[Illustration: KING TAWHIAO.]
THE KING COUNTRY;
OR,
EXPLORATIONS IN NEW ZEALAND.
_A NARRATIVE OF 600 MILES OF TRAVEL THROUGH
MAORILAND._
BY
J.H. KERRY-NICHOLLS.
[Illustration: THE AUTHOR.]
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP.
_SECOND EDITION._
London:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1884
[_All rights reserved._]
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED
BY PERMISSION
TO
SIR GEORGE GREY, K.C.B., F.R.S.,
WHOSE CAREER
AS GOVERNOR, STATESMAN, ORATOR, AUTHOR, AND EXPLORER,
HAS SHED LUSTRE
UPON
THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALASIA.
PREFACE.
In publishing this record of travel, I have deemed it advisable
to arrange my narrative under four principal divisions. In the
introductory portion I refer to the leading physical features of that
part of the North Island of New Zealand known as the King Country,
relate the leading incidents connected with its history, describe the
condition of the native race, and explain the object with which my
journey was undertaken. The succeeding chapters deal with my visit to
the Maori King when presenting my credentials from Sir George Grey
at the tribal gathering held at Whatiwhatihoe in October, 1882. The
description of the Lake Country includes my route from Tauranga, on
the East Coast, to Wairakei, and which led me through the marvellously
interesting region familiarly termed the Wonderland of New Zealand,
while in the pages embracing my explorations in the King Country
I record events as they occurred from day to day over a lengthy
journey which was delightful on account of its novelty and variety,
and exciting by reason of the difficulties, both as regards natural
obstacles inseparable from the exploration of an unknown region under
the unfavourable conditions by which I was constrained to carry it out,
and the deep-rooted jealousy of the native race against the intrusion
of Europeans into a portion of the island which is considered by them
to be exclusively Maori territory.
When it is considered that in company only with my interpreter, and
with but three horses--ultimately reduced to two--and with what scant
provisions we could carry, I accomplished considerably over 600 miles
of travel, discovered many new rivers and streams, penetrated almost
inaccessible regions of mountainous forest, found extensive areas of
open plains suitable for European settlement, traced the sources of
three of the principal rivers of the colony, examined the unknown
shores of its largest lake, ascended one of the highest mountains of
the southern hemisphere, experienced degrees of temperature varying
from 80° in the shade to 12° below freezing-point, and successfully
traversed from South to North, through its entire length, a territory
with an area of 10,000 square miles, and which had been from the early
history of the colony rigorously closed to Europeans by the hostility
of the native tribes, it may be readily seen that the explorations, by
their varied nature, disclose many important facts hitherto unknown
concerning a vast and beautiful portion of New Zealand; and while they
cannot fail to prove of practical utility to the colony, they will, I
venture to think, be a welcome addition to geographical science.
The map appended to this work may be said to form the most complete
chart of the interior of the North Island as yet published. Up to the
present time the extensive territory embraced by the King Country has,
owing to the obstruction of the natives, never been surveyed, and
consequently many of its remarkable physical features have remained
unknown, the existing maps of this part of the colony being mere
outlines. As, therefore, considerably more than half of the country
traversed was through a region which was, to all intents and purposes,
a _terra incognita_ from the commencement of my journey, I adopted a
system of barometrical measurements and topographical observations, and
thus secured a supply of valuable material, which I mapped out from day
to day, while the names of mountains, rivers, valleys, and lakes were
obtained from the natives by the skilful assistance of my interpreter,
who was at all times unceasing in his endeavours to carry out this part
of the work with accuracy.
The table of altitudes of the various camping-places and stations of
observation throughout the country explored will be found to be of
considerable interest and importance. By these results the conformation
of a large portion of the island may be arrived at. Thus, beginning at
Tauranga, and taking that place at ten feet above sea-level, it will
be seen that the land rises rapidly from the coast-line for a distance
of about twenty miles, when, at the Mangorewa Gorge, it attains to
an altitude of 1800 feet; from that point it falls towards the South
until the table-land of the Lake Country is reached, when, at Lake
Rotorua, it has an altitude of 961 feet. From the latter place, still
going southward, the table-land rises with an elevation varying from
1000 to 1500 feet, until it falls towards the valley of the Waikato,
when at Atea-Amuri it is not more than 650 feet above the level of the
sea. Further along it gradually rises until it reaches Oruanui, some
fifteen miles distant, where an altitude of 1625 feet is attained,
until the country again falls to the extensive table-land of Taupo,
where over a large area it maintains an elevation varying from 1000 to
1400 feet, the great lake itself standing at an altitude of 1175 feet.
Southward of Lake Taupo the Rangipo table-land varies from 2000 to 3000
feet, until it falls towards the South Coast, giving an altitude at
Karioi, on the Murimotu Plains, of 2400 feet. Westward of this point
the country falls gradually to 560 feet to the valley of the Whanganui,
and from that region going eastward to the Waimarino Plains it attains
to an elevation of 2850 feet in a distance of about thirty miles.
Northward again along the western table-land of Lake Taupo it varies in
height from 1000 to 2420 feet, until the Takapiti Valley is reached,
where it is only 900 feet. In the Te Toto Ranges an altitude of 1700
feet is attained, until at Manga-o-rongo, a deep basin-like depression
in the valley of the Waipa, the land is not more than 200 feet above
sea level.
The wood engravings contained in this work are from original sketches
by the author, with the exception of that of the native village of
Lake Rotoiti, which is from a painting by the talented artist Mr.
Charles Bloomfield. They were engraved by Mr. James Cooper of Arundel
Street, Strand. The portraits of the native chiefs are from photographs
taken by E. Pulman and J. Bartlett of Auckland. They have been
reproduced by the Meisenbach process.
In the Appendix will be found a synopsis of the principal _flora_ met
with during the journey, together with that of Mount Tongariro and
Mount Ruapehu, up to the highest altitude attained by plant-life in the
North Island. A synopsis of the _fauna_ is also added. Biographical
sketches are given of King Tawhiao and several noted chiefs, with a
list of the principal tribes and their localities. There is likewise a
brief reference to the Maori language, with a compendium of the most
useful native words.
