Stewart Island is separated from the Middle Island by Foveaux Strait. It is remarkable for the number and beauty of its bays and the extent and loveliness of its bush; indeed, it is a land of hills, which are for the most part covered with virgin forest. The island is over forty miles in length, and about twenty-five miles wide, and has an area of nearly 1,000 square miles. At a point somewhere near the centre it is penetrated by Paterson's Inlet, which runs fully half way into the land. From the head of this inlet, continuous low ground extends to Mason's Bay on the west coast. It is the opinion of many that at one time the sea washed over this low ground, thus dividing the island into two, of which the northern would have been the smaller portion. The industries of Stewart Island include Eshing, stockbreeding, sawmilling, mining, boat building and the tourist traffic. The fishing industry is extensive, and many old settlers have from time to time found occasional employment in connection with it. The representatives of merchants resident at the Bluff and in Australia are constant buyers and shippers of the fish that is brought in in great abundance to the jetty at Half Moon Bay. Grass grows in abundance anywhere on the island, and there is excellent pasture for both sheep and cattle. Sawmills have been worked in various parts of the island for many years; but, latterly, the Government has hesitated to grant timber rights, as there is a strong belief that the natural bush should be preserved for its own sake and as an object of interest to tourists. Both tin and gold have been worked at Pegasus, and a quartz-reef has also been discovered about five miles from Half Moon Bay. Ironsand abounds in the island, between Half Moon Bay and Paterson's Inlet. This sand, on being tested some years ago, was said to be superior to Taranaki sand, and also contained a sufficient quantity of gold to pay for the expenses of smelting. In the year 1890 a rush set in at Port Pegasus, and over a hundred claims were taken up. Unfortunately, the principal business was devoted to floating companies and selling shares. Mr. Thomson, who is well known as the proprietor of the oldest boarding establishment at Half Moon Bay, has spent a good deal of time in developing the mining industry, and he states that about £4,000 worth of gold, in addition to thirteen tons of tin, has already been sent away from the island. The field was visited some time back by Professor Black, of the University of Otago, and during his inspection tin lodes were discovered, in addition to the stream tin which Mr. Thomson had found. It seems probable that at some future time this valuable industry will be developed, but mining has latterly been confined to the work of a few parties of alluvial diggers. The tourist traffic has been growing rapidly, and with increased communication with the mainland, and largely extended accommodation at Half Moon Bay and other bays, it may with reason be expected to become much more extensive in the near future.

Stewart Island is surpassingly beautiful, with its numerous bays and their pretty beaches flanked by virgin bush; and the picturesque walks and “corduroy” tracks are exceedingly popular with all those who have had the pleasure of using them. There is no lack of occupation for the traveller who is able to take reasonable exercise, for there are first-rate facilities for boating, sea bathing, fishing, yachting, shooting and fern collecting. In the season of 1904 the little vessel belonging to the Bluff Harbour Board visited Half Moon Bay twice every week. The fishing grounds of the island are mostly in the northern portion. There are recognised banks, such as those at Mamakau and White's Points, at Port William, Gull Rock, Murray River, Saddle Rock, White Rock, Black Rock, Cave Point, Rugged

Oyster Cutters, Bluff.

page 891 Island and the Redhead and Codfish Islands. Stewart Island is penetrated by numerous inlets such as Port Pegasus, South Arm, North Arm, Port Adventure, Oyster Cove, and a snug bay rejoicing in the name of Abraham's Bosom. These are entirely apart from those on the north-eastern part of the island, such as Half Moon Bay, Horseshoe Bay and Lee Bay.

Of the hills on the island, the highest peak is Mount Anglem (Hananui), 3,200 feet, and the next highest is Rakeahuai, 2,110 feet. The island is divided into six districts; namely, Anglem on the north, Paterson's and Lord's river on the east; Mason and Pegasus on the west; and the southern extremity is known as South Cape. There are marvellously beautiful trips for tourists and visitors to be found on various parts of the island. Paterson's Inlet, a stretch of water ten miles in length, is only one mile from Half Moon Bay by a picturesque track, or it may be reached by boat round Aker's Point. Rabbit or Native Island is at the entrance of the inlet; and Ulva or Cooper's Island is then passed, with the Maori settlement on the Neck, to the left. No word painting can describe the magnificent scenery of this inlet, with its numerous coves and bays. Another delightful trip is that to Horseshoe Bay, two miles from the settlement by road or boat. The lovely white beach of this bay is one mile round, and is flanked on its landward sides by beautiful native bush. The next bay beyond is named Lee Bay, which is the landing place of the cables from the mainland.

