V ETHER SERVE

MANAWA

YEARS

^ ah Ttopwoods are-exlr&fdy

proud of our Oily - ihsprogress over tna

past 100 years - and its kobes

jor llu^fuhirc •

I 1 a're, proud, too, TO leave been, assoclciedwvtk~ andkeetdy utter&sied'uv -Uce,

ofraLftersibn, fiortk,forilie,past 6vyears, and lookforward lo ccnirikuiuuf still furbn&r' ii 1 i 1 J J 0

IK tha d*welopnuu4t&progress (fourwonderful, Liu/ Lut uearsu

Utah lie, akecui.

Palmershon Jvortlt —-For aivina us the opportunity to servej/ou over tkesepask

6GueafS- andjvr Uce privilege orconiUvuUta to do SOUL

years

HOPWOODSBroadway thru to main 5t. Palmerston Horth,

J 0 - E V E N I N G STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.

THE present Centenary proclaimsthat Palmerston North is 100 years

old, but this event is important onlyin the history books of the pakeha. Tothe Maori people of the Manawatu,the date 1871 is of no significance,because history is measured in termsof ancestry and generations, and notin years and dates.

Did not the famed Whatonga himselflive in the Manawatu? Was it not hisdescendants who lived and died here gen-eration after generation? And who soldthe land on which Palmerston North wasbuilt? None other than the people ofRangitane.

To use a Maori expression, the Rangi-tane people are the tangata whenua ofthe City of Palmerston North. They arethe "people of the land", the originalowners, the bestowers of local place namesand tradition. Their history stretchesback immeasurably further than the year1871.

Where did the Rangitane people comefrom? The answer is found in the ancientlullahy sung by Te Rangitakoru to hisdaughter:

. Ka Manu, e hine, te waka i a RuateaKo Kurahaupo,Ka iri mai taua i runga i AoteaKo te waka i a Turi

You floated, o daughter, in the canoeof Ruatea

The "Kurahaupo"And you came also in "Aotea"The canoe of Turi.

The "Kurahaupo" and the "Aotea" arethe canoes which brought the ancestorsof the Rangitane people across the greatocean of Kiwa to the land now calledNew Zealand.

Where did these canoes sail from?"From Tawhiti (afar), from Hawaiki (thehomeland"), say the songs of old, althoughthe scientists of today believe that Hawa-iki was situated in the Cook and SocietyIsland groups of Eastern Polynesia.

When did the canoes come to NewZealand? "In the days of your ancestorsWhatonga, Ruatea, and Turi," say thetraditions of old, although some Europeanscholars have tried to fix precise datesby counting' the number of generationsappearing on the whakapapa (genealogies)of the various tribes descended from thecanoes. But whakapapa were not com-piled as objective records for scientificresearch, and they do not readily conformto a time-scale of history.

Not SurprisingIt is not surprising, therefore, that

different scholars reach different conclu-sions, and while some believe that thecanoes arrived about 600 years ago, othersmaintain that they could have landed800 or more years ago. Archaeologicalevidence indicates that Polynesians werewell established in New Zealand morethan 1000 years ago, but whether theseearly inhabitants held ancestral traditionssimilar to the present-day Maori is notknown. The important fa-ct is that theancestors associated with the "Kurahaupo"and "Aotea" canoes must have arrived atsome period in time, for are not the peopleof Rangitane living proof of their arrival?

Let us, t h e r e f o r e , put aside allthoughts of rational scientific inquiry anddelve briefly into the realm of Rangitanamyth and tradition.

Origin Of NameThe Rangitane tribe takes its namo

from an ancestor who lived in the Hawke'sBay and Manawatu districts many gener-ations ago. His full name was Tane-nul'a-rangl ("the great male of the heavens")aind Rangl-tane is an abbreviation of thisname.

The origin of the name lies deep mancient Maori mythology, for Tane-nui-a-rangi was named after a famed ancestralgod who separated the earth ("papa")from the sky ("rangi") during the crea-tion of the world. This mythologicalTane-nui-a-rangi (who Is also known asTane-mahuta to some tribes) was lh»greatest off-spring of the union betweenPapa and Rangi and was the male forcdresponsible for the creation of many form*of plant and animal life — including thecreation of the first female, whose nanwwas Hineuahu-one ("earth-formed maid")The union of Tane and Hine produced thehuman line of descent, so the name ofTane-nui-a-rangl is of great importanceand antiquity and should be a source ofpride to all members of the Rangitanatribe.

Let us return, however, to the his-torical Tane-nui-a-rangi of New Zealandand trace something of his immediateancestry. He was a grandson of Wha-tonga, one of the four chiefs who com-manded the "Kurahaupo" canoe on itslong voyage from Hawaiki to New Zea-land. The other three chiefs were Ruatea,who was steerman, Popoto, who was sta-tioned in the centre of the canoe, andTaumauri, who was navigator.

The Rangitane People

I

# Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.

Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotu. Chief of the Rangitane Tribe during the late 19th century. Thispicture was taken from a portrait by Gottfried Lindauer about 1880. Te Rangiotu was a chiefof the tribe who encouraged the peaceful development of the Manawatu district. He promotedChristianity, developed Maori trade and agriculture, and assisted the Government to purchasethe large block of land on which the city of Palmerston North now stands. He died in 1898,aged about 80 years, and was buried at the settlement of Rangiotu. which commemorates his

name.

The "Kurahaupo" landed at a littlebay called Nukutaurua, on Mahia Penin-sula, and Whatonga moved southward andsettled at Heretaunga, near the presenttown of Hastings.

Whatonga had two wives, Hotuwal-para (the mother of Tara) and Reretua(the mother of Tautoki). Hotuwaiparaseems to have been a woman of turbu-lent temper and in order to escape fromher sharp tongue Whatonga set out toexplore the southern portion of the NorthIsland. In doing so he discovered theWairarapa, Wellington, a n d Manawatudistricts and partitioned them betweenhia sons.

