Anyone ready for a bit more of our yarn from Greymouth, NZ back in the
1860s?
In yesterday's installment I was especially taken by the story of the
flood and the sight of houses with smoke still coming out of their
chimneys floating down the river ... it would be hard to recover from
something like that.
Luckily my Eli Hellier put his house up for auction before the flood hit!
As usual, read or ignore at your whim ...
----< Grey River Argus, 6 December 1913, page 7 >---->
GREYMOUTH IN THE SIXTIES: ( Continued )
Wrestlers were Denny Carroll, big whole show in himself. He was a ton,
Jack Buggy and others. Many of the coal miners (Cornish and Devon) were
splendid wrestlers and took part in the sports.
There was one sport; who was a whole show in himself. He was a maniac on
walking. He kept a kind of chemist's shop between Boundary and Johnston
Streets, and used to dress up in the orthodox rig, trunks and hose and
also wear an immense green silk sash across his shoulder.
The boys used to get up matches for him with all and sundry, and had
great fun. One memorable day they got the walker (we used to call him
Currie Powder, as his chief article of sale was that condiment) and
matched him against another noted character named Jamie the Colman (no
one ever knew his real name). He was a typical old "man o' war's man."
His face and body was slashed in all directions with cutlass marks or
something similar. His face was disfigured with the gunpowder marks. He
had one eye. His legs were hoisted about like cork screws. He never wore
boots or socks and a kind of pants - same as the regular old-fashioned
sailor ducks, and altogether he looked the kind of "tar" one reads about
in the days of Nelson.
The eventful day for the walking match arrived and all Greymouth turned
out to see the fun. The track was from Boundary Street to Tainui Street
and back and forth for a mile. Currie Powder turned up in full war
paint, and old Jamie in ducks and jersey but no boots or socks as usual.
They got away and for about 20 yards walked nearly fair as they could.
But one would forge ahead and the other would run right in front of, and
block him. It went on thus until they eventually began to pull one
another back. The race ended in a free fight between them and bets were off.
There were some great characters on the Coast in those days, both male
and female. In the shooting line, the place being all virgin forest
afforded great and very easy sport. South of Tidal Creek there were no
houses whatever. All below McLean's store in Boundary Street and towards
Tidal Creek, and along and about Hospital Street (no streets then) was
all bush. Tidal Creek was almost a river, particularly at high tide
time. The tide rushed up from the lagoon at a great rate. The creek had
very large and deep pools at intervals along its whole length which went
further than the present railway sheds, and at very high tides the river
there ran into it. It was swarming with all kinds of water fowls and the
late Dr. Morice for some years seldom missed a day wet or dry, going out
in an old flat-bottomed dinghy for a couple of hours sport and many a
good bag he made. The lagoon at the back of the Hospital was in summer
alive with ducks, and very often swans were to be seen. Both kinds of
game afforded good sport.
A chap named Austee, who had a fowl farm on the south side of the creek,
had a large number of ducks. They used to roam the creeks and lagoon
from end to end and a good many "bags" were obtained from these, they
"naturally" being mistaken for their wilder brethren.
The creek in those far off days, was very beautiful. Both banks from end
to end, were lined with Kowhai trees, which in summer were a mass of
yellow blossoms. These, combined with the blossom of the rata trees and
many other flowers, gave the creek the appearance of a scene from
fairyland. The large pools afforded bathers (particularly youngsters)
unlimited and untold pleasure. During holidays and Saturdays the latter
were in and out all day. On account of the large number of ducks
continually roaming the creek, plenty of eggs were to be found along the
banks. We youngsters would gather a number, light a fire and roast or
boil them in a jam, salmon, or other tin, and have a royal time.
The creek at the bottom of Tarapuhi Street was for years a favourite
bathing place. There was a pool there 15 or 20 feet deep and many Grey
boys learned to swim there. The present Victoria Park and vicinity was
then a large kowhai plantation and in the summer was swarming with
birds, chiefly tuis, paroquets and "mockeys," very often kakas and pigeons.
Sportsmen with guns slaughtered immense numbers of tuis. We youngsters
with our humble shanghais did the same. Not only at this particular spot
but all along the creek were birds of all kinds. Where the first
Wesleyan church was being built, the carpenters, who always took their
guns with them, used while at work on the building to shoot the kakas
and pigeons on the surrounding trees.
Another hunting ground was Cobden Island (as we called it) which ran
along the bank of the river from the South Beach up to Cobden. It was
covered with scrub and low trees, and was swarming with birds. You could
almost catch them with your hands. We youngsters used to prepare snares
made from the toitoi, get up a tree and often snare tuis, etc., and were
as expert as Maoris at it. It afforded us great fun snaring "Bob
Robbins," these of course, we snared on terra firma.
I was always at home in the bush, and remember on one occasion, acting
as a guide to a party of four, on shooting bent. I took them over the
creek in the direction of what is now Tainui Street, and within 200
yards the present Post Office. Within an hour they each obtained a full bag.
From Sefton Bridge by way of the beach to the head of the hospital
lagoon and all the vicinity was, with the exception of one or two houses
on Preston Road, nothing but flax, bullibull and low scrub, and in the
summer thousands of birds of all kinds, went over from the mainland to
enjoy the flax-honey and bullibulls, and we lads had royal times with
our shanghais.
The racecourse and Coal Creek were also first rate sporting grounds. In
winter the Omotumotu creek was a great place for ducks, and the finest
eels in the Dominion were to be had there at all times. Birds could of
course, be obtained almost anywhere, particularly kakas, and these were
often so plentiful you could knock them over with a stick.
On the Hospital lagoon shags used to congregate in dozens, and a
shag-hunt afforded great fun. A canoe would be manned by four or five,
and a sufficient quantity of suitable stones provided, and along Tidal
Creek we would go until we spied his shagship. A stone would be thrown
and down he would go, with the canoe at the top in the direction he was
going (all the lads could handle a canoe as well as any native). When he
came up bang went another stone and down he would go again, and so it
went on until he was quite doe up. When he was caught and hauled on
board. Very often he never came up at all, being entangled in the thick
weeds which grew in profusion all along the creek. The shag could not
get away because once thoroughly wet, he cannot fly, until he drys
himself a bit.
<----< To be continued. >----
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Genealogy: Tracing yourself back to better people
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