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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]

Clifden

Clifden.

Clifden was originally the name of a large sheep station on the Waiau river, and is more generally spoken of as the Waiau, but Clifden is the name of the postal and school district. About the year 1894, a good deal of the land in the district was cut up by the Government into farms of from 250 to 2,000 acres, and was all taken up by a fine class of people. The climate of the Waiau is described as very mild, and as the soil is good, splendid wheat is grown in the district. Capital cycling roads lead from Otautau, on the Invercargill-Nightcaps line, to a magnificent suspension bridge that crosses the Waiau just alongside the old Clifden home-stead, at a picturesque bend in the river. Clifden is, with its bush-clad limestone cliffs, far-famed caves and trout-stocked waters, well worth a visit from a sightseer or a sportsman. When the railway line from Orepuki is extended to the mouth of the Waiau, the development of the settlement must be accelerated, as there will be means of transit for produce which cannot be profitably grown under existing conditions. Then, there are large areas of bush country which have yet to be exploited for sawmilling purposes. To some extent mining is carried on, and there are dredges on the river. The settlement of Orawia, which is also the name of a tributary of the Waiau, is to the eastward, on the main road from Otautau. It is practically the centre of that part of the Merrivale estate which was cut up some years ago, and is located at the junction of page 968 the Otautau-Waiau road, at the point where the branch road leaves the main line for Eastern Bush and Feldwick. Orawia has its own post office and dairy factory. The settlers at Clifden have a post office and telephone bureau, and a public school, which was erected in 1894; and weekly mails are received from, and despatched to, Otautau. The road to Clifden passes through what is called the Waiau Gorge, where great rocks, towering one above another, give the the place a wild and weird look. One of the entrances to the well-known caves is near the Waiau end of the Gorge. On entering the caves, the visitor can walk for the first twenty or thirty yards, but then it becomes a case of crawling on hands and knees for some twenty minutes, and candles have to be used to find the passage. When the inner caves are reached, there is plenty of room to walk about, and the height is, in some places, from thirty to forty feet. Above all, whatever feeling of fatigue or annoyance may have been caused by the difficulty of crawling in, that vanishes completely under the spell of the beautiful scene, with its magical effects, as of glow-worms sparkling from the snow-white stalactites. Further along, at the point called the “Heel,” there is a natural basin, about ten yards square, and some six or seven feet deep, which is frequently full of water. When this is so, means have to be taken to reduce the level of the water, so as to allow the visitor to get round. There are caves beyond this basin, and the total area within which they are found, is estimated to be about one mile. The other entrance to the caves is very much easier of access, and the distance from it is only one mile to the Waiau river. No one who visits the Waiau district should fail to see these lovely and celebrated caves, but neither should anyone visit them without an experienced guide. But the district has other attractions. To the westward of the Waiau river, lies the great unknown land of Otago's immense virgin forests, mountains, precipitous sounds, and flords, in many of which the primeval silence has never been broken by man. There is, thus, plenty of interest for the miner, naturalist, or explorer. Clifden is in the Waiau riding of the county of Wallace, and in the electoral district of Wallace. The population of the township, at the census of 1901, was returned as ninety-three, and there were thirty additional in the district of Waiau West. The Waiau riding in the county of Wallace had a total population of 751, at the census of 1901. Waiau means, it is said, the river of eddies or small whirlpools.

Horrell, John , Farmer, “Rose-lake,” Clifden. Mr Horrell was born at Portbury, Somersetshire, England, in 1856, and was brought up to farming. He landed at Wellington in 1880, and for some years engaged in general farm work in Southland and Canterbury. He was farming in the Riversdale district for four years, but when the Waiau district was opened up for settlement, he secured 405 acres, which he has since increased to 700 acres. The land is of excellent quality, and very good wheat has been grown upon it. Mr Horrell was a member of the first school committee at Clifden, and is now a member of the Clifden Cemetery Trust. He was married, in 1878, to a daughter of Mr William Seward, of Frankford Farm, Telburn, Devonshire, England, and has five sons and one daughter.

Mr J. Horell.

Mr J. Horell.

King, James , Farmer, “Wood-vale,” Clifden. “Woodvale” consists of 467 acres of land, and is worked as a mixed farm. The proprietor breeds Leicester and Romney Marsh sheep, and Hereford cattle, which he exhibits at the Invercargill, Gore, and Riverton shows. Mr King is elsewhere referred as a member of the Wallace County Council.

Whyte, Robert Bryce , Farmer, Riverview Farm, Clifden. Mr Whyte took up land in the Clifden district in 1893, and now holds a farm of 422 acres, on which he conducts mixed farming. He has grown splendid wheat, but the distance from the market precludes the successful cultivation of that grain. Mr Whyte was born at Blackford, in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1851, and came to New Zealand, with his parents, in 1863. He worked for his father until he attained his 22nd year, when he took up land at Homebush, Sheffield, Canterbury. After holding land there for eight years, he took up land successively on the Waimea Plains, at Heddon Bush, and at Gore; but left the latter place on the opening of the Waiau settlement. Mr Whyte has had long service as a school committeeman, and has been two years chairman of the Clifden committee. He takes a keen interest in the affairs of the Presbyterian church. Mr Whyte was married, in 1874, to a daughter of Mr Archibald Smart, farmer, Courtenay, Canterbury, and has a family of six sons and four daughters.

Gerstenkorn, photo.Mr. And Mrs R. B. Whyte.

Gerstenkorn, photo.
Mr. And Mrs R. B. Whyte.

Mr. Alfred Frederick Blatch arrived in Otago by the ship “John Wickliffe,” in 1848. He was born at Cleggate, in Surrey, England, in 1835, and in November, 1847, left for New page 969 Zealand, with his parents. His father took up land in the Taieri district. After working some years on farms in the vicinity of Dunedin, Mr A. F. Blatch went to Maungatua, where he worked for some time, but afterwards spent many years on various stations in the Otago district, finishing up with eight years on Cottesbrook station. In March, 1874, he took up a farm on the Otago Peninsula, where he carried on dairying and market gardening. He held three farms on the Peninsula at different times. When the Waiau land was thrown open, in 1893. Mr Blatch succeeded in securing a good section, and he now holds Birch Grove farm, of 930 acres. He also holds the Sunnyside station, Waiau, of 640 acres of freehold, and 10,900 acres of leasehold. For several years, Mr Blatch was a member of the Peninsula Road Board. While residing at North East Harbour he was a member of the school committee, of which he was chairman for some time, and also of the library com-committee, as well as being one of the cemetery trustees. He is a member of the local school committee and of the Cemetery Trust at Clifden, and also a prominent member of the Farmers' Union, and of the Southland Farmers' Co-operative Association. Mr Blatch was married, in 1870, to a daughter of the late Mr William Henry Monson, architect and builder, Dunedin, and has a family of nine sons and three daughters. Mr Monson was a fellow passenger of Mr Blatch, and his daughter (Mrs Blatch) was born in Dunedin, in 1849.

Gerstenkorn, photo.Mr. And Mrs A. F. Blatch.

Gerstenkorn, photo.
Mr. And Mrs A. F. Blatch.