The eldest son, Tara, was given tholand around Wellington and this is whythe Maori name for Wellington Harbourla Te Whanganul-a-Tara ("the great har-bour of Tara"). The youngest son, Tau-toki, was given the east coast from Tara-dale to Masterton and the west coast fromRangitikei to Waikanae. The boundarybetween the two territories extended fromthe soiithern tip of Kapiti Island in astraight line across the mainland of thaNorth Island to the east, coast.

Sub TribesTautoki was the father of Tane-nul-a-

rangi, whose descendants gradually spreadthroughout the Manawatu, dividing theland amongst themselves as they grew innumber. The principal hapu (sub-tribes)of the Manawatu were Ngati Te'Rangl-tepaia (whose territory extended from thevicinity of Palmerston North to Rangi-otu), Ngati Hlneaute (between Palmer-ston North and the Manawatu Gorge),Ngati Mairehau (Fitzherbert West), NgatiHere (Bunnythorpe), Ngati Te Rangiara-nakl (Kopane), and Hamua (Horowhe-nua). This tojst-named hapu was laterknown aa Muaupoko, but the correct spell-ing should be Mau-upoko, which means"head carriers". This n a m e originatedfrom an incident when some of the menfrom Horowhenua. murdered a chief namedHanebane, who resided at Kaimatarau.They placed the head of the old manIn a basket and were returning homewhen they met a party of Ngati Hineauteand Ngati Te Rangltepaia people, whowere fishing for eels.

The Horowhenua men r e f u s e d toaccept an offer of hospitality and startedto run, throwing away the basket con-twining1 the head BO as to lighten theirload. The guilty secret was discovered,the murderers were pursued and severalt>f them were slaughtered. Those who

Tangata Whenua Of

Palmerston Northescaped to safety over tha ManawatuRiver heard one of their adversaries hurlforth the insult "Mau upoko ma" ("headcarriers") and the term soon became aderisive name for all those people livingin the Horowhenua district.

K/c/ous FightingThe place where tho murderers mei

the fishing party was near Himatangi, apl&cename which ha« an interesting originand meaning. "Hi" means "to fish" ami"Matangi" ia the namo of a famous Rangi-tajw ancestor who journeyed to the Mana-watu from tho Kast Coast and settlednear the place which now bears his nameSeveral of his friends and relatives camefrom the East Coast to visit, him, butsome were waylaid and devoured by aferocious monster known as a taniwha,who lived in a lake near the Manawatu.River. Matangi decided that this mon-ster must be destroyed, so a flax-fibrenoose, attached to stout ropes, was sus-pended across a gap in the sandhills andMatangi and 12 of his bravest warriorsset out to lure the monster into the trap.By performing a war dance on the edgeof the lake and by shouting insults atthe taniwha they provoked tho monsterto chase them to where the trap was laidWhen the taniwha entered the noose.Matangi's warriors heaved on the ropesand tightened the noose around the mon-ster's body, holding it secure until it couldbe. killed. To commemorate the luringforth and capture of the taniwha th«locality was named Hi-matangl

Maoridom

To the north of the Rangitane peoplethere lived the Ngati Apa, a tribe whichtraced its descent from Ruatea of the"Kurahaupo" canoe. These people livedalong the banks of the Rangitikei River,but they also tried to take possession ofland bordering the Oroua River and manybattles were fought between Ngati Apaand Rangitane. On one occasion, at afight in the Pohangina Valley, Rangitanewere victorious, but they were so keenon capturing a certain Ngati Apa chiefthat they allowed some of his followersto escape. The prisoners were set towork preparing ovens in which they wereto be cooked. When at last everythingwas ready and the victors had lined upfor their haka of triumph, a Ngati Apaforce summoned by the escapees fell onthem and it was the Rangitane themselveswho were consigned] to the ovens pre-pared by and for their prisoners.

On another occasion the Ngati Apaattacked a settlement near the site of theAwapuni Racecourse and it is claimed thatthere were 1000 Rangitane casualties inthis battle. However, the word mano (thou-sand) is probably used in the sense ofmeaning "a great number". This battle tookplace when the Rangitane chief Te AweAwe (father of Peeti Te Awe Awe) andmany of his finest warriors were visitingrelatives on the east coast, and on theirreturn they were enraged to discover theslaughter that had taken place. Reinforce-ments were therefore summoned from theeast coast and the Rangitane war partydelivered a crushing blow to theiropponents at the battle of "Turaki-awatea",which was fought near Turakina. TheNgati Apa were thoroughly defeated and26 ovens were needed to cook the bodiesof their dead warriors.

•

0 C o n t i n u e d o n P a g e 12

EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1 9 7 1 — - j - J

£ Continued from Page I I

These movements were inter-preted as meaning that the slain NgatiA.pa were calling- for revengo and in orderthat they should not be heard their bodicTswere burnt.

The days of military glory for Hangi-tane were shortlived, however, for duringthe 1820s the Manawatu r e g i o n wasinvaded by hostile tribes from the northand both Ngati Apa and Kangitane suf-fered badly at tho hands of the. new-comers.

The man moat prominently associatedwith this invasion is Te Rauparaha, thewarrior chief of the Ngati Toa tribe. Irorcenturies his people had lived round theshores of Kawhia Harbour, but by 1820their security was being threatened bytribes from the South Auckland and Waikato districts.

Some of these e n e m y tribes hadobtained musketa and gunpowder by trad-ing tlax fibre with Kuroyean:; and Te Kau-p;iraba realised that his people must do.the same if they were to survive. Kawhia\v:is not favourably situated for close con-tint with Kurojjcans, so the: Ngati Toamigrated south to the Manawatu coast,which possessed abundant supplies of flaxand was adjacent to European whalingactivities in Cook Strait. Thi.H migrationtook place about 1822-23 and resulted inNgati Toa indicting military defeats ontho Miiaujioko inhabitants of Horowhenuaanil taking possession of the island strong-bold irt Kapiti,

In order to secure further allies andconsolidate his conquests. To Ilau para haInvited his Ngati Haukawa relatives tomigrate from their home at ATa.ungat.au.tari, in the Wa.ikato district. This theynvftttuallv did and between «i»iju< 182,'>und 18.W Ngali Uaukawa moved south i"a series of migrations and settled along• he coast between liangitikei and Otnki

Military DefeatFor ina.ny years unfriendly relations

existed b e t w e e n Ngati Kaukawa andKangitane and the oH.Hie'r inhabitants suf-fered military defeat on several occasionsOne battle scorns to have licen foughtnear Palmerston North, on the riversideflat now occupied by the Grass-lands Divi-sion of the DSIK. An account of I hi*battle was recorded by Mr J. O. Batchelar,

' # Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.

