archaeology and history of human occupation - Auckland Regional ...

ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF
HUMAN OCCUPATION
AUCKLAND REGIONAL COUNCIL
MAHURANGI REGIONAL PARK
MANAGEMENT PLAN
1994
Pages 43 - 53
(Please note that this plan has been superseded by the
Auckland Regional Parks Management Plan 2002)

43
Extensive intertidal rock platforms from the most to least exposed occur offCudlip
Point, Big Bay, Te Muri headland and Tungutu Point. These are characterised by
a mixture of coralline turf, Corallina officinalis, and Neptune's necklace seaweed
Hormosira banksii, along with occasional small green-lipped mussels, Perna
canaliculus near the low tide mark, with rock oysters Saccostrea glomerata and
Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, near the mid tide mark.
The most common intertidal species on this coast include oyster borer Lepsiella
scobina, black rock snail Nerita atramentosa, snakeskin chiton Sypharochiton
pelliserpentis, barnacle Chamaesipho columna and the half crab Petrolisthes
elongates. Although small, the numbers of intertidal kina increased with
increasing difficulty of access. This trend has been found at several regional
parks.
In the Te Muri Estuary, mud snails Amphibola crenata graze algae on the mud
surface, and mud crabs Helice crassa form numerous burrows.
Mahurangi Harbour, with its complex coastline, displays a wide range of habitats
within a small distance. Many of these habitats are found within 800m seaward of
the park's foreshore boundary.
ARCHAEOLOGY
Maori occupation of Mahurangi was intensive, as indicated by the wealth of
archaeological sites. The majority of these sites are well preserved and could
provide an outstanding feature for interpretation.
An archaeological survey of Mahurangi West was carried out by Fox (1980) and
by the.N.Z Archaeological Association (1.98.1). 25 sites were recorded, over half
of which were midden. Te Muri Beach was surveyed by Rickard (1985), and by
Lawlor (1991). The remaining sites were re-surveyed by Lawlor (1993).
Mahurangi East was subject to a brief reconnaissance by Lawlor (1991) and in
more detail by Clough (1993). Site records are held by the New Zealand
Archaeological Association Filekeeper, C/- Department of Conservation.
Mahurangi West
Pa sites are located on Opahi Point, behind Otarawao/Sullivan Bay on a hill
adjacent to the road approach and opposite the woolshed, on Cudlip Point and Te
Muri Point.
The Opahi pa is defended by a large traverse ditch and bank as well as extensive
terraces. A series of old tracks access the ridge and Opahi Bay. The site is in
long grass. ;
The Otarawao pa is defended by natural scarps and terraces which follow the hill
contours. Transverse ditches run between lateral scarps. Part of this pa has been
damaged by the road and by a bulldozed track. The pa extends into the adjacent
property. A farm track follows an extensive terrace. .•

44
The Cudlip Point pa-follows the narrow saddle on the headland ridge. Part in
grass and part in bush, a formed bush track meanders around numerous pits. The
pits are kept cleared of grass and are an excellent interpretation feature.
Te Muri Point pa is the most extensive of all four sites, also part in grass, part in
bush. The outer grassed zone is defended by ditches, and the inner bush zone of
pits is defended by transverse ditches and terraces. The original walking track to
the pa remains.
v
Mahurangi East
This area was surveyed by Clough (1993) and Lawlor (1991). 18 sites were
recorded. Pits, terraces and midden were located on the ridge behind Big Bay, and
on the slopes and ridges of Poplar Bay. Other sites present on Mahurangi Head
include a well preserved ,pa (Davidson 1961), which is not located on parkland.
Occasional middens occur around the coast. Sites of historic interest include old
ship-building yards and a post-war woolshed at Poplar Bay and the old
Kaukapakapa schoolhouse at Big Bay.
