In the mid-1860s the Otago Daily Times published a lively series of articles titled ‘‘Rambles Round Dunedin’’.
The correspondent, writing under the pseudonym ‘‘Pakeha’’, braved bush, bogs and vicious stinging nettles to provide a remarkably prescient picture of the Dunedin district and its rapid development in the boom years of the gold rush.
These stories are reproduced with the original variations of now accepted spellings.
Anderson's Bay, Tomahawk, Sebastopol, and - back.
How very few of our citizens who take an afternoon walk to the Ocean Beach ever climb to the top of Lawyer's Head, to enjoy the fine prospect to be had from it; and of those who do go there how very few indeed ever go over to the fine hard beach beyond which leads on to Tomahawk Reef and Highcliffe.
On this beach one may completely realise the idea that he is on an island in the South Pacific; for from it there is no town to be seen, and very little cleared land, hardly anything except wood and water, the one covering all the land to the left as you proceed along the beach, and the other extending to the sky line on the right.
It is our purpose, in the present paper, to devote a few lines to a short description of the coast line and scenery beyond this beach.
For this purpose we leave town by the south end of Princes street, taking the Swamp road along the head of the bay, and passing the Recreation Ground, where there is a party of cricketers practising.
The next objects are the Gas Works and their very unsavory neighbor the Manure Depot. Proceeding further, as we near the low rocky hill, which bounds the view on this side, we pass a new hotel, rather a forlorn looking spec but which may do a little trade on Saturdays and Sundays.
The road here makes a very sharp turn round the corner of the hill, the sideling exposing a section of very light coloured, but soft and brittle sandstone, which has been quarried for building purposes to some extent.
Overlying the stone there is a stratum of fine sharp sand which is also used in building.
The road now winds along the other side of the hill, facing the pleasantly situated residences of Messrs Cutten, Black, and others. Several brickworks are passed, and then the road inclines slightly to the left to Anderson's Bay, which immediately comes into view.
On reaching Hildreth's Hotel the prospect opens considerably.
A few hours could be spent in this locality very profitably.
In front extend the waters of the Bay, which unfortunately are very shallow and dry long before low tide, beyond are the finely wooded Vauxhall Gardens, part of the town being visible past the point; then come the cultivated slopes of Mr Lothian's farm, and numerous other clearings dotting the valley away up on the right.
The road here divides, and turning the corner by the hotel we take the one leading up the hill to the east past the church, then to the right again, and over the hill, passing through a number of fine green paddocks, and so on till we reach the loose sand in the neighborhood of the beach.
At the point where the road enters this part there are a few graves situated. One of them contains a head-board bearing an epitaph on a young girl aged 17, perhaps cut off in opening womanhood by consumption; perhaps, who knows, the old, old, story.
Leaving these melancholy proofs of mortality, we make our way down the side of the hill to the beach, over immense quantities of loose moving or rolling sand.
On reaching the beach we may turn round and observe the effect produced by the wind on the sand which covers everything around.
Up to high-water mark the beach is hard and firm, out after the tide has left it dry for a little, every puff of wind carries a little of the sand up the beach, till in time it forms the huge accumulation now before us.
It is so fine as to run like as much water on being disturbed, and yet it is piled up by the wind till it reaches quite to the top of the cliff in several places, forming beautiful white streaks on the black rocks, when looked at from any distance, and particularly from the sea.
Inside of the sandhills to our left there is an extensive fresh water lake, or rather lagoon, only communicating with the sea in wet weather.
It abounds in eels, of which some of very large size have been caught lately. Ducks and other water fowl used to be very plentiful, but of late have become scarce and shy.
So keen has the shooting of these and other birds been in the immediate neighborhood of town of late years, that it easily foreseen that in a short time ducks, teal, and so on will be quite extinct in the district.
Proceeding along the beach we soon reach Tomahawk Bluff and Reef.
The tide being low, a space is left dry between the two, so we can make an examination of several curious caves excavated by the surf in the soft stratum of rock which underlies the hard trap or basalt of the Bluff.
From the appearance of the rocks, it is evident that at times the sea must break with tremendous force on these rocks.
The reef extends out about a quarter of a mile from the point and has always the sea breaking white round about it.
A little way ahead, we reach the foot of a long series of cliffs, which rise gradually from near the water's edge to a height of nearly 800 feet; in some parts overhanging the surf which boils madly far below.
