Overview
Fri. Aug. 16.
Vivian drove Maud, Nancy + I down to the
[page break]
20 to 12 train en route to Takapau + Mr. Herd's farm where Maud + Nancy are to spend a fortnight. From Longburn past Palmerston to Terrace-end, the railway ascends the gentle acclivity of the surface of the Manawatu fan or terrace cut into the fan. Beyond Terrace-end a higher terrace comes to meet the line of railway, + is composed of fine clayey gravels - further on a still higher terrace of exactly similar composition comes to meet the railway + surmounts it nearly to Ashhurst before diverging northward. The origin of the terraces surrounding the rly [railway] is not clear to me - the fragment of the Manawatu fan lying along the foot of the Tararuas just south of the Gorge appears to correspond with the terrace followed by the rly from Longburn to Ashhurst, but the whole matter requires clear investigation. At the entrance to the Gorge, the high-level river-gravels are underlain by white highly inclined strata (probably papa) which appear to extend continuously from the Gorge entrance westwards - the capping gravels are about
[page break]
12 to 15 feet thick. We reached Takapau about 3 pm + found Mr. Herd waiting for us with the trap - drove to the farm which has an area of [blank space] acres + fronts a road connecting the Takapau - Waipukurau Road with the Rangaitoto - Waipuk. Road. On the way we passed the Hon. Johnson's Oruwharo Station + crossed the Porangahau + Maharakeke Streams - the later forms part of the bdy [boundary] of Mr. Herd's farm. Mrs. Herd, Olive + Gertie welcomed us but Will was away in Hastings for a weekend. Mr. Herd + I saddled horses + rode round the farm shepherding his 600 breeding ewes, now lambing Southdown + Romney lambs + 200 hoggets. The farm consists for the most part of a rounded ridge of shell-rock etc. with limestone at the east end, has a frontage to the connecting road + a smaller frontage to each of the above main roads, + is bounded on the fourth side by the Maharakeke Stream + a tributary of same. Broad slopes descend from the main ridge of the farm to the road frontage, but on the other side several well-defined nearly-dry
[page break]
gullies, full of flax, cabbage trees, koromiko etc, run back from the Maharakeke + tributary.
[map here]
[page break]
The square 4-roomed house is situated on a nice slope just off the connecting road + on the N.E side of a small hill panted with pines + macrocarpa, + is thus well protected from the prevailing south-west wind. Behind the house are numerous outbuildings - whare, washhouse, stable, cow-shed, fowl-run + sheep-yards. Maud + I + Nancy were given the front bedroom to ourselves + Nancy was provided with a cot made for her by Grandpa.
Previous diary entry Next diary entry
[High resolution image of whole page is available by scrolling through images attached to George Leslie Adkin personal diary, May 1917-February 1919