Scott Point
This area was surveyed by Clough (1993). 4 sites were recorded, including pits,
terraces, a ditch and a midden. Several surveys have also been undertaken in the
immediate area (Morwood 1975, Nicol 1977, Walton 1976). These surveys
showed that most of the headlands around the mouth of the Mahurangi harbour
were pa sites. A pa site is located on Casnell Island. Archaeological evidence at
Scott Point is associated with this. Scott Homestead is a site of historic interest.
A feature of the Mahurangi area as a whole is that there are few pits and sites tend
to be coastal rather than inland. This reflects the importance of the Mahurangi
harbour as a source of kaimoana (seafood). The lack of pits suggests little need
for cultivation and seasonal use of the area.
HISTORY OF HUMAN OCCUPATION
The early Maori history of the Mahurangi area is complex. The name Mahurangi
once referred to the very large area of land from Te Arai to Takapuna sold to the
Crown in 1841, but now denotes the area from Snells Beach down to the Puhoi
Estuary.
It appears that the earliest occupiers of the land were the Kawerau tribe - part of
the great Ngaohp people occupied all the lands from the Brynderwyn Hills
southwards to Bombay. Over time Ngaoho divided themselves informally into
groups in particular areas - those north of Waitemata were the "Kawerau 1 . In the
Whangateau to Orewa area, hapu of the Kawerau were Ngatikahu
Ngatipoataniwha.
The Maori regarded the land as being part of the people - with the emphasis not on
ownership but more on 'rights' of occupation or use. The coastal strip of parkland
included in Mahurangi West provided good natural resources, fishing in the
sheltered tidal waters between the islands and in the bay, shellfish gathering on the
rocky and sandy shores, eels in the streams, birds in the bush inland and kumara
cultivations on the better drained soils on slopes and alluvial beach flats. A number

45
of sites provided good scope for defended positions and canoe travel was possible
across the Hauraki Gulf, amongst the islands and up the estuary.
In the 1820's after the battle of Te Ika-a-ranga-nui at Kaiwaka, in which Hongi
Hika's party from the north (nearly all armed with muskets) massacred hundreds of
Ngati Whatua, there was a scattering of people of the east coast areas leaving the
land between North Kaipara and the Tamaki desolate. Te Hemara Tauhia of the
Kawerau, chief of the land at Mahurangi West went to live with Pomare II of the
Ngapuhi probably because of kinship (Te Hemara may have been young at this
time). Others fled to the Waikato. Percy Smith relates (1910) "The old men have
often described to me the state of fear and alarm they lived in during their wild life
in the mountains and forests, they rarely approached the river or path but confined
themselves to the wild bush living on eels, birds and produced of a few hidden
cultivations".
During the Kawerau absence, the Ngati Paoa of the Hauraki Gulf who had long
claimed fishing rights in Mahurangi, about 1833 established themselves on the
coast. It seems the absence of the Kawerau allowed the Ngati Paoa to consider
they had a right to sell the land, and in 1841 the whole Mahurangi Block from te
Arai to Takapuna and from the coast inland to the dividing range was sold to the
Government. Due to the dispute over the original ownership of the land the
Government was obliged to pay twice for most of the Mahurangi Block.
Te Hemara claimed a large area of the Mahurangi Block and his claim was
approved by Commissioner Johnson who wrote "he has with his party, numbering
about 100 individuals no other place to reside on, and the whole of the natives in
the country are convinced of his right to what he claims, which I have prevailed
upon him to curtail to the extent delineated in the plan, consisting of timberland,
no part of which can be said to be available for the location of European Farmers".
With thousands of settlers arriving good farming land was highly sought after and
strong pressure was brought to bear on the Maori people to sell and this appears to
have been the case in the Mahurangi area. Early in 1854 Native land
Commissioner Donald McLean instructed John .Grant Johnson to. "use his utmost ,
exertion to acquire from the natives the whole of their lands in this district which
are not essential to their own welfare, and that are more immediately required for
the purposes of colonisation".
