The Colony of New Zealand. Its history, vicissitudes and progress

Front matter

■ I ■ ■ I ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ •JEBcn** E. A. Petherick & Co., 33 Paternorter Bow, London. THE lOLONY OF NEW ZEALAND ITS HISTORY, VICISSITUDES AND PROGRESS BT WILLIAM GISBORNE AUTHOR OF "NEW ZEALAND RULERS AND STATESMEN, 1840 TO 1885" AND OF "OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF NET7 ZEALAND, 1883-84" FORMERLY A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND A RESPONSIBLE MINISTER, IN NEW ZEALAND Honoon E A. PETHERICK & CO., 33, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. TO SIR WALTER BULLER, K.C.M.G. My dear Buller, At your suggestion I began to write this book; and during its progress I have often been cheered by your sympathy and encouragement, which were the more valuable because they came from one who was so closely associated with New Zealand, and was so conversant with its history.

I dedicate this book to you as a slight token of regard and of my high sense of the valuable service which you have rendered to the scientific literature of New Zealand by your admirable work on its ornithology. I remain, Yours very truly, W. GISBOENE. October, 1888.

Preface

. It is very difficult to write a good biography. There are snares and pitfalls on every side. Partiality ; prejudice ; want of perspective ; inattention to, or ignorance of, important phases of character ; exaggeration of details ; neglect of essentials ; haste ; inaccuracy ; and other latent causes of error abound. The tendency, I think, of the present day is to make biography err on the side of indiscriminate panegyric. There is much analogy in several respects between writing a life of an individual and writing an account of a colony. Perhaps the most fertile cause of error in this latter case is, more or less, incompleteness of view on the part of the writer. This defect may be caused by partiality or prejudice, but it too often arises from want of knowledge. Personal observation has been too hurried, and has led to the adoption, without proper inquiry, of second-hand statements, one-sided and misleading.

The ablest man cannot possibly write a good account of a colony, on information acquired during a flying visit of a month, or thereabouts ; and, even in narrating what he saw and heard, he will probably lead his readers to false a

PREFACE.

. VI conclusions. He is in fact, in many cases, himself deceived. Things seen and heard, when seen and heard by themselves, apart from other things, often cause grave misapprehension. A passenger in a metropolitan omnibus could as well, judging only from what he saw and heard around him, write a correct account of London and of its institutions, as a visitor for a few weeks to New Zealand could, from what he saw and heard during the time, write a correct account of that colony. The author may be thoroughly impartial and eminently clever, but, without knowledge of all facts, and without careful study of them in all aspects, the description which he gives would, if accepted as a complete picture, be essentially incorrect. What he writes may abound in literary merit and be very popular, but it would only on that account be the more mischievous as it would the more effectively and widely disseminate error.

Again, supposing that the writer is qualified, as is often the case, by competent knowledge and ability, we often find, among books on New Zealand, that he devotes himself to some special part of the whole subject, and that he addresses himself to a particular class of readers. What generally is wanted, in the case of New Zealand, is a simple and comprehensive account of it, faithfully representing its con dition, its resources, and its capabilities ; combining, as far as practicable, the many varied features of an intricate picture in due proportion to each other; and, as it were, reproducing it, in miniature, as a whole and as it is. I am not so presumptuous as to imagine for a moment myself competent to execute such a difficult

PREFACE.

. VII work. All that I can hope to do is to make a feeble movement in the direction which I have indicated, and to try to advance, in a small measure, towards the object in view ; and it is only in that sense and in that spirit that I venture to write this book. My humble endeavour is to place before the public a description of New Zealand drawn, to the best of my ability, from materials gathered from many sources, including my own residence in the country for many years, and bringing the information thus obtained to as late a date as possible. CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Page

Capability for colonisation — Area and sleape — North Islaud — Forests — Internal navigable waters — Volcanic region — South Island — Sounds— Geology of New Zealand — Natural History — Birds — Lizards — Insects — Fish — Botany — Timber 1

Chapter II

Maoris — Original migration — Physical description — Mental faculties — Mythology —Tribal division — Land tenure — Social condition — Ceremonies — Occupations — Native villages — Clothes — Ornaments — Amusements — Wars — Language — Poetry — Arithmetic — Diseases — Aptitude for civilisation . . 20

