Waikouaiti , in the county of the same name—the word means “Receding Water”—is a small borough town, on the main line of railway, thirty-two miles north-east of Dunedin. The town was formerly known as Hawksbury, and this name is still retained in connection with the Hawksbury Borough Council. Waikouaiti bears the distinction of being the oldest settlement in Otago, and was formerly a whaling station. Here the pioneers of Otago, under the leadership of Mr. John Jones, arrived in the brig “Magnet” in 1840. The later settlers of the province obtained from these pioneers their first sheep, cattle, horses and grain. A Wesleyan mission station was also established at Waikouaiti before Otago was settled. The town is near the Waikouaiti river and sea coast, where there is a beautiful stretch of sandy beach. There is good rabbit shooting in the district, and the river in well stocked with trout. Sheepfarming, dairying, and agriculture are carried on in the district. A grand view of the surrounding country is obtainable from Mount Watkins, and the Matanaka Caves are within easy walking distance. Besides being the headquarters of the Waikouaiti County Council and the Hawksbury Borough Council, the town has, also, a branch bank, school, churches, two hotels, a dairy factory, a flour mill, and a post, telegraph, and money order office.

Waikouaiti County Council . Mr. John Porteous is chairman, and the other members are: Messrs William Souter, A. S. Orbell, Charles Duke, John Foote, and Alexander Kilpatrick. Clerk, Mr. John Porteous. The area of the county of Waikouaiti is 318 square miles; number of ratepayers, 1153; number of rateable properties, 1179; rateable value, £557,852. A rate of 3/4a in the £ was struck in 1903. The assets on the 31st of March, 1903, were £843 17s 5d, and the liabilities, £898 11s 3d. At the census of 1901 there was a population of 4082 souls in the county.

Councillor William Souter was elected to represent Hawksbury riding on the Waikouaiti County Council, in 1893, and has served continuously since that date. He was previously a member of the Waikouaiti Road Board. Mr. Souter was one of the founders of the Otago Agricultural and pastoral Association, of which he is still a member, and of late years he has taken a great inlerent in the Waihemo Agricultural Society, of which he is also a member. Mr. page 435 Souter was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, in 1835, was brought up to an agricultural and pastoral life, and in 1860 sailed for Port Chalmers in the ship “Silistria.” Shortly after his arrival he went inland, and for a year was engaged as a shepherd at the Omarama station, which he left in 1862 to take up “The Grange”, at Flag Swamp. This property comprises 606 acres of undulating land, which is used chiefly an a sheep run; and the homenstead and outbuildings are prettily situated within a stone's throw of the main north road. Mr. Souter is one of the oldest residents of the district, and for a number of years was a member of the local school committee. He was married, in 1861, to a daughter of Captain George Brooks, of Greenwich, and has one daughter.

Councillor W. Souter.

Councillor Allen Scott Orbell , who has represented Hawksbury riding on the Waikouaiti County Council, since 1893, is referred to in the military section of this volume as a lieutenant in the Otago Hussars.

Councillor A. S. Orbell.

Mr. John Porteous was appointed Clerk to the Waikouaiti County Council in 1897 and formerly represented the Blueakin riding on the Council. Mr. Porteous was for twenty-seven years headmaster of the Waitepeka school, Clutha.

Hawksbury was first constituted a borough in 1867, and is divided into three wards—Beach, East, and West. It has an area of 1979 acres; population, 690; dwellings, 141; rutepayers, 220; rateable properties, 444; rateable value, £7,040. A rate of3/4d in the £ was struck on the 26th of September, 1903. The borough's assets on the 31st of March, 1903, amounted to £150 1s 5d; liabilities, £17 12s 6d. The first Mayor of the borough was Mr McLeod C. Orbell, and the mayoral chair has been occupied also by Messrs W. Pratt, J. Smith, Thomas Whinan, S. Letham, A. G. Reid, D. Grant, D. Sutherland, J. Dates, E. Davis, R. Mill, George Maxwell, Thomas Allcock, and Robert Templeton. The present (1904) Borough Council is composed of the following gentlemen: Mr. Robert Templeton, Mayor; Councillors E. Davis, E. W. Fell, A. Heckler, D. O'Halloran, John Rendall, William Russell, Thomas Smith, John Valentine, and William Ward, Mr. James Dunbar is Town Clerk.

His Worship The Mayor , Mr. Robert Templeton, was elected Mayor of Hawksbury on the 27th of April, 1903, and re-elected in April, 1904. He is a member, ex-officio, of the Hawksbury Domain Board, and secretary of the Racing Club. Mr. Templeton was served on the school committee, and the Mechanics' Institute committee.