Shortly after the Native Land Court was constituted in 1865, investigation of title
to the Mahurangi lands was carried out. Blocks included in the present Regional
Park area included Otarawhao, Nokenoke, Orokaraka and parts of Puhoi, Tungutu
and Opahi.
In gratitude to those who had sheltered the Kawerau people during Hongi's raids,
gifts of land were given. In 1856 Opahi had been given to Waikato Maoris. A
small part of this block is today the only Maori-owned land in the area, and is
known as Waikato Bay. Nokenoke and Otarawhao blocks were given to Wiremu
and Hare Pomare, sons of Pomare H who had sheltered Te Hemara.
The small Orokaraka block which included flats on the Puhoi River was to be
leased to shipbuilders.
One of Te Hemara's kaainga was on the sandy point at the mouth of Te Muri
Stream, and Pomare's kaainga was on Nokenoke on the next point up the stream.
Otarawao (Sullivan Bay) Area
Merihi, wife of John Sullivan petitioned the Governor for land for her 2 children,
William and Julia Sullivan - the children of John Sullivan.

46
Sometime during 1870's to 1880's or perhaps earlier, the Crown granted her 300
acres including a bay originally known as Otarawao Bay which means 'haven 1 or
'last refuge of shelter' - now also known as Sullivan Bay.
Julia Sullivan married William Benjamin Jackson of Dublin and they toad 12
children. William, variously a gum merchant, timber merchant and shipwright who
lost a lot of money in the Waihi Goldmines, took possession of the land and the
family lived there permanently from the 1880's. The land was cleared by William
and his sons for farming, not an easy task and as a result two of the boys died of
pneumonia and consumption.
A two storeyed kauri house was built but unfortunately it burnt down in 1890.
Another was built, also to be used as a guest house around the turn of the century.
The bottom half of this house remains in place (now the rangers residence), the top
half was taken two bays north to Opahi for another family member to live in (it
now belongs to the Baptist Church).
Around the turn of the century Otarawao Bay was known as Jacksons Bay.
However, in the early 1900's Captain William Sullivan returned to the area with a
young wife and family. Finding it hard to settle, his sister Julia had a house built
for them on the hill (the present Senior Ranger's house).
In 1914 Julia (nee Sullivan) died followed by her husband William Jackson in
1917. Since WW I the Sullivan side of the family has looked after most of the
property - Otarawao Bay by then also known as Sullivan Bay.
Julia Jackson died leaving no will and as is the custom the land passed to her eldest
son, Captain John Jackson. He had little interest in the land and sold it to his
uncle, William Sullivan, for a small sum on a gentlemen's agreement. It is William
Sullivan's second wife Ngarewa from which Ngarewa Drive takes its name.
The Sullivans kept one end of the beach and sold the rest to the Schischkas, part of
which was then sold to a Mr Olsen (Perfection Textiles) and the land passed to the
„ ... ...:, Auckland RegionalAuthority in 1968 at a time when applications were being made
by the owner to have it zoned for urban development. Up until 1972 the land was
I leased to Mr Olsen and the Schischka. The Authority then appointed a resident
1 staff member to maintain and gradually develop the land. The last land bought was
the 15ha Tungutu block completed by 1984.
Otarawao/Sullivan Bay is the site of the annual Mahurangi Regatta. The regatta
was first held in 1858 and sporadically thereafter. It was revived in 1977 by The
Friends of The Mahurangi Inc. and (weather permitting) it has been held each year
since on the Saturday of the Auckland Anniversary holiday weekend.
Te Muri Area
In 1973, the ARA acquired 120 acres at Te Muri from Mr V Schischka under the
i| Public Works Act. The land included a small cemetery which was part of Chief Te
1 Hemara Tauhia's kaainga, about 120 years ago when burials began hi the late
1860's. There are more than a hundred people buried in the 0.2ha graveyard
|f however most of the graves are unnamed although some records of burial are
available. The two pohutukawa trees are Tapu (sacred).
By decree of Chief Te Hemara, European settlers could also be buried as several
had married into the Maori community.