Stewart Island is in the Awarua electoral district. The principal centre of population on the island is at Half Moon Bay, which is the site of the township of Oban. This township is partly in the north and partly in the south riding of the county of Stewart Island. At the census of 1901 the population of the township within the north riding was eighty, and within the south riding seventeen, while the Bay itself had a population of forty-one in the north and forty in the south riding. The total European population of the island at the same date was 253, and there were about eighty Maoris. At Half Moon Bay there are three stores, a draper's shop, a tobacconist's and fancy goods shop, and four boarding houses. The courthouse and the police station occupy central positions, and there is an Athenaeum Hall, which is available for public meetings and entertainments. Churches are represented by Anglican and Presbyterian, and there is a vicarage and a manse for the resident clergymen. Since the seventies the Postal Department has had an office in the township of Oban, and there are branch offices at Ulva and the Neck, to each of which there is a weekly mail service. The island has been joined by cable since the 11th of June, 1902, and the telephone bureau at Half Moon Bay connects with the Bluff, Invercargill and surrounding districts. The public school at Half Moon Bay dates from 1874, and had forty-two names on its roll in 1904, with an average attendance of thirty-four.

In the months of April and May each year the natives of Stewart Island are very busy collecting mutton birds on the surrounding islands. The birds are caught before they are able to fly, and having been cured, are packed in curious kits, and carried away by cutter loads to the Bluff market. It is an interesting sight to watch the arrival of the mutton bird cutter, and see the methods adopted by the Maoris in disposing of their annual harvest.

Pikiarero—New Zealand Clematis.

It might naturally be imagined that the climate of Stewart Island, from its extreme southern position, must be cold and bleak; such, however, is not the case; and many flowers which would not grow in Invercargill, flourish in the open air. It is said that the climate of the island is moderated by a warm current which sets in from the Queensland coast. Whatever the cause may be, it is certain that the temperature is several degrees higher than it is at Invercargill. Very little snow falls on the lowlands of the island, and when it does, it soon disappears, and the frosts are neither numerous nor severe. Though they may not be strictly applicable to it in every particular, Stewart Island doubtless makes many of those who visit it think of the lines in which Tennyson describes “the island-valley of Avilion,”

“Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow,
Nor ever wind blows londly; but it lies
Deep-meadowed, happy, fair with orchard lawns,
And bowery hollows crown'd with summer sea.”

It is at least one of the loveliest and most romantic portions of one of the loveliest and most romantic countries in God's world. May hundreds yearly visit it for centuries to enjoy its beauty, and never to the end of time may a human hand do anything to lessen its loveliness.

Stewart Island County , which was incorporated in 1893, when its first council was elected, embraces the entire island, and adjacent islets, and is divided into two ridings, known as North and South. The North Riding includes Half Moon Bay, with the townships of Oban, Peterson, Anglem, part of Mason district as far south as Mount Rukeahuai, and Ruapaki Island. The South Riding embraces the rest of the island, including the Pegasus and Lord's River districts. Each riding returns three members to the County Council. In 1903 the total capital rateable value of the North Riding was £11,408, and that of the South Riding, £5,824. The Island consists mostly of Crown lands, which are not rateable. A general rate of 3/4 d in the pound, and a Hospital and Charitable Aid rate of 1/4d are levied. The total revenue on general accounts, exclusive of certain special Government grants, for the year ending March, 1903, was £139. There are sixty to seventy miles of roads and tracks in the island, chiefly tracks; only about page 892 one mile and a-half of metal roads having been completed. The County Council acts as a Harbour Board, under the name of the Half Moon Bay and the Horse Shoe Bay Harbour Board. This Board, which was established in 1896, and obtained extended jurisdiction in 1901, has control over the harbours extending throughout Half Moon and Horse Shoe Bays. A convenient jetty in Half Moon Bay has replaced a private wharf, which originally served the settlers for many years. In Horse Shoe Bay a jetty, a quarter of a mile long, was constructed in 1896. Members of the Council in 1904: Messrs W. Robertson, C. Hansen, and J. Bragg, representing North Riding, and J Harrison, A. W. Trail, and W. J. Jensen, representing South Riding. Mr Joseph Harrison, who was the first chairman of the County Council and Harbour Board, still holds the office. Mr George Naesmith is secretary and treasurer of the County Council and Harbour Board.

Councillor Christian Hansen , who has held a seat on the Stewart County Council since 1901, was born in 1852, in Norway, where he resided for twenty-five years before his arrival in the colony. Mr Hansen took a master mariner's certificate in 1888, and for three years had charge of the s.s. “Napier,” trading between Invercargill, Dunedin and Riverton. In 1894 he settled at Port Adventure, and five years later removed to Half Moon Bay, where he engaged in fishing and boat building, and in 1899 became the proprietor of Oban House. Mr Hansen was married, in 1867, to Miss Johnson, of Norway, and has three sons and four daughters.

