a disorderly house. Penalty: first offence £20, second £50 and forfeiture.”
Thus did the licensed houses of the day lose a great source of revenue, for Inspector Broham saw to it that the law was observed in this respect. The dancing girls were a passing phase in Old Westland’s history; while money was plentiful they there remained; with the dwindling of gold returns they moved on—a semi-depleted goldfield they had no use for.
It was at this time, too, that Hokitika excelled itself as a shipping centre. During the previous year an ever-increasing number of ships had visited the port, but now they came (and regularly, too) in hundreds, it being on record, in fact shown as an illustration herein, that forty-one vessels of all nationalities, sizes, sorts and descriptions were actually in port on one day, and what is more, were being bustled to sea to make room for those in the offing and those due to arrive.
While on the subject of shipping it is of interest to note that the brig Rona, W. H. (Bully) Hayes, master, was at Hokitika on New Year’s Day, 1867. Anent this, here is an extract from the West Coast Times of Saturday, December 29th, 1866: “Shipping Intelligence—Port of Hokitika: arrived Rona, 150 tons, W. H. Hayes, from Fiji Islands; passengers: J. Booth, S. Miller. Per Rona,
