Page:Tales-of-Banks-Peninsula Jacobson 2ed 1893 cropped.pdf/109

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Stories of Banks Peninsula.

was then due to the Natives, and the horse was made a part of it. It may here be mentioned that the payment for the land was nearly all in kind, very little money passing. The Comte de Paris brought out a large number of gaudy old faded uniforms, gold lace, cocked hats, and other trumpery rubbish, which was eagerly accepted as “utu” for the land by the unsophisticated aboriginals. One must not forget to mention, however, that in this last payment was included a small schooner, built by Mr Sinclair, for which the Association gave that gentleman two hundred acres in Pigeon Bay, in that inlet now known as Holmes’ Bay, where the property of Mr. Holmes is at present situated. M. de Belligny, like Mr. Rhodes, let his cattle go on increasing at first, but on leaving the Colony in 1845, he sold them at the lowest price he could possibly afford, which was from £20 to £25 per head, and very glad indeed were the settlers to get them. The colonists, however, had had both milk, butter, and beef before this, though they had had to pay a good price for them. The first steer calved in Akaroa by M. de Belligny’s cows was killed in 1844, some eighteen months after the cattle arrived from Sydney. Mr Waeckerlie was the butcher, and every pound of the beef brought 2s. 6d. per pound, and more would have been gladly given, for fresh beef is never so well appreciated as by those who have been years without it. The first milk and butter came from Pigeon Bay, Messrs. Hay and Sinclair came over to that place in 1841 from Wellington, and brought some cattle with them, and they found a market for all the butter they could make, at from 2s. 6d. to 3s per pound. The price was afterwards lowered to 2s., and Mr. Hay used to walk over about once a week with twenty or thirty pounds, which he always disposed of at that price.

Mr. Green was the first hotel keeper; after he