In bringing this volume to its completion, I desire to acknowledge
my indebtedness to Sir George Grey, K.C.B., for his letter of
introduction to King Tawhiao; to Mr. C.O. Davis, for the willing way
he at all times placed his scholarly knowledge of the Maori language
at my disposal; to Mr. T.F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., for the classification
of the _flora_ of Tongariro and Ruapehu; to Mr. James McKerrow,
Surveyor-General, for maps and charts of the colony; to Mr. Percy
Smith, Assistant-Surveyor-General, for a correction of altitudes; to
Mr. Robert Graham, of Ohinemutu, for voluntarily placing his best
horses at my disposal; to J.A. Turner, for an unceasing earnestness of
purpose in fulfilling his duties as interpreter; and to the Whitaker
Ministry, for their recognition of the usefulness of my work.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
Geographical description of the King Country--Its political
state--Efforts made to open it--Condition of the natives--Origin
of the journey--Letter of introduction to the king 1
THE FRONTIER OF THE KING COUNTRY.
CHAPTER I.
THE KING'S CAMP.
Alexandra--Crossing the frontier--Whatiwhatihoe--The camp--King
Tawhiao--The chiefs--"_Taihoa_" 17
CHAPTER II.
THE KORERO.
The Kingites--Half-castes--An albino--The king's speech--Maori
oratory--The feast 27
CHAPTER III.
ASCENT OF PIRONGIA.
Mount Pirongia--Geological features--The ascent--A fair prospect 36
THE LAKE COUNTRY.
CHAPTER IV.
AUCKLAND TO OHINEMUTU.
The flank movement--Auckland Harbour--Tauranga--Whakari--The
_tuatara_--_En route_--The Gate Pa--All that remains--Oropi--A
grand forest--Mangorewa Gorge--Mangorewa
River--A region of eternal fire 46
CHAPTER V.
HOT-SPRING LIFE.
Ohinemutu and Lake Rotorua--Te Ruapeka--The old _pa_--Native
baths--Delightful bathing--A curious graveyard--Pigs--Area
of thermal action--Character of the springs--Chemical
constituents--Noted springs--Whakarewarewa--Te
Koutu--Kahotawa--"_Tenakoe, pakeha_"--Hot and cold 56
CHAPTER VI.
TRADITION, IDOLATRY, AND ROMANCE.
Origin of the Maoris--Te Kupe--First canoes--The _runanga_
house--Maori carving--Renowned ancestors--Tama te
Kapua--Stratagem of the stilts--Legend of the whale--The
Arawa canoe--Noted braves--Mokia--A curious relic--Gods
of the Arawas--Mokia by night--Hinemoa--A
love song 68
CHAPTER VII.
EN ROUTE TO THE TERRACES.
Over the mountains--Rauporoa Forest--The _hotete_--Tikitapu--Rotokakahi
--Te Wairoa--The natives--Waituwhera Gorge--The boat--A distinguished
traveller--Sophia--Lake Tarawera--Mount Tarawera--Te
Ariki--Te Kaiwaka 81
CHAPTER VIII.
THE TERRACES.
Te Tarata--Beauty of the terrace--The formation--The crater--A
sensational bath--Ngahapu--Waikanapanapa--A weird gorge--Te
Aua Taipo--Kakariki--Te Whatapohu--Te Huka--Te Takapo--Lake
Rotomahana--Te Whakataratara--Te Otukapurangi--The
formation--The cauldron 94
CHAPTER IX.
OHINEMUTU TO WAIRAKEI.
Te Hemo Gorge--Mount Horohoro--Paeroa Mountains--Orakeikorako--Atea
-Amuri--Pohaturoa--The land of pumice--Te Motupuke--The glades
of Wairakei 109
CHAPTER X.
WAIRAKEI.
The first view--The Geyser Valley--Curious sights--Tahuatahe
--Terekirike--The Whistling Geyser--A nest of stone--Singular
mud-holes--The Gas and Black Geyser--The Big Geyser--The great
Wairakei--The Blue Lake--Hot mud-holes--Kiriohinekai--A valley
of fumaroles--Te Karapiti Te Huka Falls--Efforts to pass under
the falls--A cave--An enormous fissure--Another trial--A legend 115
EXPLORATION OF THE KING COUNTRY.
CHAPTER XI.
THE START.
Reason of the journey--How I succeeded--My interpreter--Our
horses--The Hursthouse difficulty--Departure from
Wairakei--Tapuwaeharuru--The natives--Release of Hursthouse,
and capture of Te Mahuki--The council of war 131
CHAPTER XII.
THE REGION OF LAKE TAUPO.
Natural phenomena--The great table-land--Position and dimensions
of the lake--Water-shed--Geological features--The lake an extinct
crater--Crater lakes--Areas of thermal action 139
CHAPTER XIII.
EASTERN SHORE OF LAKE TAUPO.
A grand view--True source of the Waikato--The river of "streaming
water"--Our first camp--Variation of temperature--Roto
Ngaio--Te Hatepe--Te Poroporo--The lake beneath us--A
canoe--Motutere--Tauranga--Southern shore of the lake--Delta
of the Upper Waikato 149
CHAPTER XIV.
TOKANU.
Scenery--The springs--The natives--Old war-tracks--Te Heuheu--A
Maori lament--Motutaiko--Horomatangi 161
CHAPTER XV.
THE RANGIPO TABLE LAND.
Along the delta of the Upper Waikato--Mount Pihanga--The
Poutu River and Lake Rotoaira--Boundaries of the Rangipo--Scenery--A
fine night--A rough time--A great storm--The _karamu_ as
fodder--Banks of the Upper Waikato--Another start--More bad
weather--Flooded creeks--Pangarara--Te Hau 168
CHAPTER XVI.
ASCENT OF TONGARIRO.
Physical and geological features--Legend of Tongariro--A break
in the clouds--The start for the ascent--Maories in the
distance--The Waihohonu valley--The ascent--The brink of
Hades--The great crater--The inner crater--The lower cones--Crater
lakes--The descent--A valley of death--Tongariro by moonlight--A
cold night--The start for Ruapehu 179
CHAPTER XVII.
ASCENT OF RUAPEHU.
