To an ordinary trader, the distance between the Kermadecs and the
Bay of Islands, New Zealand, roughly represents a couple of days'
sail; but to us, who were apparently incapable of hurry under any
circumstances, it meant a good week's bludgeoning the protesting
waves before the grim outliers of the Three Kings came into view.
Even then, although the distance was a mere bagatelle, it was
another two days before we arrived off that magnificent harbour
where reposes the oldest township in New Zealand--Russell, where
rest the mortal remains of the first really Pakeha Maori, but
which, for some unaccountable reason, is still left undeveloped
and neglected, visited only by the wandering whalers (in ever-
decreasing numbers) and an occasional trim, business-like, and
gentlemanly man-o'-war, that, like a Guardsman strolling the West
End in mufti, stalks the sea with never an item of her smart rig
deviating by a shade from its proper set or sheer.
*
CHAPTER XXIV
THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND COAST
In a comparative new colony like New Zealand, where the
marvellous growth of the young state can be traced within living
memory, from the privations of the pioneer to the fully developed
city with all the machinery of our latest luxurious civilization,
it is exceedingly interesting to note how the principal towns
have sprung up arbitrarily, and without any heed to the
intentions of the ruling powers.
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