These cliffs give their name to the adjoining district - Highcliffe.
A little creek which drains the Tomahawk Valley, runs into the sea here and crossing it we leave the beach and take a track which leads directly up the hill.
This is rather warm work on such a day, but by taking the easiest part of the slope, the top is soon reached.
The view from this point is magnificent, and we will employ the time occupied by a rest and a breathing space in noting down a few of the leading objects in our widely extended horizon.
First, then, at our feet lies the ocean, blue and green and white, curling gently before the breeze.
Midway are several gulls, wheeling round and round, and screaming loudly, imagining, no doubt, that we are too near their nests to be comfortable.
On the ledges of the cliff and reefs about these birds are at present breeding, and clouds of them rise every now and then fly round about for a little, and then settle again in quiet.
To the extreme left is a long promontary, with several reefs and skerries running out from it, all of which are crowded with birds.
Then comes a long succession of shallow bays and low wooded cliffs, backed by that curious looking hill - Sandy Mount.
Turning to the right, the whole of the coast line comes into view, and we have under our eye the extensive sweep from the Nuggets up to Green Island, Saddle Hill, Maungatui, and on to Flagstaff.
The immediate foreground is crowded with objects, which it would take hours to describe, including such a variety as the white cliffs beyond the Forbury, part of Dunedin, Halfway Bush, Lawyer's Head, etc; etc; the whole forming a coup d'oeil of unparalelled beauty.
Up to this point we have had either the open beach or smooth grass land to walk on; but now there is nothing but bush, for many miles on both sides, coming right up to the edge of the cliffs, along the top of which we continue for a short space, picking our steps as best we can.
At length we get over a fence and into a large paddock, which we skirt until the bush again presents itself.
But a slight track is soon found, and we pick our way onward, through the scrub, keeping the cliff on our right.
However, to keep anything like a straight line, we find impossible, having to diverge sometimes one way and sometimes another, to dodge the various obstructions, doing the best we can to keep in an onward direction.
In this way we pass several clearings, the track gradually rising till we reach a region of very rough ground, covered with large stones of every shape and size, trees growing wherever they could get root.
After more than a mile of this we find the road begins to descend, and gradually veers from a N.E. direction, which we had been pursuing for a long space, to the S.E.
This not being the direction in which we wished to proceed, and as there was no sign of any opening in the bush, which seemed rather to grow the thicker, after reaching a spot where there was a big broadleaf tree, we determined to take a rest, and hold a council.
So climbing the tree, to see over the scrub, we found that the point we wished to reach was a good way off yet, and all the ground intervening covered with thick bush, Sandy Mount and Mount Charles bounding the view.
It was then evident that Sandfly Bay was not to be reached from this point without an amount of time and labor for which we were not quite prepared.
The pros and the cons of the case were then laid before the meeting, and after a stiff discussion between ''go-a-head'' and ''turn-back,'' in which the former party had at first all the best of it, till a glance at the sun, which happened just then to glitter in the eyes of the disputants, followed by an appeal to the watch, turned the tide in favor of a retrograde movement, and, Pakeha had, for once, to turn in his tracks, finding Sebastopol as the hill is named, quite impregnable.
After returning a considerable distance, we spied a little way beneath us, a small clearing, with a house and some out buildings, fowls and all the usual adjuncts of a settlement.
Making our way to the door, we were courteously invited in, and after a few enquiries had been made and answered, we were invited to tarry and take a cup of tea, which with new butter, cheese, and ''scones'' which the guidwife was busy baking when we entered, formed such a treat as we have not previously enjoyed in the colony.
The whole thing was so hearty and so homely.
After doing justice to the viands, and enjoying a good rest, of which we stood much in need, we took the road again, finding, as the result of our inquiries, that we had a pretty fair and straight track through the bush to the open above Tomahawk.
Down the slope we soon sped, and were quickly on the beach.
The tide, however, is now up, and we have a long fatiguing walk over the loose sand until we reach the hard road leading over to Anderson's Bay; but at length it is reached and passed, and we reach town soon after seven o'clock, as may be expected, pretty tired with our day's excursion, but nothing daunted with our success in reaching the point aimed at, as we have determined to make another attempt, but to take the Portobello road part of the way the next time.
- Pakeha, 5th December, 1864.
