CANTERBURY . ^ * D AND NEW 1850 - 1900, A 5ouvenir of tl\e Jubilee. 36 Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive in 2007 witli funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/canterburyoldnewOOnewziala WILLIAM REECE, Esq., /^resident, .\'./..X.A .. Christchurch Centre. CANTERBl RY . OLD AND NEW i85o-i9(M). A SOLfVRNlK OF TIIF. lUBILRF. Chriutfhnrrh, oclfllinoiton A- Hunrbin ; wnnroMBK x- tdmhs i.imiti-:i). H30 n>r6. Milliam IReece ZTbis Souvenir of tbe Canterbury jubilee, bv tbe EMtors, 50 respectfully t)eMcateb. 208828: { The Committee of the Christehupoh Branch of the N. Z. Natives' Association wishes to record its hearty thanks to the contributors of papers and photographs ; also to the Editors, the Misses E. Steven- son and Lilian Snnith, Rev. F. Dunnage, and Messrs. D. Bates, F. C. B. Bishop, S Hurst Seager, and F. D. Waller, who have devoted a great deal of time to collecting the papers and editing the work. WfA. REECE, President — — —— CONTENTS. Preface ... ... .. ... ... 9 I.— In TRODICTION ... ... ... ... II SECTION I. II. — The Story of the "Pilgrim Fathers" of New Zea\!ind—Mrs. T. O. Hay ... ... ... 15 — " III. " Peninsula and Plain —.V. C. Farr ... 37 IV.—The Sumner '^oz.A—Hon. C. C. Bo-wen, M.L.C. ... 58 V. —('anterbury Settlement Williafu Pratt ... ... 67 VI. — Reminiscence.s of Early Days G. Dunnage ... 99 VII. — Escapades of Mackenzie " " ^ F IV ^ tni " • "s 7 Meeting of Bishops .Selwyn and Harper "J • \'III. — " Sheep-driving in the Early Days" Sir John Hall., K.C.M.G. ... ... ... .. 121 IX. — South Canterbury— if. HoUi^ate ... ... ... 128 SECTION II. X.— The Maori— Origin, Life and Legends Da-'id Hates, B.A., LI..B. ... ... ... 142 XL— Historic Outline of the ("anterbury Maoris -A'rt'. F. Dunnage ... ... ... 1 60 XII. — Notes on Maori .Art — .V. Hurst .Seagcr, .-{. R.I.B.A. ... 171 SECTION III. XIII. — Plants and Animals of ( anterbury— .-/''M//' l^endy., D.Si., F.L.S. ... ... ... ... 178 XIV. — .\ Glimpse into the .Mps of ( antcrimry — /,. Cockayne 197 PREFACE. |NYONE who considers what Canterbury is to-day and what she f» was fifty years ago must be filled with admiration for those early settlers we well name the " pioneers." A grand race they were full of courage, energy, perseverance and wisdom. But they are passing away now one by one, and their work is falling on the shoulders of native-born New Zealanders, whose birth has been contemporaneous with the birth of the colony. Happily there still remain many old colonists to assist us with their wisdom and experience, but the Jubilee Year will mark the point whence the fortunes of Canterbury will depend more directly on her own sons. It was with the object of helping to make these sons worthy of the task before them that the Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Natives' Association was founded. Our Society concerns itself with everything that is native to New Zealand. Most of its work is necessarily hidden from the public gaze, but from time to time it has come out of its seclusion, and in several ways has given some small idea of the manner in which it endeavours to assist its members. It now appears in a new role. One of its chief aims is to give its members and New Zealanders generally a better knowledge of their native land, and thus to encourage them to take a keener interest in its welfare and advancement. At the present time there seems to be a real desire among all classes of people in Canterbury to learn something more about the lives that men lived immediately before and immediately after the arrival of the first four ships. During the winter our Society has endeavoured to satisfy this desire, to some extent, by arranging lectures on this subject, and it takes the present opportunity of issuing this little book in order that it may appeal to a wider audience than could be contained by the four walls of a room. Two courses were open to the editors : to write a connected history of the early days of Canterbury, or to print a series of articles by early pioneers, dealing with that time. We chose the latter because we felt that articles of this description would possess a personal flavour that would l)c wanting in any mere history. Being written by men who themselves experienced the storm and stress of a pioneer's lile, they would have a peculiar charm to those who ate descended from the pioneers, or who themselves were contemporaries of our contributors and actors in the scenes which they <lescril>o. At the outset the editors felt some diffidence in asking our contributors for articles, but their response to our request was so hearty and the interest they evinced