;f A small wooden Anglican Church was established at Te Muri around 1872 with its
i^v.,^ minister the Rev William Pomare, thought to be the first Maori ordained Minister
^ 5f in New Zealand.

$£
m
47
His brother, Henry Pomare, also lived in the area and he visited England with his
wife in the 1860's. Queen Victoria took a great interest in the couple and became
godmother to their son - Albert Victor. .
Up until the 1920's the graveyard was neatly maintained by the local families. It is
possible that the great flu epidemic of 1918-19 took toll of many members of the
kaainga which may have been the reason for its disappearance.
The last portions of the land which included the abandoned church, were
purchased by Victor Schischka in the early 1920's. Today only the cemetery
remains. Burials were spasmodic from them on, the last being in 1956 and since
1960 it has been closed.
Successive generations of Schischkas had farmed the Puhoi block from 1885.
Owing to its isolation from State Highway 1 stock were forded over the Puhoi
River at low tide whilst fertiliser and building materials were bought to Te Muri
Beach by barge.
The Schischka cottage at the south end of the beach has been removed. The
garage, temporary Franciscan friary bach and a small cottage on the bank of the
Puhoi River remain. ,
Authority maintenance and development of the land since 1972 has mainly
involved improving the quality of pasture, fencing out large blocks of coastal
regenerating forest, tree planting,, provision of service and farm buildings, limited
facilities for youth camping and in 1987 sealing the entrance road.
Scott House (contributed by Dr R H Locker)
By the end of 1989, exterior restoration of the building known as Scott House (or
Scotts' Hotel) was completed. Work on the interior continues. With its verandah
back in place, and new paintwork, it should grace for years to come, the bay where
it was built, 125.years previously. -There has been a heavy loss of old buildings on
the River. In the same year the old Mahurangi church was demolished, after
cyclone Bola had shifted it off its rotten piles. Most of the old homesteads have
gone, and the wharf collapsed years ago. It is therefore the more gratifying that ;
Scott House, once a focal point of life on the River, should survive as a reminder
of the old days at the Heads. Conspicuously located on reserve, it will continue to
be a landmark from the River, and an attraction to the increasing numbers that :
drive to the end of the Mahurangi East Road, or land on its beach.
It should be recorded that it could easily have been otherwise, but for the efforts of
individuals and groups with a keen sense of history.
When the Auckland Regional Authority in March 1971 acquired as reserve the
eight acres, including the derelict hotel, it seemed probable that it would be
demolished. Mr John Male, a resident and Rodney councillor, approached the NZ
Historic Places Trust for help in preserving the building. The Trust was
sympathetic but lacked resources. The Auckland Institute and Museum, and the
Warkworth Town Council expressed support, but it was the Auckland Civic Trust
which came to the rescue, setting up a task force, and obtaining a lease on the
building. Friends of Mahurangi helped with a clean-up. Since then a small
groups of skilled voluntary workers, at first under the late Mrs Margaret Newman,
and latterly under Miss Jo Donovan, have worked away quietly, but with

48
' determination, at the formidable task of making good more than a century of
weathering.
The house once had a substantial orchard, occupying most of the flat behind. Its
composition was typical of the time, as shown by the remnants: gnarled figs, a
thicket of quinces, two large but unproductive pear trees, an aged mulberry, and an
inferior American grape, run amuck. The removal of the dominant privet trees by
Friends of Mahurangi is well advanced, and a replanting programme has begun.
A history of the Scott family appears elsewhere, while there is a local tradition that
the present building was a licensed hotel, the family believed otherwise.
According to Dulcie Bailey, grand-daughter of Thomas Scott jun.: "Both Thomas
and Janet were very strict temperance people and deeply religious Anglicans."
After research, I conclude that the family was correct. In brief: Thomas Scott
sen. certainly ran an inn on this site, which was inherited by Thomas Scott jun., but
run by Thomas Short as publican. After its destruction by fire, Thomas jun.
erected a large house, which became a private hotel or boarding house, then
reverted to the family home. The building is the Scott House of today.
