49

When the forty mile bush road is made
I should suppose it would be easy to open
a branch line, by or near the Tiraumea
to Knight’s station, which would then
form the easiest line to the Wairarapa
for a good deal of the open country.

An open track of a few thousand acres,
called Morea, lies surrounded by forest,
between the Tiraumea and the Taueru,
about six miles below this.

The Tiraumea has at present very little
water in it, but I am informed that in a
fresh, canoes can ascend about three
miles beyond Knight’s.

In its bed I found a boulder with plant
impressions.

I would now call your attention to the
Puketoe range, which has been in sight for
the last two days, and where we may be
said to have arrived, for Knight’s station
is on its lower spurs. I believe a great
deal has been expected from this range in
a mineral point of view, perhaps because
it is remote, and difficult of approach.

My first view of its outline settled its
character in my mind and a close approach
confirms the first view.

It is clearly tertiary, of the same age
and character as the country I had traversed, but attaining a somewhat greater
elevation. The additional height and its
scarped cliffs, lead me to suppose that it
marks a line of fault, or slip. I need
hardly add that metals cannot here be
expected.

The ascent of the Puketoe from Knight’s
would be troublesome, although the distance is short. A succession of sharp
wooded ridges intervene. It looks to be
easier of access from the North East.

I do not suppose the height of this
range to reach 2000 feet. Supposing it
to be 500 feet higher than Ngatakitura,
this would give an elevation of 1770 feet
above the sea. There may be some open
land on the top of the range, but the
greater part is covered with bush.

At Knight’s I found the blue clay, and
on the ridges above, upper sandstone
beds, with turritella, venus, struthiolaria
&c. From Knight’s it is impossible, at
present, to get a horse through the bush
to the gorge of the Manawatu, which, as
the distance is short, might be easily
rectified.

The view this day extended
over the sources of a number of rivers, the
Tiraumea, the Taueru, the Whareama, the
Mataikuna, the Oahanga, and perhaps the
Akitio: open country to the Northward and
Eastward, bush to the West, beyond which
the Tararua is seen in the distance. On
the Tiraumea there appears to be a good
deal of totara.

From Knight’s I returned to Mount
Pleasant.

It had often puzzled me why the
alluvium of the Wairarapa should be of
such a different character to that of the
Hutt, but I think I have now solved that
problem. The Taueru from its source
to its exit in the Ruamahunga, passes
entirely through soft tertiary rocks, and
I believe it to be from their degradation,
that the peculiar character of the alluvium
of the lower Ruamahunga is derived.

On January 21st I left Mr. Spinks’
hospitable mansion, and proceeded to the
Eastward, again crossing Ngatakitura and
Manawa ranges. From the latter the road
drops down to the valley of the Whareama,
near the junction of the Makirikiri with
that stream.

Here I again found the usual upper
sandstone fossils. About two miles further
down I reached Ngapapatu, Messrs.
Spinks and Langdon’s head station, which
I make only 143 feet above the sea level.
I now began to perceive signs of a
geological change. Still proceeding downwards I crossed the Whareama, passed
over a hill and descended upon the
Tinui station, situated upon the flats of
that stream, a tributary of the Whareama.

Immediately above the station is one
of those remarkable hills called Taipos,
which I accordingly proceeded to examine.
These hills have an extremely fantastic,
picturesque and rugged outline, and at
first give the impression of volcanic
peaks, but on examination prove to be
our old friend the upper tertiary sandstone,
tilted at an angle of about 70°,
and dipping to the Westward; the harder
parts of the strata sticking out in peaks,
while the softer parts have been worn
away.

On the top of the Tinui taipo I obtained
turritella, venus, dentalium &c. Its
height is 975 feet: Here also I found
the Mataikuna taipo bore N 50° E, Buxtons
taipos S. 20° to 30° W, and what
I supposed to be Moore’s taipos S. 15° W.
W. It will thus be seen that the several
peaks are nearly, but not quite, in a
straight line.

Proceeding on the 22nd towards the
coast, the road passes for a short distance up the valley of the Tinui, where
I think I found the blue clay. Crossing
that stream I ascended a ridge 828 feet
high, where a fresh geological series is
found, consisting of white limestone and
calcareous grits, and in their midst, a
fine grained greenstone, looking like a
Syenite, which is doubtless the intrusive
rock that has tilted the strata. It appears
to have brought up the calcareous rocks,
dislocating and tilting the upper sandstone at the same time.