Page:Tales-of-Banks-Peninsula Jacobson 2ed 1893 cropped.pdf/274

men had very hard times when they first landed at Peraki, Hempleman brought some boards for his house, but the others had to sleep in casks for some time, and afterwards they put up such very temporary erections, being entirely unused to whâre building, that they had to be stayed by lines, which had to be shifted when the wind changed, so that they should not be blown over. Hempleman’s first wife was buried there, but I do not know the exact spot; in fact, the sand has drifted in patches over what seems to have been the principal part of the settlement, which was not far above high water mark. One large mound is said to denote the grave of a Maori chief, but Peraki has never been a great Maori burying place. In the adjoining bay, on Mr. Buchanan’s property, known as Tumble-down Bay, there are great numbers of human bones, which are sometimes laid bare by the action of the sea, and then again covered by the friendly sand. Peraki beach is a beautiful smooth and sandy one, without rocks, and shelving so gradually, that we had to walk out a very long distance at low water before we could get far enough to bathe. The Bay abounds with fish, and Mr. Thomas Brough and others often used to go there to catch moki, kawhaia, and butter and cray-fish, with which latter the rocky ledges absolutely swarm.