Tinkers, Swagmen, Rovers or Travellers?

Horse Trainer Jim Waller, Palmerstion North, New Zealand

Text published Memories Magazine Issue 85 August / September 2010
Additional Photos Added


    Jim Waller was born at Loburn, Rangiora. He was the son of farmers and had three brothers and three sisters. Jim’s parents worked land on the boundary of Palmerston North in Botanical Road. His mother owned 9 acres and his father another 10 acres.
     As a young person, Jim was a keen sports competitor. There was testimony to this in a newspaper article about the Oroua Downs Sports Club Golden Jubilee that read:


ONE OF THE BEST
Manawatu Standard. Friday, March 5, 1965

    One of the most versatile supporters of the club was the late Mr J. Waller, one of the country’s most successful horse trainers.

    In athletic competition he won the men’s long jump in 1922 and 1924 and the high jump also went to him in those years as well as in 1927. He also won the hop, step and jump in 1924.

    He competed in novelty as well as round-the-ring horse events and won the ‘open hunter’ competition nine times up to 1939 as well as taking the honours in other events and filling the minor places on numerous occasions. Mr Waller’s generosity is shown in that he presented five cups to the club for competition.

    When Jim left school, he first worked as a shepherd for two years at Bushy Park, close to the town of Kai Iwi. For a time Jim also managed a farm for Mr C. T. Keeble at Rangiotu. He married Winifred Cole and they had four daughters, Joyce, Betty, Dorothy and Irene (Chub).

                   Jim Waller standing with horse far right of photo. Harrier hounds in the back ground.

    Later, in 1925, he became the Manawatu Huntsman, keeping the hounds for the Manawatu Hunt Club in Slacks Road, Awapuni, Palmerston North. The club hunted one day at midweek and once during the weekend. Horses, with their riders, would follow a dozen harrier hounds as they chased rabbits and hares across open ground. As the official huntsman, Jim Waller would mostly lead the chase. Jumps referred to as “spars” were built into fences, so the equestrians could follow the hunt over the shortest route. Gates were also left open so less experienced riders could follow the chase.

    Then, in 1941, after sixteen years of successful hunting, Jim wanted to become a racehorse trainer while continuing as the Manawatu Huntsman. However, the Manawatu Hunt Club administration would not allow this, so Jim resigned from the Hunt Club early in 1941.

    Jim went away to fight in the first World War but by the time he reached England it had ended.

    As a horse trainer his career was most successful. In his first year, Jim trained nineteen winners and three years later he placed second in the training success ranks having trained twenty-one winners. He successfully rode as a gentleman rider. Rangi Sarto was one of his most successful mounts and Sleeveless was mentioned as one of the first outstanding horses he trained.

    In the early years Jim helped prepare Aurora Borealis (the horse of his brother, Fred), to win the Great Northern Steeplechase, the Winter Steeplechase, the Grand National Steeplechase, the Lincoln Steeplechase and to come second in the Grand National Hurdles, all in the same year.

    Frisco Jack, Nigger Goy, Nighean, Hunting Royal, Lady Spiral, Colonel Rouge, Greek Effort, Kinsman and Sea Spi were some of those that Jim trained. Sea Spi was the top New Zealand two-year-old but was involved in a nasty mishap when she stood on her lead and pulled backward abruptly. She died a week later. An autopsy revealed that she had broken her neck in the accident. Some of the winners on the flat included Kippo, Hy-spin and Gaelic Song. Waller had the most success with jumpers. Other horses included Colibri, Ellerton Hall, Postman, Lightfair, Gaiety (a Wellington Steeplechase winner), Dawn March (Grant National Steeplechase), Norfolk Boy, Tabor Islet, Person-ality and Solar Mist (Grand National Hurdles).

    For many years Jim also held the position of Clerk of the Course at the Manawatu Race Club.

    Three apprentices trained as jockeys in Jim Waller’s stable; Eric Temperton, John Carter and Merv Andrews. Eric Temperton went on to train Silver Night to win the Melbourne Cup and John Carter trained Polo Prince to do the same. Merv Andrews also went on to train horses to win many major races.

                                        Jim Waller riding unknown horse over a hurdle.
  