The late Mr W. K. Te Awe Awe, former Paramount Chief of the Rangitane Tribe, stands proudly beside a treasured tribal heirloom, theflag presented to the tribe by Queen Victoria in recognition of Rangitane loyalty during the Maori wars of the 1860s. Mr Te Awe Awe isholding another ancient heirloom, the large greenstone mere known as "Tane-nui-a-rangi". Mr Te Awe Awe died suddenly on January 3

this year, acted 74.

of Palmerston North, who farmed theriverside flat for many years. During tho1880s or 1890s he was visited by a Rangi-tane chief n a m e d Hoani Meihana TeHangiotu, who narrated the following:

"When I was a suckling, my peoj>l<»lived a mile below the (Fitzherbert/*bridge at the south side of the riveramid a beautiful grove of karaka, onthe rich flat. Our Rangitane war-riors were paying a friendly visit t°Heretaunga, w h e n a Ngatiraukawamessenger crossed the river in a cano»to inquire what day would suit usto be attacked. In the absence ofour best men, it would have been aserious breach of the chivalrous rulesof Maori warfare to take advantage,of the circumstance1. So every morn-ing this emissary of war crossed tha

river for 14 days, and at last, foundus in full strength. We were duly toldthat the attack would be at daylighton the morrow, so worked the nightthrough at our defences. Two hundredmen, armed with mere and taiaha,broke the silence as they disembarkedfrom their canoes before the day.There was the usual exchange of com-pliments in the form of the war dance,accompanied by that strange outburstof the pliant tongue. The hand-to-hand conflict lasted six hours, whenbut eight of the Rangitane fightingmen were left. They and the womenfled to the bush. More than 200 laywith cleft skulls. My mother carriedme in a pikau on her back and therewas no pause until all had reachedanother r e m n a n t of the tribe atRangiotu.

In confirmation of this account, MrBatchelar later ploughed up many bonesand several stone tools at the place HoaniMeihana had pointed out as the site ofthe battle. One skull he unearthed hada clean cut across the back, evidentlythe result of a blow with a sharp stoneweapon.

The Ngati Raukawa tribe took posses-sion of the lower reaches of the Mana-watu River and the remnant of the Rangi-tane people were pushed inland to theheavily-forested land east of the OrouaRiver. In this area they kept their flreaburning and thus retained their right ofownership to the land. When the firstEuropeans explored i n 1 a n d Manawatuthey found the Palmerston North districtstill in the possession of the descendantsof Tane-nui-a-rangi.

WiMM1 REFRIGERATION

W Service and1 Installationf ENGINEERS

{ Fitzherbert Ave.1 Palmerston North

The Al Refrigeration People who are progressingwith our City.

We congratulate Palmerstonians on 100 years ofProgress

and thank our customers for enabling us tobe part of our City's development.

jJwutl ̂mm REFRIGERATION

W Service and1 Installation' ENGINEERS

{ Fitzherbert Ave.1 Palmerston North

REMEMBER. WE ARE A LOCAL CONCERN WITH QUALIFIED STAFF AND THREEVEHICLES TO BRING PROMPT AND EFFICIENT ATTENTION TO YOU AND YOUR

REFRIGERATION PROBLEMS.

75-279 FOR Al REFRIGERATION SERVICE & INSTALLATION.Commercial Plants of all types, Cool Rooms, Air Conditioning, Wafer Chillers.

CML

The Chairman, Directors and Management of

THE COLONIAL MUTUALLIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY LTD.

extend greetings and felicitations toThe Mayor, Councillors and Citizens of

PALMERSTON NORTHon the occasion of their

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS

ARE PROUD to have been associated for many yearswith the growth and development of this fair city and

the rich farmlands of the Manawatu, by the offering of afully integrated insurance service and, as opportunity permits,the provision of loan money for farms, commercial organ-isations and home finance.As Palmerston North moves into its second century of growthand development, we aim to continue and expand our servicehere.For information and assistance of any kind, including detailsof career opportunities in the life assurance field, consult —

The Colonial MutualLIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY LIMITED

5 Rangitikei Street, Palmerston North.Telephone 89-099, P.O. Box 633

I 9—EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 197).EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.— j 3

mmmmmaimmSome senior citizens in the Manawatu mayremember the occasion — the Straw HatScramble on October 2, 1902, which mark-ed the grand opening of Millar & Giorgi'sstore in Palmerston North. Maybe a few ofthem took part in it as children. Who knows— there might even be one or two of theoriginal hats still lying around in dusty atticssomewhere!

If you think you may haveone of our 1902 "Scramble" StrawHats in your possession, we'd bedelighted to hear front you. Bringit along to the store (cobwebs andall!) and have a chat. If it's one ofthe original models we'll be glad toexchange it for a brand new felthat. Happy hat hunting!

t_J/c%€&&££' our store is still on the same site in theSquare, but the actual premises have changed out of allrecognition. Five years ago, due to an ever-increasingvolume of business, we carried out extensive renovations.Nearly $44,000 worth of improvements have transformedMillar & Giorgi into one of the most modern menswearestablishments in the country. And in addition to top

ay back in 1902, Palmer-

ston North was already a thriving town.

Cyclopedia of New Zealand described it as

'the largest and most important inland town

in the North Island and the Chicago cf New

Zealand by reason of the large weekly sales

of livestock held there'. The Manawatu

Evening Standard and Pohangina Gazette of

October I that year consisted of just four

pages; three composing a very mixed bag

of local advertising including an announce-

ment about the opening of Millar & Giorgi's

menswear store in the Square, and one page

of local and world cable news.

quality Men's and Boys' Wear from New

Zealand's leading manufacturers we stock

a wide range of Ladies', Men's and Child-

ren's Footwear, including direct imports

of famous name English shoes.

