Mackenzie Family Played Chief Part in Developing Mount Nicholas Property

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27080, 14 May 1949, Page 9

Mackenzie Family Played Chief Part in Developing Mount Nicholas Property

The Mount Nicholas property on the Southland side of Lake Wakatipu, was recently acquired by Messrs John Philip Hunt and Thomas Leslie Hunt, sons of Mr John S. Hunt, of Wanaka, and the change of ownership brought to a close an interesting chapter in the history of the lakeside runs. These were taken up in the first place by the White brothers and by Von Tunzelmann about the same time that W. G. Rees took up his run on the eastern, or Queenstown, side. The Mount Nicholas property passed through several hands before being acquired by Hugh Mackenzie in the late seventies.

Hugh Mackenzie, from whose family the Property was purchased by the Hunt brothers, was a sturdy Scot from Ardmore, Sutherlandshire. who had been chief gunner in the Iron Duke until he retired from the navy and settled in New Zealand in 1874. He travelled fnpm Bluff to Kingston in a bullock waggon, the trip taking from five to six days, while another day was spent sailing up the lake to Queenstown. For six years he held the Coronet run with his brother Alexander, and then they went to Beach Bay where the latter took over a farm from Matheson brothers, over which he held a mortgage. Hugh Mackenzie built a-home on the farm and then went shepherding, at the same time making a thorough inspection of the country before settling down. He also assisted his brother on the farm and as a sideline they netted salmon on the lake, sending them to Dunedin and making as much as £2O a week.

at the base of the mountains, sowing them in grass and cultivating portions for growing turnips to feed lambs and the less robust sheep to tide them over the winter. The first sowing of grass cost no less than £7 per acre and in in this way an area of 2000 acres was brought under cultivation. For this purpose a great deal of roadmaking had to be done through difficult country and at great expense to the owners and to the Lake County Council To-day *a 30-mile road runs through the property. In 1906 one of Hugh Mackenzie's sons, William, was killed in a landslide within sight of his home. Walter was killed in the First World War at Gallipoli in- 1915, and at the time of his death he was reputed to be the youngest officer in the New Zealand Army. Peter Mackenzie saw service in the same war and was badly gassed in 1916, while the other brothers, John, Alexander and Hugh were classed unfit for active service. For years the Mackenzie family scoured their own wool and it was a common sight at shearing time for passengers up and down the lake to see the white fleeces spread over the green paddocks during the scouring processes. The merino wool from this station topped the London wool sales for New Zealand and Australia on three separate occasions and was awarded the first prize at the Wembly Exhibition. Lived as Clan The Mackenzies, perhaps, more than any other family in New Zealand, lived practically as a clan, due no doubt to the combination of their ancestry and their isolation on the less accessible shore of the lake, and when Hugh Mackenzie died at Dunedin in May, 1933, the district mourned the passing of a chieftain. He left behind him a record of achievement that was fully in keeping with the finest of pioneering traditions, for the Walter Peak station had by that time become one of the most famous in New Zealand. Distinguished visitors including Viscount Jellicoe and his staff, Lord and Lady Bledisloe, Lord and Lady Craigavon, Lord and Lady Birdwood, Sir Harry Lauder, as well as organised representative parties from overseas, Scottish gatherings and conventions, were all royally entertained at the hospitable Walter Peak station.

Properties Combined Soon after- this Hugh Mackenzie bought Walter Peak. He had 1000 Sheep the first year and bought 1500 the next year, gradually building the flock up to 8000 when he bought out James Milne at Fernhill, Von Tunzelmann’s first holding. At the same time he purchased the freehold and buildings of the Nicholas run from John and Thomas Ellis, of the Five Rivers Estate, and the lease from the Southland Land Board. Ellis Brothers had ownecL Mount Nicholas for 18 years previously and in that time it had become over-run with rabbits. By this time Hugh Mackenzie had a family of six growing, stalwart sons, and among them they began to build up a pastoral empire that was to grow in strength with the passing of the years. The three runs, Walter Peak, Mt. Nicholas and Fernhill. were combined under the name of the original station, Walter Peak. Mount Nicholas was not an inviting looking place and the Mackenzies would never have touched it but for the fact that they had 8000 sheep to graze. In 1897 the Mackenzies erected the first hill country fence, and at the same time the neighbouring runholders shook their heads and said that fences would never stand up on snow country—but the fence is ,still there. The first year after the fence was up there was no loss, and it proved beyond all doubt that fences would stand up in snow country provided the wires were kept tight. It took the Mackenzies 14 years to fence their run. This entailed the erection of about 70 miles of mountain fences consisting principally of iron standards, rock and stone straining posts, stout iron and steel wire -reinforced with strong wooden stakes on the ridges and wire netting in every watercourse. All this had to be packed on horses up the mountainsides, and where this was impossible it had to be carried. Altogether 150 miles of fences have been erected by these settlers. The years spent in fencing paid , them handsome dividends and the time came when they were running 37,000 sheep at one time on a run of 170,000 acres. After Mount Nicholas was bought a start was made to clear the rabbits, and in one year the Mackenzies had baled 105,000 skins in the shed—and then they claimed to have got only half the rabbits on the property. They, also embarked on a big buildmg programme on the Mount Nicholas property, and a homestead of 14 rooms was built at White's Bay. The White Brothers’ house down the Von Valley and Milne's house on Fernhill were taken down and made into holding sheds and wool rooms and Milne’s shearing shed at Fernhill was also moved over to provide extra shearing accommodation. Later two large additional houses were erected at Walter Peak and the old homestead was modernised and enlarged. ' A great deal of the success of the Mackenzie family was due to the ploughing of the bracken fern flats