Thomas Scott and his two sons arrived on the River after shipbuilding and trading
in the Bay of Islands, Whangarei and Auckland. Thomas launched his first cutter
at Mahurangi in 1849, one of three built in that year, marking the birth of a local
industry. In December 1853 he acquired the eight acres, now Scott Bay. There
he established his home and shipyard, and soon after, an inn.
In the first election of 1857, 18 votes were cast at "Scotts* Inn". The first village
map shows Inn St passing from the beach to Scott St at the back of the flat. A
sketch of the bay by Charles Heaphy is undated but probably of the 1860's. It
shows two single-storeyed buildings. One must be the inn. An old map of 1867,
shows two buildings in a dotted enclosure on Lot 43. -
Scotts was the only stopping place for the first steamers, such as the
' Wongawonga', which ran to fixed timetable, rather than to the tides. Thirsty or
hungry passengers, embarking or disembarking, refreshed themselves at the inn. It
also served as the first post office. In 1862, Thomas Scott jun. was appointed first
postmaster. , < , ' -
Auckland's Anniversary Weekend 1860, was a gala occasion there: "The
Richmond Inn, a picturesquely situated house kept by'Thos. Scott sen., was
thronged all day by a happy and well conducted number of holiday makers, who
did ample justice to the good cheer, solid and fluid provided for them". (New
Zealander, 28.1.60). , \ 1 ;V } /' J; '^'^Jr / '
"~'C ,'f ' ? t4i K ~"^ t'-i't '
A provisional licence was granted tofThom^fcott'm 1862. In 1863 the
Licensing Act was passed, and in 1864 thejBrst.Official licences were gazetted. In
such rural places (at least 15,mile0y«rqa:d Spm^uckl_and), 'bush licences' were
issued at 5 pounds per annum. •< In the meantime'Thomas Scott sen. had left
Mahurangi in 1863 J and died in^AuqWMd^m^Sej^if seems that Thomas jun. .
inherited the property, but a famUy ,fnen||rh;qmas;Sh6rt; had taken over the
running of both hotel and sWpyard^xShMwas^fifst gazetted holder of a bush
„ * & A v~ * v « ' * -'
^x •** / -/• >
'*>•

49
licence for the 'Richmond Inn, Mahurangi 1 , 1864-6. It was also know as the
'Richmond Arms'. Short became postmaster at the same time. His brother Ben
drowned in 1869, putting an end to their shipbuilding partnership. The inn burned
in the early 1870's, an event which would have terminated the licence. By 1873,
Thomas Short had gone back to being a master mariner.
Some four years later, the burned building was replaced by the beginning of the
present building:
"Mr Scott is erecting a large two-storied house in what is know as Scotts 1 Bay, on
what was formerly the site of the well-known Mahurangi Hotel, and which was a
few years since destroyed by fire and by which Mr Scott become a heavy loser".
(W.N. 3.2.77).
A reporter in February 1881 noted the completion of a fine new wharf, and a
"large hotel" by Mr Scott. Next year it was announced: .:
"Mr Thomas Scott has opened a private boarding house at his premises at
Mahurangi Heads, formerly the Mahurangi Hotel, where owing to its proximity to
the Hot Springs (four miles) no doubt he will do a fair trade". (W.N. 16.9.82).
It was probably at this time that the present building was enlarged from a home to
an accommodation house. (The join is obvious on the back wall). Thomas had
gone back to sea, as master of s.s/Coromandel'. Running the place fell to Mrs
Scott. 'Wise's Directory 1883-4' lists for Mahurangi: "Mrs T Scott, boarding
house". Shortly afterwards the whole family moved to Auckland, a more
convenient residence for the captain. The house was leased, continuing as a
boarding house. In 1908-9 (and probably earlier) the lessees and hosts were Mr
Angus Grant (son of settler James Grant) and Mrs Grant.
