´-oo-kow

Mangapai Mong´-ah-pi

Mangawai Mong-ah-wi´

Mangiao Mong-ee-ow´

Maori Mow´-ree

Matakohe Mah-tah-ko´-eh

Marahemo Mah-rah-hay´-mo

Maungakahia Mong-ah-ki´-ah

Mihake Mee´-hak-ă

Mongonui Mong-o-noo´-ee

Ngapuhi Ng-ah´-poo-ee

Ngatewhatua Ng-ah´-tay-whot´-oo-ah

Ohaeawae O-hi´-ah-wi

Okaehau O-ki´-how

Onehunga O-nay-hung´-ah

Otamatea O-tah-mah-tay´-ah

Oruawharo Or-oo-ah-whah´-ro

Pahi Pah´-hee

Paparoa Pah-pah-ro´-ah

Pakeha Pah´-kay-hah

Pohutukawa Paw´-tah-kow-ah

Ponamu Po-nam´-oo

Puna Poo´-nah

Puriri Poo-ry´-ry

Rakope Raw´-kop-ă

Rangatira Rang-ah-tee´-rah

Rangitopuni Rang-ee-to-poo´-nee

Raupo Row´-poo

Reinga Ray-eeng´-ah

Rimu Ree´-moo

Taheke Tah´-hak-ky

Tamatewhiti Tom'-ah-tay-whee'-tee

Taupo Tow'-poo

Tawhera Taff'-rah

Taua Tow'-ah

Tapu Tah'-poo

Te Tay

Ti Tee

Wahine Wah-hee'-nay

Waimate Wi'-matty

Waitangi Wi'-tang-ee

Waitemata Wi'-tay-mah'-tah

Whangarei Whong-ah-ree'

Whare Whah'-ray

Whau Whow

Wairoa Wi'-raw

Wairau Wi'-row

THE END.

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.

_S. & H._

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Other

variations in spelling, punctuation, hyphenation and accents remain

unchanged.

The extensive table of the New Zealand Press in the appendix has been

divided to facilitate display on narrow screens.

Italics are represented thus _italic_.

Brighter Britain! (Volume 2 of 2) or Settler and Maori in Northern New Zealand · 第 8 / 8 章