February i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



6S5-. 



PIONEER FARMING IN NORTHERN 

 NEW ZEALAND. 

 [AVe liave been requested to reprint tbe following ex- 

 tracts from a paper by Mr. Delisle Hay in tbe Field, as 

 giving to tropical colonists, tbe best idea yet conveyed 

 of tbe life before pioneers in the farming colonies. — Ed.] 

 Tbat part of New Zealand to wbicb I am about t() 

 refer particularly forms a well-marked territory, occupying 

 the northern peninsula of tbe north Island. It is marked 

 off by a well defined boundary of nature's making, namely, 

 by tbe presence of tbe kauri pine, a tree yielding a tim- 

 ber of such excellence that the world has heard of it. 

 The kauri grows everywhere in Auckland Province north 

 of 8. Lat. 37° 311', but nowhere south of that point. Tbe 

 country of tbe kauri is what I have styled Northern New 

 Zealand, comprizing tbe countries of Mougonui, Hokianga, 

 Bay of Islands, Whangarie, Hobson, Rodney, Eden, Waite- 

 mata, ]\Iauukau, Thames, and Coromandel, and covering 

 some eigiit million acres. To future generations this part 

 of New Zealand will contain its classic ground, for here 

 the missionary, and after Iiim the colonist, made their 

 first approaches. But the band of progress is not so evid- 

 ent here as it is further south, if we except Auckland city 

 and its immediate surroundings. Rather, there seems an 

 apparent newness, in strong contrast to tbe advances made 

 in the south Island and in the more southern districts 

 of the North Island. Tbe settlers live in more primitive 

 style, and their manner of farming is generally rude and 

 simple. This probably caused as much by the want of 

 capital as by the nature of tbe country ; for quick returns 

 are not so easily obtainable here as further south, which 

 is the reason why settlers are fewer and not so well pro- 

 vided with money. There are other reasons, too, which 

 will appear presently, why the north should have been 

 neglected. 



But some .settlement has been made iu this part of the 

 colony, and it has always been a favourite locality with 

 the sous of gentlemen, who have thrown off refiuement 

 with tbeir coats, and taken to manful work. Most of 

 them are more actuated by the desire to make a home 

 for themselves, than by tbe wish of heaping up money, 

 and they see that it is practicable to do so here ; wliile 

 the rich scenery of the northern bush is doubtless not 

 without attraction for them. Some of them also see, or 

 think they see, that in the future this part will yield a 

 rich return, richer perhaps than even the wide sheep 

 walks and level corn-bearing districts further south, for 

 wine and oil, silk, tobacco, fruit, aud the like seem indic- 

 ated as the productions it is most fitted for. The pro- 

 cess of creating a homestead out of the virgin wild is no 

 easy one, and. besides that, it is a work of time ; especi- 

 ally if the settlers are but small capitalists, and cannot 

 afford to employ much labour. They must earn a hving 

 year by year as they go on improving their farms, and 

 this it is that constitutes pioneer farming. It is a gene- 

 ral characteristic of the pre.'ent condition of the northern 

 settlers, and is seen there for the most part not robbed 

 of effect by contrast with fully developed farms alongside 

 of it, as is more the case elsewhere. 



The choice of land needs some experience of the country, 

 for the quality of the soils varies very much. There are 

 two chief divisions of it, bush land aud open land, each 

 of which may be roughly classed, according to tbe char- 

 acter of the soil, into good, medium, aud poor laud. 

 The bush land has also to be considered relatively to its 

 bearing heavy bush or light bush. Heavy bush is the 

 primeval forest, and cannot be taken up for settlement 

 owing to the expense of clearing it, tbe trees being of 

 very large size and growing closely together. Patches 

 that have been dcnudeil of the standing timber by the 

 lumberer's are may be ilone something with; but it is 

 necessary either to blow out the great stumps with dyna- 

 mite, or to wait a good manj' years before they have 

 rotted sufficiently to admit of the plough being used. 

 The light Ijusb is composed of a very dense jungle of 

 you.i-x trees, varying in size, but resembling the coi)ses 

 and plantations one sees in England. This sort is easily 

 manageable, as everything may be felled by the single 

 axe, am! afterwards burnt off. Both kinds of bush afford 

 pkjnty of feed for cattle. It might Ije thought tbat the 

 open land would be necessarily the best to take up, but 

 87 



this is not invariably the case. There are no nativo 

 grasses fit for grazing purposes in Northern New Zeahmtl, 

 and. cattle aiul horses must be fed on the leafage in the 

 bush, wntil artificial grasses can be put down for them. 