In the meantime the licence had gone elsewhere. On 1 February 1879, James
"> Watt Darroch, former shipbuilder of Marriage Bay, who then described himself as
storekeeper, applied for a bush licence. Licences were then determined locally by
the Mahurangi Licensing Court which sat quarterly in Warkworth and consisted of
3-4 prominent local citizens. The Commissioners (in this case J. Hudson, W
/ PulhamandM Angove) sat on 2 June 1879. According to the Weekly News: "J
W Darrach applied for a new license for his house, situated at Mahurangi Heads.
There being no objection the license was granted". (The spelling mistake in the
surname led Mabbett in' The Rock and the Sky', to attribute the license to John
Darrach. This was an unfortunate error, since John was early a Son of
Temperance, and remained teetotal, according to my cousin, his greatgranddaughter).
The threat of opposition arose when on 19 May 1881, James Lawrie applied for a
licence for a proposed eight-room 'Harbour View Hotel' on his property, just
upstream of Scotts. He argued: "We are often put to great inconvenience
through there not being a House of Accommodation to take our wives and families
to when going to Auckland by steamer, having to wait on the reef sometimes two
or three hours in all weathers". (The wharf was in fact, just completed). Various
local citizens signed in support of his application, seeing a second oasis as a local

enefit. At the head of the list was my great-grandfather, Gough Jamieson,
running true to form. A similar number, headed by John Darrach and including
!'• j Thomas Scott, and Mrs George Darroch (James 1 mother), signed a counter
petition, alleging that a second pub was unnecessary and would be detrimental.
The tribunal agreed, informing Lawrie that they saw no need for a second licence
in the area. However Lawrie did keep a store.
50
The reference to an existing licence implies that Darroch's was still in force. It is
uncertain when it was relinquished, but it is unlikely that it survived much beyond
the demise of shipbuilding in 1880. It had probably lapsed by 1882, when James
spent three months building a scow in Devonport.
When the S.S. 'Coromandel 1 was sold in 1895 to the Northern Company, Thomas
Scott remained as its skipper. When he retired from his last command, 'Kaniere',
about 1910, Thomas and Janet returned to their house at Mahurangi, where
Thomas died in 1911. Janet lived on there for some years until, persuaded to join
her daughter in Auckland, she died in 1922. After that the house served as a
family holiday home and also had various tenants but it was half a century of
decline, until the timely rescue by the Civic Trust.
A community with such a strong Scottish strain, was bound to show the dichotomy
between strict temperance and a taste for strong drink. (It was even more marked
at Waipu). The division often came between wife and husband.
Some brought with them the habit of total abstinence instilled in Sunday Schools
and Bands of Hope, and continued to live by, and stoutly defend that ideal. The
Band of Hope was transplanted to Warkworth and many leading families were
staunch supporters of that flourishing institute. Many a homily on the curse of
society was listened to with wrapt attention, and reported at great length by "Own
Correspondent". But beside this stern stuff the body provided social occasions,
the inevitable soirees with dancing and items by the talent of the town. The young
ladies contributed a profusion of ballads with tear-jerking titles.
. . , , . . • ' On the other hand there was a great body of working men with problems they
liked to forget for a while: Wistful memories of a home they would not see again,
isolation, loneliness, the physical pain of grinding toil six days a week, the
responsibility of providing for and managing ever-growing families. Small wonder
that they often overindulged.
The dichotomy extended into the ranks of the Presbyterian Church. A church
history records that: '
"Drinldng was prevdent m those days, and the Session (Mahurangi), having
considered what steps might be taken to check the progress of INTEMPERANCE,
asked the minister to preach on the subject, whichrhe readily agreed to do. Mr
McKinney's preaching was vigorous and evangelical, and he did not fear to speak
j| out on questions of the day. He also, in 1862, moved the first resolution put
before the General Assembly of our Church on the subject: 'That inasmuch as
INTEMPERANCE is a widespread evil in this land — the Assembly instruct all

51
ministers to direct the attention of their congregations to this important subject —
and to use all available means for the suppression of this evil".