Councillor John Bragg , who was elected to the Stewart Island County Council in 1902, was born at Leask's Bay, Stewart Island, in 1848, and brought up to a country life. He went to the West Coast diggings in 1865, and shortly afterwards engaged in the oyster and fishing business in Southland. He has also been engaged in sawmilling at Patterson's Inlet, and in sheepfarming. Mr Bragg now resides at Bragg's Bay, where he owns twenty-nine and a-half acres of land. He was married, in 1875, to a daughter of the late Mr John Owen, and has had seven sons and three daughters, but all his daughters have died.

Councillor Newton Julius Jensen , who has represented the South Riding in Stewart Island County Council since 1903, was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, in 1870. He was educated in his native place, and went to sea in 1885, and landed at Port Chalmers from the ship “Orpheus” in 1888. He settled at Half Moon Bay in 1889, and has since been connected with the fishing and boat-building industries. For some time he was engaged in storekeeping, but sold out in 1903. Mr Jensen accompanied Professor Black, of Otago University, on a prospecting expedition to Pegasus, where they were successful in finding what is believed to be payable tin. Mr Jensen owns the quarter of an acre of land on which his residence stands. He is a member of the local Presbyterian church committee. Mr Jensen was married, in 1893, to a daughter of the late Mr Thomas Leask, of Half Moon Bay, and has two sons and two daughters.

Mr. Robert Scollay , who was for several years a member of the Stewart Island County Council, was born in 1833, in Shetland, went to sea at the age of fourteen, and ultimately became a master mariner. Mr Scollay came to New Zealand in the ship “Queen of Perth,” with saw-milling machinery for Stewart Island. Three years later he went into the coasting trade, and ran his own schooner on the New Zealand coast till 1899. Mr Scollay obtained a grant of twenty acres adjoining the township of Oban, and erected his present residence on the property. He is a member of the committee of the Presbyterian church. Mr Scollay is engaged in the fishing industry, and is the owner of the steam launch “Sunbeam,” which he built. The “Sunbeam,” which is worked by a five and a-half-horse power oil engine, is licensed to carry passengers, and runs regular excursions to the various bays during the season. Mr Scollay was married, in 1857, to a daughter of Mr John Read, of Poole, Dorset, England, and has had seven daughters and three sons, of whom two sons are dead.

The Stewart Island Portion Of The Gladstone Parish Of The Anglican Church embraces the entire island. The church, which is prettily situated on a quarter-acre site on the hill in Oban township, is built of wood and iron, and has seating accommodation for 120 persons. Services are held regularly at Half Moon Bay and at the Neck. The Sunday school has an attendance of twelve children, who are in charge of two teachers. The vicarage is a wooden building, beautifully situated on a glebe of fifty-two acres.

The Rev. David Jamieson , M.A., Vicar in charge of the Anglican church at Stewart Island, was born in 1850 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and educated in Belgium and at Berlin University, where he graduated in 1887. Mr Jamieson entered the ministry of the Presbyterian church, and officiated in Glasgow for fifteen years.

In 1898 he arrived in Dunedin by the s.s. “Ruahine,” and was appointed minister at Akaroa, where he was in charge till his resignation in 1901, when he entered the ministry of the Church of England. Mr Jamieson was married, in Aberdeenshire, at Christmas time, 1874, to a daughter of Mr David Horn, of Huntly, and has three sons and three daughters.

The Stewart Island Magistrate's Court is built of wood and iron, stands on a quarter-acre section in Ayr Street, and was erected in 1896. The business of the court is conducted by three justices. During the year 1903 there were no charges of drunkenness before the court—a testimony to the sobriety of the district.

The Sub-Police District Of Stewart Island includes the whole island and islets adjacent to it. It is controlled from the chief office at Invercargill, and was constituted in 1889. The courthouse serves as the police station, and there is a lock-up at the back.

Ramsay, John Budge , Carpenter, Half Moon Bay. Mr Ramsay was born in 1878 in the Shetland Isles, and learned the trade of a carpenter in Liverpool, England. He spent two years and a-half in Melbourne, and in 1890 came to the Bluff, where he worked at his trade. In 1892 he removed to Stewart Island, where he has since resided.

Graves, Claude Robert , Half-Moon Bay, Stewart Island. Mr Graves is the only son of Captain George Graves. He was born in 1872, in Tasmania, and was married in his native country, in 1897, to Miss Wilson, of Victoria.