Naturally we're very happy that we can

now offer more convenient shopping facil-

ities and a wider choice of merchandise.

But it also gives us tremendous satisfaction

that we are still able to give our many

customers in the Manawatu District the

same high standard of personal service

which has characterised our store since

that day we gave straw hati away.

The Square, Palmerston North.

THE coming of the European openeda new chapter in the history of

the Manawatu, for the fair-skinnednewcomers from abroad introduced aculture and technology which made atremendous impact upon the Maoripeople and the natural landscape.

First to come were the traders and themissionaries, small in number but mightyin influence. They introduced Europeanclothing, tools, money, and religion, andpaved the way for Government officials topurchase huge blocks of land from theMaori people. After the land had beensurveyed into townships and farms it wassold to thousands of land-hungry Euro-peans, who attacked the bush-coveredlandscape with axe, saw, and fire. Pasturereplaced forest, railways and roadsreplaced tracks, and the bush clearing ofPapaioea was transformed into the town-ship of Palmerston North.

Friday, December 6, 1839. "At noonturned inland over an extensive tract ofsand, the wind high and the sand flyingin all directions. Walked on the bank of theManawatu, a large river with vast quan-tities of driftwood and heavy timber on thebanks. Heavy trees 50 feet undergroundstanding out in an horizontal position.The wood was perfectly sound. This riverwill doubtless be of importance at somefuture day as it appeared deep and thecountry round very fine and rich. Crossedthe river in a canoe and brought upamongst the fern."

This entry in the journal of the Rev.Henry Williams is the earliest - knownwritten reference to the name Manawatu,and is also the first recorded descriptionof the Manawatu River. Mr Williams was amissionary of the Church of England andwas returning to his home at the Bay ofIslands, after having assisted the establish-ment of a new mission station atWaikanae

A Settlement Is

Not The FirstIt is interesting to note that many large

logs, similar to those described in MrWilliams' journal can still be seen protrudingfrom the southern bank of the ManawatuRiver opposite the settlement of FoxtonBeach, so the missionary appears to havecrossed the river in this vicinity. Hecamped the night on the north bank andthen proceeded to Rangitikei.

It is unlikely that Mr Williams was thefirst European to visit the Manawatu forwhaling stations had been established onKapiti Island during the early 1830s andwhalers and traders almost certainlyexplored the nearby coast and rivers before1839. When Mr E. J. Wakefield, of the NewZealand,Company, visited the Manawatu inAugust, 1840, he reported that a CaptainLewis was building a 30-ton schooner onthe bank of the Manawatu River, about15 miles upriver from its mouth. CaptainLewis was a whaler from Kapiti and wasprobably not the first person to takeadvantage of Manawatu timber for ship-building purposes.

While staying overnight with CaptainLewis, Mr Wakefield met an Englishtrader named Jack Duff, who had recentlyreturned from an expedition up the Mana-watu River. Wakefield records that "hehad ascended the river as far as a whale-boat could go (about fifty miles, accordingto his calculations) from the mouth,through country of the same level andfertile character, and abounding with thefinest timber.

"Having obtained a canoe and nativeguides, he proceeded two or three days'journey higher up, over numerous rapidsand shallows, and through a gorge wherethe river formed a cataract between thecliffy extremities of the two mountainranges. He described a numerous popula-tion as dwelling below the gorge, andcomplained much of their rude and savagemanners. He even attributed his safetyfrom plunder or outrage to the companyof his native woman, who was related insome distant way to the tribe."

Jack Duff is the first European knownto have journeyed up the Manawatu Riveras far as the site of the present City ofPalmerston North, and he is also the firstpakeha known to have passed through theManawatu Gorge. The date of his journeymust have been about July, 1840. TheMaoris with "savage manners" he en-countered near the Gorge would bemembers of the Rangitane tribe, stilldeeply suspicious of anyone who came fromthe territory occupied by their NgatiRaukawa enemies.

In the same year that Duff's journeytook place, the Rangitane people were alsovisited by their first missionary, theReverend Octavius Hadfield, of the Churchof England. He arrived in the Kapitidistrict with the Rev. Henry Williams In1839 and established a mission station nearthe mouth of the Waikanae River. Earlyin 1840 he paid his first visit to the Mana-watu, travelling about 40 miles up theriver to a Maori settlement named TeRewarewa (in the locality now known a3Moutoa, upstream from Shannon). Laterthe same year he went further inland andascended the Oroua River for about 10miles, probably visiting the settlement ofAwahuri.

SympatheticMr Hadfield found the Maori people very

sympathetic toward Christianity andanxious to learn more about the "rongo-pai" ("good news") of the Gospel. Churchbuildings were soon erected in ueveralsettlements and the most pious of the newconverts were appointed lay preachers,with the responsibility of conducting reli-gious services and teaching their fellowtribesmen.

BornOne of these lay preachers was a

Rangitane chief named Te Rangibtu, wholived at the Puketotara pa on the northbank of the Manawatu River, near thejunction with the Oroua River. Hisbaptismal name was Hoani Meihana (theMaori form of John Mason) and this, namewas probably chosen to commemorate theRev. John Mason, a close friend .<f Octa-vius Hadfield, and the first missionarystationed in the Wanganui district. MrMason was accidentally drowned in theTurakina River in 1843.

It is interesting to note that the Rangiotufamily has produced four generations ofAnglican lay preachers. Hoani Meihanawas the first to hold the office, followed byhis son-in-law (Hare Rakena Te Awe Awe)and then his grandson (Manawaroa TeAwe Awe. Manawaroa's son was the lateMr Wiremu Te Awe Awe (Bill Larkins).who was a well-known lay preacher andchurch organist for many years.

Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotu was alsoassociated with the development of com-merce in the district. During the 1840s and1850s he encouraged his people to tradewith the pakeha settlers living furtherdown the river, and quantities of pigs,potatoes, wheat, and flax fibre werecanoed downstream to trading stationssituated between Moutoa and Foxton. Inexchange for this produce, the Maori peoplereceived European clothing, blankets, orna-ments, tools, tobacco, pipes, and even theoccasional horse and cow.