     Jim also competed successfully in the show jumping ring during his hunting and racing careers. Frisco Jack was his most successful show jumping mount. The notable equestrian Freda White mentions Frisco Jack’s, Ranger’s and Rob Roy’s jumping abilities in her book, Horses, People and Fun, on page 58. In show jumping events Jim also rode Treasure Hunt, Hinatore, Dick Turpin, Echo and Torquay. All are mentioned in the Palmerston North Metropolitan Spring Show Catalogues. There was a large trophy cabinet at the Waller house. It contained many of the cups that had been won over the years. The largest cup won in competition was sometimes used as a punch bowl at family celebrations.

Riot

    Jim Waller also owned a pony called Riot, which stood at about 14½ hands. Riot was a phenomenal jumper. Often referred to as a freak because of his fantastic jumping ability, it was well known that Riot could jump out of a loose box when the top door was left open. Bob Waller, Jim’s nephew, once lost control of Riot while competing in a pony jump event at an A&P Show in Palmerston North. Riot jumped into the crowd while Bob was still mounted on the pony.

     There is a wonderful photo of Riot taken in 1928 when he cleared 6 ft 2 in and won the Dalrymple High Jump at the Manawatu A&P Association’s Royal Show. The pony was ridden by the young teenager Jack McDowel who later became Jim’s son-in-law.

                                       Jack McDowel riding Riot                                                                             Riot free jumping

    The Waller family also has a spectacular photo of Riot jumping with nobody aboard his back. Riot would jump most objects easily when chased towards them despite not having a rider aboard. When not being ridden, the pony was mostly left to run freely along side the Manawatu river adjacent to Slacks Road with the herd of hunt club kills (horses used to feed the Hunt Club hounds). Eventually the pony went missing while running by the river. The mystery of the pony’s fate was never solved. Jim Waller died in 1956 at the age of 58.

                                  Compiled by grandson, James Fagan (Jim) 2009,
                                  from newspaper clippings and some family memories

    Jim Waller had a second son-in-law who went on to become a hurdle jocky. This was my father Jim Fagan who did his apprenticship with renouned horse trainer George New of Awapuni, Palmerston North.There was an interesting newspaper article in our family about an outlaw horse.


   An "Outlaw" By The Name Of Thunderhead
               Taken from an old news paper cutting. Published in the early 1940s.


    There is quite a story behind the surprise win of Thunderhead at Feilding and his dividend of nearly a score, and the outlaw of the Awapuni tracks may be on the way to making a name for himself.


    When first put into work at Awapuni the King Lu gelding purchased by "Lucky Max" Rough looked anything but a bargain. It was by only the greatest difficulty that he could be got on to the track at all; and then he would indulge in buck-jumping exhibitions which would have put any circus to shame. His trainer and half a dozen other riders bit the dust so often that only Jim Fagan would tackle him, and to date the twain have never parted company.

     Fagan Schooled the King Lu gelding, who showed aptitude for the game, and he rode him in all his work prior to the Feilding meeting last Saturday. However, although the four year-old showed some pace in a few short sprints the general impression was that he would "go to market" once be saw the track on race day, and he was given scant consideration last week-end.


    It was not until after the Feilding acceptances closed that the King Lu gelding was named; the announcement that he would race as Thunderhead caused no more than passing comment- he appeared to be appropriately named.


   Thunderhead behaved himself surprisingly well at Feilding, and his connections acted wisely in putting up 53/41b overweight to secure Fagan's services—not that any other local rider would have accepted the mount. The King Lu gelding was one of the first to move from the barrier-rise and, after the first furlong, he was never further back than fifth. He was third when they straightened up, and, although inclined to run about before Fagan drew the stick, he came home as true as a die to beat Dutch Mary and Gardane.


Related To Crucinella


    Thunderhead comes from a successful family. Thirty-six years earlier his third dam Crucinella, had won the Feilding Cup with 9.5 and that good daughter of San Francisco, who was a half-sister to Nonette, took the Wellington Cup among other good races. Alawa, She produced Canella, a mare with knees like footballs.


    At the stud, however, Canella produced Birkenella, who won many good races on the flat for Mr. W. R. Kemball,before being put to jumping. He soon made a name for himself as a steeplechaser, winning the Waikato Hunt Cup with 11.12 and the Wellington Steeplechase at long odds. However, he had a bad fall in the Grand National and was never the same horse afterwards.


    Canella then dropped Cinnamon to Sarto, and that mare produced the useful jumper Pahu, Pango and Miss Pango, Canella's 1924 foal to Warplane was Vinella, dam of the Feilding Trial Plate winner.


