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Katikati

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STEWART George Vesey

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An Ulster Plantation: the story of the Katikati settlement

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Katikati Settler Land Allotments, 1875-1878

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DescriptionIt must firstly be acknowledged that the land taken up by the settlers was, and still is, the ancestral land of the iwi who had occupied it for centuries. These are Ngati Ranginui and Ngai Te Rangi and the hapu of these iwi are based on three marae in the area; Te Rereatukahia, Tuapiro and Otahwihwi.
The land was purchased from these iwi using somewhat underhanded methods which are explained in the document "Confiscation in disguise: The Katikati Te Puna Purchase".

The early history of Katikati is best told by Arthur Gray in his book "An Ulster Plantation: the story of the Kati Kati settlement" which was published in 1938, just over 60 years since the Carisbrooke Castle voyaged halfway across the world carrying its cargo of 238 Kati Kati special settlers in 1875. They were all Orangemen from Protestant Northern Ireland, descendants of immigrant Scottish stock, resettled from their homeland to their Irish lands under the reign of James I. The Carisbrooke Castle was closely followed by the Lady Jocelyn in 1878, carrying a further 378 passengers, also bound for Kati Kati. Vesey Stewart had managed to secure 20,000 acres of land in two separate negotiations to accommodate the settler parties. Others who had not been aboard the two ships also joined the settlement.

from "An Ulster Plantation" pp. 25 & 26 "The settlers were naturally eager to view the Promised Land. A day or two after their arrival the heads of families were taken to Kati Kati by Mr. D.A. Tole, commissioner of Crown Lands, and Mr. Goldsmith, the District Surveyor. The visit gave them some hint of the hardships to come. They learnt with dismay that the only road was a track that ended at Aongatete, and that they would have to rely on communication by water. After stalking over the block for three days at the surveyors' heels, they returned to Tauranga with very little to say about their new homes."

Nevertheless, the settlers balloted for their sections. The lots were drawn by two boys, one picking out the names, the other a series of numbers up to thirty. Each settler, according to his number, then chose his land from the survey chart. This done, they soon made their way independently to their land. There were three main landing places; the Aongatete River, the Uretara Stream and the Tuapiro Stream. Some settlers sold their land immediately and never settled in the area. Others made their lives here and some of their descendants still live in the area to this day.

Surveying had changed by the time the second party came to New Zealand on the Lady Jocelyn and so had the impression that members of the party had of what would be there for them when they went to take up their land. From "The Ulster Plantation" pp 52 & 53, "Within a few days of their arrival the members of the second party were taken to Kati Kati to select their lands. Their hearts fell when they surveyed the prospect before them. For months they had been turning over in their minds the picture of antipodean life that Vesey Stewart had painted for them......The reality was painfully different. Even the homes of the first settlers, though they were really a credit to the bare three years' occupation, were a disappointment to the people who remembered the green fields, trim hedgerows, and comfortable houses in Ireland. The land set aside for the second party was a hilly and uncultivated waste. They looked on with dismay as their leader unconcernedly picked up a piece of manuka and pointed out one boundary on a bare hillside, another in a swamp, and a third in a clump of scrub twelve feet high." Collection dates Between 1st January 1875 and 31st December 1878

Maps

SETTLER KILLEN, John & GILBERT, Edward Killen. Lot 75 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER HAMILTON, John. Lot 44 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER MOSSOP, George. Lot 80 Te Mania Settlement

SETTLER CLARKE, J. C. (Maj). Lot 79 Te Mania Settlement

SETTLER GOSS, Stephen. Lot 78 Te Mania Settlement

SETTLER GLEDSTANES, Edward & Cecil. Lot 77 Te Mania Settlement

SETTLER CRENE, Perceval. Lot 74 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER RIDDELL, Sarah. Lot 73 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER MULGREW, John. Lot 29 Te Mania Settlement

SETTLER McCAULEY, John (Snr) & McCAULEY, John (Jnr), James Macauley. Lot 76 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER ROWLEY, Hon. Randolph. Lot 72 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER MORTON, Berkeley (Capt). Lot 71 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER BOYD, James. Lot 69 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER STEVENSON, Rupert. Lot 68 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER BUSBY, William. Lot 70 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER GINDERS, Alfred (Dr). Lot 67 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER MAJOR, Henry. Lot 66 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER GRAY, William John. Lot 63 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER GALLAHER, James Henry. Lot 65 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER EVERARD, James T. Lot 64 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER SIMMS, Robert. Lot 62 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER ALLEN, (Brothers). Lot 61 Tahawai Settlement

SETTLER STODDARD, T. H. (Major-Gen). Lot 58 Tahawai Settlement

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Katikati

Related Information

PlacesKatikati Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

PersonSTEWART George Vesey Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

DocumentConfiscation in Disguise - the Katikati-Te Puna Purchase Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

BooksAn Ulster Plantation: the story of the Katikati settlement Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

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Katikati Settler Land Allotments, 1875-1878

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