126 MANAWATU RIVER. [PART I. 



mea is stationed a large tribe of natives, the Nga-te- 

 raukaua, whom I have already mentioned as the 

 enemies of the Nga-te-awa. Their pa, or fortified 

 village, is called Otaki. 



The river Manawatu is the longest of all these 

 rivers. It takes its rise in the most elevated inland 

 group of mountains, the Ruapahu. As is the case 

 with all the rivers in Cook's Straits, the force of 

 its waters is not strong enough to remove the sand 

 which is thrown up at its mouth by the south- 

 westerly and north-westerly winds ; and its depth 

 over the bar is therefore only six feet at low water ; 

 the tide rises eight feet. Its breadth at the mouth 

 is about 300 yards at half-tide. 



From all the accounts which I received from the 

 natives, both in Cook's Straits and in the interior 

 of the country, the river Manawatu has a very wind- 

 ing course ; in some places, after making a sweep 

 of several miles, it returns within a quarter of a 

 mile to the same spot, and in this manner forms 

 paddocks of very fertile land, often clear, but in 

 parts rich in many kinds of timber. Inside the bar 

 the river deepens sufficiently to admit small vessels 

 for about fifty miles. The natives of Taupo often 

 descend it with their canoes to Cook's Straits. Its 

 embouchure is, according to Captain Smith, in lat. 

 40 27' 23" S. From this description it must be 

 evident that it would be of great importance for the 

 settlers in Cook's Straits to explore the Manawatu 

 more accurately, especially as it is reported that 



