"As Others See Us.”

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 338, 15 August 1889, Page 4

"As Others See Us.”

[By Tramp in N.Z. Herald.] The metropolis of the East Coast, as every intelligent person in the world knows, is situated in the Bay which the illustrious Cook misnomered “Poverty.” It is 300 miles from Auckland, and 26 [oh !] from Napier, by sea. As already stated, it is 141 and a “half” miles from the latter city by the overland route. I have not yet measured the number of miles by road to Auckland, but I propose doing so. This town on the banks—sand banks—of Poverty Bay is called Gisborne, after the well-known politician of that name. The street nomenclature indicates a strong political bent of mind on the part of the godfathers of the town, the thoroughfares being all named after political celebrities, such as Gladstone Road, Cobden, Peel, Lowe street, and so on. Gisborne has a past and a future history to be written, but it comes not within the scope of my sketch, which is merely a personal narrative of persons and things as I find them, with a few facts and fancies of more or less value thrown in for the information of “ whom it may concern.” Mr Rees went to England with a big land settlement scheme. He returned with a dozen immigrants, without even a fin of the tame whale with which he promised to compensate the Maoris for the loss of their land. The twelve emigrants—he might have chucked in another, if it was only a baby, just for the luck of the odd number—were collected at Clitherhoe, Lancashire, and they are all relatives. There are three married couples— the youngest couple seemed to be still enjoying their honeymoon ; three single females— youngest twelve years; two single males, and a cautious benedict of mature age, who left his wife at home to take care of the lares et penates—he wanted to see something more before venturing to remove his household goods to the home of the Maori. The single married man said he was a “ railway man.” The comprehensiveness of this piece of information left me a wide field for conjecture as to whether he was a chief commissioner or a common navvy, or to which one of the many special vocations lying beween these two grades he was devoted. He expressed a strong desire for a railway to be brought along to Poverty Bay that he might prove his abilities as a “ railway man ” upon it. The other members of the party said they were men of all work, that nothing could come amiss to them from cotton-weav-ing to hedge-trimming, from sign-painting to potato-planting. On the whole they appear to be a quiet, respectable, and useful class of immigrant. They are neither babblers nor grumblers; they replied reservedly to my questions, but invited none. They had no complaints to make, and place implicit trust Mr Rees, They are located at Matawhero, about five miles from Gisborne, and are living in an hotel which has recently been closed by the licensing commissioners of the district. You seem very comfortably provided for here, I casually remarked; pay for it yourselves ? No ; Mr Rees pays everything. Did he pay your passages from home ? Yes; but we have to pay him back again when we earn enough money. Oh you have an agreement with him to that effect ? Yes. What are you going to do now your are here ? We are going to work on Mr Rees’ land. Where is it ? Over there—pointing over the hills and far away. We are to have a cottage built for each of us, with five or six acres of land attached for ourselves, and we are to work on the 2600 acres for Mr Rees. aome^g? 00 ‘° Hve ““ the ,lnd Mr Rees will provide, onS°Ld « y ° U d ° *° oa th “ land at paSed’into*” '•’* landa haa equalled ™ a P roverb - and ‘W are on, y hf jy those of the Heretaunga block, Wai l - a®’ B ® a y> the Orona Downs, and gy- uiate Plains on the West Coast. In .cent, however, the flat land is limited, and far from being cultivated to the best advantage. As we descend from the hill coming in by the Wairoa Road, and for some distance across the plain, the land is a rich loamy river deposit, but on nearing . Gisborne it changes to a mixture of pumice and sea sand, in which our English grasses soon die out. The principal product is, of course, wool. Other products, but on an insignificant scale, are ryegrass and clover seed, maize and barley; for all of which there has been during last season a good market. The increased profits, however, have not been distributed, and consequently not felt outside the monetary institutions—hence the dulness of trade. Twenty pounds per acre is the price quoted for the best land, and on this value a clear profit of 10 per cent is realised. Men like Mr. Barker, of Whataupoke—he is reputed to be the wealthiest farmer in the district (should value him at from £50,000 to £BO,OOO) —and who hold their land at original low cost, are in receipt of very handsome revenues. The Bank of New Zealand has only one property in this district on its hands, and it is being worked at a profit, thanks to the quality of the land and good management.