3iO TEM CiiUltiE OF THE " CACHALOT:' 



CHAPTEK XXIY. 



THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST. 



In a comparative new colony like New Zealand, where the 

 marvellous growth of the young state can be traced 

 within living memory, from the privations of the pioneer 

 to the fully developed city with all the machinery of our 

 latest luxurious civilization, it is exceedingly interesting 

 to note how the principal towns have sprung up arbi- 

 trarily, and without any heed to the intentions of the 

 ruling powers. The old-fashioned township of Korora- 

 rika, or Port Eussell, is a case very much in point. As 

 we sailed in between the many islets from which the 

 magnificent bay takes its name, for all appearances to 

 the contrary, we might have been the first discoverers. 

 Not a house, not a sail, not a boat, broke the loneliness 

 and primeval look of the p'acid waters and the adjacent 

 shores. Not until we drew near the anchorage, and saw 

 upon opening up the little town the straight-standing 

 masts of three whale-ships, did anything appear to dispel 

 the intense air of solitude overhanging the whole. As 

 we drew nearer, and rounded-to for mooring, I looked 

 expectantly for some sign of enterprise on the part 

 of the inhabitants — some tradesman's boat soliciting 

 orders ; some of the population on the beach (there was 

 no sign of a pier), watching the visitor come to an 



