AT THE HEAD OF THE RANGITATA

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29366, 19 November 1960, Page 8

AT THE HEAD OF THE RANGITATA

In Butler’s Country

Early next month about 400 persons are expected to travel along the winding road which runs about 32 miles up the south side of the Rangitata river from Peel Forest to Mesopotamia station, which lies at the end of the road. They will be going to attend a reunion of musterers and station hands, who have worked on the property during the past 100 years. The oldest of these can remember the station 75 years ago.

One of Mesopotamia’s claims to fame lies in that Samuel Butler settled on this remote country a little more than 100 years ago. Mr L. G. D. Acland, an authority on early Canterbury runs, has described Butler as perhaps the most distinguished man who ever owned a station in New Zealand. Two years before he came to New Zealand he had taken the classical tripos at Cambridge. The station today comprises 99,160 acres and forms a rough triangle within the Rangitata river. Forest creek and the Two Thumb range. It includes about 3000 to 4000 acres of flats, 25.000 acres of downs and the balance is high range and valley country reaching up to 8336 ft in the Two Thumb range with its two thumb formation from which it draws its name. Mesopotamia is today only about three hours and a half drive from Christchurch. It was not always so accessible. Once the official access was by way of Mount Somers and Hakatere and across the broad expanse of the sometimes swollen Rangitata. The visitor today soon after crossing the cattle stop at the station entrance passes over a narrow 410 ft long bridge which spans part of the bouldery bed of Forest creek. This is a recent improvement to the station access. It was built by the present owner of Mesopotamia, Mr M. V. Prouting, in 1955. The ghosts of Christchurch tramcars lurk beneath it for Christchurch tram rails have been used for its piles. Heavy vehicles still have to negotiate the creek bed which is constantly changing. A lorry laden with timber churned a course through water and shingle early this week after Mr Fronting in a utility vehicle. had taken the driver over the ground to test the going. Original Hut It was up this stream that Samuel Butler went 100 years ago and built on a terrace at the junction of Forest creek and another stream, now known as Butler’s creek, a V hut 12ft long and Bft broad. The site was not actually on his property and he had to buy a section of land, the title to which remains in his name to this very day. It is still possible to trace the site of the hut by post holes and the presence of an assortment of nails beneath overlying turf.

but retains some sort of semblance of its original state. Just across the way the 12 children who attend the Mesopotamia school play in their sheltered playground. The present homestead was built only in 1953 by the present owners. A spacious two-storey wooden house with a red roof it can be seen by the traveller while he is still 'many miles from the station and it commands a magnificent view of the Rangitata as it wends its way miles down country and of the hills and mountains that rise up inland. A portable mill was brought in to mill Oregon timber felled on the station for the homestead and the wool shed which was built about 10 years ago. Trees have grown well around the homestead in this relatively treeless country and giants seemingly as high as Christchurch cathedral spire reach into the sky without a bend in their trunks. Looking to the future,. Mr Fronting has planted 20.000 oregons in a 50-acre block between Forest creek and the homestead.

But Butler’s first real home on Mesopotamia was built in the following year close to the present homestead. Made of cob—a mixture of elay, chopped un tussock and water—it was 15ft by 32ft and its roof was thatched with snow grass. Located on a sheltered terrace it survived till as recently as 1927 but today all that is left of it are the mounds of the old walls, four posts which mark the extent of the old home and a stone erected by the Canterbury Centennial Committee. An old dairy which was situated apart from the Butler home is now in a state of disintegration

Mr Prouting came to Mesopotamia 17 years ago after spending 12 years at Clent Hills in the Ashburton gorge. For two years he managed Mesopotamia before taking it over. Some 2000 acres of the flats and downs are freehold, 37,000 acres of the downs and winter facings are held on lease from Lincoln College and the balance is Crown leasehold.