Chapter III

Discovery of New Zealand — Cook's first visit — Marion's massacre and massacre of the Boyd — Evil effects of massacre — Firearms introduced — Missions — Mission work aud life — Missionaries pioneers of civilisation and colonisation — Traders and Pakeha Maoris — Causes of colonisation — Indecision of Imperial Government — British Resident — Kororareka Association — New .Ze aland Company — Definite imperial action . . 41

Chapter IV

Captain Hobson, R.N. — Treaty of Waitangi — Seat of Government at Auckland — Action of New Zealand Company — Southern settlements — Characteristics and special influence of early colonisation — Progress of colonisation — Native land purchase CONTENTS. X PAGE 72

Chapter V

First sale of land at Auckland — Old land claims — Relations of Governor with natives — General administration — Legislation — Death of Governor Hobson — Proceedings of New Zealand Company — Native land titles — Missionary influence — Bishop Selwyn — Acting-Governor Shortland, R.N. — Wairau massacre — Condition of settlements — Arrival of Captain Fitz-Roy as Governor

Chapter VI

Native administration of Governor Fitz-Koy — Disturbances — Destruction of Kororareka settlement — War at Bay of Islands — Civil administration — Arrival of Governor Grey — Vigorous action — Wise measures — New Zealand Company — Otago and Canterbury settlements — Military settlements near Auckland — Earthquake at Wellington — Charter of 18-17, and its suspension — Constitution of 1S52, and its inauguration by Sir George Grey — General condition of New Zealand at his departure in December, 1853 . . . . . . . . 92

Chapter VII

Representative institutions — Isolation of natives — Responsible government — Exceptional administration of native affairs — Disturbances at Taranaki — Colonial and provincial policies — State of New Zealand on eve of war of 1800 .. .. 115 CHAPTER VHI. Waitara War — Fighting and colonisation — Spread of war — Evil effects of war — Native chief, Wi Tamihana — Departure of Governor Gore Browne — Sir George Grey again Governor — New policy — Continuance of native disaffection — Extension of war to Waikato — Incidents of war .. .. .. ..130

Chapter IX

Political complications — Drain on colony — Confiscation — Weld policy — Withdrawal of imperial troops — South Island — Colonial aud provincial systems — Termination of war — Colonisation resumed — Public works policy — Provincial abolition — Progress of colony from 1S71 to 1881 .. .. .. CONTENTS. XI

Chapter X. Provincial Districts

PAGE Provincial district of Auckland — City of Auckland — Waitemata Harbour — Isthmus of Auckland — Northern Peninsula — Natives in northern districts — Auckland gold-fields — Districts south of city of Auckland — Railways — Hot Lakes — Sanatorium Hospital at Rotorua — Volcanic destruction of Rotomahana Terraces — Poverty Bay — Natives in southern districts — Land regulations 191

CHAPTER XL

Provincial district of Hawke's Bay — Napier — Natives— Land regulations — Provincial district of Wellington — City of Wellington — Harbour — West Coast— Wanganui — Natives — Land regulations — Provincial district of Taranaki — New Plymouth — Confiscated territory — Natives — Land regulations 22S

Chapter XII

Provincial district of Nelson — City of Nelson— Coal mines — Provincial district of Marlborough — Picton — Blenheim — Provincial district of Canterbury — Climate — Industries — Christchurch — Port Lyttelton — Akaroa — Timaru — Waitaki river — Land regulations — Provincial district of Westland — Greymouth — Hokitika— Ross— Gold-mining — East and west coasts of South Island 214

Appendix

A. PAGE Succession of Governors of New Zealand, and the Dates on which they assumed and retired from the Government — List of Premiers of New Zealand, with Dates of their Assumption of, and Retirement from, Office . . . . . . . . • • 315

APPENDIX.

B. Comparative Return of Population, Cultivation, Live Stock, and Exports of New Zealand during Census Years, 1871 and 1881 318

APPENDIX.

C. Statistical Memorandum on New Zealand, 188S . . . . . . 319

APPENDIX.

D. Summary — Chief Land Regulations, New Zealand . . . . 336

APPENDIX.

E. Summary of " The Native Land Act, 1S88 " 339

APPENDIX.