James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand

The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade Horses 1914-1918

Text published Memories Magazine Issue 95 April / May 2012.

Additional photos added.

  B00918, AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL.

                                                           
       The New Zealand government sent approximately 10,000 horses on active service to the First World War.  All mounted riflemen had a horse and senior officers usually had several.

    There were packhorses to carry equipment and supplies including machine guns; draught horses pulled ambulances, supply wagons and artillery guns.

    The cavalry mounts were between four and seven years of age.  They stood from 14 hands to 15½ hands in height.  Geldings were preferred to mares and stallions [were not permitted].  Very light colours were not accepted and all horses were expected to have some thoroughbred in them.  However, pure thoroughbreds were also not accepted.  The remounts needed to be sound, able to work without losing condition easily, used to weapons being fired close to them, as well as being good jumpers and able to swim in deep raging water.

Horses on board ship. Courtesy of Richard Stowers.

                                                           
    Agriculture inspectors purchased the horses and they were delivered by train to a remount depot.  The animals were then fed, exercised and kept in good health until shipped to a port close to the war zone.  The sea voyages took several weeks and horses sometimes became ill while being transported.  Some died and were hoisted overboard.  But on the whole, most of the animals were kept in reasonable condition.  Some of the soldiers who had volunteered to fight in the Mounted Rifles Brigade were able to take their own horses.

    When the vessels reached port, the horses were transferred by rail to field remount depots.  By now they had been exposed to tropical diseases and infestations and were given time to rest and acclimatise before being issued to units.  During their time away they sometimes experienced extreme heat, excessive cold, sand storms and very cold rain.  Their food was often poor and for much of the war, clean water was not available.  Sometimes the horses went for days without water and if they required some during an assault an attack could not always be indefinitely sustained.

     When horses worked excessively they needed hard feed.  This was often given in the form of hay, berseem, chaff, straw, oats, maize, bran, dhoura or barley.  The riflemen spent many hours caring for the animals and it was against regulations to wash them in the desert, however, each day the horses were groomed for several hours to keep their pores open and healthy.  There was a farrier sergeant provided and one shoeing smith per troop.

     When horses had minor ailments and injuries, the veterinary officers treated them.  More serious casualties were evacuated from the battle zone by rail to veterinary hospitals.

   Courtesy of New Zealand Mounted Rifles.

   

    It was important for a mounted rifleman to keep his horse in top condition.  This avoided the risk of losing it and receiving an inferior mount.  New Zealand horses were generally considered to be very good.  Other horses came from the United States, France, Britain, Argentina and elsewhere.  However, some Argentinean horses struggled to hold their condition.

    The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and the Australian equivalent (Australian Light Horse Brigade) were collectively known as the ANZACS.  They were not cavalry and did not attack their enemies in the traditional cavalry manner while charging with swords and lances.  Instead, they rode their horses through the battlefield until they were able to locate or engage with enemy.  They then dismounted and attacked as infantrymen with rifles or bayonets while the horses were held by every fourth soldier of their number who retreated from enemy fire.  Sometimes the riflemen slowed the larger enemy force’s advance until the more effective infantry brigades came forward and were able to take over the fighting.  Because the horses often required water during longer assaults the attacks could not always be indefinitely sustained.

     As well as the chilling experience of fighting the human enemy the mounted riflemen often found giant tarantula spiders, venomous snakes, scorpions and centipedes in their boots or beds.  Within their ranks, the regiments had personnel from all backgrounds.  There were clerks, carpenters, farmers, bakers and gardeners.

Only Bess returned to New Zealand. Courtesy of Terry Kinlock

    By the end of the war the New Zealand quarantine regulations would not allow the horses to return home. The financial cost was also another possible consideration. Most of the surviving horses were passed over to the British Army garrison units or sold to the locals in the Middle East. Only a mare named Bess returned after surviving three years in Egypt and Palestine. She had not been wounded during that time. Her owner, Lt Colonel Powles knew General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell, Commander of the New Zealand Rifles. Russell was able to influence Bess’ return to New Zealand. Bess lived until the age of 24 and retired at Flock House, an agricultural training farm 14 kilometres from the township of Bulls

James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand

The History of Deer Culling and Deer Recovery in New Zealand

PRECIOUS GIFT OR MENACE

Text published Heritage Matter Magazine Issue 18 - Autumn 2009. ( Furral Animals )
Additional photos added.

