E—No. 9 Sec. IV.

Assessors. Te Hura of Te Awa-o-te-Atua. Raharuhi ol'Te Umuhika. Wiremu Te Whataapapa of Rangitaiki. ■ of Whakatane. of Pupuaruhe or Kopeopeo. Wardens. Te Makarini Te Uhiniko of Te Awa-o-te-Atua. Hoani Matenga Paruhi of Rangitaiki. of Whakatane. Kareres. Te Meihana Te Tawa ) r m » a Utiku Te Rangi } of Te Awa-o-te-Atua. Te Wetini Te Amamako ) Eruera Whaikorero > Te Unuhika, &c, Topia Te Mai J Tomo ) eTt .. ., . Oke | °f Rangitaiki. =) > of Whakatane. ) Thomas H. Smith, May 28th, 1S62. Civil Commissioner.

No. 9. REPORT FROM C. HUNTER BROWN, ESQ., OP AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE UREWERA TRIBES. Auckland, June, 1862. The country to which the following Report refers, may be divided, topographically, into sections: — 1. The Upper Valley of the Rangitaiki. 2. The Valley of the Whakatane. 3. The Coast from Ohiwa to Te Kaha. 1. The Rangitaiki. This river rises in the high wooded hills which divide the Taupo basiii from the country draining into Hawke's Bay. Its principal branches unite into one river about 21 miles N. E. of Lake Tarawera. It is here a clear rapid stream, about 50 yards broad, and from knee to girth deep, flowing over large shingle. The river flows round the S. E. side of Mount Edgecumbe, and joins the Awa-o-te-Atua (which issues from Lake Tarawera), a few miles from the sea. A little above the confluence, the Rangitaiki is connected with the mouth of the Whakatane by a very tortuous little river called the Orini, which twists along between the sand-hills and the coast-swamps, nearly parallel to the coast. The Rangitaiki valley thus communicates with two small ports, Matata and Whakatane, either capable of admitting small craft of from 20 to 30 tons. They are both dangerous ports. Canoes ascend the Rangitaiki as far as Otipa, abreast of Mount Edgecumbe. There is, however, a dangerous rapid between Kupenga and Otipa; when a laden canoe is descending, some of the hands usually get out; three hands and a skilful pilot being generally the best complement for shooting that dangerous rapid. I am informed by the Natives that a dray-road might be made from Otipa into the Upper Valley of the Rangitaiki, at Taoroa, at the expense of a little cutting. The general character of the Upper Rangitaiki Valley is a succession of large flats, with steep downs varying much in height on one side, and high partially-wooded hills on the other. The flats are thinly covered with fern and grass, the proportion of grass greatly increasing towards the head of the river. The flats and hollows amongst the downs are thinly grassed, much tussock and a good deal of stunted fern being mixed with the useful grasses. The downs are of worse quality; less grass, more fern, and dwarf manuka. Near the source of the Rangitaiki proper, between Taupo and Tarawera-whenua, the quality of the feed somewhat improves. A few miles back from the left bank of the Rangitaiki, these downs pass into a long, dry, gently-sloping upland, stretching nearly to Taupo Lake. It is called Kaingaroa, and is claimed partly by the Taupo Natives, and partly by the Urewera. As it is uninhabited, I did not visit this table-land; its yellow colour, as seen from the distance, shows that it is covered chiefly with grass. A chief of Tarawera, called Moko-nui-a-rangi, who was travelling with me in this neighbourhood, repeatedly remarked, as we crossed the flats amongst the downs, "That is just like

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BAY OF PLENTY.