Chapter 12

The Trek to Parkdale

In giving the following account of the journey to Parkdale from Harveys flat,

I cannot be do better than use the words of Bess, Fan and Nell. Each

contribute the quota of memories of the second journey.

(Editor's note: There appears to be no location on modern maps for Harveys Flat.

I can only think it is somewhere near the Taieri River, fairly close to Dunedin.

Just need a Kempthorne to put me right! The maps shown here give a rough

idea of the journey. In the story below, the first night was spent at Outram, so

Harveys Flat would have been close to Outram)

This is modern day Heriot:

This map shows the relationship of Kelso to Heriot:

I will depart from their own words only in as much as necessary to give

continuity to the story, as we know full well that the descriptions of eyewitnesses

and the participants of any proceedings are more likely to be interesting.

I will arrange the tales of the three of them as if they were seated in our

midst and giving us their recollections directly.

Bess:

Father, Walter Grey and Alf and Charlie went to Heriot from Harveys Flat

before us, with the cattle sheep a few fowls and a Rover the dog.

Mary Jack and I helped them on their way with the cattle and sheep. The

sheep did not go too well with the cattle. We went so far. and stayed with them

all night and came home the next day. One cow was giving a small quantity of

milk, so they had milk for the tea on the way. She was very quiet.

Nell:

Lucy was her name and she must have come in again and gone dry recently,

and it was thought that the frosty weather in May and June was responsible.

It was very disappointing for the family on arrival at Parkdale to find there was

no milk. It is to be understood that father, Alf, Charlie and Walter Grey went to

Parkdale in the January previously. Father came back for us, and we arrived at

Swift Swift Creek on the shortest day June 1876.

Fan:

We were interested to learn when we knew we were going that Walter Grey was

to go with us to drive the cattle and do the fencing. He had his own horse called

"Dumper". Alf had the big dray loaded with the hand chaff cutter, the swing plough

etc and father had in the wagon wire for the fences and feed for the horses.

They slept in the wagon. Charlie had the little dray with horse in it, or it was tied to

one of the other vehicles. They had to put in the pet lambs aboard one of the

carts on the second day as they could not travel fast enough on foot. I think

Charlie drove the dray with the lambs. They went via Waipori on this trip and

had fine weather. The lambs were left at Mr McKays at Dunrobbin until we

arrived at Heriot, or Swift Creek as it was then called then.

While at Parkdale father engaged the carpenters and carted the timber

from Tapanui, and left Walter Grey, Alf and Charlie to make fences and look

after the cattle. Some of the horses were sold, as their feed was very dear

and only five we kept when he came back for us.

Nell:

They lived in the wagon bows for a time but it got burnt down and I suppose

by that time part of the house was ready.

Bess:

The Cook shop it was, and for many a day did Watty's fingermark stay on a

milk pan he pulled out. Poor Watties hand must have been sore. They did

not lose much in the fire.

Fan:

Prior to loading up, father made a trip to Dunedin for the roofing for the new house

and carted it to Heriot. The morning of the day we set out sun was shining and

we were all dressed in our Sunday best and mother send us to say goodbye to

the Fergusons, our neighbours who had built the house on the hill. We met our

wagon at the bottom of the road.

The month was June and father was afraid to go via Waipori as it was higher country

and there were likely to be snow storms that way so we went via Milton this time.

It was dark before we reached Outram.

Nell:

We traveled as far as Broadway's boarding house and stayed there the night. That

was my first experience of a full-length looking glass, in which I saw a girl with a

very a dress very much like mine, walking up to me.

Bess:

I shouldn't ever forget the many roosters that crowed at day-break. Next day was

the longest day, we went 22 miles, the longest stage we did.

I expect father thought that the road was good and he could move on a bit.

Jack and I had to see old "Hoppy" the horse and when evening came at Outram

we were rather out of sight and back beyond the corner, and old "Hoppy" stood still

on the road and would not budge.

By and by, father came back for us and gave her a few smacks with the whip and on

she went. I remember that the camping ground was all muddy, but "Hoppy" would

have a lie down somewhere. She gave no further trouble in the succeeding days.