in our work so kindly that they formed the happiest augury for our future success. Through their kindness we are enabled to present to the public a book which will throw much light on the early history of Canterbury, while at the same time it will give young New Zealanders a good idea of what manner of men their fore- fathers were. Old pioneers, we trust, will also find considerable pleasure in turning over its pages ; for it will recall to their memories their struggles, and privations and well-earned triumphs. A book such as this would not be complete without some few words about those earliest of all pioneers—the Maoris. Our Society naturally feels great interest in the customs and legends of this race, and a great admiration for the splendid qualities which make it one of the finest aboriginal races in the world. There is a wide field for investigation in its history, and we have only been able to touch the fringe of it. Our hope is that what little we have done may arouse the interest of our readers, and encourage them to study the question for themselves. Not the least interesting part of our book are those pages which deal with the native fauna and flora of Canterbury When the white man first landed on the shores of Canterbury he found native plant and animal life very abundant, but unfortunately there has l^een shameful and wasteful destruction, and now it is only found in a few places, and those not easily accessible to dwellers in the city. Hence descriptions such as we are able to publish become all the more interesting because some of the things described may soon disappear altogether. Here and there throughout the book will be found pictures of modern Canterbur)' and of beautiful scenes in Canterbury. The former are printed in order that our readers may be able to compare them with the pictures of old Canterbury, and thus get some faint idea of the progress which has been made in fifty years. It may occur to the reader that we might have made the contrast more striking by giving photos of some ot the principal buildings and streets in the towns. This, however, has been so well done by our splendid illustrated weekly papers, that we purposely chose, for the most part, those scenes whose chief charm was their natural beauty. Owing to want of space we were very reluctantly compelled to curtail some of the contributions and to exclude others altogether. In conclusion, we feel that we have by no means exhausted our subject, and may at some future time return to it. Our object will have been accomplished if we have given New Zealanders a greater interest in their native land. We trust that our little book will be like " .Sam Weller's Valentine," it will make the reader wish for more. Editors INTRODUCTION. THE pioneer settlers of this the land ot our nativity laid the sure foundations for a happy, prosperous people, who to-day must rear the structure that shall endure against the rude assaults of time. Fleetly the moments are passing when authentic records of the past may be garnered. Many of the noble old Maori Chiefs, the bards of their tribe, have gone to their long last rest : not in such inspiriting words may again be told past deeds of mighty prowess, none again may utter the weird chant of mourning o'er the dead, and forgotten passes the low-toned music of mountain legend and river lore. Will not the Natives of New Zealand even now come to the rescue and save " these legends of a nation that like voices from afar off call to us to pause and listen ?" It was from such as these the mysteries of Hiawatha were revealed to delight both young and old, and the Idylls of King .\rthur and his Knights of the Round Table grew beneath the master hand. We, too, may prepare the way for the coming of a Tennyson, or give to the world a rival of I/Ongfellow. The historian has shaped for us the main outlines of the coming of the Maoris, their long tribal wars and the early history of the settlement. Ours is the task to glean the details, to fit each record into its true setting and see that no part of the structure is incomplete. Too often the only monument to our pioneers is '' a half- effaced inscription in some neglected graveyard." What a happy hunting ground lies before the inimitable story-tellers ! Kor the writer in search of a theme the material will not easily be exhausted. A sympathetic hand may lead forth the spirits of the departed to live again in recalling their ad- venturous feats, acts of daring, unselfish service and kindiv counsels, their fund of witty sayings and humorous anec- dotes, the .stories of hardships bravely borne and generous 12 INTRODUCTION noble deeds.