My Account
Wind and rain threatened on Sunday 16th January 1898, but a group of Wharehine friends were really looking forward to their planned two-day camp and refused cancel because of bad weather. Ben Blackburn, his sisters Alice, Emmie and Beatrice, plus Archie Brookes, Harold, Ella and Jerome Marsh with their mother, and local school teacher Miss Taylor, got ready and loaded up two punts. Dog, gun, tents, food etc aboard they hoisted sail, manned the oars and set off down the Oruawharo River to Motukumara. On arrival, they left the punts on the beach and walked about half a mile to the campsite carrying billies, frying pans, cups, saucers, dishes, and kits of provisions. Beatrice, armed with a bottle of milk, shawls, cloaks, umbrellas and other sundries, lost control of the bottle which smashed on the rocks. No crying over spilt milk though as they had another one.
The men went fishing in the punts after lunch while the girls gathered rock oysters. The fishermen brought back a couple of mullet and a large stingray then ferried the rest of their luggage to the campsite and set up the tents. After a dinner of oysters, potatoes, pies and cake they sat around the campfire until it started to rain, sending them to bed. The ladies had a small tent and had to pack ‘like sardines in a tin’ while the young men had a good sized sack fly which had the disadvantage of being open at both ends. They partly fixed this by hanging a sail at one end.
Of course they didn’t sleep. The young men kept ‘yarning’ interrupted by cries of ‘Shut up, go to sleep!’ and ‘Give it a rest!’ The rain persisted and their old tent leaked fore and aft keeping them awake. They tried composing poems but didn’t do well, one example being ‘I chased a rabbit but failed to grab it’.
‘Oh those dreadful boys!’ said the girls each time laughter erupted from the other tent, ‘I wish they’d leave off talking and go to sleep’. Finally, after midnight there was silence, but not for long. At 2am the wind changed and they had to race out and haul the punt above high water mark.
Next morning was fine and sunny though windy. Some gathered mussels; others sketched while Archie and Ben went rabbit hunting. Alice and Miss Taylor sunned themselves beneath a peach tree. When the rest of the party joined them Harold said with a grin, ‘I say you girls, I reckon we had a good magic lantern show last night, the scenes showed up admirably on the roof of your tent, it was quite an entertainment, wasn’t it fellows?’ Ben and Archie pretended to agree with Harold but Beatrice retorted, ‘Go away with you, the light was in the wrong side of the tent for you to see us, we took good care of that’.
That night the ladies, Jerome and Harold retired early. However they couldn’t sleep because Archie and Ben, who had stayed up to dry wet clothes by the fire, kept singing and dancing a haka.
Next morning was beautifully fine and calm so they were up at 4am. Breakfast was over and everything packed by 6am so they headed home. The story ends ‘and now boys, three hearty cheers for Motukumara, hip-hip-hurrah!’
Abridged transcript of original manuscript in Albertland Museum
