86 Historical Notes on the 



such great expenses. At the mouth of the Greenstone Creek a little 

 settlement had sprung up — numbers of tents and wooden shops, 

 occupied by storekeepers, bakers, butchers, and publicans. 



The weather at last cleared up, a deep blue cloudless sky 

 arched over the majestic primeval forest ; the effect was, as usual, 

 magical ; all the troubles we had endured were forgotten, and I 

 gazed enraptured on the luxuriant forest landscape which surrounded 

 me. I sent my horses down the river to the mouth of the Teramakau, 

 six miles distant from here, while I went down in an hour in one of 

 the numerous canoes which bring provisions here. The possessors of 

 these canoes received £1 per lOOlbs. weight, and as their little vessels 

 can often bring up a ton of goods, and can go and come back in a day, 

 it is very profitable, although terribly hard labour. The banks of the 

 river consist mostly of tertiary clay marls, forming cliffs often 100 

 feet high, and covered with alluvium for 20 or 30 feet. An inde- 

 scribably luxuriant vegetation covers the romantic shore on both sides, 

 which, with the steep banks and the broad river, produce a lovely 

 picture. A mile from the mouth of the river the valley opened out, 

 and the deep blue sea lay before us. A little town had already sprung 

 up at the mouth of the Teramakau, consisting of tents and tent houses, 

 and active life and commotion prevailed everywhere, as, besides 

 storekeepers and publicans, a number of artisans had estab ished 

 themselves here. At the seashore, what a remarkable sight offered 

 itself to the spectator ! Towards the south the beach resembled an 

 animated high road — pedestrians, waggons, pack-horses, and riders, 

 forming an animated group. Two large steamers were just passing -by 

 bound for Hokitika, while on the distant horizon a whole fleet of 

 ships lay at anchor in the Hokitika roadstead. 



I thought with sadness of poor Whitcombe, who two years before, 

 after he had crossed the central chain, had stood famishing on the 

 then desolate shore, and longed to be at the Grey Eiver, the only 

 place on the*coast where he could hope to find provisions. At the 

 same time I could not repress a feeling of pardonable pleasure, on 

 recalling the time when, six years ago. I had wandered for months on 

 this desolate coast, and on the discovery of the treasures of coal and 

 gold in the district of the Buller and G-rey rivers, had thought of the 

 consequences which this journey of mine might have on the future 

 and well-being of New Zealand. The words written in my Nelson 

 report o£ I860, in which I prophesied a great and brilliant future for 



