280 TAMAKI INLET. [PART II. 



which are easily worked ; the sandstone, though soft, 

 hardens by exposure to the air, and is a good build- 

 ing material. 



A mile to the eastward of Auckland there is a 

 small bay called Oraki ; it has a narrow entrance, 

 and forms almost a natural dock, and could easily 

 be converted into one by means of sluices. To this 

 place the few natives who form the scanty rem- 

 nant of the once large tribe of the Nga-te-whatua, 

 the proprietors of Waitemata, have lately returned 

 from Manukao ; they cultivate the land, and by 

 supplying firewood and provisions, and by work- 

 ing for wages, have made themselves very useful to 

 the town. 



Still farther to the eastward another inlet, com- 

 monly called the Tamaki, leads towards Manukao ; 

 and here is the shortest portage into the latter har- 

 bour, it being only a quarter of a mile across. At 

 the entrance into this channel is a bar, with six feet 

 depth at low water, but inside the channel deepens; 

 vessels of 200 tons have gone up for some distance, 

 and large barges can go to the portage. The land 

 on both sides of the Tamaki is excellent ; that on 

 the right shore is claimed by the Church Mission- 

 ary catechist Fairburn, whose possessions extend 

 from this point as far as to the Wairoa river, being 

 an extent of about ninety square miles. A great 

 deal of lignite is found on the Tamaki, but no 

 wood, with the exception of jungle. 



The government town of Auckland, considering 