Councillor Edward Davis was elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council in 1903. He occupied the Mayoral chair in 1891–92. Mr. Davis is secretary of the Dairy Factory and clerk of the Hawksbury Domain Board.

Councillor Ben Witt Fell , who was elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council in 1903, is a member of the Finance Committee. Mr. Fell has been a member of the Waikouaiti Licensing Committee since March, 1903, and is also connected with the local Lodge of Good Templars.

Councillor Arthur Heckler , who was elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council in April, 1901, serves on the Finance Committee. He also is a member of the Caledonian Society, and a trustee of the local library.

Councillor Denis O'Halloran , who was elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council, in 1903, is a member of the Reserves Committee. Mr. O'Halloran is a native of Ireland, and has resided at Waikouaiti since 1866.

Councillor John Rendall , was first elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council in 1899, and re-elected in 1903. He is a member of the Works Committee.

Councillor William Russell . who was elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council in 1899, is a member of the Works Committee. Mr. Russell also serves on the school and library committees.

Councillor Thomas Smith was elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council in 1903, and serves on the Works Committee. Mr. Smith is a member of the Hawksbury Domain Board, and public school committee.

Councillor John Valentine , who was elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council in 1903, is a member of the Reserves Committee. Formerly he was valuer for the borough, and also a member of the school committee.

Councillor William Ward was elected to the Hawksbury Borough Council in 1899, and is a member of the Works Committee.

Mr. James Dunbar , was appointed clerk to the Hawksbury Borough Council in 1894. Mr. Dunbar has been secertary of the Library Committee, and president of the Caledonian Society, and is at present a steward of the Waikouaiti Racing Club.

The Presbyterian Church at Hawksbury, Walkouaiti, was erected in 1863, and is situated in Kildare Street, adjoining the manse, with its well laid-out grounds. The communicants' roll of the church numbers 116. There is also a branch church at Flog Swamp, about four miles distant.

The Rev. John Christie , sometime Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Hawksbury, Waikouaiti, was born in East Kilbride, Scotland, in 1830, educated at Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities, and received his ficense from the Presbytery of Glasgow in 1860. Mr. Christie came to New Zealand in the ship “Cheviot,” landing at Port Chalmers in October, 1862. In 1863 he became pastor of the church in which he ministered till October, 1901, when he retired after a pastorate of thirty-eight years. He was succeeded by the Rev. J. J. Cairney, who was ordained to the charge in 1902. Mr. Christie was married in June, 1862, to Miss Rachel Stewart, of Carlake, Scotland, and has five daughters and three sons.

Rev. J. Christie.

The Waikouaiti Cheese Factory (William Graham, manager), Waikouaiti. This factory, which was opened in 1888, stands on the outskirts of the town. The building is of wood, and the manager's house is situated at the rear. There are four vats, 16 feet long, and the machinery came from Messrs Wilkins and Company's foundry in Invercargill, and the boiler was made by Messrs Morgan, Cable and Co., Port Chalmers. Fifty-eight farmers supply milk to the factory, and about 2400 gallons are received daily. The average turn-out of cheese per year is 125 tons, most of which is consigned to London.

Mr. William Graham , who has been Manager of the Waikouaiti Cheese Factory since 1900, was born in the north of England, in 1872, and came out to New Zealand with his parents in 1880. After leaving school he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and subsequently turned his attention to cheese manufacture, and with the help of his father, soon became proficient in the business. He was for two seasons at the factory at Stirling, under Mr. W. Sawers, before being appointed to his present position in 1900. Mr. Graham has been president of the Waikouaiti Caledonian Society, but his business claims so much of his time that he has little to devote to social matters.

Pickup, William , Nurseryman, Hawksbury, Waikouaiti. Mr. Pickup was born in Lancashire in 1836, and came out to Port Chalmers in the ship “Strathspey.” For some time he engaged in prospecting in the Blueskin Ranges, and up the Shag Valley, eventually settling in Waikouaiti. Mr. Pickup has two gardens and several glass houses, one of which is fitted with heating apparatus. He makes a specialty of apple-growing, his varieties including “Newtown Wonder,” “Beauty of Bath,” “Clark's Seedling,” “Thorle Pippin,” “Crisp's Russet,” and “Albany Seedling.” In plums, he has the “Splendor Prune,” “Silver Prune,” “Bulgarian Prune,” “Tragedy Prune,” “Golden Prune,” “Clyman Plum,” “Monarch,” and “Grand Duke” varieties. He also cultivates flowers in great variety. Mr. Pickup's residence is situated in Kildare Street. He is married, and has one son and two daughters.

Mr. W. Pickup.