       Deer heads and antlers leaning against a hut.
     Courtesy Palmerston North City Library New Zealand.

    
    New Zealand have a long history and tradition of deer hunting, and enviable record of pioneer airboure deer recovery of both dead and live animals.
    
     What character some of these people were; legions in hunting and aviation circles. These hunters often lived in harsh conditions, and some helped lift venison while dangling from chains or strops below helicopters, sometimes in the most abominable weather or in dangerous situations. Pilots and hunters often survived horrific plane and helicopter crashes, or were involved in other accidents and more than 80 people lost their lives on these deer stalking escapades.

    Little did European settles know that the deer, pigs and rabbits they introduced to New Zealand between the 1850s and early 1900s would become “pest animals”. In their homeland these animals were precious and hunting was the sport of the wealthy, but it was thought that if these animals survived in the “new country” then the sport might become more accessible, or might even open doors to tourism opportunities for trophy hunters.

    In hindsight it might be hard to comprehend that some of the animals now considered pests were once seen as valuable gifts. For example, USA President Theodore Roosevelt gifted Wapiti deer (released and confined to Fiordland) and we can thank Emperor Franz Josef of Austria for the Chamois that were released in the Aoraki/Mount Cook region but are now widespread throughout the Southern Alps.

We hunted later in the day, mid 1970s. Fagan collection.

    Feral pigs, often referred to as "Captain Cookers" are

descendants from the pigs Captain Cook presented to Maori in 1770. Every New Zealander knows the devastation caused by rabbits and hare that thrived on our shores well beyond pioneers' wildest expectations.

    Initially, hunting was strictly regulated by licences, bag limits and seasons, but by the 1930s deer, mostly red deer, were deemed a menace and considered contributors to soil and land erosion. Deer were declared "noxious animals" and the war against them was on.

    In 1930 the first deer cullers were commissioned by the New Zealand Government. Hunters shot deer for a basic wage and received a bonus for each skin or tail rectrieved from the hunter as evidence of each successful kill.

    Reduction of deer numbers first took place on pastroral land, then in high country after the principal need of soil and water conservation was identified. Hunters mostly used old army 303 Enfield rofles, after they had cut much of the wood from the butts to make them lighter to carry. They lived in tents or built rough huts and many were admired in the hunting world for their accurate shooting and other amazing bush skills. However, not all lasted long in this tough "game".

     Over time horses, trucks, boats and later mobile frezers were used to help with deer culling or deer recovery to ensure the jobs were done as economically and efficiently as possible.    By the mid 1960s, tranquilliser darts, electric immobilisers and nets were being shot at the deer to immobilise them. This enabled live deer to be taken away and farmed. Sir Tim Wallis is one of the major businessmen, organisers and pilots who pioneered live deer recovery with his helicopter. Sir Tim's entrepreneurship is also credited with putting the venision processing plant at Mossburn. "Deer Capital of the world", in northern Southland between Lumsden and Te Anau, on the map. Also in the mid sixties. Ivan Wilson helped develop the net-capturing technique.


Stag, courtesy of Craig & Chris Hocking, Colyton deer farm, New Zealand.

    
    New Zealand's hunting tradition may be the envy of many, yet not everybody is happy as conflict between recreational hunters, the New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association which was formed in 1937, conservationists and commercial interests still make headlines from time to time.

Modern hunter Andrew Tombleson with his dog Wolf. Courtesy, Tombleson collection 2013. 

Clara Tombleson shoots her first deer. Courtesy, Tombleson collection 2016

        

James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand

The history of wild pig hunting in New Zealand

   The French explorer, Jean de Surville, first introduced pigs to
New Zealand in 1769. A pair was presented to Maori at Doubtless Bay in the Karikari Peninsula. However, it is thought they probably didn’t survive. Four years later, James cook introduced the first species of New Zealand wild pig. This was a black pig with a long snout, a Razorback considered similar to the Tamworth breed.    
    Late in the 19th century, the Berkshire type was also introduced and an Asian species the Maori called the Kune Kune was sent by Governor King from New South Wales. This pig was a gift to a Maori chief in the Bay of Islands. At times domestic animals escaped into the wilderness. The wild pig now varies in colour and size and can stand up to 80 centimetres at the shoulder and weigh as much as 140 kilograms. Maori quickly took up pig hunting. Pork was a useful supplement to their diet.

