Photography - Historical | |
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New Zealand - Riverton - Riverton, in the Western District, is the oldest settlement in Southland. Riverton is the mecca of racing enthusiasts, the three-day meeting at Easter attracting entries and attendances from far afield. #603350 - This area was known to the Maori as Aparima (named for the Kati Mamoe mother of Hekeia, for whom the Longwood Range is named). - Anglo-Europeans who settled the area in the 1830s called the settlement Jacob's River. The name Riverton was later adopted by the residents, and their choice was ratified officially in March 1858. One hundred and forty years later, with the passing of Section 450 Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, the town was given the dual names of Riverton / Aparima. - On the grassed plateau above the estuary channel stands a stone memorial to the founder of Riverton, whaler and runholder, Captain John Howell. Who while in the employ of Johnny Jones was dispatched with three ships, to establish a whaling station at Aparima in either 1835 or 1836 to replace the abandoned station at Preservation Inlet. The settlement becoming known as Jacob's River due to a local Maori living at the mouth whom the whalers called Jacob. Jones's purchase of all that land from Colac Bay to the New River, and extending some fifty miles inland from the Ngai Tahu chief "Bloody Jack" Tūhawaiki was formally acknowledged in October 1838. At about the same time Howell secured the Pākehā tenure to the area by marrying Kohi-Kohi the daughter of Patu and Pipikihau, the local Kati Mamoe chief based at Raratoka Island or Centre Island in the Foveaux Strait. - The year 1850 is generally taken as the one in which settlers at Riverton/Aparima definitely changed over from ploughing the sea to ploughing the land. By that time whaling along the Southland coasts gave only a precarious living and the settlers of Riverton saw they would either have to take to the land or move to a more favourable locality. The settlers had their plots of land and as much stock as they could afford. This however immediately raised the question as to who really owned the land. As long as the whalers confined themselves along the Jacobs River estuary, it was not thought worth while to challenge their right to the small area they occupied. With the intricate system of land ownership among the Maori, Captain Howell realised that he was not really the sole owner of those vast tracts of land which he believed were handed over to him at the time of his marriage to Kohi-Kohi. Fortunately the central government found out what was happening and sent Mr W.B.D. Mantell to negotiate with the southern Maori for the purchase of the area known as Murihiku. Walter Baldock Durrant Mantell arrived at Riverton on 27 December 1851, and began negotiations with the various chiefs of Southland. It was not until 17 August 1853 that the area of Murihiku (which encompassed Southland), was purchased from the Maori. The township being surveyed by the New Zealand Government in 1861. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverton,_New_Zealand0 - Whites Pictorial Reference has been produced to tell a new story - a modern story. Aerial photography has been utilised to show where New Zealanders live and the countryside from which comes their wealth. Most important, it also illustrates most vividly the Dominion's growing cities and towns, but perhaps more to the point it shows that there is still plenty of room for further development... Author: White Leo (compiled) Click the link provided at the top to purchase the book through the MAD on New Zealand Shop - Supporting New Zealand Authors and Artists