(_First Day._)
Approaching the mountain--A field for research--Physical and
geological features--Plan of attack--Curious icicles--A
lava barrier--Natives in the distance--Horse camp--Scoria
hills and lava ridges--The start for the snow-line--Up the
great spur--Head of the spur--Our camp--A wind-storm--Ruapehu
by night--A picture of the past--Waiting for sunrise--Sunrise 199
CHAPTER XVIII.
RUAPEHU.
(_Second Day._)
ASCENT OF THE GREAT PEAK.
The start--A lava bluff--Last signs of vegetation--Wall of
conglomerate rock--The Giant Rocks--Ancient crater--Difficult
climbing--A frightful precipice--The ice crown--Cutting
our way over the ice--The summit--Peaks and crater--A grand
_coup d'oeil_--The surrounding country--Taking
landmarks--Point Victoria 217
CHAPTER XIX.
THE KAIMANAWA MOUNTAINS.
Further plans--Across the plains--_In memoriam_--The Onetapu
Desert--Mamanui camp--Grilled _weka_--A heavy frost--The
Kaimanawas--Geological formation--A probable _El
Dorado_--Reputed existence of gold 229
CHAPTER XX.
SECOND ASCENT OF RUAPEHU. SOURCES OF THE WHANGAEHU AND
WAIKATO RIVERS.
Curious parterres--Supposed source of Whangaehu---A gigantic
lava bed--A steep bluff--The Horseshoe Fall--The Bridal Veil
Fall--The Twin Falls--A dreary region--Ice caves--Source of
the Waikato--The descent--Our camp on the desert 237
CHAPTER XXI.
KARIOI.
Our commissariat gives out--The Murimotu Plains--The settlement--The
homestead--The welcome--Society at Karioi--The natives--The Napier
mail 252
CHAPTER XXII.
FOREST COUNTRY.
The start from Karioi--On the track--Te Wheu maps the
country--The primeval solitude--Terangakaika Forest--The
_flora_--Difficulties of travel--The lakes--Birds--Pakihi--Mangawhero
River--Gigantic vines--Fallen trees--Dead forest giants--Mangatotara
and Mangatuku Rivers--A "Slough of Despond"--Dismal swamp 258
CHAPTER XXIII.
RUAKAKA.
The _wharangi_ plant--Enormous ravines--Ruakaka--Reception
by the Hauhaus--The chief Pareoterangi--The parley--Hinepareoterangi--A
repast--Rapid fall of country--The Manganui-a-te-Ao--Shooting the
rapids--The natives--Religion--Hauhauism--Te Kooti's lament--A
Hauhau hymn 269
CHAPTER XXIV.
NGATOKORUA PA.
Departure from Ruakaka--A legend--Rough forest--Crossing the
Manganui-a-te-Ao--Scenery of the river--Mount Towai--The plains
in sight--Rapid rise in the country--Ruapehu from the west--The
Waimarino plains--Arrival at the _pa_--The chief's family--A
Hauhau chief--_Inter alia_--Pehi on the decay of the
Maoris--A war-dance--The mere 281
CHAPTER XXV.
HOT SPRINGS OF TONGARIRO.
Departure from Ngatokorua--Okahakura Plains--Tongariro from the
north--Source of the Whanganui--The hot springs--A marvellous
sanatorium--Crater of Ketetahi--Te Perore--A strategic
position--Kuwharua--Maori cakes--A grand region--Site for
a public park 295
CHAPTER XXVI.
WESTERN TAUPO.
Supposed forest country--The western table-land--Soil and
_flora_--Terania--Okarewa--Te Kaina Valley--Maoris on the
track--Pouotepiki _pa_--A tangi--The natives--A friendly
invitation--An old warrior--The women--Our quarters 304
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE NORTHERN TABLE-LAND.
The Whanganui stream--Oruapuraho Valley--Waihaha River--Kahakaharoa--The
sweetbriar--The kiwi--The moa--A gigantic lizard--Waikomiko and Waihora
Rivers--Te Tihoi Plains--Scenery--Mount Titiraupenga--Mangakowiriwiri
River--Mangakino River--Swimming horses--Our camp--The Maoris as
travellers--A Maori joke--Good horsemen--Their knowledge of the
country--Their endurance--The Waipapa--Te Toto Ranges--The Waipari--Te
Tauranga--The Upper Puniu--A fine specimen of tattooing--A night
at Hengia 315
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE AUKATI LINE.
Manga-o-rongo--Mangatutu River--The encampment--A sumptuous
repast--The _kainga_--Surrounding scenery--Old
warriors--The tribes--The Korero--Arrival of Te Kooti--His
wife--His followers--A _tête-à-tête_--A song of welcome--A
_haka_--Departure from Manga-o-rongo--Waipa River--Valley
of the Waipa--Our last difficulty 328
APPENDIX.
Potatau II. 345
Major Te Wheoro, M.H.R. 348
List of the New Zealand Tribes, with their localities 351
The Flora 352
The Fauna 360
The Maori language 366
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
King Tawhiao _Frontispiece_
The Maori Queen, Pare Hauraki 21
Wahanui, chief of the Ngatimaniapoto tribe 24
Manga Rewi, a chief of the Ngatimaniapoto tribe 25
Major Te Wheoro, M.H.R. 28
Te Tuhi, a chief of the Waikato tribe 29
Albino woman 30
Whitiora Wirouiru te Komete, a chief of the Waikato tribe 32
Paora tu Haere, head chief of the Ngatiwhatua tribe 34
Hati Wira Takahi, chief of the Ngapuhi tribe 37
Tawhao Ngatuere, a chief of the Ngatikahunu tribe 38
A chief of the Ngatiproa tribe 39
Paratene te Manu, a chief of the Ngatiwai tribe 40
Tukukino, head chief of the Ngatitematera 42
Te Raia Ngakutu te Tumuhuia, head chief of the Ngatitematera
tribe. Last of the New Zealand Cannibals 43
Whakari, or White Island 48
The Tuatara 49
Native woman and child, Ohinemutu 58
Native village (_Lake Rotoiti_) (_Page_) 62
Specimen of Maori carving 72
Native woman, Lake Country 86
Pohaturoa 113
Section of valley of Waikato River at Huka Falls 126
Transverse section of North Island from S.W. to N.E. 140
Terrace formation and hot springs (_Valley of the Waikato_) 146
Lake Taupo (_Page_) 150
Source of the Waikato at Lake Taupo 153
Tongariro (_Page_) 180
Tongariro by moonlight (_Page_) 197
Mount Ruapehu (_Page_) 200
Summit of Ruapehu 204
Waiting for sunrise 213
Wall of lava conglomerate 219
The ice crown, Point Victoria 227
Great trachytic lava bed 240
The Bridal Veil Fall 245
Ruakaka (_Page_) 272
A chief armed with "mere" and "huata" 293
A "mere" 294
Native girl 312
Moa and apteryx 317
Native girl 330
Woman of the Waikato tribe 333
Te Kooti, from a sketch by the author 335
Te Kooti's wife 336
THE KING COUNTRY.