This clarion call did not affect the minister's close friendship with Robert Whitson
and family. Whitson was a London brewer who had settled on a farm near
Warkworth. He was a church elder at Mahurangi in 1859. In 1861, he launched
into a secondhand highly successful brewing career in Auckland. The family
retained the farm. In 1865, Mrs Whitson, on her removal to Auckland, presented
McKinney with a gown and cassock. The McKinney family often visited the
Whitsons 1 Princes St mansion when in town.
From the first days of the timber industry in the Hokianga, into this century, there
was a steady toll of drownings from small boats. A man unsteady of his feet and
unable to swim (as most were) was as much at risk in a rowing boat, as one in a
car today. Tombstones and press testify that many a man foundered in the calm
estuary water, rowing home from the celebration of an election, a family occasion,
or nothing in particular. It was so on the Mahurangi as elsewhere in the North.
Coroner's verdicts, out of sensitivity to dependants' feelings tend to give sobriety
the benefit of the doubt.
Many drinkers of the time seem not to fit the modern concept of'alcoholics',
constantly tippling. Rather they were prone to stay dry for a considerable time,
and then go on a 'bender 1 when opportunity arose. The syndrome appeared in
Maori and pakeha alike and was common to all social classes. It occurred in
several generations of my own family, and somewhere in most others.
There is a family story that my great grandfather and his sons once rode to Puhoi
for a drink, and brought back a keg with them. A little short of home, they sat ~
down beneath-the 'notice tree' by Mahurangi WesTScliooirpolished off the keg,
and sent back for another. Two of my uncles with a neighbour once cut a canal
through the mangroves in Dyers Creek to extract firewood. They christened the
canal by all falling into it, after slaking their thirst from a keg in the boat. One of
these uncles showed such a liking for drink as a youth, that my grandfather
instructed the publicans at Puhoi and Warkworth not to serve him. It did little
good. A subsequent career as engineer on the coasters, and the ill-effects of
service in the last year, did nothing to help. He died alone in I960, on the kitchen
floor of the old house, after his last spree at Puhoi.
An elder uncle, as a boy, took his first job as rouse-about and fishing companion to
a gentleman on the River. They were great mates until a bender hit the boss. The
lad would then deem it expedient to scuttle off to a cottage nearby and lie low till it
passed. Meantime the wife would collect all bottles in sight, carry them down the
jetty, and up-end them one by one. (They would be replaced on the next trip to
Warkworth). She was also given to topping up the demi-johns in the liquor store
with water as the level fell.
The principal artefact to be found on the Mahurangi mudflats are old hand-made
smoky-black bottles, round or square, and usually broken. Old green beer bottles
are also common. Many of these must have passed over the bar of the Mahurangi
Hotel.

52
Not all the hotel's stock, it seems, was strictly legitimate. One of John Darrach's
best customers for ships was Capt. Kenneth McKenzie, an accomplished smuggler,
who ran spirits from New Caledonia, always a step ahead of the excise men. It is
highly likely that he, or others like him, dropped a little off for the River.
Schooners from the French Islands would unload contraband at Whangarei Heads
under the very nose of the resident excise man, and cruise down the coast making
drops. Leslie Meiklejohn wrote: "Most people did a little smuggling in the old
days. The intercolonial vessels would come into Omaha Bay, just inside Takatu
Point, and put up a signal. The local boys would go out in whale boats and collect
the cargoes and bury it in the sand until it could be picked up." The Wade was a
favourite landing place. Horses "trotting through the dark" towards Lucas Creek,
were not unusual on this favoured back-door route into Auckland.
My eldest uncle, grandson of George Scott, told me that the Scotts indulged in a
little smuggling, and mentioned voyages to the Island. He claimed that they were
once fined 500 pounds and had a ship confiscated. This could have happened at
Mahurangi. There was in fact no need for hazardous voyages to coral seas.
