<I>

  <&>Wellington Corpus of Spoken New Zealand English Version One</&>
  <&>Copyright 1998 School of Linguistics & Applied Language Studies</&>
  <&>Victoria University of Wellington</&>

  <&>side two</&>
  <&>12:31</&>
  

  <WSC#DGI098:0005:PW>
      it was a most beautiful place heavy timber <,> um <O>voc</O>
      great deal of puriri <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0010:PW>
      <?>old a h wallaces</?> he rode down the coast in <,> oh the
      eighties as he topped the ridge north of the kaiaua bay he
      looked down and he saw more puriris than he'd ever seen anywhere
      and he called it the valley of the puriris and we had eNORmous
      trees some of <&>13:00</&> them dead a great many big ones which
      were dead and if we felled one there was sufficient wood in it
      to supply us with firewood for twelve months or fourteen months
      marvellous hot wood and the heat of the puriri is so great that
      it used it burnt out two shacklock stoves and of course in an
      open fire it was wonderful for the cold and the heat marvellous

  <WSC#DGI098:0015:IJ>
      your father was doing what there <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0020:PW>
      my father had a small farm there <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0025:PW>
      my parents went out there in january nineteen seven and they had
      a <,> sledge

  <WSC#DGI098:0030:PW>
      they sledged along the base of the hills and then there was a
      small hill that they went over before they <.>g</.> arrived at
      the beach and they sledged <,> everything they had over that
      hill <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0035:PW>
      the piano that i have now my mother was teaching <&>14:00</&> in
      tolaga er in nineteen hundred and that piano went over that hill
      on a sledge and the <,> timber for the house was rafted ashore
      off er a ship er onto the beach and they built a four roomed
      cottage oh about half a mile inland and the furniture <,> must
      have been landed on the beach because i remember we had one of
      those green plush chesterfields and the wave marks were on the
      green plush

  <WSC#DGI098:0040:PW>
      <{1><[1>years later</[1> my <laughs>my <.>moth</.></laughs> my
      mother covered it with chintz and that sort <{2><[2>of</[2>
      thing but er it took a long time to <,> get the home together

  <WSC#DGI098:0045:PW>
      they had no money really and my mother remembered sleeping
      there's a little <&>15:00</&> two roomed i think it must be a
      kauri shack we called the whare and my mother remembered
      sleeping in that <,> er little shack on the grass <?>seed</?>
      the night the valley burned

  <WSC#DGI098:0050:PW>
      the bush had to be felled it was very heavy bush and <,> they
      were in it and the whole valley was burning and because the
      puriri trees were so big for many years we had very serious log
      fires um

  <WSC#DGI098:0055:PW>
      the roots would run a long way underground and they would burn
      for a long time <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0060:PW>
      when i was about six <,> one night er one of these log fires
      happened over er just on the place but they were in the next
      valley it was quite steep and they pulled me out of bed and took
      me with them up onto the ridge and i remember looking down into
      this great valley and these eNORmous trees burning to the top
      and then exploding and <&>16:00</&> falling <,> and on the
      skyline we could see sheep and some cattle

  <WSC#DGI098:0065:PW>
      er my father had just escaped <.>r</.> really with his life that
      day

  <WSC#DGI098:0070:PW>
      he was trying to get the stock out and he finally had to ride
      for his life and the dogs were singed and they did have to kill
      some <,> sheep but we saw them all along the fence that night
      and then many times we had those log fires

  <WSC#DGI098:0075:PW>
      they <O>voc</O> they'd perhaps come over from the maori country
      <,> and one of the things i think was hardest for my mother to
      cope with was it was a rich valley but such heavy soil and in
      the winter the mud was UNbelievable

  <WSC#DGI098:0080:PW>
      it er it was up to our knees

  <WSC#DGI098:0085:PW>
      we milked cows was a necessity and made bread and <,> the
      <&>17:00</&> inconvenience my mother must have been very great