Engraving of a pig hunt by an unidentified artist, page 198 of the book Amongst the Maoris, a book of adventure by Emilia Marryat (Mrs Norris), [ca 1874] Reference Number: 1/2-053889-F http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=73509   

    From the end of the eighteenth century, farmers struggled to buy their first land and often put meat on the table through hunting wild pig.

    
    The World Wars were a time when many farms and stations reverted back to scrub and light bush. Wild pigs flourished at these times. Pork was a meat that helped feed the families that remained home and continued to do so when soldiers returned and began to re-establish their farms.  Some ex-soldiers received land from the Land Ballot system. These new land owners also hunted wild pig as they worked to make their land viable.

A Farm boy in cavalry breeches, typical of a poor family member who might 

have hunted wild pigs to put meat on the table.

Courtesy of Auckland Weekly News. 

   Many hunters consider wild pigs the only truly dangerous game animal in New Zealand. Furrows and rooting in the ground are often the best indication that wild pigs are close and deep furrows can be a sign of larger animals. Chewed-up lambs or other carcasses are sometimes evidence that pigs are in a particular area.
  

                 Photo: Courtesy of the Jo Curtis collection.  jo@huntingaotearoa.com
   
    Dogs are often used to help in the pursuit of wild pig. Hunters continue to learn by observing their dogs’ behavior while hunting. There is huge excitement when solitude is disrupted by the sound of frantic barking, crashing scrub and snorting pig.  The sprinting or charging swine can be an adrenalin rush for both dogs and hunters.  A chase is hopefully reduced to a steady bail.  After that, the dogs must stay out of reach from the forward thrust of tusks.

                  Photo: Courtesy of the Jo Curtis collection. jo@huntingaotearoa.com

     
    Most pig dogs are crossbreeds; a planned mixture of canine

genetics. There are three types of dog commonly used; finders,

bailers and holders. Finders are often the lead dog in a pack.

They have a very keen sense of smell and help a pack or lone

hunter locate the pig. It is often said that a good finder is born 

and not made.

    Bailers harass a pig sufficiently to make it stop and defend itself until a hunter aims a shot into it at close range with a high calibre rifle. Bailers’ bloodlines can vary.  Cattle Dog, Labrador and Greyhound are crossbreeds that are sometimes used.

                  

                  Photo: Courtesy of the Jo Curtis collection. jo@huntingaotearoa.com
    
    Good holders prevent pigs from getting away. They grab a pig’s ears, front legs or the back of the animal and try to hold the pig firm and steady.  Their bloodlines are often Bull Terrier and a mixture of other breeds. The Bull Terrier genes give the aggressiveness and strong jaws needed while the other types add the initiative and agility to avoid injury.

     
    Cattle dogs are sometimes used again in this context.  Holding breeds are invaluable when a hunter moves in and sticks a pig with a knife or gives a precise blow with a meat cleaver or machete.

    Since the beginning, hunters have debated theories about the best breeds or crossbreeds to use on the job. Siblings can vary in their ability and training techniques are often diverse.

    

              Photo: Courtesy of the Jo Curtis collection. jo@huntingaotearoa.com

    Pig dogs get frequent injuries, so many wear a wide leather collar to protect their throats from being punctured or ripped.  Some pigs are found to have large rips in their ears or other injuries when captured.  This is from past dog hunting attacks when the pig has escaped.

     
    In more modern times, hunters sometimes use electronic tracking collars to stay in touch with their dogs.  Pig hunters are mostly very fit as they need to run through rough cover and lug massive lumps of pork across hilly country on their return trips home.  There is often supplejack, gorse, bracken or other dense bush to push through and the danger of falling over a cliff, into a deep hole or being stung by stinging nettles is always a risk.  Stinging nettles can cause difficulty breathing and muscle spasms.

    Over the years pig hunting competitions have been held annually throughtout the country.

              Photo: Courtesy of the Jo Curtis collection. jo@huntingaotearoa.com

                Photo: Courtesy of Jo Curtis collection.  jo@huntingaotearoa.com

James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand

                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Pig Hunter


The wild pig hunter is out on the hunt.
His main finder dog, a Fox-Terrier runt. 
and Bull-Terrier cross and Greyhound
and Labrador, is his mix for a pig hunting war
and some cattle dog blood.

He starts early in the morning, without a horse.

He walks up through the gorse,
to a track, with a rifle and knife,
before the dogs come across a pig
standing in tussock ground,
a boar, a hundred and sixty pound.

