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| Damaged ford across the Tairua River Puketui Valley - photo courtesy Chris Ball 2009 |
Part of our past New Zealand history was river crossings - no less so the Tairua River and its four branches. Back in the mid 1800's gold, timber and gum extraction was growing fast. Typical of New Zealand rural bush and bush and bush ranges of the Coromandel Peninsula, there were no bridges across With heavy rainfall, the waters of creeks and rivers would rise fast, becoming a real hazard for accident or drowning.
On the Eastern Seaboard roads were non existance. Back in the early 1870s, was one enterprising William Benjamin Jackson - manager of the Tairua Sawmill, Chairman of directors Tairua Goldmining Company, gum merchant, gum store keeper, postmaster Tairua 1872 - 1877, holder of Tairua bush liquor licence 1872,owner of 212 acre Pepe Block purchased from Maori owners 1871, shipper and ships master of the cutter Coralie and owner of the cutter Tairua, the schooner Firefly, yacht Starlight and short term owner of the fore and aft schooner Belle Brandon.
Jackson opened up tracks, using pack horses to transport goods and provisions across the rugged ranges to the bush camps of the Tairua Valley and goldmines newly opened up the Neavesville and used the coastal shipping route to bring provisions to Tairua and what became known as the upper landing, from the Port of Auckland.
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| Showing a
man on horseback below a pinnacle rock near Neavesville, Thames District Taken from the supplement to the Auckland Weekly News 22 JANUARY 1914 p053 photo courtesy Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19140122-53-3 |
"Mr Jackson of Tairua is cutting a good horse track from his store to the upper camp, which will be completed in a few days. He is reported to have 10 packhorses on the road conveying stores from his Tairua to his upper store" ( Auckland Star, 03/05/1875,p2)
The multi crossings of the Tairua River and its branches were not the only hazard. Pack horse operators reported high cliffs a risk, the tracks and their pack horses being killed through falls. The Thames Star reported one such incident, with a loss of animal to a Mr. Gallagher, in July 1875 The Thames Star wrote:-
"Another horse has come to grief over a cliff. To-day a valuable animrl belonging to Mr Gallagher fell over a cliff several hundred feet high and was killed. A few more such accidents and packing to Tairua will not be looked upon as a very remunerative speculation." ( Thames Star 08/05/1875)
Horses in the Auckland Province of 1875 were essential for transport and cartage of goods. THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF NEW ZEALAND 1875 wrote on the cost of horses:-
" A good four-year-old horse can be bought for £20, and a very good serviceable horse can be bought for half that sum, and even for less money"
( On URL Statistics NZ ) Some horses could fetch up to £30 - real price in 2019 realative worth - £2,776.00. Definitely why the newspaper's comment on packing to Tairua.
Mick Lennan - an old Hikuai resident also wrote about one Joe Dufty, who was said to have thirty horses and packed food to the many gum diggers and bushman of the Kauri Timber Co. of the Tairua Valley. ( Ohinemuri Journal , Oct 1967)
Fifty six years on from 1875, those pack tracks were still being used and not much better than 1875. Returning to Hikuai at third branch of the Tairua river, Stanley John Morrison was thrown from the pack horse and dragged for distance . His left leg was caught in one of pack saddle hooks and badly injured.
"Another horse has come to grief over a cliff. To-day a valuable animrl belonging to Mr Gallagher fell over a cliff several hundred feet high and was killed. A few more such accidents and packing to Tairua will not be looked upon as a very remunerative speculation." ( Thames Star 08/05/1875)
Horses in the Auckland Province of 1875 were essential for transport and cartage of goods. THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF NEW ZEALAND 1875 wrote on the cost of horses:-
" A good four-year-old horse can be bought for £20, and a very good serviceable horse can be bought for half that sum, and even for less money"
( On URL Statistics NZ ) Some horses could fetch up to £30 - real price in 2019 realative worth - £2,776.00. Definitely why the newspaper's comment on packing to Tairua.
Mick Lennan - an old Hikuai resident also wrote about one Joe Dufty, who was said to have thirty horses and packed food to the many gum diggers and bushman of the Kauri Timber Co. of the Tairua Valley. ( Ohinemuri Journal , Oct 1967)
Fifty six years on from 1875, those pack tracks were still being used and not much better than 1875. Returning to Hikuai at third branch of the Tairua river, Stanley John Morrison was thrown from the pack horse and dragged for distance . His left leg was caught in one of pack saddle hooks and badly injured.
In 1931, there was still no road over the Kopu Hikuai highway. That came much later when it opened on 23 March 1967.
Reference Source:
- By MICK LENNAN Hikuai Ohinemuri Regional History Journal 8, October 1967
- Measuring Worth
- Thames Star 8 May 1875 Page 2
- Thames Star 6 July 1875 Page 2
- Thames Star 18 Sep 1931 Pg 3
- Auckland Star 19 Sep 1931 Pg 8
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