  <WSC#DGI098:0090:IJ>
      <[1><O>laughs</O></[1></{1>

  <WSC#DGI098:0095:IJ>
      <[2>mm</[2></{2>

  <WSC#DGI098:0100:IJ>
      was the mud <{><[><,> yes</[>

  <WSC#DGI098:0105:PW>
      <[>oh yes</[></{> the mud was so hard to deal with and with the
      clothes and the drying them and trying to keep them <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0110:IJ>
      mm

  <WSC#DGI098:0115:IJ>
      what were the hardships for you as a child

  <WSC#DGI098:0120:PW>
      well i didn't have hardships

  <WSC#DGI098:0125:PW>
      i think my mother did

  <WSC#DGI098:0130:IJ>
      mm

  <WSC#DGI098:0135:PW>
      um we had a jolly good life

  <WSC#DGI098:0140:PW>
      we went barefoot

  <WSC#DGI098:0145:PW>
      i rode from the age of three <,> er at three years old i was
      being led into tolaga on a leading rein on a little black pony
      called sammy <unclear>word</unclear> <{><[><unclear>word</unclear></[>

  <WSC#DGI098:0150:IJ>
      <[>how</[></{> far from tolaga <{><[><.>w</.> er</[>

  <WSC#DGI098:0155:PW>
      <[>seven</[></{> miles <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0160:IJ>
      seven miles away from <{><[>tolaga bay yes</[>

  <WSC#DGI098:0165:PW>
      <[>yes <,></[></{> we'd go in be led in and very soon having
      lived on a horse i would ride by myself

  <WSC#DGI098:0170:PW>
      at eight eight years old i was riding into tolaga to get the
      mail and <&>18:00</&> sometimes a loaf of bread as a treat

  <WSC#DGI098:0175:PW>
      we had a saddle bag on the side of the saddle and <,> the one
      fear i had was cars

  <WSC#DGI098:0180:PW>
      they slowly began to come and to get the two miles from the turn
      off kaiaua turn off onto the main road and get into a side road
      er at tolaga was a nightmare for me

  <WSC#DGI098:0185:PW>
      one day a car did come and the horses didn't shy they went MAD

  <WSC#DGI098:0190:PW>
      <{><[>i <.>ha</.> <laughs>i <.>ha</.> i</[> had</laughs> this
      pony by the reins and he TORE along the fence and tore the back
      of my hand on the barbed wire which made me even more frightened
      <,> and it was quite a worry and then of course we began to get
      a a road we got a narrow road over the hill <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0195:PW>
      we drove we wasn't a road on the flats for quite a long time

  <WSC#DGI098:0200:PW>
      we drove round the base the base of the hill

  <WSC#DGI098:0205:PW>
      we drove along sheep flock tracks on the flat and we
      <&>19:00</&> drove around the base of the hill and then we had a
      very narrow road over the hill JUST the width of a buggy and of
      course very slippery and VERY deep mud

  <WSC#DGI098:0210:PW>
      the mud on the main road was SO GREAT right up to the horses'
      knees and the bridges there were <.>the</.> in those days there
      were little flat bridges with no edges and the approaches to
      them were so deep they were right up to the axles

  <WSC#DGI098:0215:PW>
      people would break their traces <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0220:PW>
      we didn't but we had two big grey horses and i learnt to drive
      them and at twelve i could drive these horses into tolaga and
      get mail and do things that were necessary but most people
      didn't come to call on us cos they were too frightened of the
      road

  <WSC#DGI098:0225:IJ>
      <[><unclear>word</unclear> <O>laughs</O></[></{>

  <WSC#DGI098:0230:IJ>
      mm what about getting your wool er down to tolaga er getting it
      out <latch> <&>20:00</&>

  <WSC#DGI098:0235:PW>
      well er now the wool my father had a dray with three horses and
      the wool when i was young i remember seeing it go off in a surf
      boat er and a <.>s</.> a schooner came for it <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0240:PW>
      i seem to think it was captain skinner

  <WSC#DGI098:0245:PW>
      anyhow the wool went off that way and then <,> i've got a
      photograph in nineteen twenty two <,> of a bullocky

