Lake Omapere. Photo / File
The first Pakeha to see Lake Omapere were, I believe, Samuel Marsden and his friend John Nicholas.
The account in Nicholas' narrative of A Voyage To New Zealand 1814-15 is amazing. It tells of their hard tramp through great puriri forests that hid the sky. The description of the lake
area and surrounding land was one of great beauty and a rich food-gathering area for Maori. They were both deeply impressed with the area.
What a pity the lake levels were reduced to create farmland. The lake is too shallow now to maintain life to the end of a long, hot and dry summer.
Life in pioneer days was very hard. They were forced to cut forests to survive financially. Back-breaking work that resulted — long after their hard lives — in the wonderful world of modern New Zealand. So many New Zealanders know nothing of such efforts.
Generations of back-breaking farming work built our hospitals, schools and welfare systems of today.