INTRODUCTION.
Geographical description of the King Country--Its political
state--Efforts made to open it--Condition of the natives--Origin of the
journey--Letter of introduction to the king.
That portion of the North Island of New Zealand known as the King
Country extends (as near as the boundary can be defined) from lat.
38° to 39° 20' S., and from long. 174° 20' to 176° E. Its approximate
area is equivalent to 10,000 square miles. In the north the _aukati_,
or boundary-line--separating it from the European portion of the
colony--passes by the southern shores of Aotea Harbour, thence easterly
through the Pirongia Ranges in a direct line to the Waikato River,
along which it follows nearly to Atea-amuri, from which point it
strikes directly south to Lake Taupo. It takes in the whole of the
western half of that lake; it then stretches south along the Kaimanawa
Mountains to the Murimotu Plains, whence it goes westerly, round the
southern base of Mount Ruapehu to the mouth of the Manganui-a-te-Ao
River, and thence north-westerly until it joins the coast at a point a
little to the north of Pukearuhe.
The physical features of this vast region present not only many
beauties, but many natural advantages for European settlement, while it
is one of the best watered parts of the island. In its southern portion
the Whanganui River passes through it in a long winding course to the
sea, fed by many tributaries flowing from the high mountain-ranges,
both in the south and central divisions of the island. In the west
the Mokau River and its affluents flow from its central region to
the coast. In the north the Waipa Puniu and various other streams,
having their sources in the Titiraupenga and Rangitoto Mountains, wind
through it to the Waikato River; the high, wooded ranges of the central
table-land form the sources of many watercourses disemboguing into Lake
Taupo; while in the south-east the snow-clad heights of Tongariro and
Ruapehu pour down their rapid waters in a perfect network of creeks and
rivers. In the west it has a coast-line of over sixty miles, and it
possesses one of the largest harbours in the island. Extensive forests
cover a large portion of its southern area, and extend northerly over
the broken ranges of the Tuhua to Mount Titiraupenga and the Rangitoto
Mountains. Westward of this division there is a considerable area of
open country, including the valley of the Waipa, which in its turn is
bounded in the west by high, fern-clad hills and wooded ranges. In the
vicinity of the high, snow-clad mountains in the south, there are vast
open table-lands; while immediately to the west of Lake Taupo and north
of Titiraupenga to the banks of the Waikato, there are again extensive
open plains.
Geologically considered, the King Country possesses in extensive
depositions all the strata or rock-formations in which both gold,
coal, iron, and other minerals are found to exist, while its extensive
forests are rich in timber of the most varied and valuable kind.
Geysers and thermal springs possessing wonderful medicinal properties
are found in the vicinity of its many extinct craters; and, while
it possesses one of the largest active volcanoes in the world, its
grand natural features are crowned by the snowy peaks of some of the
highest mountains of Australasia. In the north the trachytic cones
of Titiraupenga and Pirongia rise to an elevation varying from 3000
to 4000 feet, near to its south-western boundary the snowy peak of
Taranaki, or Mount Egmont, attains to an altitude of 8700 feet, on its
eastern confines the rugged crater of Tongariro sends forth its clouds
of steam from a height exceeding 7000 feet, while on its southern side
the colossal form of Mount Ruapehu rears its glacier-crowned summit to
an altitude of over 9000 feet above the level of the sea.[1] With these
important features nature has endowed it with scenery of the grandest
order, and with a climate unsurpassed for its variety and healthfulness.
The political state of the King Country forms one of the most
interesting chapters in the history of New Zealand. In the early days,
before the colony was founded in 1840, and long after that event, there
were no such obstacles to travelling through the island as existed
in later times. The Maoris rather welcomed Europeans, who were free
to go anywhere, except on places which were _tapu_,[2] or sacred in
their eyes, and in consequence what little has been hitherto known
of the King Country has been derived from the experiences of one or
two travellers who penetrated into portions of it some thirty years
ago. Among the most active of the early travellers was Ferdinand Von
Hochstetter, a member of the Austrian Novara Expedition, who, in 1859,
at the instance of Sir George Grey, at that time Governor of the Cape
of Good Hope, made a tour through a portion of the North Island in
company with Drummond Hay, Koch, Bruno, Hamel, and a number of European
attendants and natives. At this time the Maoris were ready to welcome
Europeans; hostilities between the two races had never broken out, and
Hochstetter and his party were received and _fêted_ everywhere with
almost regal honours. But in the course of years, as it was evident
to the natives that the Europeans were the coming power in the land,
suspicion and distrust were excited, and at last the tocsin sounded.
The native chiefs, seeing that their influence was declining, and that
in proportion to the alienation of the land, their _mana_ or authority
over the tribes decreased, began to bestir themselves in earnest. It
was considered that a head was needed to initiate a form of Government
among the tribes to resist the encroachments daily made by the
Europeans, and which seemed to threaten the national extinction of the
native race.