  <WSC#DGI098:0250:PW>
      joe lunim had a a bullock team of twelve bullocks and he got his
      wagon in and took the wool out to tolaga where it was shipped
      from er the uawa river

  <WSC#DGI098:0255:PW>
      i don't remember the exact date when the bullock wagon came but
      i remember joe lunim and i was so angry with him for hitting the
      bullocks

  <WSC#DGI098:0260:PW>
      <{><[><laughs>i</laughs></[> flew across the paddock he was
      hitting the bullocks and i flew across the paddock and jumped up
      and <&>21:00</&> down in front of him and screamed at him and
      joe's eyes nearly fell out of his <O>laughs</O> head at this
      small girl and he actually did stop hitting for the moment
      <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0265:IJ>
      <[><O>laughs</O></[></{>

  <WSC#DGI098:0270:IJ>
      mm his his language with the bullocks would have been <.>qu</.>
      choice too <{><[><unclear>word</unclear></[>

  <WSC#DGI098:0275:PW>
      <[><O>laughs</O></[></{> it was indeed yes well well lively <,>
      but the cooking and that sort of thing in a place like that must
      have been very great for my mother because we had eventually
      there were five of us and we had a governess or someone to help
      and we had a <.>m</.> a girl in the kitchen who would help and
      we had three men at the whare <&>pronounced with w</&> <,> to er
      a cowboy and others who worked so the er they had to have their
      breakfast all their meals at the house <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0280:PW>
      she had pretty difficult times doing that and she didn't get out
      much so she gardened

  <WSC#DGI098:0285:PW>
      she was a wonderful gardener

  <WSC#DGI098:0290:PW>
      my father used to get up at four oclock in the morning and he
      kept us in vegetables so that we didn't <&>22:00</&> buy
      anything <,> <O>laughs</O>

  <WSC#DGI098:0295:PW>
      we kept a tin of salmon on the shelf to have if we needed fish
      pie we <.>w</.> had a fish pie on a friday um and the rest of
      the time we grew everything

  <WSC#DGI098:0300:PW>
      you didn't buy things

  <WSC#DGI098:0305:IJ>
      a ship was wrecked <{><[><,> er round</[> about that period
      nineteen <,> twelve <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0310:PW>
      <[>oh yes</[></{>

  <WSC#DGI098:0315:PW>
      er somewhere about nineteen twelve i think the tongariro

  <WSC#DGI098:0320:PW>
      must have been further up the coast because the shoreline i
      remember the bay north of us was littered with things and the
      kaiaua beach was too all sorts of things but a lot of barrels of
      of whisky overproof whisky too and my father saw them and he
      notified the police who of course would have to ride out but <O>laughs</O>
      the police didn't get much whisky

  <WSC#DGI098:0325:PW>
      um there were gangs of maoris who came over our back hill and
      through our paddock past the house and i remember seeing them
      with their packhorses

  <WSC#DGI098:0330:PW>
      they couldn't take the barrels but they filled containers as
      much as they could and then they would roll the barrel and hide
      them hide <&>23:00</&> it behind bushes somewhere bury it and
      another lot would be watching them and they would <,> er wait
      till that lot had gone and then they'd dash and get the barrel
      out and get what they could out of it and there were barrels all
      over the beach being hidden and being <.>du</.> being dug up and
      um the stuff there must have been great parties going on further
      inland and i remember seeing the packhorses go with these people
      each lot scurrying from the other hiding all over the place on
      the manuka cos there were in those days there was bush on mana
      marau and you could hide and watch <{><[>very well</[> so it was
      really <.>the</.> it was a very lucrative time for them and at
      that time <,> there it i don't know exactly where the tongariro
      went down but it must have been further north because up at
      tuparoa there were hundreds of barrels came ashore i think and
      the old chief realised that his <&>24:00</&> people would be
      ruined if they got such a lot of that so somehow he got it into
      a cave beneath a hilltop not very high but it was a good big
      knob and he got this his a few selected people to get all these
      barrels INside <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0335:PW>
      it must have been pretty big and he made it tapu so that nobody
      could touch it and he sealed it off <,>