The pig runs at the hunter, grunting his sound. 

The hunter falls backward, on the ground.

The boar turns and goes for the dogs,
trying to gore the one in the middle of the pack.

The hunter lifts his gun, but his sight is blurred by the sun.  

The pack is around him, making a din,
snapping and snarling.

So is it the knife, or a shot with the gun,
as the dogs try not to get ripped, in their fun?                                         



James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand                                                                            

T

                                                                                                                    

The History of Whitebaiting in New Zealand

    Whitebait is a small transparent fish measuring between 45 and 65 mm.  There are 23 species with inanga making up 80% of their number.  Some of the most common whitebait are koaro, shortjaw, banded kokopu, giant kokopu and shortjaw kokopu.  Whitebait mostly swim in shoals, coming from the sea and moving up rivers for hundreds of kilometres to spawn.  The whitebait sometimes pass over waterfalls to get to a suitable destination to lay their eggs.  These hatch into larvae and are washed out to sea on the high spring tides during the lunar cycle.

Hokitika Museun, 11674.

    Whitebaiting season is popular and has attracted whitebaiters to the rivers of New Zealand for centuries.  The Maori caught them in woven nets made of stripped flax.  There were many types of nets, traps and ways to catch them.  Some of the bait were caught in lakes and whitebait was dried on stones, on flax mats in the sun or over a fire before being stored in kete (flax baskets) to be eaten in the winter.  Whitebait is a wonderful form of protein and has little fat.  When European settled Maori began selling it to them.  Europeans also caught whitebait and made nets out of supplejack and curtain muslin.  The early Chinese gold miners and pioneering women caught the fish to supplement their diet and income.  The women often went baiting while their men worked at other employment.

                               Whitebait canning factory Hokitika, 4578.                                                 

                                                  Kevin Lyes Collection, Hokitika Museum. 

    
    In those earlier days, bait was so abundant that excesses were used as garden fertiliser.  However, by the 1890s, whitebait was declining in most parts of New Zealand.  During this time the West Coast was still having good catches.  It was measured by the pint and sold for sixpence a measure and was often sold publicly on the street or in pubs.

    South Westland has the best whitebaiting.  There the runs are usually longer and larger.  But it is a competitive pastime.  If a person fishing leaves their position on a river it is at risk of being quickly taken.

    As soon as the season finishes many of the baiters are repairing their equipment or contemplating making or buying new gear.  Spotting boards and UV shades are sometimes used to help see the translucent bait.

    The whitebaiting season is from 15 August until the end of November.  West Coasters have a shorter term.  Most of those participating are in position or scoping the rivers by early morning.  Many baiters have their own theories on when and where the whitebait will run.  The weather can change very quickly from warm sunshine to freezing rain.



            Diane Reeves at the Himatangi creek, with a scoop net. Fagan Reeves collection.

    But many of those fishing are committed and work the water for a whole season.  The fishing can be sporadic; some catch a lot of whitebait on a particular day while others trap little.  Those inquiring about a whitebaiter’s luck can be rebuffed without warning while others are welcomed with a jovial smile.  Tales on the river are numerous; the tallest being of large catches or the bait that got away.

    The Department of Conservation controls whitebaiting regulations in New Zealand.  Each river has its own rules relating to placement and size of screens, nets and stands.  Stands have to be reregistered each year.  Whitebaiters must stay within 10 metres of their net at all times and the regulated fines can amount to thousands of dollars.

James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand

A spectacular Gorge

                      Text published Memories Magazine Issue 97 August / September 2012                     

        Photo courticy of the Palmerston North City Library Ref: 2007N-GO58-GOR-0708_v1

                           
    The Manawatu Gorge is 6.4 kilometres long, winding through the width of the Ruahine and Tararua ranges. Its Maori name is Te Apiti, which means  the narrow passage. A maori legend refers to the spirit Okatia that was trapped inside a Totara tree and, being restrained, it exploded causing the gorge to be formed. Another legend refers to a large reddish rock in the river, close to the centre of the gorge, as being a guardian spirit. This was a place where Maori stopped their canoes to say a  karakia ( prayer ) to enable them safe passage through the gorge.

 
    It is thought that the first European to travel through the gorge was pig and flax trader Jack Duff. Maori guided him down the river in 1830. The early walking tracks by the river were well trodden due to Maori carrying their canoes overland when the river was too low to paddle on. By1870 a more substantial bridle track had been developed for foot and horse traffic on the Tararua side of the river.