The first to endeavour to bring about a new order of things was a
native chief named Matene Te Whiwi, of Otaki. In 1853 he marched to
Taupo and Rotorua, accompanied by a number of followers, to obtain
the consent of the different tribes to the election of a king over
the central parts of the island, which were still exclusively Maori
territory, and to organize a form of government to protect the
interests of the native race. Matene, however, met with but little
success. Te Heuheu, of Taupo, the great chief of the Ngatituwharetoa,
at that time the most warlike tribe in the island, had no idea of any
one being higher than himself, and therefore refused to have anything
to do with the new movement, nor did Te Whiwi meet with much greater
encouragement at Maketu and Rotorua. The agitation, however, did not
stop, the fire once kindled rapidly spread, ardent followers of the
new idea sprang up, and their numbers soon increased, until finally,
in 1854, a tribal gathering was convened at Manawapou, in the country
of the Ngatiruanui tribe. Here a large _runanga_, or council-house,
was erected, which was called _Tai poro he nui_, or the finishing of
the matter, and after many points had been discussed, a resolution was
come to among the assembled tribes that no more land should be sold
to Europeans. A solemn league was entered into by all present for the
preservation of the native territory, and a tomahawk was passed round
as a pledge that all would agree to put the individual to death who
should break it. In 1854 another bold stand was made, and Te Heuheu,
who exercised a powerful sway over the tribes of the interior, summoned
a native council at Taupo, when the King movement began in earnest. It
was there decided that the sacred mountain of Tongariro should be the
centre of a district in which no land was to be sold to the government,
and that the districts of Hauraki, Waikato, Kawhia, Mokau, Taranaki,
Whanganui, Rangitikei, and Titiokura should form the outlying portions
of the boundary; that no roads should be made by the Europeans within
the area, and that a king should be elected to reign over the Maoris.
In 1857 Kingite meetings were held at Paetai, in Waikato, and
at Ihumatao and Manukau, at which it was agreed that Potatau Te
Wherowhero, the most powerful chief of Waikato, should be elected king,
under the title of Potatau the First, and finally, in June, 1858, his
flag was formally hoisted at Ngaruawahia. Potatau, who was far advanced
in life when raised to this high office, soon departed from the scene,
and was succeeded by his son Matutaera Te Wherowhero, under the title
of Potatau the Second.
The events of the New Zealand war need not here be recited, but it
may be easily imagined that during the continuance of the fighting
the extensive area of country ruled over by the Maori monarch was
kept clear of Europeans. But in 1863 and 1864 General Cameron, at the
head of about 20,000 troops, composed of Imperial and Colonial forces,
invaded the Waikato district, and drove the natives southward and
westward, till his advanced corps were at Alexandra and Cambridge.
Then followed the Waikato confiscation of Maori lands and the military
settlements. The King territory was further broken into by the
confiscations at Taranaki and the East Coast, but no advance was,
however, made, by war or confiscation, into the country which formed
the subject of my explorations. The active volcano of Tongariro is
_tapu_, or strictly sacred, in the eyes of the Maoris, and several
persons who had attempted to ascend it were plundered by the natives,
and sent back across the frontier. On the west of Taupo Lake lies the
Tuhua country, whose people had from the first, from the nature of the
district, been much secluded from European intercourse, and who besides
had given refuge to many of the desperadoes of the other tribes; while
to the south-west of Taupo Lake were the people of the Upper Whanganui
country, who have always been suspicious and hostile, while for some
considerable time, too, the whole district was in terror of Te Kooti
and his marauding bands. It is from these causes that the vast and
important area embraced by the King Country has remained closed to
Europeans, and, all things considered, it is a fact which must ever
remain one of the most singular anomalies of British colonization,
that, after a nominal sovereignty of forty years over New Zealand,
this portion of the colony should have remained a _terra incognita_ up
to the present day, by reason of the hostility and isolation of the
native race.
Having pointed out the leading causes which resulted in the closing
of the King Country to European settlement, it will be interesting
to glance at the endeavours which have been made by the different
governments to break down the barrier of native isolation, and thus
to throw open to the colonists an extensive area of the island, which
is, in reality, as much a portion of British territory as is the
principality of Wales. As is well known, since the termination of the
lamentable war between the two races, the King natives have, on all
occasions, jealously preserved their hostile spirit to Europeans; while
the peculiar state of matters involved in the whole question, while
unexampled in the history of any other part of the British Empire, has
been naturally a source of annoyance and even danger to the several
governments of the colony who have attempted from time to time to
grapple with the native difficulty.
The New Zealand war concluded, or rather died out, in 1865, when the
confiscated line was drawn, the military settlements formed, and the
King natives isolated themselves from the Europeans. For ten years
it may be said that no attempt was made to negotiate with them. They
were not in a humour to be dealt with. About 1874 and 1875, however,
it became evident that something would have to be done. The colony
had greatly advanced in population, and a system of public works had
been inaugurated, which made it intolerable that large centres of
population should be cut off from each other by vast spaces of country
which Europeans were not allowed even to traverse. From time to time
during the whole period the awkward position of affairs had been forced
on public attention by outrages and breaches of the law occurring on
the border, the perpetrators of which took secure refuge by fleeing
to the protection of Tawhiao, who then--as now--defied the Queen's
authority within his dominions.
Sir Donald McLean, while Native Minister, had several important
interviews with the Kingites, with a view to bring about a better
relationship between the two races, and as he was well known to the
natives both before and during his term of office, his efforts had
considerable effect in promoting a more friendly intercourse.
Again, Sir George Grey, when Premier of the Colony, attended two
large native meetings in the King Country, in 1878, and opened up
communication with the chiefs of the Kingites. At the second meeting at
Hikurangi about seventeen miles beyond Alexandra, Sir George Grey laid
before the natives definite terms of accommodation. He offered to give
back to them the whole of the land on the west bank of the Waipa and
Waikato rivers, and to confer certain honours on Tawhiao, the son of Te
Wherowhero, who had succeeded to the kingship. At a subsequent meeting
held at Te Kopua, in April, 1879, these offers were again made, but
Tawhiao, for some reason which has never been satisfactorily explained,
declined to accept them, and they were distinctly withdrawn.
With the advent of the Whitaker ministry into power, it was felt
that another attempt should be made to deal with the Maori king, and
accordingly, during the session of 1882, acts were carefully framed so
as to facilitate the object. A Native Reserves Act was passed, under
which natives could have placed any blocks of land they chose under a
board which would have administered the property for the benefit of
the owners. An Amnesty Act was also put on the statute-book, under
which the government could have issued pardons to those natives who
had committed crimes and taken refuge among the Kingites. The most
sanguine hopes were entertained that this difficulty would at last be
settled, and in a way which would be satisfactory for both peoples. The
terms which Mr. Bryce, as Native Minister, laid before Tawhiao and his
people at the Kingite meeting, held at Whatiwhatihoe in October of the
same year, were so liberal as to surprise the whole country. A large
tract of the confiscated land on the west bank of the rivers Waipa and
Waikato was offered to be restored, while Tawhiao was to be secured
in all the lands which he could claim in the King Country, and the
government were to endeavour to procure for him and his people a block
of land from the Ngatimaniapoto tribe, the most extensive landowners in
his dominions. Altogether the amount of land to be restored amounted
to many thousands of acres, most of it fertile and well suited for the
purposes of the natives, or that section of them known as the Waikatos,
of whom Tawhiao was the hereditary chief.
