The old frontier: Te Awamutu, the story of the Waipa Valley: The missionary, the soldier, the pioneer farmer, early colonization, the war in Waikato, life on the Maori border and later-day settlement — John Shaqi
The old frontier: Te Awamutu, the story of the Waipa Valley: The missionary, the soldier, the pioneer farmer, early colonization, the war in Waikato, life on the Maori border and later-day settlementCowan, James
History
The old frontier: Te Awamutu, the story of the Waipa Valley: The missionary, the soldier, the pioneer farmer, early colonization, the war in Waikato, life on the Maori border and later-day settlement
Cowan, James
Te Awamutu (N.Z.) -- History; Waipa District (N.Z.) -- History
“The Rangiaowhia mill was not completed before other tribes became
jealous and wished for mills. I drew up two more contracts, one for the
erection of a mill at Maunga-tautari, and the other at Otawhao, at the
cost respectively of £110 and £120, not including native labour. Both
of these mills have been erected. A new difficulty now arose at
Rangiaowhia, that of finding a miller to take charge of the mill. In
the arrangement I experienced more vexations and difficulty than in the
erection of the mills. There was a person ready to take charge, but the
natives, not knowing the value of European labour, refused to give him
a proper remuneration. One old chief offered one quart of wheat per
day! At length, after two months, this knotty point was settled. On the
following day the miller commenced work. In the year 1848 the natives
of Rangiaowhia took down some flour to Auckland, which they sold for
about £70. The neighbouring tribes, seeing the benefit likely to arise
from the erection of mills, began earnestly to desire them. One was
contracted for at Kawhia, and the sum of about £315 has been paid on
account. About 1850 a contract was entered into for the erection at
Mohoaonui [near Otorohanga], on the Waipa, of the largest mill yet
built, at a cost of £300. The natives of Kawhia are anxious for the
erection of a second mill, and the natives at Whatawhata and two other
villages on the Waipa, and of Kirikiriroa and Maungapa, on the Waikato,
and also Matamata, propose to erect mills; at several of these places
the funds are being collected.
“Wheat is very extensively grown in the Waikato district. At
Rangiaowhia the wheat fields cover about 450 acres of land. I have also
introduced barley and oats at that place. Many of the people at various
villages are now forming orchards, and they possess many hundreds of
trees budded or grafted by themselves, consisting of peach, apple,
pear, plum, quince, and almond; also gooseberry bushes in abundance.
For flowers or ornamental trees they have no taste; as they do not bear
fruit, it is, in their opinion, loss of time to cultivate them.”
The missionary, concluding his interesting narrative, described a visit
paid to the district by Sir George Grey, Governor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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