Most of the nearer Islands were supplied with grog from Auckland bond stores.
Traders bound for the Islands could load out duty-free. Once out in the Gulf it
was a simple matter to off-load on to a cutter for delivery to a bush pub. James
Cowan related such a story of a rendezvous in the Gulf between a trader and two
cutters. Disturbed by the appearance of the excise cutter "Ruru", they made a run
for it.
The NZ Census of 1866 gives a measure of the thirst and preferences of drinkers
of the time. In that year imports into Auckland alone were: 71,000 gallons of
rum, 60,900 of brandy, 46,100 of wine, but only 6,500 of whiskey, 5,700 of gin
.,..,...., and 4,500 of Geneva (gin) ~-,~,.- — •-.•—•: -
Not all the liquor was imported. There were stills all over the Rodney County.
Les Meilklejohn, as a lad, sampled the product of one close to their home on
Omaha Creek. A cutter that had loaded there was boarded by an excise man.
When he had dozed off m the cabm from fatigue and generous rounds of the
product, the casks were extricated from beneath the manuka firewood, buoyed,
and dropped over. To his surprise the ship proved clean when unloaded in
Auckland. Moonshiners at the Wade went to prison for burning down Kelly's
Hotel to eliminate their competition. Two large stills were uncovered at Lucas
Creek one Sunday morning. A cousin assures me that there were a number of
,'•. • stills on the River. The south-east bay on Motuora was known as Still Bay in
memory of an early enterprise there. Terry Bond told of "a chap who trained
racehorses on the mudflats — and after he became a noted trainer they realised the
food he was bringing in for the race horses was being used for malting whiskey".
^ The fruit of the vine had flourished in NZ since the efforts of pioneer viticulturalist,
James Busby, and nowhere better than in Rodney. The principle activity of
settlers at Mangawhai in 1875 was growing vines, and in that year 1500 gallons of
wine were pressed. Such vintages were numerous elsewhere. Some were sold
illegally to bushmen, gumdiggers and seamen. No doubt some of it found its way
7 over local hotel bars.

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The excise man's lot was not a happy one. They may be forgiven for sometimes
becoming over-zealous. The Weekly News of 21 April 1866 reported that two .
officers "on Sunday morning proceeded to the house of Mr S. H. Berningham, a
well-known and respected settler at Matakana, and seized 28 gallons of peach
wine, made this season for household use. A boiler, used for washing, might
possibly have been used for a still, but was not carried off'. The cask was rolled
off to a cutter and delivered to their superior officer in town, who ruled the seizure
unjustified and returned it to the owner. He claimed that in transit the wirie had
started working again in the cask and was now worthless. The journalist "
concludes:
"We dare say that settlers will be gratified to learn, even at Mr B.'s expense, that
their wives may prepare peach and gooseberry wines without fear of a visit from
Customs. A great many ladies were frightened when they heard of the raid
because a quantity of such wines had been fermented; and they feared to lose their
labour and liberty, through being of a thrifty turn. They may now rest satisfied;
but we would advise that if they wish to be quite secure, not to permit any prying
person to get a glimpse of the boiler, or even the tea kettle on the 1 hob; for who .
knows but information may be given, and two officers of her Majesty's Customs,
armed with revolvers, may suddenly invade the household and carry off the .;'
suspicious vessels to Auckland in triumph?".
The Scott homestead has remained a private residence except for a brief period at
the end of the century when Thomas Scott Junior went to sea and left his wife and
daughter in Auckland. During this time the Grant family leased the building as an
unlicensed guest house. Thomas died in 1911 and his wife Janet in 1922. From
then on the building was shared by the descendants as a holiday home until the
ARA bought the property in 1971. The homestead is now considered to have
nistbnc"value "(class D - merits recording because of its historical significance or-—architectural
quality) and is noted as an historic building in the Rodney District v
Plan. . •'.' 'v/'vV;-••• ^iV-V^'C':