What the government proposed to do was that the king's _mana_, or
sovereign authority, should be removed by the best means, and that in
doing so the utmost care should be taken that all of the natives of the
king's tribe should be provided for. This step was the more necessary
from the fact that Tawhiao, although the acknowledged head of the Maori
race, and exercising a supreme authority over the King Country, was,
owing to the confiscation of his tribal lands which had taken place
after the war, a comparatively landless monarch.
At the Kingite gathering at Whatiwhatihoe, Tawhiao, in view of the
proposals made, was willing to take back the land, but objected to
receive a salary from the government, to be called to the legislative
council, or to be made a magistrate.[3] He, and those around him, saw
that to have accepted these terms would have been equivalent to saying
that he abdicated his position as king. That being, from the Native
Minister's point of view, the all-important matter, the negotiations
could go no further, and the memorable meeting at Whatiwhatihoe broke
up with Tawhiao still reigning as absolute monarch over one of the most
extensive and fertile portions of New Zealand.
With my reference to the geographical, historical, and political
features of the King Country, I will here allude briefly to the
physical and social position of the native race as I found it during
my travels through that portion of the island where the inhabitants
dwell in all their primitive simplicity.
There can be no doubt whatever that the Maori race is greatly on the
decrease,[4] and that the three principal diseases conducing to this
result are phthisis, chronic asthma, and scrofula; the two first
principally brought about, I believe, by a half-savage, half-civilized
mode of life, and the latter from maladies contracted since the first
contact of the people with Europeans. It is, however, clear that
there is a large number of natives yet distributed throughout the
King Country, and among them are still to be found, as of old, some
of the finest specimens of the human race. A change of life, however,
in every way different from that followed by their forefathers, has
brought about a considerable alteration for the worse among the rising
population, and, although during my journey I met and conversed with
many tattooed warriors of the old school, and who were invariably both
physically and intellectually superior to the younger natives, it was
clear that this splendid type of savage would soon become a matter of
the past.
I found the natives living much in their primitive style, one of the
most pernicious innovations, however, of modern civilization amongst
them being an immoderate use of tobacco among both old and young.
Although most of the native women were strong and well-proportioned
in stature, and apparently robust and healthy, there appeared to be
a marked falling off in the physical development of the younger men,
when compared with the stalwart, muscular proportions of many of the
older natives--a result which may, no doubt, be accounted for by their
irregular mode of life when compared with that usually followed by
their forefathers, combined with the vices of civilization, to which
many of them are gradually falling a prey. It is a notable fact, which
strikes the observer at once, that many of the old chiefs and elders
of the various tribes, with their well-defined, tattooed features and
splendid physique, have the stamp of the "noble savage" in all his
manliness depicted in every line of their body, while many of them
preserve that calm, dignified air characteristic of primitive races in
all parts of the world before they begin to be improved off the face
of the earth by raw rum and European progress. On the other hand, the
rising generation has altogether a weaklier appearance, and, although I
noticed many buxom lasses with healthy countenances and well-developed
forms, not a few of the younger men were slight of build, with a
thoughtful, haggard, and in many instances consumptive look about them.
In both their ideas and mode of life they appeared to cling to their
old customs tenaciously, and seemed to know little of what was going
on in the world beyond their own country, while their religion, what
little they possessed, evidently existed in a kind of blind belief in a
species of Hauhauism, in which biblical truths and native superstition
were curiously mixed. In matters of politics affecting their own
territory they invariably expressed a desire that matters might remain
as they were, and that they might be allowed to live out their allotted
term in their own lands. From one end of the country to the other they
seemed to entertain an almost fanatical faith in the power of Tawhiao,
and they appeared to regard his influence in the light of our own legal
fiction, "that the king could do no wrong."
When I undertook to explore the King Country--being at the time only a
new arrival in the colony--I found that it was a part of the British
Empire of which I knew very little. I soon, however, learned that the
extensive region ruled over by the Maori king was, to all intents
and purposes, an _imperium in imperio_, situated in the heart of an
important British colony, a _terra incognita_, inhabited exclusively
by a warlike race of savages, ruled over by an absolute monarch, who
defied our laws, ignored our institutions, and in whose territory the
rebel, the murderer, and the outcast took refuge with impunity. This
fine country, embracing nearly one half of the most fertile portion of
the North Island, as before pointed out, was as strictly tabooed to the
European as a Mohammedan mosque, and all who had hitherto attempted
to make even short journeys into it had been ruthlessly plundered by
the natives, and sent back across the frontier, stripped even of their
clothes.
At this time--in the early part of the year 1882--Te Wetere, Purukutu,
Nuku Whenua, and Winiata, all implicated in the cruel murders of
Europeans, were still at large, bands of native fanatics, excited to
the point of rebellion against the whites, were massing themselves
together in large numbers at Parihaka, and singing pæans to the
pseudo-prophet, Te Whiti, who had for some time been inciting his
followers to resist any attempt at incursion into their territory on
the part of the European colonists who had acquired land and built
settlements near the frontier. Thus it was that wars and rumours of
wars were fast gathering around what was generally alluded to as the
vexed Maori Question, while, to make matters still more unsatisfactory,
it was known that the rebel Te Kooti, who had carried out the Poverty
Bay massacre, after his marvellous escape from the Chatham Islands, and
who had more than once played the part of a New Zealand Napoleon during
the war, was hiding, with a price set on his head, in his stronghold
in the Kuiti, ready, it was believed, to take up arms at any moment.
This was the state of the country which I then and there volunteered to
explore.
