io 9 2 AUSTRALASIA ILLUSTRATED. 



pursuit of the white man in New Zealand waters. In that halycon day, as many as 

 thirty-seven whaling vessels have been counted in Mangonui Harbour at the one time, 

 while a dozen more were cruising about in Doubtless Bay. 



Fifty miles south of Russell, and within the deep recess of an ample estuary, lies 

 Whangarei, the largest and one of the pleasantest towns north of Auckland. A line of 

 railway carries passengers and their luggage right away from the wharf, two miles 

 distant, to the township which is seated in the midst of a level tract of land dotted 

 with orchards and gay with flowers, while the meandering Hoteo tempts the angler with 

 its stores of fish. The district is rich in agricultural resources, rich too in its flocks 

 and herds and its luscious fruit, but richer still in its mineral wealth. The Wairua 

 Water-fall, in this neighbourhood, tumbles in a broad and smooth sheet, thirty-eight feet 

 across, down a rocky face-work, a height of eighty-five feet, into a secluded and well- 

 wooded valley. The famous limestone caves are situated about eight miles south of 

 Mangapai. In the immediate vicinity of Whangarei is also the Puhipuhi Forest, covering 

 some thirty thousand acres. It is reckoned to be the largest and most valuable forest 

 of native timber in the province, abounding as it does with splendid specimens of the 

 kauri. Unfortunately an extensive fire, which broke out early in 1888, laid in ruins about 

 one-third of its entire extent, the loss sustained thereby being almost incalculable. No 

 one thinks of visiting Whangarei without seeing its coal-mines at Whau-whau and 

 Kamo, the latter place being also the site of a progressive township. Both of them are 

 tapped by the railway. The valley of the Waipu, over twenty miles in circumference, 

 and almost completely encircled by hills clothed with an abundant forest, lies between 

 Marsden Point and the Waipu River, and is the abode of a vigorous and well-to-do 

 body of Nova Scotian settlers, who arrived there in 1854, under the leadership of their 

 minister, the Rev. Norman McLeod. In so far as the liquor traffic is concerned they 

 are resolute prohibitionists, having successfully resisted every attempt to establish an 

 hotel in their district, and their example is cited far and wide throughout the colony by 

 the apostles of total abstinence. The tourists who visit Waipu generally explore its caves. 

 A narrow defile leads into a natural amphitheatre clad in emerald green and encirgled 

 by lofty ranges of limestone formation, while the white boulders projecting through the 

 sward suggest a resemblance to some vast immemorial cemetery. The principal cave is 

 about three hundred yards in length, and the impressive drapery, the roof fretted with 

 coruscating stalactites, and the marble-like pillars form a prospect the remembrance of 

 which is not easily effaced. Myriads of glow-worms diffuse a pale lambent light which is 

 quite in keeping with the strange surroundings. One chamber is one hundred and fifty 

 feet in height, and the remotest cavity, from its echoing properties, has received the name 

 of the "Concert Hall." A ride through the beautiful country extending by way of Maun- 

 gaturoto and Wellsford to Warkworth in the Mahurangi District will afford the visitor 

 a very favourable idea of the attractions of the North. From Warkworth he may take 

 the steamer down the tranquil and picturesque River, past its hydraulic lime and cement 

 works, to the sanatorium of Waiwera, which he will find crowded with people who have 

 repaired thither from all parts of the colony and from Australia to bathe in its hot 

 medicinal springs. A large and well-appointed hotel has been recently erected for their 

 comfort. This place is only thirty-six miles from Auckland, which may be reached 