F. Extracts from New Zealand Handbook of April 1888, and Circulars issued in April and October, 1888, by the Emigrants' Information Office, 31, Broadway, Westminster, S.W. .. 341 Map of New Zealand .. .. .. .. .. To face title Taupo Volcanic Zone . . . . . . . . . . vane 209 *D1„~ ~e rye ... *c-< ,1 * J _ ' Plan of Tarawera Eruption . . . . . . . . „ „ THE COLONY OE NEW ZEALAND.

Chapter I

Capability for colonisation — Area and shape — North Island — Forests — Internal navigable waters — Volcanic region — South Island — Sounds — Geology of New Zealand — Natural History — Birds — Lizards — Insects — Fish — Botany — Timber. New Zealand, from early days, was adapted for colonisa tion. The country was sparsely inhabited by a barbarous race. Animal life was rare ; and there was a total absence of wild beasts and noxious reptiles. Geographical position, and the physical features of the land, made the climate temperate, varied, and eminently salubrious. The possession of numerous good harbours and of other maritime advantages was specially conducive to future commercial prosperity. The capabilities of the country were very great. There was untold industrial wealth latent in its vegetation, its timber, its minerals, its varieties of soil, its suitability for pastoral, agricultural, and manufacturing purposes, and in its fisheries.

Picturesque scenery of diversified character abounded in its mountains, its valleys, its forests, its lakes, and its running streams. Everything pointed to a great future of colonisation and of civilised life. New Zealand lies in the Pacific Ocean, between the parallels of 34° and 47° south latitude and the meridians of 166° and 178° east longitude, and is surrounded by the greatest extent of ocean in the globe. Two islands, now AREA — NORTH ISLAND. best known respectively as the North Island and the South Island, practically constitute New Zealand. There is a small island at the southern extremity, called Stewart Island. New Zealand is to the south-eastward of, and at least 1000 miles from Australia. The corresponding latitudes in the northern hemisphere extend from Central France over Italy and Sicily into Northern Africa.

The area of the three islands is upwards of 100,000 square miles, or about one-sixth less than that of Great Britain and Ireland; the length is about 1100 miles; the breadth varies from 46 to 160 miles, but no part is anywhere more distant than 75 miles from the sea-coast. The North Island and the South Island are separated from each other by Cook Strait, which is navigable, and is in its narrowest part about 12 miles across ; in other parts, ranging in breadth from 50 to 100 miles. The area of the South Island is about the same as that of England and Wales ; and that of the North Island is about one-fourth less. The coast line is over 3000 miles, and is indented by many good harbours. The geological structure of the islands is chiefly volcanic. The North Island was for the most part covered with mountains and forests, and intersected by swamps, rivers, and tidal creeks.

Inland communication was impracticable, except by difficult and tortuous native paths and in native canoes. One of the most remarkable features in the North Island, compensating, as it were, for the serious obstacles to inter-communication on land, consists in an extensive natural system of internal navigable waters. In the more northern part of the western side, there are the large navigable estuaries of Kaipara and Wairoa, forming one of the most extensive inlets in New Zealand. Five miles within the Kaipara Heads, four large rivers converge, flowing from different directions from far inland; a narrow isthmus divides the head of the navigable waters of the Kaipara, one of these four rivers, from the inlet of Waitemata on the east coast ; this inlet is part of the Hauraki Gulf, into which two long rivers, navigable for canoes, run from the southern interior ; and it is also divided by a narrow isthmus, across which, as between Kaipara and Waitemata, canoes were easily carried, from the estuary of Manukau.

Manukau is an extensive inlet NORTH ISLAND — RIVERS — FORESTS. opening into the sea on the west coast, with extensive ramifications inland; one branch is only divided by a narrow portage for canoes from the river Waikato, which, in its turn, runs a course of 200 miles from Lake Taupo, a lake, about thirty miles long and twenty miles broad, in the centre of the North Island. The Waipa, a large tributary to the Waikato, gives access to the more westerly interior. To the south-westward of Lake Taupo, there are several large rivers. The Wanganui rises near that lake and is about 120 miles long ; the Wangaehu has its source in the Taupo plains, and flows to the west coast a little to the south of the Wanganui. There are also the rivers Rangitikei and Manawatu ; the latter river is remarkable in that it penetrates a high dividing range between the east and west coasts, and practically anni hilates what would otherwise be an almost impassable barrier to transinsular communication.