The next point to consider was how the journey could be best set
about. The matter was laid before Sir George Grey during the session
of Parliament of 1882, and he, with a characteristic desire to advance
an undertaking calculated to promote the interests of the colony,
wrote a letter of introduction in my behalf to King Tawhiao, asking
him to grant me his _mana_, or authority, to travel through the Maori
territory. The letter was presented at a moment when the native mind
was much disturbed in connection with the political relationship
existing between the Kingites and the Europeans, and just at the time
when the meeting at Whatiwhatihoe, before referred to, was about to
be held between the Native Minister and Tawhiao, with a view to the
opening of the country to settlement and trade. It is only right to
state that the king received me on this occasion with every token of
good feeling, and spoke, as indeed did all the natives, in the highest
terms of Sir George Grey; but he advised me, as the native tribes were
much disturbed in connection with the question about to be discussed
between the Maoris and Europeans, not to set out on my journey until
the meeting should be over.
Leaving Whatiwhatihoe before the termination of the gathering, I made
no further appeal to Tawhiao, who subsequently left for an extended
tour through the island. The assemblage of the tribes broke up, as
before shown, without any solution being arrived at with regard to
the settlement of the native difficulty, and the question of the
exploration of the King Country lay in abeyance for a few months, but
the idea was always firmly fixed in my mind, although it was not until
the 8th of March, 1883, that I left Auckland, _en route_ for Tauranga,
to explore the wonders of the forbidden land at my own risk.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: For the altitudes of the various mountains, see map.]
[Footnote 2: The word _tapu_ is applied to all places held sacred
by the Maoris; it is synonymous with the _taboo_ of the South Sea
Islanders. To interfere with anything to which the _tapu_ has been
extended is considered an act of sacrilege.]
[Footnote 3: A justice of the peace.]
[Footnote 4: In Cook's time the whole native population was estimated
as exceeding 100,000; in 1859 it only amounted to 56,000, of this
number 53,000 fell to the North Island, and only 2283 to the Middle
Island; in 1881 the number had decreased to 44,099, of which 24,370
were males, and 19,729 females.]
THE FRONTIER OF THE KING COUNTRY.
CHAPTER I.
THE KING'S CAMP.
Alexandra--Crossing the frontier--Whatiwhatihoe--The camp--King
Tawhiao--The chiefs--"_Taihoa_."
Alexandra, the principal European settlement on the northern frontier
of the King Country, lies about one hundred miles distant from
Auckland, and a little less than eight miles to the west of the Te
Awamutu terminus of the southern line of railway.
I reached Alexandra along a delightful road lined with the hawthorn and
sweetbriar, and through a picturesque country, where quiet homesteads,
surrounded by green meadows filled with sleek cattle and fat sheep,
imparted to the aspect of nature an air of contentment and quiet
repose. Indeed, when doing this journey in a light buggy drawn by a
pair of fast horses, it seemed difficult to realize the fact that I was
fast approaching the border-line of European settlement, and that a few
minutes more would land me on the frontier of a vast territory which
formed the last home of perhaps the boldest and most intelligent race
of savages the world had ever seen. In fact, when approaching Alexandra
from the Te Awamutu road, with its neat white houses, embowered amidst
gardens and groves of trees, and with its church-spire pointing towards
heaven, I seemed to be entering a quiet English village; and had it not
been that the eye fell now and again upon a dark, statuesque figure,
wrapped in a blanket, and with a touch of the "noble savage" about it,
it would have been somewhat difficult to dispel the pleasant illusion.
The township was not large, and a school-house, two hotels, several
stores, a public hall, commodious constabulary barracks surrounded
by a redoubt, a postal and telegraph station, a blacksmith's forge,
and about fifty houses, built for the most part of wood, formed its
principal features of Anglo-Saxon civilization.
On the day following my arrival at Alexandra I left, in company with
a native interpreter, for Whatiwhatihoe, to present my credentials to
the Maori king. Our ride across the frontier into Maoriland was a most
delightful one. The steep, wooded heights of Mount Pirongia had cast
off their curtain of mist, and stood revealed in their brightest hues;
while the green, rolling hills at its base formed a pleasant contrast
with the more sombre, fern-clad banks of the Waipa River, as it wound
its devious course from the direction of Mount Kakepuku, which rose
above the plain beyond in the form of a gigantic cone. The country for
miles around lay stretched before the gaze, forming a varied picture
of delightful scenery, and all nature appeared budding into life;
while the prickly gorse, with its golden-yellow flowers, encircled
Whatiwhatihoe like a _chevaux de frise_. The primitive _whares_[5] of
the natives imparted a rustic appearance to the scene, as they stood
scattered about the country to the south, while, as the eye wandered in
the direction of the north, the white homesteads of the settlers served
to mark the _aukati_[6]--frontier-line--separating the King Country
from the territory of the _pakeha_.[7]
The king's settlement of Whatiwhatihoe was situated on the west or
opposite bank of the Waipa from Alexandra, and on a broad alluvial
plain running along the base of a range of fern-clad hills. As a rule
the _whares_ were built entirely of _raupo_,[8] and were scattered
about the flat and on the low hills in its vicinity without any regard
to regularity, and while some had a neat and even a clean look, others
were less attractive both in their designs and general surroundings.
They were mostly oblong in shape, with slanting roofs, which projected
a few feet at one end of the building in the form of a recess, where
the entrance, consisting of a low narrow doorway, was placed. Windows,
in the form of small square apertures, were the exception and not the
rule, and consequently the interior of these primitive domiciles was
badly ventilated. A few blankets and native mats formed the principal
articles of furniture, save where the owner, profiting by the advance
of civilization, had gone in for _articles de vertu_ on which the
"Brummagem" hall-mark might be distinctly traced.
As we approached the camp the whole place presented a very animated
appearance; horsemen were riding about in every direction; long
cavalcades of natives, men, women, and children, were arriving from
all parts of the country, to take part in the _korero_[9] to be held
on the morrow; while many old tattooed savages, swathed in blankets,
and plumed with _huia_ feathers to denote their chieftainship, were
squatting about, puffing at short pipes with a stolid air, as they
listened in mute attention to one of their number as, gesticulating
wildly, and walking to and fro between two upright poles set a few
paces apart, he delivered a fiery harangue upon the momentous question
of throwing open their country to the advancing tide of civilization.
