1835. 



APTERYX - WAIMATE GARDENS. 



601 



intersected is the land by arms of the sea. Fresh water, in 

 rivers, brooks, and springs, is plentiful, and never fails. 



There is a rare and curious bird in New Zealand, which few 

 persons have seen. It is shy, and seldom visible in the day- 

 time : the natives are said to chase it by moonlight. It is of 

 the bustard or emu kind, unable to fly, though provided with 

 short wings ; it is said to be more hairy than feathery, and about 

 the size of a small emu.* 



On rather a high plain, or very flat-topped hill, stands 

 Waimate — the agricultural establishment of the Church Mis- 

 sionary Society. After so long an absence from every simi- 

 lar sight, and in New Zealand, the sudden appearance of 

 three English houses, surrounded by outhouses, gardens, and 

 cultivated fields, was striking and delightful ; T looked at it as 

 a fragment of Old England, small indeed, but apparently 

 genuine. About twenty acres of land, judging only by eye, 

 seemed to be cultivated. Corn was in full ear, and looked well. 

 The buildings showed at a distance to greater advantage than 

 on a nearer approach ; because they are built in the form of 

 gentlemen's cottages, but entirely of wood, and were then un- 

 finished. There were also nice gardens, which had evidently 

 profited by much industrious care, and knowledge of gardening: 

 my hasty survey was however stopped by the approach of a 

 person, whose appearance and manner showed that he was an 

 essential actor in this English scene; and whose intelligent, kind, 

 and truly respectable demeanor was of that description which 

 at once excites esteem and goodwill. This was Mr. Davis, the 

 superintend ant of the farming establishment. He told me that 

 Mr. Wm. Williams (the brother of Henry Williams) and Mr. 

 Clarke, were gone toHokianga, at the opposite side of the island, 

 to attend the last hours of a young Wesleyan missionary. 



I have hitherto spoken of missionaries in general terms, as if 

 they formed a distinct and undivided class. That as a body 

 they are distinct, in the scale of worldly divisions, is true ; their 

 self-devotion, their habits of life, peculiar education, and inces- 



* This bird (Apteryx Australis) has lately been described by naturalists, 

 therefore I say no more about it. 