There are also, at the extreme south of the island, the deep inlets of Porirua and of what is now the harbour of Wellington. These characteristic natural features in the North Island constitute a notable provision for facilitating future colonisation, by bringing together many parts of thp country, remote from each other and otherwise inaccessible. Vast forests overshadowed the island. There is a fascina tion in New Zealand forests, which is felt, but cannot be adequately expressed. Almost all New Zealand trees are evergreen ; and in these forests successive growths of noble trees uplift their lofty stems, entwined and interlaced by innumerable creepers, while at their feet the luxuriant undergrowth forms a tangled and almost impenetrable jungle. The silence and solitude are palpable ; the sky is unseen ; the circle of vision is limited to a few feet, and the sombre vegetation, closely packed together, adds to the overhanging and surrounding gloom.

The whole scene fascinates the sense, and inspires admiration and awe. Occasional glades refresh the eye and relieve the mental oppression. The feeling of close confinement passes away ; the light of day brightens everything ; the sonoof birds is again heard ; the meandering stream, which lately murmured invisibly, is seen ; and the palm like tree-fern, the Nikau, the cabbage-tree, heavy masses of foliage lightened by blossoms of various tints, and NORTH ISLAND — VOLCANIC REGION. varieties of graceful ferns, in all their primæval loveliness, shine like gems in each oasis of the forest. Ranges of lofty mountains occupy the central part of the North Island, and towards the coast the low lands were covered with ferns and flax, and were thickly dotted with large and dangerous swamps. Besides the wonderful natural network of internal navigable waters, which exists in the North Island, another remarkable feature was seen in its central active volcanic region.

From White Island, which is an active volcano in the Bay of Plenty on the east coast, twenty-eight miles from shore, a continuous belt of subterraneous agitation extends in a south-westerly course, about 150 miles long and about thirty broad, through the lakes Rotorua and Rotomahana to the base of the lofty mountains Ruapehu and Tongariro, the latter itself being also in a state of volcanic activity. Throughout this belt there are innumerable geysers and hot springs, emitting clouds of sulphurous steam; and within it were comprised the indescribably wonderfnl and beautiful white and pink terraces of Rotomahana, now, alas ! no longer in existence, volcanic action in 1886 having caused their total destruction. They are gone, aud their marvellous beauties only live in the faithful records of eye-witnesses.

The extent of coast line in the North Island is nearly 1500 miles ; and by far the greater number of its harbours are included between the North Cape and Cape Colville on the east coast, the east point of the gulf of Hauraki. The harbours on the west coast have shifting sands and bars at their entrances. The South Island is in area about the size of England and Wales, and is, like the North Island, chiefly of volcanic formation ; but it contains a far greater extent of plains and open lands. A lofty and massive mountain range runs, close to the west coast, throughout the entire length of the island ; the highest peak, Mount Cook, has an altitude of 12,349 feet. From either coast, these Southern Alps, as they are called, towering here and there in glistening peaks of snow, present magnificent aspects ; and within the range itself lies hidden romantic and picturesque scenery in rich profusion.

On the eastern side, extensive plains intervene between the base of the range and the ocean ; the more precipitous western slopes SOUTH ISLAND — SOUNDS — NEW ZEALAND. are clothed with dense forests. The harbours in the South Island in their general features resemble the harbours in the North Island. There is, however, an exceptional feature at the south-western extremity of the South Island. Along that part of the coast, for a distance of 120 miles, there are thirteen deep inlets, or sounds, some of which run twenty miles inland, with a depth of water generally exceeding a hundred fathoms, and surrounded by high and precipitous mountains, rising almost perpendicularly from the water's edge to an elevation of from 3000 to 5000 feet, clothed with impenetrable forest. These sounds are unrivalled in their sublime grandeur, their picturesque scenery, and their majestic isolation.

Stewart Island is a small island to the south, and is separated from the mainland by Foveaux Strait, which is about fifteen miles in general width. The island is about 120 miles in circumference, is generally mountainous and thickly wooded, and possesses several excellent harbours. This brief sketch of the physical character of the islands of New Zealand shows how wonderfully they are adapted to the occupation of civilised man. The twofold insular position, the great proportion of coast line, the numerous harbours and roadsteads, the extensive area of internal navigable waters in the island, in which intercommuni cation on land is most difficult, all point to a future of maritime and commercial greatness under favourable con ditions. I have as yet merely sketched the country as it was seen, or as it could have been seen had time and opportunity been favourable, in its great external and internal distinctive features, before the commencement of colonisation.