By 1850 there were probably about 5CEuropeans living on the banks of the lowerManawatu River, chiefly employed intrading, spinning ropes from flax fibre, andfarming sheep and cattle. A steam-drivenflourmill was also in operation and waskept busy grinding supplies of wheat grownby the Europeans and the Maoris. Flour,ropes, timber, pigs, potatoes, and otherproduce were shipped to Wellington forsale, being carried on a number of smallsailing ships which traded regularly withthe settlers scattered between Wanganuiand Wellington.

One of the early settlers on the banks ofthe Manawatu River was a man namedStephen Charles Hartley, who came to thedistrict about 1846. He went into businessas a trader and ropemaker at Pohuetangi,on the south bank of the river about a

mile downstream from the present Shannonbridge, and was a well-known resident ofthat locality for about 30 years. He thenmoved down river to near Foxton, andsubsequently settled in the Borough ofPalmerston North, where he was inbusiness as a Maori interpreter from about1878 until his death in 1897

Mr Hartley is chiefly remembered, how-ever, as being the first European to visit thePapaeoia clearing, the site of the presentCity of Palmerston North. The date of thisevent was probably during the late 1840s,or early 1850s.

Based On TraditionUnfprtunately, all the available details

concerning Mr Hartley's visit are basedsolely on a family tradition recorded afterhis death, and over many years manyimaginative details have been added to thestory. Some writers have described Mr Hart-ley as "The Founder of Palmerston North",while others have credited him withprophetic vision concerning the future ofthe clearing, or with a desire to imme-diately start a settlement on the site.

In reality, Mr Hartley'3 visit was of nohistorical significance. At the time of hisvisit the Papaeoia clearing was anisolated, and virtually inaccessible, clearingin a part of the district where no Govern-ment or private body was interested inimmediately establishing a Europeansettlement. There is no evidence that MrHartley reported the location of the clear-ing to any Government official, and hisvisit had no connection whatsoever withthe later surveying and settlement ofPalmerston North.

The "founding" of Palmerston North didnot take place on any one date, or becauseof any one event, but occurred graduallyover a period of several years. In thefollowing pages we will detail how thesettlement was conceived in the mind of asurveyor in 1859, given life as an embryoby a Provincial Government during the1860s, and was finally born with the helpof the Central Government in 1871.

BELOW: The Manawatu River was the gate-way to the district, and also a highwayleading from the coast to the interior.European settlement gradually spread fromthe sandy aoast to the blue bush-coveredhills of inland Manawatu. This watercolourof the river at Foxton was painted by R. G.Palmer in 1879, and the original is nowowned by the Palmerston North PublicLibrary.

—EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971. EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971— J £

V9

m

The Manawatu-Oroua Electric Power Board

has played an important part in the city's expansion and is geared to meet the city and district's ever-growing demands for

the future.

PAST BOARD CHAIRMEN PRESENT BOARDCHAIRMAN

Mr J. A. Nash. 1921-1931 Mr O. McElroy, 1932-1933 Mr C. G. Dernier. 1933-1936 Mr R. G. Linklater 1965—

Mr J. Boyce. 1937-1952 Mr W. McKay. 1953-1958 Mr W. R. Hoperoft, 1959-1964

The M.O.E.P.B. was established in 1921 — the first meeting of the board was held in February, 1922.A loan proposal of $1,000,000 to finance reticulation of the area was put before ratepayers of the dis-trict on August 21, 1922, and carried by I 144 votes to 96. Power at I l,000v was received from theMangahao hydro station in December, 1924, and consumers in the first year of operation numbered 2465and the revenue was $12,536. Due to the tremendous growth of demand for electric power, the capac-ity of the board's main feeder lines has been increased to 33,000 volts and consumers now number 13,400with revenue of $3,450,000. The capital expended on the board's undertaking is now $5,500,000.

We Are Pleased To Have This Connection With YouThe board maintains a fully equipped consumer advisory service and is able to give advice on all mat-ters electrical. Our showroom carries stocks of ranges — heaters — refrigerators — and other appli-ances to help you live better electrically.

PLUG INTO PLEASURE WITH

Manawatu-Oroua Electric Power Board, 402-404 Church Street, Palmerston North.

7

Board's area: 1301 sq. misMiles of line: 990No. of consumers: 13,481

nAPAEOIA first came to the noticeof Government officials in 1859,

when a 32-year-old Scottish surveyorrealised the importance of the clear-"ing and conceived the idea of layingout a township on the site. The sur-veyor was John Tiffin Stewart, whosename is commemorated in Mt Stewart(Manawatu County) and StewartCrescent (Palmerston North).

J. T. Stewart was born in Rothesay,Scotland, in 1827. After qualifying as asurveyor and civil engineer he emigratedto Australia in 1852, and came to NewZealand three years later. In September,1858, he entered the service of the CentralGovernment, being appointed an assistantsurveyor in the Native Land PurchaseDepartment at a salary of £250 a year.

At this time the Government was nego-tiating with the Ngati Raukawa andRangitane Tribes for the purchase of landin the Manawatu district. The ownershipof the coastal area, near the mouth of theriver, clearly lay with Ngati Raukawa, butthe ownership of the inland area (eastof the Oroua River) was in some doubt.Did it belong to Ngati Raukawa by rightof recent conquest, or to Rangitane byright of ancient occupation? The NativeLand Purchase Department feared thatthere would be a long argument betweenthe two tribes over this matter, but inSeptember, 1858, the chiefs of Ngati Rau-kawa magnanimously forfeited all claim,to inland Manawatu and consented to thepeople of Rangitane selling the land.

Way Open

The way was now open for Governmentaction, so the District Land PurchaseCommissioner, Mr W. N. Searancke, metwith the chiefs of Rangitane and anagreement was reached to purchase about250,000 acres of land lying between theOroua River and the Ruahine-Tararuaranges. The northern boundary of thisblock was in the vicinity of Apiti and thesouthern boundary was near the localitynow known as Linton. The name of thisblock of land was Te Ahu-a-Turanga ("theexhuming of Turanga"), in reference toan ancient Rangitane ancestor namedTuranga-i-mua, who was the son of Turiof the "Aotea" canoe. Turanga died in theManawatu district and was buried on theRuahine Range (near the ManawatuGorge), but some of his relatives laterexhumed his bones and took them back tohis original home at Patea, in Taranaki.