A trial of aerial topdressing and oversowing a block of the country with clovers a few years ago did not prove particularly

successful and in recent years Mr Prouting has been concentrating on Improving the flats. This country is not, however, easy to handle, being highly variable with swamps and creeks, sandy knolls and shingle strips. However, Some 500 to 600 acres have been sown in pastures. Swedes and turnips are grown initially with the areas being sown in a mixture of about 21b of red clover,’ 21b of white clover, 41b of cocksfoot, 11b of timothy and lib of crested dogstail with 2ewt of super. Subsequent topdressing is with lewt of sulphurised super. About 100 acres were in swedes—a mixture of Calder and Wye—and turnips last season and these are used to winter the hoggets or two-tooths with lucerne hay being ted to balance the ration. Lucerne For the last 14 years lucerne has been grown on the flats and the first pf these stands has now been worked up again. Today there are about 140 acres in lucerne—mainly Provence with a little Marlborough. It is mainly a haying proposition with three cuts and up to 10,000 bales being taken in a good season. The average cut is more like 7000 to 8000 bales. In this country the lucerne does no’ need lime, according to Mr Prouting’s findings, but there is a good response to sulphurised super which is applied in the winter or early spring at IJewt to the acre. Hard by the lucerne Mr Prouting has fenced in an acre of ground when he fenced off his lucerne. In this enclosure with its white wicket gate lies the grave of Dr. Sinclair, one time Colonial Secretary under Sir George Grey, who was drowned while crossing the Rangitata on April 1, 1861, in the course of an expedition with Julius Haast. The weathered stone with a single red clover plant drooping in salutation by it stands amid matagouri bushes and waving tussock with the snow-tipped Mount Sinclair and the Sinclair range behind it.

Since Mr Prouting took over the station sheep numbers have climbed from 14.000 to 18.000 including about 6000 ewes, 5000 wethers, 3500 hoggets and 3000 two-tooths. The ewes are now pre-lamb shorn, a practice that has been found advantageous in that they do not have to be disturbed during lambing for fear that they might become cast and have their eyes picked out by the gulls. Lambing percentages have climbed slightly as a result to around 70 per cent.

Shearing of dry sheep continues after the ewes. In the big woolshed on two levels there is accommodation for 1400 sheep on the gratings and space for about another 500 sheep on the concrete in the counting pens under the wool room. Shearing is all done by blade at eight stands -with four machines available for erutchlng. The station clip has been up to 340 bales and it has been the practice for the last seven or eight years to have the clip scoured and shipped to London for sale.

After shearing the ewes go out on to the downs and flats to lamb and the dry sheep go out to the summer country. Tailing follows in late December or early January and weaning _ at the end of February or into March. The autumn muster in April is one of the main operations of the year. It is imperative that sheep be got off the high country and over the saddles at about 5500 ft before the snow comes. The mustering of the range country must all be done on foot and Mr Prouting says that because of the rocky nature of the terrain it is quite arduous going. Sheep muster off the country easily but it can be tricky and good dogs are essential. The team of dogs on the station numbers about 40. Aircraft have occasionally been used to spot sheep if time is running out for the autumn muster. A 600-yard-tong airstrip has lately been laid out dose to the homestead and iis now ready for use. There are now four musterers’ huts on the Valley country of Mesopotamia and two in the Gorge country, all of which have been renewed or renovated since 1939. Big Numbers Eye clipping, crutching and dipping follow the muster and then sheep go on to fenced blocks before being forced on to the safer winter country as the snow comes down. On one occasion, 10,000 sheep were drafted through the yards and 5000 dusted in the one day—the equivalent of running 15,000 sheep through the yards in one day. Brands are rarely used on Mesopotamia sheep. The practice is now to use. ear tags. Snow is one of Mr Prouting’s fears although the station is reasonably well placed for winter country. In 1918 sheep numbers were reduced from 22,000 to about 4000. In 1945 18 inches of snow lay on the flats but losses were comparatively light

Rabbit numbers have fluctuated on the station. In 1943 after poison had been in short supply 43,000 rabbits were taken in a year, but before the Rangitata Rabbit Board was formed the annual kill was down to about 1000.

In the last few years Mr Prouting has gone into cattle with the idea of using them in conjunction with the Merinos to keep the feed situation in balance. The herd now numbers about 300 head of black cattle, including about 200 cows and heifers which will be going out to the bull this season. The cattle are run mainly

on the flats and downs and also on a 1100 acre island in the Rangitata.

Butler said of this country in “Erewhon” that it was the grandest that could be imagined. “Waving downs . . . and beyond the downs was a plain going down to a river of great size, on the farther side of which there were other high mountains with the winter’s snow not quite melted; and up the river, which ran winding in many streams over a bed some two miles broad, I looked upon the second great chain and could see a narrow gorge where the river retired and was lost. I knew there was a range still farther back . . . sometimes black mountains against a white sky and then again, after cold weather, white mountains against a black sky—sometimes seep through breaks and swirls ol cloud.”