Its great variety of latent industrial wealth, awaiting development by the labour of man, will gradually appear as the account of its colonisation proceeds. I give now a short epitome of the geological structure and of the natural history of New Zealand. The ma terials used by me for this purpose are chiefly culled from the works of Dr. Thomson, the Rev. James Buller, his son, Sir Walter Buller, K.C.M.G., and Sir James Hector, K.C.M.G., Director of the Geological Survey of New Zealand. The following classification has been adopted in the — GEOLOGY. construction of geological maps of New Zealand ; but the difficulties attendant on this work render any attempt to express the observed results in a systematic form merely provisional : — Post-Teetiaet (Recent). — The deposits belonging to this period have accumulated with great rapidity in New Zealand, owing to the mountainous character of the country, and to the consequent nature of the rivers, which, even when of large size, have the character of torrents, and are liable to floods of great violence.

To some extent, also, the remarkable indications of change which are everywhere manifest are attributable to changes of relative level, which have affected the surface, both on the sea-coast and inland. Pliocene. — This formation belongs to a period when New Zealand was the mountain range of a greatly extended land-area, and when, in the North Island, the volcanic forces had their greatest activity, attended with the rapid elevation of local areas of fossiliferous deposits that were at this period forming in adjacent seas. In the South Island no marine deposits of importance belonging to the period are present, but the great area of land above the shore-line intensified the erosive action of the glaciers radiating from the mountain centres, and gave rise to enormous deposits of gravel on the lower lands.

Uppee Miocene. — The marine beds of this age consist of sandy, calcareous, and argillaceous strata, the distribu tion and general character of which indicate their relation to a closely adjacent shore-line. Lower Miocene. — This formation, which is distinguished from the Upper Miocene by fossils, is a calcareous and argillaceous formation, widely spread over the east and central part of the North Island, and on both sides of the South Island ; and, when not removed by denudation, can be traced to an altitude of 2500 feet above the sea. It represents a period of great depression ; and the deposits are remarkable for the absence of evidence of volcanic activity in any part of the region, and for the abundance of marine life. Upper Eocene. — This is a very marked formation of calcareous sandstone composed of shell fragments, with corals and Bryozoa, and a shallowwater and littoral — GEOLOGY. deposit.

Intense volcanic activity prevailed during this period in both islands. CRETACEO-TERTlARr. — The distribution of this formation shows that it was not, like the foregoing formations of later date, deposited in relation to a form of the land like that at present existing in the New Zealand area, except in the vicinity of some of the oldest and most lofty land-masses in the south, which appear to have remained above the water-line since the Lower Cretaceous period. The most valuable coal deposits of New Zealand occur in the Cretaceo-Tertiary formation, but always at the base of the marine beds of the formation. Lower Geeensand. — This formation consists of green and grey incoherent sandstones, with hard concretions and large masses of silicified wood ; and is also very rich in fossils of the genera Belemnites and Tirgonia, with a few Saurian bones and large Chimæroid fishes.

Jurassic. — These beds, which are the youngest of the Lower Secondary formation in New Zealand, consist in the upper part of estuarine beds, marine fossils being absent or rare. Lias. — This formation consists, in its upper part, of conglomerates and sandy grits, with plant-remains too indistinct for identification. Trias. — It has been found necessary to include in this formation a thickness of strata which is quite unusual in other parts of the world ; but the close connection which exists throughout, founded on both palæonto logical and stratigraphical grounds, and the clearly defined Permian character of the next underlying formation renders this classification necessary. Peemian. — The mineral character of this formation is grey and green sandstone, with breccia and heavy conglomerate beds.

Marine fossils have only been found at 1000 feet below the great conglomerate that divides its two sections. Lower Carboniferous and Upper Devonian. — This for mation is of considerable importance, from the large share it takes in the structure of the great mountain ranges, and from the occasionally great development in it of contemporaneous igneous rocks, with which are associated metalliferous deposits. — GEOLOGY. Lower Devonian. — These, as determined by their fossil contents, have only been distinguished in one locality in the South Island, although from their mineral character they are evidently present in many other parts of it. Upper Silurian. — The Upper Silurian rocks consist of grey cherts, sandstones, and calcareous slates, with occasional beds of blue limestone. Lower Silurian. — These rocks form the mass of the mountain range on the north-eastern end of the South Island, and they consist chiefly of a dark bituminous slate, associated with a blue or grey submetamorphic limestone, which is in places largely developed.

