✨ Provincial Secretary's Report
NEW ZEALAND
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
(PROVINCE OF NELSON).
Published by Authority.
All Public Notifications which appear in this Gazette, with any Official Signature thereunto annexed, are to be considered as Official Communications made to those Persons to whom they may relate, and are to be obeyed accordingly.
By His Honor's command,
J. C. RICHMOND, Provincial Secretary.
VOL. XI. | NELSON, MONDAY, MAY 4, 1863. | No. 12.
Provincial Secretary's Office, Nelson,
May 4, 1863.
HIS Honor the Superintendent directs the publication of the following Report, for general information.
J. C. RICHMOND,
Provincial Secretary.
NELSON, April 27th, 1863.
To the PROVINCIAL SECRETARY,
Nelson :
SIR,—I have the honor to announce my return to Nelson from the West Coast, by the inland route, through the valley of the Buller, and to lay before you, for the information of his Honor the Superintendent, the following report :
I left the mouth of the Buller on the afternoon of the 8th April, and arrived in Nelson at middle day on the 26th, making eighteen days in all; of these, however, seven days were consumed in cutting a line through the bush, in the gorge between the Lyell and Maruia rivers, a distance of about nine miles on the map, increased to about twelve by the peculiar, rough, and irregular formation of the ground.
This distance could now be travelled in three days instead of seven, by means of the line we have cut, being a saving of four days, which added to one day employed in examining the road work, makes five days; this being deducted from the whole time, leaves thirteen days of actual travelling, from the West Coast to Nelson.
From the Port to the diggings at the Lyell, a distance of about 36 miles, we ascended the river by means of a canoe, as I had previously examined the proposed line of road between these places, wherever it was necessary to do so.
We were peculiarly favoured with weather, experiencing only the light rains common in hilly and wooded districts nearly every night and morning, which rendered the journey sufficiently wet and disagreeable, but we found all the rivers low and fordable, and were not incommoded with freshes, except in our passage up to the Lyell in the canoe, during a fresh rather heavier than it is customary to travel in.
In my estimation the real difficulties of this canoe travelling have been much over-rated, both in the ascent and descent of the river, and I believe that careful men of ordinary courage, and with some knowledge of boating, could always accomplish the passage with safety, either up or down.
Of course like all navigation, it requires a knowledge of the channel and its peculiarities, to enable men to navigate it at all times with confidence and certainty, and the occupation is at best, wet, toilsome, and disagreeable.
As long as the diggings are confined to the Lyell, and the Buller below that point, the river must form the best highway for the transmission of goods,
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Nelson Provincial Gazette 1863, No 12
✨ LLM interpretation of page content
🏘️ Publication of Report on West Coast inland route
🏘️ Provincial & Local Government4 May 1863
Report, West Coast, Buller River, Nelson, Exploration, Inland route
- J. C. Richmond, Provincial Secretary
🏘️ Report on exploration of the inland route from the West Coast to Nelson
🏘️ Provincial & Local Government27 April 1863
Exploration, Buller River, Lyell, Maruia, West Coast, Road access, Travel report
- J. C. Richmond, Provincial Secretary