 
    In the same year, construction began on a railway line on the Ruahine range at the northern end; it was not fully completed until 1891. This was the last stage of the track built to link Hawke’s

  Courtesy of thr Palmerston North City Library Ref 2007N_Go5_EPN_0268-v1

                                
   Bay with the Manawatu. It incorporated five tunnels and an assortment of bridges. On pay nights, the eight hundred men who worked on the line raced into Woodville to drink at the club hotel riding on timber wagons drawn by horses. At the hotel there were betting groups, gambling on who would get to the finish first. The teamsters needed to have the horses unharnessed, watered and nose-bagged before they raced to the bar.

    George Ross began operating a toll-gate at the Woodville end in 1874; the fees were sixpence a hack, three pence each for cattle, one penny each for the first twenty sheep, and a halfpenny each thereafter. Passage for a horse and cart cost one shilling. Pigs were almost impossible to herd through the area, as there were so many opportunities for them to exit the road. However, one spirited young woman was recorded to have driven a herd through the gorge from Balance on many an occasions.

    Before a bridge was completed at the Ashhurst end  of the gorge in 1875, coach passengers crossed the river in an aerial cage. The cage was suspended seventy feet above the river on a wire. After the crossing, passengers continued their journey in another coach waiting to be boarded at the other side.

  Aerial tramway. Coursesy Palmerston City Library. Photographer: G.W. Shaile
1875-1880. Accession Number A 25/395           

             
     The gorge track had, by then, developed into a road fit for horse drawn vehicles and bullock teams, although overhanging rocks often scraped the top of tall coaches and wagon loads. Clefts were cut in the rock face for equestrians to wait while larger loads were allowed to pass.

    Courtesy of the Palmerston North City Library Ref 2007N_Ash3_EPN_0251-1.2.

     In April 1895, the bridge at the Ashhurst end of the gorge was completely washed away by heavy flooding in the region, and a punt began ferrying passengers and transport across the river. (The wooden bridge was not replaced until 1909.) In those early days, the area was often covered in fog for many days at a time. Landslips sometimes blocked the road and railway track causing truck, car and rail mishaps. Over the years, millions of pounds have been spent on manpower and machinery to clear these areas.    

On 1 May 1878, the Manawatu Times printed news of an accident; a stage coach had rolled on the gorge road. The Napier coach was travelling to Palmerston North with twenty-one adults and five children on board. The box seat was completely full and the whole of the inside of the coach was utilised. Two people lay on the luggage atop of the coach and sixon the seat behind. There was also a gentleman standing on the step, the best position to be when the coach rolled, as he was the first to vacate to safety. After consoling the passengers and horses, and putting the coach back on its wheels, the journey continued without further mishape.

  
    The worst train accident in the area transpired on 20 August 1946 when a KA951 hit a huge limestone boulder lying on the track. The locomotive rolled into the Manawatu river floodwaters and pulled several wagons with it. Driver Craig Head and Fireman Hosking both died, and the train was not fully retrieved for another four months.  

   1946 rail accident. Courtesy of the Palmerston City Library. Ref 2011G_ ELMAR-3_005390

                        

     In more recent times, the gorge area has seen a variety of recreational activities. The Department of Conservation has developed a walking track above the main road. The Woodville Lions Club organises regular walks on the rail track. Kayaking, picnicking, swimming, rock climbing and abseiling are also popular activities in the area. However in the 19^th of August 2011 the NZ Transport Agency was advising motorists that the Manawatu Gorge was to be closed again after a large slip. There was huge disruption to traffic and large cost to transport companies that continued until 16th of November 2012 when work on the gorge was finally completed. During this time traffic needed to use the longer and more arduous route over the saddle-road. 

    Beyond the bridge is the rustic cafe at the Balance end of the gorge, Timeless Horse Treks are nearby, and a road climbs to the Meridian Energy windmills and the Ashhurst Domain (at the opposite end of the gorge) offers camping facilities. The region boasts amongst its native flora, giant totara trees, and a multitude of birds singing harmonious chorus in the steep bushy hills. The Manawatu Gorge and surrounding area now belong to an inter-agency biodiversity project. On Track Transit, Ashhurst Action Group, Palmerston North City Council, Rangitaane, Tararua District Council, Horizons Regional Council and DOC all protect the native plants, birds and animals in the area. 

James Fagan

Palmerston North
New Zealand