Fan.

"Hoppy's" foal was sold at the sale and that was why she did not want to come along.

She was the mother of a lot of our plough horses later at Parkdale.

Nell:

We were eight days in the wagon. There were father, mother, Mary, Jack, Bess,

Fan, Lily and the baby Henry. The wagon was piled with goods and there was just

room for the small ones to stand up a girl. A girl called Helen Chisholm gave us a

book to read on the way, and what a boon it was.

Fan:

Mother wished very much that that we had some good books to read on the journey.

We little girls saw a train for the first time when on the first evening. Two bright lights

and the noise nearly frightened us, as the engine seem to be coming straight for us,

until someone has told us that it would not come off the rails. Then another thing

was the humming noise from the Telegraph wires, which was new to us.

Nell:

I remember we stayed that night near Lake Waihola. Years after, when travelling by

train, I was able to say to my companion that I was 6 when we camped just there on

the way to Swift Creek.

Fan:

We camped by the lake and saw it next morning. Mother and the young ones were in

the wagon with the tilt down to keep warm. Father knew the good camping places and

boiled the billy at midday. We were all ready for a cup of tea, especially mother.

There were no puddings or cream sponges, but we thought the new bread that we

were getting was very lovely. Father kept us well out of sight when going through towns

and only mother was allowed to peep through an opening in the tilt.

We used to tell father afterwards that he was ashamed of such a large family, but he

only laughed and said that they would only have stared at us. When going through

Milton mother said it was not much of a town. In the sunny part of the afternoon the

tilt was thrown back when we were in open country and we had a look around.

One day father heard that Eb Kingsford and Pat Lynch would likely be on the road.

They were mates, and they over took us and we camped at the same place that night.

Next day we traveled the same road for a time, and Mary and Bess had rides in their

wagons. In the afternoon father went to yarn with Eb Kingsford, so he told one of the

smaller girls to drive, as it was a long straight road, but mother was nervous.

However father went forward and mother kept telling the driver to keep in the middle

of the road. After a time the horses became slower and slower, knowing full well that

there was a New Chum driver on the seat, and the other teams were getting a long

way in front, so father sent Jack back to hurry the laggards and there was an

argument as to who was to drive. Then other teams turned on to another road

and we picked up father and the older girls.

Jack rode the old mare for a while, I think they said it was the white leader in Eb

Kingsford's team, called Fan, one of the old greys of the escort team that father had.

Bess:

Ebenezer Kingsford afterwards kept the Parkside hotel in Dunedin for many years.

Pat Lynch nearly made me sick by paring his corns. I thought he was really cutting

his flesh. No wonder their mother was frightened at the wagon being left in charge

of such a young driver.

Nell:

Have you ever heard that Sir Charles Kingsford Smith is a relation of the Ebenezer

Kingsford? He was a carrier when our father was on the road. Someone told me a

few years ago when Mrs Kingsford died.

Fan:

There was no road up the Manuka Gorge in those days and we went away on a road

to the left of Mount Stuart. One night we camped at Corrie's over the hill on the Milton

side of the Waitahuna. How they made us welcome, nothing was too good for us.

After ten, we all sat around a good fire and the were not many long pauses in the

conversation.

"How are you getting along with the ploughing?" Sam Corey was asked.

"I'm alright, I am not much of a ploughman but I tell them that a crooked

furrow makes a straight loaf!" he replied.

Bess:

We laughed many a time about this reply afterwards.

Fan.

Sam Corrie said is this is all the children you have Kemp? I thought you had a large

family. I can nearly beat you myself. He received the answer that two boys have been

left on on the new place on a previous trip. Then father said that he thought Sam Corrie

had some bigger children and got the reply that he had the girls are milking and the

boys just in with the team.

It was good for us children to hear father and mother laughing and joking, is father

felt very much downhearted leaving the Taierei. I have heard him say that children

have no worries but he was wrong we did have, when our parents were worried,

we were downhearted too.