100 years of shearing at Waiau

Press, 10 June 1977, Page 7

100 years of shearing at Waiau

Sheep do not necessarily hold the spotlight when stud breeders make their periodic winter tours: for many, woolsheds hold particular interest, not only to the farmer visitors, but also to their wives.

When English Leicester breeders made a tour of North Canterbury studs last week, the shed used by Mr P. S. Northcote, of Highfield, Waiau, attracted particular interest, for it is 100 years old. While it is still in regular use, the shed also stands as a monument to the days of large holdings and large tallies. The Highfield shed has 21 stands, but today Mr Northcote needs to use only three of them. Under cover, it holds about 800 woolly sheep, but in its heyday Mr Northcote estimates that it probably held up to 2000 head. The Highfield shed undoubtedly had its days of great tallies, for when the run was cut up in March, 1903, 48,000 sheep were sold off. The property, in its original state, used to run from the Waiau to the Conway.

Building of the Highfield shed was begun by John Scott Caverhill, and completed by the following owners, Hay ton and Wharton.

Hayton duly relinquished his interest, and in 1882 the property came under the ownership of Wharton and Company, in which Mr Northcote’s uncle and grandfather were partners.

The woolshed has very high pens compared with most of the present-day sheds, and involves a lot of walking -during shearing operations. However, it is a shed in which, the sheep “run well.”

Maintenance is a fairly big task. One winter, Mr Northcote and one of his

staff spent a month painting the outside walls. The roof, at a later date, was painted by a contractor. Some of the fine trees around the Highfield homestead are also more than 100 years old. Mr Northcote’s family have a photograph_ of a sketch done in 1877. The trees at that time appeared to be three to four years old.