130 TUTIRA 



24. Monday. All hands mustered "Rocky Range." Got 62 woolly sheep. 



Total mustered to date 6630. Sheared 158 sheep. 



25. Tuesday. Cut 20 wild rams-. Turned out shorn wethers to the back 



block, and turned 52 ewes into Newton. 



26. Wednesday. T. C. K., Whitehead, Rose and Jim started from Okawa 



to take delivery of ewes bought from Beamish. Charlie and George 

 working at subdivision fence, Kaikanui. Maoris returned to shear. 

 142 sheep shorn. Shearing tally to date 6375. T. C. K. and men 

 arrived at Okawa at 6 P.M. 



27. Thursday. T. C. K. took delivery of Okawa ewes, but as it was late 



when drafting was finished, put off the start till to-morrow, the men 

 in meantime shepherding sheep. Finished shearing at Tutira. 



28. Friday. T. C. K., having seen the men start from Okawa with the 



sheep, went to town. T. S. burning gullies at back of Newton ; fires 

 visible to T. C. K. at Puketapu. C. H. S. inspecting George's fencing. 

 T. C. K. purchases 60 Russell's rams, 150, and starts for Waipu- 

 kurau to select them. 



29. Saturday. T. C. K. at Waipukurau. Started at 6 A.M. to select rams, 



but couldn't get them in time for early train, so had to wait till 

 afternoon. Arrived at Napier with rams at 7.15 P.M. Left them in 

 trucks till to-morrow morning. 



30. Sunday. Started for Railway Station at 5 A.M. expecting to meet 



man Miller engaged. Not finding him got G. C. Thompson to help 

 me to drive them to the Spit. Found man there waiting. Got the 

 rams safe across the ferry, & arrived with them at Villiers at 

 2.30 P.M. all right. T. and self return to Napier. 



31. Monday. T. C. K. left town for Petane to see rams. On going to 



Young's stables for my horse, found Donoghue drunk in the stable. 

 Rode over to Petane, and from there to Tangoio, and told Whitehead 

 to keep ewes back, and come to Petane for rams. Fortunately they 

 were all safe. Stayed at Petane all night. 



Here we can conveniently close our chapter sufficient matter has 

 been given to show the normal daily life of a station in the making. 

 I know it has been prosaic ; I know it has been heavy. I cannot 

 but be aware that its stolidity must have even veiled and obscured 

 the glories, the delights, the ecstasies of improvements, for there is 

 no fascination in life like that of the amelioration of the surface 

 of the earth. For a young man what an ideal existence ! to make 

 a fortune by the delightful labour of your hands to drain your 

 swamps, to cut tracks over your hills, to fence, to split, to build, 

 to sow seed, to watch your flock increase to note a countryside change 

 under your hands from a wilderness, to read its history in your merinos' 

 eyes. How pastoral ! How Arcadian ! I declare that in those times to 

 think of an improvement to the station was to be in love. A thousand 