Survey Of TheTown

In October, 1858, Mr Stewart starteda survey of the boundaries of this block,proceeding up the Manawatu River to theGorge, and then mapping the Oroua andPohangina Rivers from their mouths tothe Ruahine Range. The following detailsof this survey were recorded by Mr Stew-art in 1902, and are quoted from a hand-written manuscript now preserved in thePalmerston North Public Library:

No Roads

"As the country was nearly all densebush, and to cut traverse lines through itwould have taken a very long time, thesurveyor adopted the river margins forsurvey purposes, crossing from side to sideas was expedient to get easy lines forsurvey. This was especially the case in thePohangina River and along the uppercourse of the Oroua River, where one sidemight give a good line over the shinglebeds and scrubby river bed flats, while onthe opposite side the water washed againsthigh banks and cliffs.

"Boots and shoes gave way in this waterand gravel travelling and the party, exceptthe Maoris, whose feet were stoneproof,were reduced to wearing sandals made ofthe dry leaves of the ti (or cabbage) tree,or to covering their feet with pig skins,with the hairy side out. laced over theremains of their shoes.

"There were, of course, no roads, onlywinding and narrow half-cleared nativetracks, and a canoe accompanying the sur-vey was a necessity. Maoris were chieflyemployed on the survey, and they, andthe natives generally, were -most trust-worthy and favourable in their dealings

No provisions were carried by thesurvey party, except the necessities of tea,sugar, flour, and rice. The meat supply wasgot from wild pigs, pigeons, and eels. Therewere no wild cattle in the bush then, butwild pigs were numerous and about onein five was good for food.

"Native produce and potatoes, etc., couldbe got at the several small Maori settle-ments along the river banks of the Mana-watu and along the Oroua as far up asTe Awahuri (a few miles below whereFeilding now isK

"There were then stockaded pus atPuketotara, near the junction of the Orouawith the Manawatu, and at Maraetarata,on the bank of the river near Awapuni,and at Raukawa, on the south side of theriver between this and the Gorge; also atTe Awahuri on the Oroua . . . . There werethen no Maori settlements at Pohangina,nor any on the Oroua on its long courseabove Te Awahuri."

Mr Stewart's reminiscences fail to men-tion the mosquitoes encountered by thesurvey party, but his field books (now pre-served in the offices of the Department ofLands and Survey, Wellington) containgraphic evidence of the extent of the mos-quito nuisance. Many pages of these booksare spotted with the squashed bodies ofthe insects, and there are several marginalcomments reading "mosquitoes bad". Onone occasion the party was even forced toretreat from a bush area near the OrouaRiver "on account of mosquitoes".

Earliest Record

These field books also contain the earli-est record of the Papaeoia clearing. OnNovember 18, 1858, when the survey partywas on the riverbank about one mileupstream from the city of the presentAwatapu golf links, Mr Stewart noted that"there is a large clearing in. fthel bushsome way in, probably half a milt- or so."On this occasion, however, he had noopportunity to visit the site, but in Decem-ber, 1859, he surveyed the boundaries ofthe Hokowhitu Maori Reserve and enteredthe eastern end of the clearing along theline of Fitzroy Street. He found himselfin a "large clear space" named "Papaeoia",covered with fern and grass. He sketchedthe location of the clearing in his fieldbook, noting that it stretched westward"for over a mile" and that the surround-ing bush contained "plenty of totara trees".He then placed a survey peg in the groundat what is now the corner of East and

John Tiffin Stewart, the surveyor who chose thesite of Palmerston North, and laid out the

original township.

Fitzioy Streets and returned to the riverthrough the bush-covered Hokowhitu area,emerging on the riverbank in the vicinityof the eastern end of the present JickollStreet.

Mr Stewart was quick to realise thoadvantages of the clearing for Europeansettlement. It was a flat, open area, stand-ing at the centre of a district covered byvaluable stands of timber. It was closeenough to the riverbank to be accessible:o river traffic, and yet was far enoughinland to be free from flooding. It wasalso situated on the western side of theriver, which was the side most suitablefor the construction of a roadway fromcoastal to inland Manawatu.

When Mr Stewart described the Te Ahu-a-Turanga Block to his superiors in 1859he made special mention of Papaeoia,stating that it would form "a good sitefor a township", and on his detailed sur-vey map he showed the location of theclearing and noted that it would be "aconceived the idea of the settlement nowgood site for a village reserve". Thus wastknown as the City of Palmerston North.

1 3E7Ds ta l l LtaagraatijaarPalmerston North's reputation as

a wide-awake city didn't just happen.

After 100 years of progress,

commerce and industry are

constantly expanding.

The surrounding farmlands are

achieving ever higher peaks of

efficiency and production.

Palmerston North is thriving because

its inhabitants want it to thrive.

That same spirit will carry it to even

greater heights in the years ahead.

Union Travel will be in Palmerston

North to celebrate the bi-centenary.

What a great year that will be.

UN/ON TRAVELUNION STEAM SHIP CO. OF N.Z. LTD.154 Broadway Avenue, Palmerston North

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I.

II

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I—EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.—

ON July 23, 1864, the RangitaneTribe formally transferred the

Ahu-a-Turanga block of land to"Queen Victoria, Her heirs and assignsas a lasting possession absolutely andfor ever and ever". This block con-tained about 250,000 acres of theinland Manawatu district and includedPapaioea, the site of the City ofPalmerston North.

The sale took place at the RaukawaPa, on the south bank of the ManawatuRiver, about three miles downstream fromthe present Ashhurst Bridge. The Deedof Sale was signed by 143 members ofthe Rangitane Tribe and the price re-ceived for the land was £12,000.

The sale of Te Ahu-a-Turanga openedthe way for European settlement and ir.1865 the Provincial Government of Wel-lington decided to lay out a townshipon part of the block.