Diack, William , farmer, Hillhead Farm, Waikouaiti. Mr. Diack was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1835, and came to New Zealand in 1859, in the ship “Alpine.” After arriving in the colony he found work on Mrs Shand's farm, at Green Island, for twelve months. In those days the roads were such that it took two days to fetch eight bags of oats in a dray from Green Island to Dunedin, a distance of five miles. Later on he found employment with the Provincial Government, and was engaged in forming the roads through the Waikouaiti district, and building culverts, some of which an still standing. Subsequently he was engaged as foreman of the track-making party at Pine Hill. Shortly after that, the diggings broke out, and determining to try his luck, he left in 1861 for Gabriel's Gully, now known as Lawrence. After remaining there for three months he procured as much of the precious metal as bought his present property, and devoted himself to farming. However, after spending about one year on the farm, he took the gold fever again, and started for the West Coast; in those days a tedious journey, which occupied six weeks. On the way provisions ran short, and for three days he had to live on raw oats, which were his horse's feed. When he reached the diggings, the field proved a “duffer,” and he returned to Waikouaiti, a wiser if not a richer man. Mr. Diack goes in chiefly for dairy farming, milking forty cows, and also runs a number of crossbred and halfbred Leicester sheep. A portion of his farm is used for cropping, and yields, on an average, between fifty and sixty bushels to the acre. Another branch of the farm work consists in the breeding of good draught horses, in which Mr. Diack has had considerable experience. He was a member of the Hawksbury Road Board for seventeen years from beginning to end. He and three others also stood bondsmen for the Waikouaiti Dairy Factory, which has now proved such a benefit to the district. He is a Past Grand Officer of the Loyal Prince Alfred Lodge, Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows. Mr. Diack married a daughter of the late Mr. Alexander Gilmour, Shag Valley, Palmerston, and has a family of five sons and one daughter.

Townsend, Jams Andrew , Run-holder, Hawksbury Estate, Waikouaiti, was born at Trowbridge, in the West of England, in 1848, and came to the Colony by way of Melbourne, landing at Port Chalmers. He started dairying with his brother at Caversham, and afterwards commenced farming at the Taieri Mouth. He Joined the police force at the time of the police strike, after the abolition of the Provincial Government system, and served over ten years, being stationed alternately at South Dunedin, Oamaru, Kakanui Mouth, Maheno, and at Hawksbury, where he was for five years. Within four months of his entry into the service he was made a first class constable, and subsequently twice declined promotion to the position of sergeant. During his terrm of office in Waikouaiti he effected the capture of Butler who was charged with the murder of the page 437 victims of the Cumberland Street tragedy, Dunedin. Butler was however acquitted on the capital charge but sentenced to eighteen years' imprisonment for arson, and he afterwards confessed to having murdered Mr. and Mrs. Dewar. Mr. Townsend now carries on agricultural and dairy farming, his property being known as the “Hawksbury Estate.” He is married and has seven sons and five daughters.

Mr. J. A. Townsend.

Mr. William Heckler , sometime of Hawksbury, runholder, was born at Hay Park, near Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England, in 1830, and came to New Zealand by the ship “Rajah,” in 1853, having been very nearly wrecked off the Tasmanian coast. He settled in Hawksbury, and found employment with Mr. John Jones, in that enterprising pioneer's dairying department. Mr. Heckler was afterwards placed in charge of the same employer's celebrated property “Cherry Farm.” where he remained for six years and six months. He then bought some land for himself, and became a cattle and stock dealer. His property increased to 2000 acres in extent, and was then laid down in grass. When the Road Board was in existence, Mr. Heckler was one of its most active members. He was one of the promoters of the Palmerston and Waihemo Agricultural Society, and was for some time its president, and at the time of Governor Sir James Ferguson's visit to the Taieri show he was judge of Shorthorn cattle at that exhibition. Mr. Heckler was married in 1855, at Port Chalmers, to Miss Susan Robbins, who had come out to Tasmania in 1853, with Mr. William Randall. He had a family of seven sons and two daughters. The eldest, James Francis Heckler, J.P., resides at Mangawahoe; the second, William Martin Heckler, is a farmer, near Balclutha; the third, H. T. Heckler, joined the fourth New Zealand Contingent in the Boer war, as trooper-and rose to the rank of captain, being one of the few who gained their stripes in the field, and was recommended for the D.S.O. decoration. The remaining sons (Albert, Arthur, Percy and Sidney), live at Waikouaiti, Arthur being a member of the Hawksbury Borough Council. The eldest daughter is mistress of Naseby High School, and the youngest lives with her mother at Waikouaiti. Mr. Wm. Heckler died on the 2nd of April, 1901, aged seventy-one years, and was buried in St. John's churchyard, on Good Friday, the 6th of April. The funeral was one of the largest ever seen in the district.

The late Mr. W. Heckler.

Mrs. W. Heckler.