TO OPOTIKI AND BACK.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 542, 9 December 1890, Page 2

TO OPOTIKI AND BACK.

[special to ths standard.] 11. Thebe is nothing striking about the town of Opotiki, except its want of compactness and somewhat straggling appearance. It seems that no particular plan has been observed in the construction of the buildings or in the style of the architecture. Shops and hotels are scattered here and there with considerable distance between, the whole giving one the idea that the inhabitants have not yet made up their minds where the heart of the town >s to be, Indeed it was stated to me that the quarter acre town lots have been altogether neglected for business purposes in favor of the larger areas. The majority of the buildings seem rather to have been erected with regard to cheapness and convenience than for appearance sake, There are, however, a number of creditable little shops, and one hotel—the Opotiki—would compare favorably for its size and arrangement with any Gisborne hotel, Opotiki appears to be a flourishing little place, and with ordinary facilities should assume in the near future, a position of importance on the East Coast, It is situated about a mi'c from the coast, at the confluence of two rivers which form a natural boundary on two sides of the town, The small steamer can, at high pide, OOme up to the very doors of the residents, and maßes ahout two trips tg Auckland every week. One drawback is the bar at the mouth of the river, which sometimes necessitates the steamer calling at Ohiws, sonje seven miles away, This however, only happens when the weather is excessively rough, or in the middle of summer when the river is low. A special steamer of light draught is being constructed to overcome the laitci dilli-aulty At ail other times no incon- 1

venience is Mt, and the consequence is that being only 24 h iurs’steim from Auckland, via Taurauga, the necessities of life are comparatively chosn. There are no heavy charges for lighterage, and the ninepenny wharfage inpos’ on parcels which prevails in Gisborne is a (thing utterly unknown. It is scarcely wonderful that the people of Opotiki are generally contented, and during the ten days I was there I never heard a single grumble of " hard times.” Money is not plentifu', but each appears to have sufficient for his present needs. lam mistaken in saying I hear !no one grumble. One did so, and heafterwrrds admitted that he came from Poverty Bay ! The burden of his complaint was that he was compelled to do two days' work for half a day’s pay, but his assertion is considerably discounted by the fact, that ha imagined he could do the two days’work in one. I subsequently made enquiries as to the reason cf this unusual oontentedness, and I found that all the farms about Opotiki are out up into small lots just sufficiently large for one man to cultivate, wi h occasional assistance in bn-y times. AU the flat land, unfortunately there is not enough of it, is divided up in this wav, and each appears to be striving to take the most he can out of hit soil. I made it my spacial business to ride around and see these things for mysMf, and I was delighted with the r»snit. There is not a neglected farm that I could see in the whole place. The broken fences, dilapidated outbuildings, and overgrown fields of some of the smaller farms in Poverty Bay, are entirely missing here. The principle etaple is maize growing, into which enterprise nearly every one has entered, and drying cribs are scattered all over the place. The facilities for export make the returns certain, even if they should be email, and the farmer has in the maize cohe fuel in plenty for the winter. But it would he a mistake to imagine that the Opotiki people are without trouble. Strange as it may apnear, the cause is where one wculd least expect it, and revolves around the gentleman who has charge of the Angli. can Church interests there. - For some reason the people are divided into two parties, and from enquiries I made from various persons, I find that this has only been the case since Rev. T. J. Wills’ advent. So far as I could glean, the reverend gentleman may be acting in good faitb, but injudiciously, and In endeavoring to discover the reason of hie unpopularity, I found that everyone traced it back (to a certain cause-—-the writing of critical articles on the place to an outside 'journal. These articles contained strong language, Mid being anonymous, created a great deal of feeling in the place, so much so that when the writer was discovered even bis clerical character could not eave him from a certain amount of obloquy. If a proper signature had been appended tn the articles, the sems amount of good would have been done without the harm that followed. But now no’hlna can be proposed by the minister without objection from persons who believe that he has ulterior motives, Mr Wills imagines, I believe, that all the storm has been raised about his head by bls efforts in the cause of temperance, and some color is given to this by the fact that the proprietor of the local newspaper is, or was, connected with a brewery. But if Mr Wills had had an opportunity, as I had, of going through every class of people, and every religion, and gathering their opinions, he would acknowledge that the cause lies deeper Thera is one fact that was clear to me above every, thing, and that ia that whether it is from any real objection to the minister, or from mere prejudice, that gentleman’s influence for good at Opotiki is entirely at an end, and for his own sake, and the sake of the Church, a change ought to be made. This opinion is not derived from mere prejudice, but is my flrm conviction, after a careful B’udy of the subject from a disinterested point of view. On the Sunday that I was in Opotiki I heard that sixteen persons, mostly children, were at the morning service, and consequent on the small attendance no sermon was prenched. In the evening I went to see for myself. There were only thirty persons present 1 The churchwarden asked me th' l altogether unnecessary question, seeing that the building was nearly empty, if I would like to b« shown to a seat, but as he had not the courtesy to offer a stranger a bonk, I opined the ehurch must be in a low financial state. There was no choir; that body, as I afterwards learned was formerly led by the manager of the* Bank of New Zealand, and was in a flourishing state, but from a disagreement with the pastor the members resigned in a body. The Sunday I speak of was slightly drizzly, but not sufficiently so tokeep regular churchgoers away, and the only explanation that seems feasible is the one that was offered to me, namely that part of the congregation have gone over to the Presbyterian Church, and part do not go to any church. I know tor a posi ive fact that gome of the latter, who are paren's, send their children so that they shall not suffer from their parents’ prejudices. And meanwhile howgnee the other churches? The Roman Catholic denomination are not affected, exeent. so far that one of th°ir number cxnre'sed himself to me that it had been • had day for Opotiki when the continual squabbling had commenced. He put it in a mare direo’ way than that. The only other denomination flourishes amain. Two ad. ditions have lately been made to the church ; they have a good choir, and at last statement had, I h-ar, a surplus of £3O. The minister is the Rev, Gow, an octogenarian, who is loved and respected by all, but has no special attraction so far as his preaching is concerned to account for the access of his numbers from other churches. In feet a brilliant preacher would be completely loet in Opotiki, What the residents most require is some one who will work harmoniously with them all. Such an one would be the means of reconciling the various conflicting elements of tfee place. It is worthy to remark, amidst all this bitterness, that the church over which Mr Wille presides is one of historical in’erest, for it was the church of the Rev. Mr Volkner, who was murdered ia cold blood under painful circumstances of which every well informed colonial must be awar*. Just opposite the Royal Hotel (where I stayed) there was pointed out to me the willow tree on which the poor man was hang, and fm another occasion a hideous old fellow whose face betokened savagery of the worst dei< oription was described as the wretch who had swallowed the murdered man’s eyes. The head was of course carried off for religious purposes, and the headless trunk, I believe, lies buried near the church. | should have liked to have seen ths grave, but I found the church gate locked. The onel great stumbling block to the peacefulness of Opotiki has taken up so much space, that I must hold over tor another occasion my further impressions of the trip, . • • r >.