  <WSC#DGI098:0340:PW>
      well not very long later a a pakeha built a hotel on top of that
      knob and he made a tunnel down into this cave and there was
      enough whisky in it to run that hotel for a good many years

  <WSC#DGI098:0345:PW>
      i don't know how long but he um it was enough to supply the
      WHOLE place <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0350:IJ>
      <[>mm <O>laughs</O></[></{>

  <WSC#DGI098:0355:IJ>
      mm <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0360:PW>
      with the liquor

  <WSC#DGI098:0365:IJ>
      <laughs>he had his</laughs> his own natural cellar just
      underneath <{><[><O>laughs</O></[> <&>25:00</&>

  <WSC#DGI098:0370:PW>
      <[>that was right

  <WSC#DGI098:0375:PW>
      he had</[></{> a wonderful daughter who went there at about
      twelve

  <WSC#DGI098:0380:PW>
      she cooked for shearing gangs and she also helped in the hotel
      because they didn't have much money till they could get going
      and she wrote a remarkable book about it

  <WSC#DGI098:0385:PW>
      i wish that i'd kept the name of it because she was <.>g</.> a
      most remarkable young woman

  <WSC#DGI098:0390:IJ>
      at what stage did you leave um er tolaga the tolaga area and
      move further north

  <WSC#DGI098:0395:IJ>
      you went further north <{><[>didn't you</[>

  <WSC#DGI098:0400:PW>
      <[>oh yes</[></{> i married charles williams in nineteen
      september nineteen twenty six and went up to live at matahia
      which was fourteen miles IN from ruatoria

  <WSC#DGI098:0405:PW>
      the land ran ran and still does run right round to the back of
      aorangi to the base of hikurangi <{><[>so <.>th</.></[>

  <WSC#DGI098:0410:IJ>
      <[>now charles</[></{> williams this is a descendant of the

  <WSC#DGI098:0415:PW>
      henry <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0420:IJ>
      of henry williams <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0425:PW>
      yes he's a great grandson

  <WSC#DGI098:0430:PW>
      my father in law kenneth williams ken kenneth stuart williams
      was his grandson <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0435:IJ>
      mm <latch>

  <WSC#DGI098:0440:PW>
      and a very remarkable person

  <WSC#DGI098:0445:IJ>
      and you moved to to where exactly <&>26:00</&>

  <WSC#DGI098:0450:PW>
      to matahia

  <WSC#DGI098:0455:PW>
      it was fourteen miles round by road

  <WSC#DGI098:0460:PW>
      well there wasn't a road actually um and six miles across the
      river matai river

  <WSC#DGI098:0465:PW>
      it depended on the stage of the river how we whether we could
      get out or not

  <WSC#DGI098:0470:PW>
      the the life was ruled of course by the river

  <WSC#DGI098:0475:IJ>
      you had a farm there

  <WSC#DGI098:0480:PW>
      yes <{><[>they <.>ha</.> they <.>ha</.> er</[> had a farm and if
      you had to get out we rode round the hills <,> um we had but we
      still had to cross the arangirai river which if it was too high
      you just didn't GET out

  <WSC#DGI098:0485:PW>
      if anybody had an accident they stayed there and during our time
      before the river was big bridge was built <,> er my husband set
      four people's legs

  <WSC#DGI098:0490:PW>
      they happened to break them at that time and he could bring them
      in

  <WSC#DGI098:0495:PW>
      one man was right up on the mountain <,> joe hura and they <.>ha</.>
      they had to <&>27:00</&> carry joe down <,> er he was a big
      heavy man and the people went out and carried him and then they
      put him in a dray <,> on the creek bed which was very big stones
      and he bunked in a dray right down er till they could could
      carry him on the flat but the pain and he didn't make one sound
      <&>27:24</&>

  <WSC#DGI098:0500:IJ>
      <[>mm</[></{>
</I>
