HALSWELL RIVER—III School holidays to suit harvests

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32589, 24 April 1971, Page 13

HALSWELL RIVER—III School holidays to suit harvests

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W. J. HARRIS

Hard work and hardship were the lot of many between the Halswell River and Lake Ellesmere. Some, after working for neighbours, returned home to milk cows and then dig ditches and build sod banks by moonlight.

For children, summer holidays meant harvest holidays, and autumn holidays were potato holidays, regulated by school committees to suit each season’s labour requirements.

Michael Burke in 1853 took up Run 104 between the Halswell and Lz Rivers, which now is Greenpark, and most of Moutkarara. Captain Thomas’s 1849 map shows a track crossing the Halswell below McQueen’s Lagoon to follow the sandy ridge until the Lz was crossed below Yarr’s Lagoon. Halfway between the two crossings totara cattle yards and the Lake Run homestead were built about 1860.

John Hart was resident partner of the run after Burke sold in 1868. Hart’s children neglected to feed their butch of rabbits which were then released at a small hill on the property. This action, they later claimed, gave Banks Peninsula rabbits and the locality became named Rabbit Island.

During the 1860’s land was freeholded from the run in blocks of under 100 acres.

Dulieu family Richard Dulieu sen., an employee of Burke, took one block and several blocks are now fanned by his greatgreat grandsons. The balance adjoining Lake Ellesmere, was leased to Richard Wright and his brother-in-law John G. Murray in 1875, the latter becoming sole lessee in 1881 on payment of 10/- transfer fee. This run was over 8000 acres and Murray also had at least 1000 acres freehold, some of which had been part of the run of his father-in-law, John Gebbie. Beside the Halswell at Greenpark was the substantial two storey Murray homestead “Riverlawn.” Although the leasehold run was unfenced sheep were kept .in three separate flocks, Rabbit Island, Sandy Islands and Lz River.

Lake Ellesmere was drained to a low level in 1890 to enable land to be surveyed for closer settlement Subdivision included the village settlements of Lake Flat and Rabbit Island.

Charles Murray took the largest block, of 1400 acres, which was named “Patiti” the Murrays claim credit for introducing marran grass to New Zealand for binding their Sandy Islands block. Boys were offered 2/- a day to leave school and act as planters "but continued their lessons until the offer rose to 2/6 a day. Community life Closer settlement brought development of community life. St Mary’s at Halswell was one of the earliest Anglican Churches, the churchyard being the site of a Maori burial ground. Beside the river at Tai Tapu, St Paul's Anglican Church incorporates stones «f historic interest and, like the Wesleyan (Methodists, Church downlinks with the Rho fs3 m,a ?* One of their ancestors rescued John Wesley 4g?rn fine tn the village of qßvorfli, Lmcotoshire, in ITOMKPg landwkhir bend of tfijCkkpswefl, wluMSfeith swampS, acted as saknl boundaries fofebeef cattle whi<* were drsvfti, here from-Purdßforfattening--Tai Tapu township was thi«t offent^llf% le in 1875 as the vultjte tof Epworth. Early hotels About -1860 the first hotel was erected at Halswell, a sod building known as “Mother ' Craythome’s,? on the present site. Edmund Shakespeare, who was unable to write, applied for > licence for his thatched mt>f building “on the HalsvMl River" (Tai Tapu) in 1865. William Leslie, in 1866, applied for an accommodation

house licence at • Lake Ellesmere, where his Sally’s Bay premises adjoined the Little River Road Board buildings. Borers enjoyed this accommodation house, built of white pine, and soon attacked the replacement building nearby. From here the Peninsula track crossed the Halswell to join the Gebbies Pass track near Rabbit Island camping ground. The track along the lake ridge avoided the Big Swamp when stock was being moved from Lyttelton Harbour. Edward Prebble probably used this

route when droving the first mob of cattle in Canterbury, from Purau to Glenmark. Later he had many crossings of the Halswell carrying timber on his back from Kennedy’s Bush to build a home in the district then known as Prebble Town.

Waihora Park

Residents of Tai Tapu district in 1874 had a New Year’s Day picnic at Rabbit Island camping ground where they boiled their billies of river water and met friends from Peninsula Bays. The second part of the journey in traps from Tai Tapu was then across the lake flat. After completion of the Little River railway in 1881 people camped near Rabbit Island to harvest prolific crops of mushrooms which were gathered in wicker baskets for railing to Christchurch markets.

Although in 1890, 200 acres were reserved for recreation, in 1898 there was a Bill before Parliament to sell the land and purchase a more suitable area elsewhere.

Local opposition saved the Park, where the Peninsula Racing Club first held a meeting in 1884. Philip Rousham worked long hours to transform the ground beside the hill to a botanical showplace, near where Canterbury Mounted Rifles under Captain Robert Macartney camped in 1902. Fiddler’s Road nearby is thought named after a local violinist, “Jack the Fiddler.”

About 1910 a rabbit fence was erected from Teddington to the river with gates across the Akaroa Road and on the Sea Bridge. The former was closed only at night by the nearby blacksmith who lit a kerosene lamp. This gate could be opened and closed from the driver’s seat but many motorists crashed into it providing work for the blacksmith. Greenpark William Neill took advantage of his proximity to the Ahuriri Lagoon by accommo-

dating and guiding shooters. These were taken down the river in small boats, a Canadian being drowned when impatiently starting off on his own. When the lagoon was declared a sanctuary for native birds in 1902 this tourist business ceased.

William Goodwin who had an extensive property “The Poplars,” was probably the district’s first resident, as an employee of Burke. He collected some black swan eggs from the lake in 1867 for an incubator at Gould and Company’s chemists shop, Christchurch. Fred Hubbard, in 1970 purchased the “Riverlaw homestead which was burnt soon afterwards. His new house, "Brenley,” had acetylene lighting and cooking from a carbide generating plant until replaced by electricity in 1916. Being a director of the Tai Tapu Dairy Company he was favoured with a special line after his company had completed an agreement with the Government and County Councils to supply power to the factory at Tai Tapu, Greenpark creamery and street lights at Lincoln. The Greenpark school was opened in May, 1871, with a roll of 30 pupils, Thomas L. Garrett being teacher and William B. Andrew chairman of the committee.

Leslie Dulieu, chairman of the committee planning centennial celebrations for October, is a member of the only family whose name has been associated with the district for over 100 years. He would appreciate hearing from any former pupils who have not already been contacted. Some of the first pupils had received lessons at John Hart’s Lake Run homestead. This, in addition to being the birthplace of farming and education for the area, was also one of the earliest Canterbury tracks. Three sentinel bluegums, the landmark trees of the first settlers, survive nearby. It is most appropriate that the property has since been named “Tua Tahi,” the place of the pioneer. (Concluded.)

[Much of the published material in this series of articles was based on notes supplied by Mr David Macmillan. Any comments or additional information would be welcomed by the writer, W. J. Harris, addressed to 25 Sparks Road, Christchurch 1]