White crystalline limestones are also associated with these beds. The whole series is disturbed by eruptive hornblendic and syenitic rocks, which are probably of Devonian age. Fossils have been found in two localities only, and these consist entirely of encrinite remains, one species of coral not yet determined, and Graptolites which occur in the slates. The central axis of these beds consists of true mica schists, to the east and west of which the limestone and bituminous slates overlie. Foliated Schists. — The metamorphic rocks under this head have, as yet, been only subdivided according to their mineral character ; but they probably consist chiefly of altered Silurian rocks, and even those of formations as young as the Lower Carboniferous beds. The less meta morphosed areas of Lower Palæozoic rocks in the south of New Zealand have yielded no fossils.

Crystalline Schists and Granite. — The south-western portion of the South Island is composed of crystalline rocks, forming lofty and rugged mountains, of which the chief characteristic is their cubical form, due to their being intersected in all directions by deep but narrow valleys, with abrupt precipitous sides to three-fourths of the extreme height of the adjacent mountains. The valleys are occupied on the west by arms of the sea, and on the east by those of inland lakes that resemble the Norwegian fiords, and present most wonderful mountain scenery. The base rock of this formation is foliated and contorted gneiss, corresponding to Humboldt's gneiss-granite of South America, and associated with it are granite, syenite, and diorite, which belong to the next group. Wrapping — GEOLOGY. round these crystalline strata, and sometimes rising to an altitude of 5000 feet on its surface, is a series of horn blende schists, soft, micaceous, and amphibolic gneiss, clay-slate, and quartzites, associated with felstone dykes, serpentine, and granular limestone.

Dr. Hector believes these latter to be metamorphic rocks, of not very ancient date, probably of Devonian age. Areas within the crystalline schists, where true granite occurs, either meta morphosed or in the form of perfect dykes, have been distinguished under this group. Granites of a light grey colour and very fine grain are found, forming isolated hills along the boundary of the Foliated Schists on the east and Lower Devonian beds on the west. In part of the south-western extremity of New Zealand, coarsely crystal line granites, of white and flesh colour, appear to break through and overlie the younger members of the crystalline schists. Igneous Rocks. — The igneous rocks have played an important part in almost every formation in New Zealand, marking great movements of the earth's crust at the different geological periods, while the superficial and later formed volcanic rocks occupy nearly one-third of the area of the North Island.

These rocks are found on a line which extends almost continuously through the South Island ; but diorite rocks reappear in the most northern parts of the North Island; they are generally more or less metalliferous, chrome and copper being the ores of most frequent occurrence. Basic Volcanic Rocks belong to three different periods, when there were active eruptions, attended by the forma tion of floes of both compact igneous rocks and tufaceous breccias. The earliest of these occurred during the Triassic period, and consists chiefly of diabase and ser pentinous breccias. The next eruptions took place about the close of the Jurassic period, along the base of the Alpine range in the central part of the South Island, where the rocks occur in dome-shaped mountains as melaphyres associated with felsite (quartz) porphyries.

In the Cretaceo-Tertiary period are massive trappean eruptions of trachy-dolerite and dolerite, while in the same period must be placed the propylite group con sisting of greenstone-trachytes and fine and coarse-grained GEOLOGY — MINERALS — NATURAL HISTORY. breccia rocks, which form the matrix of the auriferous reefs in the existing Thames goldfields. In Eocene times dolerite floes were contemporaneous with the limestones of the period of the Hutchinson's Quarry beds, while lastly in this group have been placed the basaltic lavas of Pliocene age in the northern parts of New Zealand, and also certain dykes of vesicular lava tbat cut through and alter Pliocene gold-drifts in the Maniototo plain in the present provincial district of Otago. The Acidic Volcanic Rocks have a similar distribution in time to the foregoing, the earliest being the felsite (quartz) porphyries, while trachyte porphyries and breccias played an important part during Cretaceo-Ter tiary and older Tertiary periods, scoriaceous lavas and rhyolites being the characteristics of the later outbursts.