Five Years in New Zealand

Five Years in New Zealand

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Title: Five Years in New Zealand 1859 to 1864
Author: Robert B. Booth
Release Date: March 28, 2006 [EBook #18068]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIVE
YEARS IN NEW ZEALAND ***

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Five Years in New Zealand
(1859 to 1864.)
BY

ROBERT B. BOOTH, M.Inst.C.E.
LONDON:
J. G. HAMMOND & CO., LTD.
Fleet Lane, Old Bailey, E.C.
1912.

Contents.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
How I came to Emigrate 1
CHAPTER II.
The Voyage--Rats on Board--The White Squall--Harpooning a
Shark--Burial of the Twins--Tropics--Icebergs--Exchange of Courtesies
in mid-Pacific 4
CHAPTER III.
Port Lyttelton and Christchurch--Call on Friends--Visit Malvern Hill
14
CHAPTER IV.
A Period of Uncertainty--Leave for Nelson as Cadets on Sheep Run 19
CHAPTER V.
Working of a Sheep Run--Scab--C's Departure for Home 25

CHAPTER VI.
Shepherd's Life--Driving Sheep--Killing Wild Sow--Return to
Christchurch 30
CHAPTER VII.
I join a Survey Party--Travel to the Ashburton 36
CHAPTER VIII.
Wild Pig Hunting 41
CHAPTER IX.
Cattle Ranching and Stock Riding 46
CHAPTER X.
Take Employment with a Bush Contractor--Serious Illness--Start for
South and the Gold Diggings 51
CHAPTER XI.
Our Eventful Journey to the Gold Diggings 58
CHAPTER XII.
Life on the Gold Diggings 64
CHAPTER XIII.
Leave the Diggings--Attempt to Drive Wild Cattle thereto--Return to
Dunedin 69
CHAPTER XIV.

Leave for Mesopotamia--Road-making--Sheep Mustering--Death of Dr.
Sinclair--Contracts on the Ashburton, etc. 73
CHAPTER XV.
Winter under the Southern Alps--Frost Bite--Seeking Sheep in the
Snow--The Runaway 80
CHAPTER XVI.
Start on Exploring Expedition to the Wanaka Lake 85
CHAPTER XVII.
Exploration Trip continued--Weekas--Inspection of New
Country--Escape from Fire 89
CHAPTER XVIII.
Death of Parker--Royal Mail robbed by a Cat--Meet with Accident
fording River 94
CHAPTER XIX.
The Ghost Story--Benighted in the Snow 99
CHAPTER XX.
Decide to go to India--Visit Melbourne, etc.--Arrival at Bombay 106

List of Illustrations.
SEE PAGE
Harpooning a Shark 7

The Arrival of Lapworth 16
Pat and His Mail Bag Dislodged by a Cat 96
Killing the Wild Sow 34
Encounter with Wild Boar 44
The Baked Steers 49
Seeking Sheep in the Snow 81
The Gold Diggings 67
Peddlars at the Diggings 67
Mesopotamia Station 73
Upper Gorge of the Rangitata 75
Glent Hills Station 97

Introduction.
The islands of New Zealand, discovered by the Dutch navigator,
Tasman, in 1642, and surveyed and explored by Captain Cooke in 1769,
remained unnoticed until 1814, when the first Christian Missionaries
landed, and commenced the work of converting the inhabitants, who,
up to that time had been cannibals.
The Missionaries had been unusually successful, and prepared the way
for the first emigrants, who landed at Wellington in the North Island in
1839. A year later the Maori Chiefs signed a treaty acknowledging the
Sovereignty of Queen Victoria, and the colonisation of the country
quickly followed.
The seat of Government was first placed at Auckland, where resided
the Governor, and there were formed ten provinces under the

jurisdiction of superintendents. The head of the Government was
subsequently transferred to Wellington, the provincial system abolished,
and their powers exercised by local boards directly under the Governor.
The total area of the three islands is about 105,000 square miles, and
the population, which has been steadily increasing, was in 1865
upwards of 700,000.
The Maori race is almost entirely confined to the North Island, and,
although it was then gradually dying out, numbered about 30,000. They
are of fine physique, tall and robust, and are said to belong to the
Polynesian type, probably having come over from the Fiji Islands, or
some of the Pacific group, in their canoes.
When first discovered they lived in villages or "Pahs," comprising a
number of small circular huts, with a larger one for the Chief,
mud-walled and thatched with grass or flax. The pahs usually occupied
a commanding position, and were fenced round with one or more
palisades of rough timber.
The Maori dress consisted of a simple robe made of woven flax, an
indigenous plant growing in profusion over most of the country. They
practised to a large extent the custom of tattooing their faces and bodies,
and further decorated themselves with ear-rings of greenstone, bone,
etc.
Owing to subsequent education and intercourse with Europeans, their
savage habits have now mostly given way to modern customs.
In 1860 commenced the disastrous Taranaki war, which lasted some
years, and was caused in the first