Page:Picturesque Dunedin.djvu/311

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WALKS AND DRIVES.
283
made the acquaintance of Haki Te Kura, the daughter of a chief whose pa stood at the mouth of Taiari (Taieri.) This maiden, unknown to her friends, used to meet her lover on the sands when the tide was low, and these clandestine meetings continued up to the time of Tukiauau's departure further south; for hearing rumours of Ngai Tahu's movements, he became alarmed and determined to place himself beyond pursuit. Accordingly he abandoned his pa at Waihora, and embarked with his followers in a large war canoe. As they were passing below her father's pa, Haki Te Kura, eager to join her lover, jumped off the cliff into the water, but in doing so either fell upon a rock or on the edge of the canoe and was killed. Tn Wiri Roa, overwhelmed with grief and rage, swore to destroy the man who was the cause of his daughter's death." This vow he some time afterwards fulfilled by slaughtering not only Koroki Whiti, but all his party whom he surprised at Rakiura, now Stewart Island.—Ed.


XI.—LEITH VALLEY AND WATERFALLS.

By most people, a journey up and down this sequestered dell is considered one of the most enjoyable around the city. It is not now so lovely a grove as it was in days of yore, when the dense bush was penetrable only to the more intrepid of the citizens, and even to them, for a good portion of the way, the margin or bed of the creek was the only traversable spot, shut in as it were on to the sides of wood-clad precipices and steeps, along which progress could, with the utmost difficulty, be made even with the aid of the branches of the overhanging trees. To walk, drive, or ride, is now at the option of the visitant. In many respects the natural beauties have been considerably marred by the encroachments of the settlers, who are studded thickly along almost the entire route; in other respects, the prospect has been opened up by removal of the timber, so that a much more extensive range is exposed to the vision, still a sufficient number of the romantic attractions remain, and will continue to the end to exist, fully entitling this valley to a place in the front rank among our picturesque delights.

The traveller may leave Dunedin by the coach, which for a modest fare takes him close up to the Waterfall, which forms an interesting feature in the scenery of the valley. Before reaching this spot, however, he will pass through the Town Belt, on which will be presented to view the first saw and flour mill, erected in the Province in 1850; not exactly the identical building, for it has undergone many enlargements as well as mutations, but the present building occupies the same site, and the same motive-power is