 This is one unfavourable item as regards open laud, whicli, 

 being covered with feru and low ti-tree brush, alfords 

 no temporary forage for the beasts. Another point agaiust 

 open land is tlie expense of getting fencing material upon 

 it, while it eanuot be grassed so well as bush land with- 

 out being broken up by the plough. To a man with 

 plenty of capital, open land is certainly the best, for, if 

 he can bear a considerable expense at the outset, it is 

 brought into condition much more rapidly tlian bush lyud. 

 But the ordinary settler in the north stiirts on very 

 limited means, aud he generally expects his land to keep 

 him and pay working expenses after the first year orso. ' 

 To such men a selection, compriziug part opt^u aud part 

 bush land is the best; but this is not so readily obtaiue<l, 

 and, falling it, hght bush is considered preferable.. 



As I before intimated, the character of the soils varies 

 very much, and this too within small areas, (^old marly 

 clays are- plentiful, particularly iu the open lauds, uud 

 these are not inviting. They can be brouglit iuto a high 

 state of productiveness by means of drainage, irrigation, 

 working, manuring, and so forth ; but these are processes \ 

 that the pioneer-farmer does not care to employ at pre-, 

 sent, and accordingly he regards such lands as poor and 

 bad. The best class are some of the light volcanic soils,, 

 such a? that of the mission lands at "Waimate, in Bay of . 

 Islands county. Some of this has been cropj^ed for forty- 

 years ^vithout any dressing. * * * * ,. 



Much of the Iiush land hasa black surface-soil rich iuj 

 humus, and from a few inches to a few feet in depth. Below , 

 this may be fouud mountain limestone, volcanic shale, clay,j 

 marl, aud a variety ofsubsoils. The black soils are reckoned, 

 first-class ]an<i, and their fertihty is amazing. 



The contour of the laud must lie taken into account, 

 and to an English eye it seems hopelessly rough. Nor-[ 

 thern New Zealand is not mountainous, that is, there are> 

 no very high mountains in it; but it is hilly and broken, 

 to the last degree, aud there are no plains in our sense! 

 of the word. Steep, though not lofty ranges, alternate 

 with narrow gullies in abrupt and continuous successiou, 

 whether the land be open or bu.sh-covered. Here ancl- 

 there is a plateau of more undulating country, dominated, 

 by extinct craters, and now and then some river hafii 

 formed a wide alluvial tlat, more or less marshy. No, 

 land, of whatever kind or quality, is now to. be had for- 

 nothiug, though at one time Government used to grant; 

 small allotments on the condition ot" settlement ihereupwUit 

 The ruling price for wild lauds vaties from one pound to 

 three pounds an acre, and tht-y niay be purchased from 

 Government, or from the Maori, or Irom private individuals. 

 Sometimes land may be cheapened considerably owing to 

 various circumstances, but it is not very easy to meet with 

 a fair quality under a pound an acre. Only a very few, 

 years ago ten shillings an acre was accepted for first-class 

 land in tbe north, and some iu Mongonui sold as low as 

 two shilliugs. But those days are over now, since the 

 owners know the value of their property better, and buyers 

 have become more numerous. 



Facility of communication and transport forms a liighly" 

 important consideration for the settler. There are roads 

 in the north, but they are few an 1 far between, and are- 

 of a very insufficient kind, consiilered from au English 

 point of view. There is a railroad between Auckland and 

 Onehunga, on the west coast, between Auckland aud the. 

 "Waikato valley to the south, and Ijetween Auckland aud 

 Helensville to the north. The latter is to be shortly 

 caiTied on to Whaugarei and thus large tracts of ^ood 

 land will be opened up. But water is, and will continue 

 to be, the chief highway in the north, the very con- 

 figuration of the country rendering this certain.* * * 

 In depcrihing tlui operations of the pioneer farmer, I 

 shall take as an illu.stration a localiou on the water side, 

 and composed chiefly of light busli, as the most common 

 example. The iuteu'ling settler first goes to the block, 

 or district, where he has heard of a likely spot, and makes 

 his choice of a locality. Then follows a survey of the 

 piece selected, chatferiug with the owners if they be nat- 

 ives, or possibly bidding at an auction in the event of 

 its being Crown land. The survey completed, the bargain 