Gerstenkorn, photo.
Mr. C. R. Graves.

Greenvale House (James Robertson Thomson, proprietor), Half Moon Bay. This well-known accommodation house is a wood and iron building, charmingly situated on an elevated position overlooking the magnificent bay. It has recently been doubled in size, and contains a drawing-room, dining and smoking-rooms, and a large number of bedrooms capable of accommodating fifty visitors. Though high, the site is remarkably sheltered, and a magnificent view is obtained from the verandah. There are about twenty-three acres attached to the premises, with gardens, lawns and flower-beds. Mr Thomson farms 408 acres of land, which he holds with a right to purchase, besides ninety-four acres of reserve. Milk, butter and eggs are raised on the estate. Mr Thomson was the first to provide accommodation for visitors to Stewart Island, and has enlarged the premises from time to time as required.

Mr. James Robertson Thomson , Proprietor of Greenvale House, was born in the Shetland Islands in October, 1848, and was brought up to farming and fishing. He landed at Port Chalmers in December, 1873, from the ship, “Jessie Readman,” and since 1876 has been associated with Stewart Island, where he made his home, purchased land, and engaged in farming, fishing and mining. When in 1886 the licensed house in the island was given up, Mr Thomson opened Greenvale House as a boarding house. He was prominently associated with the discovery of gold and tin at Pegasus; and to this further reference is made in the description of Stewart Island on another page. Mr Thomson was married, in 1871, to a daughter of the late Mr Mitchell Peterson, of Shetland, and has two sons and five daughters.

Mr. J. R. Thomson

Oban House (Christian Hansen, proprietor), Half Moon Bay. Oban House, the most prominent building at Half Moon Bay, is a two-storey structure situated close to the jetty. It was enlarged in 1899 to almost double its original size, and has accommodation for from sixty to seventy guests. The dining-room is a very fine apartment, capable of seating sixty people. There are twenty-two double bedrooms and several single ones. The proprietor also keeps a general store on the ground floor. Captain Hansen is the owner of the cutter “Ganet,” twenty-one tons, carrying an auxiliary oil engine. The “Ganet” makes trips to the beauty spots of the island.

Seafield House (Mrs J. B. Ramsay, proprietress), Half Moon Bay. This private boarding-house was established in 1900. It is a wooden building of two stories, and commands a magnificent view. There are eight bedrooms, a bathroom, a dining-room and a kitchen on the ground floor; and upstairs, nine rooms, including two sitting-rooms. There is comfortable accommodation for twenty-three guests, and the catering is good. The proprietress, who is a daughter of Mr J. Goodall, the founder of Oban House, was born at Caversham, Dunedin, and has resided in Stewart Island since 1884. Mrs Ramsay was married, in 1900, to Mr John Budge Ramsay, carpenter, of Half Moon Bay, and has three daughters.

Harrold, James Joseph , Storekeeper, Half Moon Bay. This business was established by the late Mr James Harrold, and has been conducted by the present proprietor since 1902. Mr Harrold was born in 1868, at Half Moon Bay, and was educated there and at the Taieri. He assisted his father in the store, and also engaged in boat-building until becoming proprietor of the store in 1902.

Gerstenkorn, photo.
Mr. J J. Harrold.

Plesant, Edmund , Farmer and Fish Buyer, Half Moon Bay. Mr Plesant was born, in 1856, in Essex, England, where he was educated. He went to sea for some years, and came to Lyttelton by the ship “Hydaspes.” After living on Bank's Peninsula and at the Chatham Islands, he was appointed representative of the Bluff Oyster Company at Lyttelton, in 1892, and was afterwards engaged in running the ketches “Aparima” and “Rosetta” to the Bluff and Stewart Island. In 1898 Mr Plesant settled at Stewart Island, and represented merchants engaged in the fish trade. He is a very large buyer of fish, which is cleaned and packed in cases ready for the freezer, and shipped to the Bluff. Mr Plesant occupies a well-fenced cattle run of 295 acres, held under right of purchase.

Mr. James Harrold , who settled at Stewart Island about the year 1860, was born, in 1818, in the Orkney Islands. He went to sea as a youth, before coming out and settling at Half Moon Bay, where he received a grant of five acres of land. Mr Harrold kept a boarding-house for a time, and engaged in boat building, and he also owned a vessel which he ran between the Bluff and Australia. For a number of years before his death, he conducted the store, which is now owned by his son.

Mr. Stephen Bowers , who arrived in New Zealand in 1850, was born in Essex, England, in 1827, and was brought up to the trade of a carpenter. Mr Bowers died in April, 1903, and his widow still resides at the Bluff.