Page:Reminiscences of Earliest Canterbury 1915.pdf/58

 flourished (Peraki, Oashore, etc.) he loaded oil, whilst he brought to them stores, slops, and whaling plant.

Another well-known name in those olden days was that of “Johnny Jones.” Before Dunedin was settled he was there, having come over from Sydney, and, being a shrewd man, he acquired a great deal of land from the Maoris. He, in this way, secured a very fine property to the north of Dunedin, called Cherry Farm. He eventually settled down as a general merchant. It was his custom when a ship arrived to use his influence, as leading merchant of his time, to insist on his goods being discharged first in order that he might have them placed first on the market. This was not always convenient, and on one occasion, when he ordered the mate of a ship to burrow down into the hold for some case he wanted landed at once, he was surprised and enraged when he met with a point blank refusal. Jones was a big man and a good boxer, and the mate, being a small man, words soon came to blows; but if Jones was surprised at the refusal to obey his orders, he was still more surprised at the drubbing he got. However, he was a good sport, and, after the fight was over, he went