The Chief District Surveyor of the Pro-vince was asked to select a suitable, site,and without any hesitation he recom-mended the Papaioea area. The reasonfor this immediate recommendation wasthe fact that the Chief District Surveyoiwas none other than John Tiffin Stewart,the man who had mapped the Papaioeaclearing in 1859 and had first realisedits possibilities as a settlement site.

Layout PlanMr Stewart now found himself in a

position to plan the layout of the newtownship, for in 1865 he was placed incharge of surveying and roading theManawatu district and in 1866 he waspromoted to the office of Chief Engineerof the Province. The original streets andsections of Palmerston were laid outunder Mr Stewart's direction, and it washis foresight which provided the townwith its most distinctive feature, the17-acre public reserve known as the Square.

The township came into official existenceon October 3, 1866, when Isaac EarlFeatherston (Superintendent of the Pro-vince of Wellington) signed a proclama-tion defining the boundaries of "TheTownship of Palmerston". This namewas chosen by the Provincial Council tocommemorate the third Lord Palmerston(Henry John Temple), a well-known Britishstatesman who died in 1865.

The Wellington Provincial Council wasapparently unaware of the fact that a"Township of Palmerston" already existedin New Zealand, for in 1864 the OtagoProvincial Government had bestowed thisname on a new settlement midway betweenDunedin and Oamaru. In later yearsthis duplication of names caused some

Land Sale, Settlementconfusion, and the residents of the Mana-watu township sent a petition to theWellington Provincial Government askingfor a change of name, but no suitablealternative could be found. In 1871 thepostal authorities added the suffix "North"to the name and six years later thisversion became the official designationof tho new borough.

Larger Area

It is not surprising, therefore, that theWellington Provincial Government failedto attract many settlers to the new town-ship. When the-sections were offered forsale in' 1866 and 1867 most of the pur-chasers were speculators who lived inWellington and only a handful of peopletook up land with the intention of settlingon it. Of this handful, the majorityseiecjted farms in the western portion of

The original Township of Palmerstoncovered a much larger area than the laterborough and the present city. More than200 town and suburban sections, rangingin size from one rood to 40 acres, werelaid out within the Papaioea clearing, buta large number of rural sections (between40 and 300 acres in size) were also sur-veyed in the surrounding bushland. Theserural sections extended eastward to beyondWhakarongo, westward to beyond Long-burn, and northward to beyond Newbury.The total area of the township was about58,000 acres, compared with the presentcity's size of 10,600 acres.

The Wellington Provincial Governmentestablished the Township of Palmerstonwith the idea of encouraging farmers totake up land and bring it into production,but this idea ended in failure. The Pro-vincial Treasury had insufficient financeto construct all-weather roads betweencoastal and inland Manawatu, and withoutadequate means of communication Palm-erston was doomed to remain an isolatedand under-developed district.

The only means of transporting heavygoods into or out of the district wasby canoe on the Manawatu River, an ex-pensive and rather dangerous method oftransport. The Government constructeda landing stage at Ngawhakarau (nearthe site of the present Opiki Bridge) andfrom that point a road (one chain inwidth) was cut through the bush toPapaioea. This track was supposed toserve as the main access road to Palmer-ston, but it was unmetalled and poorlydrained and became a sea of mud duringthe winter.

One early settler recorded that in 1868he had to abandon his horse on the sideof this road after the animal had exhausteditself by floundering through mud forseveral miles. Another road was cut fromPapaioea to Awahuri, hut this was only12 feet in width and was completely un-drained and unmetalled. It was alsovirtually impassable in winter.

• Mratoorapli courtesy P.N. Public Library.

David and Mary McEwen, pioneers who settled en a bush-covered section at Karere(now Lonabum) in 1868. The land is still owned by their descendants.

the township, in the locality then knownas Karere and now named Longburn.Among these stalwart pioneers wereMatthew Hamilton, David McEwen, GeorgeMcEwen, Ditlev Monrad, David Rowland,James Sly, Peter Stewart and DavidWatson. Descendants of several of thesemen are still living in Manawatu today.

Other settlers took up land betweenWhakarongo and Ashhurst, in the localitythen known as Raukawa. They includedJohn Dalrymple, William Cumming, AlfredGrammer, George Richardson and WilliamWaugh.

In the Papaioea clearing only three orfour people took up semi-permanent resi-dence. One of these was Mr RobertMenzies, who erected a small hut on hisone-acre section in Rangitikei Street (nearthe corner of Featherston Street) andperformed contracting work in the districtHe probably assisted the farmers ofKarere and Raukawa with such work asfelling bush, sawing timber, and diggingdrains,

Other early residents of Papaioea wereEdwin Cole and Robert Stanley, twolicensees of the Palmerston Hotel. Thishotel was a four or five-roomed woodenuu.luing situated in Main Street (between.Domain and Cook Streets) and has thehonour of being the first commercialbuilding in Palmerston. It was erectedin 1866 and was owned by Mr Amos Burr,of Foxton. A lack of customers causedit to close down about 1868, but it wasreopened by Mr Cole two years later.Mrs Cole is believed to have been thefirst European woman to live in Papaioea.

The only other building known to havebeen erected in the clearing before 1871was the survey office, which providedaccommodation and storage facilities forthe surveyors who laid out the townshipand triangulated the Manawatu district.This office appears to have consisted ofa small whare and was probably the firstbuilding of any kind to be erected inPapaioea. It stood on the western sideof the Square, on a Government reservewhich is now Coleman Place.

SMALLGOODSBACON * HAM

THE year 1871 brought a dramaticadvance in the development of

Palmerston. A wave of new settlersarrived in the district, metalled roadsbegan to replace muddy tracks, andthe construction of a wooden tram-way from the interior, to the coastwas commenced. The first shops andfactories were established in thePapaioea clearing and the Townshipof Palmerston began to take on theappearance of a vigorous little settle-ment.

What caused this sudden burst of. pro-gress? The answer lies in the nationalprogramme of public works and immigra-tion commenced by the Central Govern-ment of New Zealand in 1870. Acting onthe recommendations of the ColonialTreasurer, Mr Julius Vogel, the CentralGovernment borrowed large sums ofmoney from overseas and sponsored theintroduction of selected immigrants fromEurope, thereby overcoming the shortageof finance and manpower which had re-stricted the development planned by theprovincial governments. The Central Gov-ernment aimed at opening up new landfor settlement by creating a nationalnetwork of roads and railways, and thispolicy greatly stimulated the economicdevelopment of many parts of the country.

