My Account
Seeing photos of the recent flooding near the Hoteo River brings to mind how those floods were used in the past. In 1969 Reuben Watson wrote down his memories for his family, relating stories of timber working near Wellsford in the late 1800s. Here are some extracts relating to the Hoteo area …
‘In the year of 1888, I was seven years old. The kauri timber on a section of land lying at back of our old farm was owned by William Worker. The contractor was Welton Brown(e) eldest son of a Brown from North Albertland. This man, who was a tremendous worker but not very reliable, undertook the job of felling and delivering the kauri logs to Nicklesons’ Topuni mill. A wooden tramway was built and horses were used to pull the trucks.
‘I can just remember seeing from our house the team come in sight behind our section. The horses were taken out of trucks on the crest of the hill and then the trucks ran down by gravitation the long slope as far as White’s house, and then the horses were re-hitched and pulled to the top bank of the Whakapirau, the logs rolled into the stream, later rafted on high tides to mill.
Tapu bush
‘This name was always pronounced in the early days “taboo”. I don’t know why. It was one of those curious and rather freaky clumps of practically all kauri trees, not much over 100 acres certainly not 200 acres on easy sloping ground across the Hoteo River.
‘There were other native trees there of course, but seeing it from a distance one could see kauri heads and no other. Some big stuff and lots of medium and small trees owned and worked by Jonas Smyth, a man with some timber experience who was generally thought to have money, as he always paid his men and was honest in his dealing, which was something in those days.
‘I cannot remember the correct year when the Tapu Bush started work, but I think 1890 – 1891 or there about. A loading ground and big shanty was made just across the Hoteo River and the first logs were hauled out and rolled into the stream, there waited for winter rains and floods. Hoteo was not a big river, but flowed through some rough country with many bends which held the water back and was in places quite a stretch of water and stayed sometime after rain ceased.
‘It was a dirty job keeping the logs in the stream, they often got stranded on small flats and had to be jacked back into the river. One Hoteo North boy, Fred Gray (aged 16) was drowned on this job. After a short time a road was formed over those barren hills past Mr Hunt’s lonely little farm and then on down that sloping clay ridge to the Te Hana. The logs were rolled in the tidal part about opposite Pook’s homestead, then rafted down to Mander and Bradley’s Raekau mill.
‘A long hard haul for the bullocks, one trip a day was enough. This hauling job was often a separate contract. One year Ted Brown(e) put on two or three teams and other team owners took a hand, a slow job and only possible in dry weather. In winter months the river was used again so you can understand it was not a fast job, but steadily went on for several years. Always a sure job for handy men.’
Dateclaimer
The countdown to the 150th Albertlanders Celebrations next year has begun. Watch this space!