Bevies of women and girls were busily engaged in preparing for the
coming feast, and troops of children played and fought with countless
pigs and innumerable mongrel dogs.
While pushing our way among the assembled crowds we were met by the
king's henchman, a half-caste of herculean proportions, who conducted
us to the _whare runanga_, or meeting-house, an oblong structure about
eighty feet long by forty broad, solidly built out of a framework of
wood, and thatched with _raupo_. It was capable of holding a large
number of people, and the white rush mats covering the floor gave it a
clean and comfortable appearance.
In the centre of this spacious hall sat the king flanked by his four
wives, the principal and most attractive of whom was Pare Hauraki, a
fine buxom woman with oval features and artistically tattooed lips,
habited in native costume, with a _korowhai_, or cape, bound with
_kiwi_ feathers, thrown carelessly across her shoulders, over which her
dark raven hair fell in thick, waving clusters. A number of chiefs of
the various tribes assembled, squatted in a semicircle in front of the
king, who rose from his seat--a rush mat--as I approached, and motioned
for me to be seated in front of him.
[Illustration: THE MAORI QUEEN PARE HAURAKI.]
Tawhiao was habited in European attire, consisting of a pair of dark
trousers, patent leather boots, and a grey frock-coat trimmed with red
braiding about the sleeves, and which at the first glance reminded me
of the _redingote gris_ affected by Napoleon I., and which obtained
for him the sobriquet of the "little corporal." A black _huia_ feather
tipped with white adorned his hair, and in his left ear he wore a
large piece of roughly polished greenstone,[10] and in his right a
shark's tooth. In stature he was a little below the medium height,
sparely made, but keenly knit, with a round, well-formed head; while
his features, which were elaborately tattooed in a complete network
of blue curved lines, were well defined in the true Maori mould; and
although he had a cast in the left eye, his countenance was pleasant,
and as he spoke in a slow deliberate way, he invariably displayed in
his conversation a good deal of cool, calculating shrewdness.
Among the principal _rangatiras_, or chiefs, present were Tu Tawhiao,
the king's son, Major Te Wheoro, Manga Rewi, Te Tuhi, Te Ngakau,
Wahanui, Whitiora, Hone Te Wetere, and Hone Te One. Tu Tawhiao was
a tall, slim youth, with a thin, sleek face and dark moustache, and
with a meek expression of countenance. He affected European costume,
and had none of the strong Maori type of feature so characteristic
of his father. He did not appear to be a very gifted youth, but he
had a pleasing manner, and might be considered as a fair type of the
anglicized Maori. Major Te Wheoro was a short, thick-set man, with
heavy features and a somewhat shrewd look. He ranged himself on the
European side during the war, when he gained his commission, and at
the time of which I write he was one of the four Maori members of the
House of Representatives. Manga Rewi, like Tawhiao, was a Maori of the
old school, and with all the physical characteristics of the race about
him. His chief influence appeared to arise from the fact that during
the war he was one of the principal Kingite leaders. Te Ngakau was
remarkably thick-set and muscular, with a firm-looking yet intelligent
face. He was dressed half as a Maori and half as a European, and was
remarkable for nothing so much as for the enormous development of the
calves of his legs. Whitiora was an antiquated, tattooed warrior,
who during the war had won his laurels when gallantly defending the
Rangiriri Pa against the Imperial forces, while Hone Te Wetere was
known to fame in a somewhat doubtful way in connection with the White
Cliffs massacre.
The most notable, however, of all the chiefs present was undoubtedly
Wahanui, of the Ngatimaniapoto tribe. Standing over six feet, and of
enormous build, he had a peculiar air about him which seemed to mark
him as one born to command. His features, slightly tattooed about
the mouth--which was singularly large--bore a remarkable appearance
of intelligence, while his head, covered with thick white hair, was
round and massively formed. He impressed me very favourably during
the interview, and when speaking, as he did at some length upon the
political condition of the King Country, he seemed to possess not only
a great power of language, but a singularly persuasive manner which was
at once both courteous and dignified. He appeared to exercise a weighty
influence over the king, and to act in all matters as the "power
behind the throne," but he had evidently a conservative turn of mind,
and had he been born in England, I think he would have developed into a
nobleman of very pronounced Tory principles.
[Illustration: WAHANUI.
(_Chief of the Ngatimaniapoto Tribe._)]
When the king had learned the object of my mission, and that I had
come to obtain his authority to explore the Maori territory, he was
careful to inquire what other countries I had visited, and whether I
had before travelled in other parts of the world with no other view
than to see mountains, rivers, and plains. "The Maori," he remarked,
"never undergoes fatigue for such a purpose as that, but I know," he
continued, with a slight touch of _naïveté_, "the _pakeha_ is different
to the Maori, he has the 'earth hunger,' and likes to see new places.
If you wish to go into the country, you may do so when the meeting is
over, but it is not good that you should go until the Maori has spoken
with the _pakeha_ at the _korero_, therefore I say wait, '_taihoa_.'"
[Illustration: MANGA REWI.
(_A Chief of the Ngatimaniapoto Tribe._)]
The latter word sounded somewhat unpleasant to my ears, as I knew with
the Maoris it was their gospel, and was synonymous with the Spanish
proverb, "Never do to-day what may be done to-morrow." I took the
king at his word, but before I left his presence I mentally recorded
a vow that, if I could not get into the King Country at the north, I
would get into it at the south, which I eventually did a few months
afterwards, as the sequel of this narrative will show.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 5: _Whare_ is the native name for a house or hut.]
[Footnote 6: The _aukati_ signifies the boundary of a _tapued_ or
sacred district.]
[Footnote 7: _Pakeha_ is a term used by the Maoris to designate
Europeans; it means a stranger, or a person from a distant country.]
[Footnote 8: For a synopsis of the principal _flora_ met with during
the journey, see Appendix.]
[Footnote 9: The word _korero_ (to speak) is here applied as a general
term to the meeting.]
[Footnote 10: The _pounamu_, or greenstone (nephrite), a species of
jade, is much prized by the Maoris as an ornament, either for the neck
or ears. It is only found on the west coast of the Middle Island, the
native name for which is _Wahipounamu_, or Land of the Greenstone.]