First To BenefitManawatu was one of the first districts

to benefit from this new programme otpublic works, for priority was given tothe construction of a properly formedand partly metalled road between theport of Foxton and the port of Napier.Work began on the western portion ofthis road in 1870, the first contracts beingfor the formation of a dray road throughthe sand country between Foxton andOroua Bridge (Rangiotu). In 1871. theroad was extended from Oroua Bridgeto the western end of the Manawatu Gorgeand in 1872 the road through the Gorgewas completed.

The Central Government also realisedthe necessity of providing an all-weathermeans of heavy transport between inlandand coastal Manawatu, so it was decidedto construct a wooden tramway fromPalmerston to Foxton. This tramway,started in 1871 and completed two yearslater, enabled settlers and goods to ente*Palmerston and also provided an outletfor sawn timber, which was the principalexport of the district for many years.

It is interesting to nofo that tho engineerin charge of these public works \v:is MrJohn Tittin Stewart, tho man who hadearlier boon responsible for tho surveyingand roading of tho Township of Palnior-ston. In 1870 Mr Stowait ronlpmnl. fromthe employ of the Wellington Provinceand entered tho service of tho Contra!Government. being appointed DistrictEngineer of the Public Works Depart-ment, with headquarters at Foxton. Heheld this position until 18S5. when he wastransferred to Wanganui. Ho retired fromGovernment service four years later anddied in Wanganui in 1913.

The Progress

Major FigureMr Stewart is undoubtedly one of the

major figures in tho history of theManawatu, for he not only planned thelayout of most of the early settlements,but also planned and supervised the con-struction of the main linos of communi-cation in tho district. He visited the siteof Palmerston North when it was anunsurveyed forest clearing, and he playedan important part in the development ofthe township from an isolated village intothe centre of a network of road andrailway lines.

Immigration was also a major part ofthe Central Government's policy of nationaldevelopment, and many of the labourerswho constructed the Manawatu roads andtramway were sponsored immigrants fromEurope. The first of these immigrantsarrived in New Zealand early In 1871 andwere all Scandinavians, mainly fromDenmark and Norway. They were allottedbush-covered sections at Avvapuni andWhakarongo and proved to be most in-dustrious labourers and successful settlers.By 1874 the Scandinavians comprisedabout one-third of the total populationof Palmerston North, and they were activein all aspects of community life. Manyof their descendants are still living inthe city today.

The start of public works and thearrival of new settlers did much tostimulate commerce and industry in theManawatu. Early in 1871 an Englishmannamed George Matthew Snelson openedthe first shop in Palmerston North andbegan supplying groceries, clothing, andhardware to the road labourers and thelocal settlers. Snelson's store was situatedon the western side of the Square (onthe site now occupied by D.I.C Ltd.) andwas erected by Messrs J. E. Perrin andF. Oakley, the first building contractorsin Palmerston North. The store was con-structed of galvanised iron, nailed to awooden frame. The sheets of iron had

boon shipped from Wellington to Foxtonand then slod.uod to I'alir.eiston, whilethe wooden framework was probably pit-

JKIWU by the builders at tho edge of thebush clearing.

Snelson's store soon became tho focalpoint of the small bush settlement, andby tho end of 1871 the iron store hadboon replaced by a largvr wooden build-ing, which also housed the Post Ollieeand the Kcjftetry of Births, Death*, andMarriages foi several years. A replicaof this wooden shop has been erectedby the Palmorston Niath Centennial Asso-ciation and is being used as an informa-tion centre and historical attraot'on duringthe centenary.

First Factory

Of1871

Tho year 1S71 also saw the establishmentol l'alnierston Norths iiist factory, ilicsteam sawmill owned by Messrs l-VleriUanson and Peter Batholoinow. 'i'hi's,-two Scotsmen supplied the sleepers furthe wooden tramway constructed betweenFalmorston and Foxton, and the electionof their sawmill laid the foundations ofthe town's industrial activity.

Other forms ol commerce and industryestablished in 1871 wiw;

First cabinetmaker: Mr H, Ames.First wheelwright: Mr C\ Urigorxon.First shoemakers: Messrs K. H«('Hing

and G. Richardson.First tailor: Mr T. Uundcraon.First blacksmith: Mr J. Jensen.First boarding-house proprietor: Mr .).

Linton.First butcher: Mr B. Manson.First carpenters: Messrs F. Meyiick, F.

Oak^y, J. E. Perrin.First brewer: Mr A. ScisKtnor.First medical doctor: Mr H. Spratt.In October, 1871, the Palmerston corres-

pondent of the "Wellington Independent"newspaper reported that there was "abustle and activity amongst our settlersthe pioneers of civilisation in thoseprimeval forests - that is very pleasingto witness. 'Go-ahead Palmeiston' will beour motto, I trust, for some time to come;and if you could sec the many changesthat have taken place in so slioil a time,the buildings that have been ('reeled, theclearings that have (icon effected, andthe roads made, you would admit thatthe settlers of this locality aio deservingof the name, for having accomplished nomuch, with such insuperable difllotillftJMto contend against '

George Matthew Snelson, the first shopkeeperin Palmerston North (1871), and later thefirst auctioneer and land agent. He was

' also the township's first Mayor (1877).

Jn May, 1X72. tho same ooricspon.lentreported that "the district, which n yearago only numbered some half-do/.en plod-ding and almost broken-hearted settlers,now is peopled by upward of 300 souls.The township now presents to a strangersome appearance of civilisation, andtravellers cannot but remark on the differ-ence in Palmerston now to what it wa.sonly 12 months ago."

18—EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.

MANAWATU MEAT&

COLD STORAGE CO. LTD.Established 1906

Wholesale & Retail Meat Distributorsfor 65 years and still progressing

In 35 years we will be

celebrating our Centen-

ary, but today we offer

our congratulations to

Palmerston North on

reaching their 100

years.

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EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971—1