EARLY DIPTON

Southland Times, Issue 20219, 2 July 1927, Page 4

EARLY DIPTON

(By an Old Timer.) Although an old timer at and around Dipton, the writer is by no means the first to take up residence at the place in question. It is about fifty-five years ago that as a very young man I first saw Dipton in its early stage of development, having gone there by coach from Winton per Flint’s coach.

Should some of my dates appear to overlap or scarcely to correspond with fifty-five years ago, allow me to here mention that I received much reliable information from those who had preceded me by some years, the chief of whom was the young lady who ultimately became my wife, who with her parents arrived there from Australia in the late fifties, their first place of settlement being then known as Stag Creek where her stepfather, one William Daniels, erected an accommodation house, chiefly built with pretty crude material of sorts. Others I could rely on for accurate information and who were there before me were a Mr. William Campbell and a Mr. H. S. Gould, both of whom are still with us. The former still resides at Dipton and the latter retired to Otautau, both having done their bit as worthy pioneers. I have had to call upon the good wife of Mr. Campbell, who was also one of Mr Daniels’ stepdaughters for many points of information upon which I was in doubt, and it is pleasing to relate that she is still the constant companion of her worthy life partner as they journey on. The hearts of this worthy old couple seem bound up in the rise and prosperity of the place they have made their home for 60 years and more and where they reared a worthy family. Long may they enjoy their leisure. The foregoing is merely a preliminary to the history of Dipton, which is written at the request of the late and present second generation and it is by the kind courtesy of the Southland Times that I am enabled in a feeble way to comply with the wishes of those who desire to keep alive the memories of early and later Dipton, and who are the decendants of other worthy pioneers and settlers of the district who have long since crossed the Great Divide and all of whom did so much in their time to subdue the stubborn glebe, and brought so much beauty and prosperity out of the wilderness, their life’s journey having come to quiet repose in the pretty Dipton cemetery which I ploughed up for the first time and assisted to plant in trees so many long years ago. Amidst all the beauties and pleasures of life a feeling of sadness will creep in upon me when I visualise the comparative loneliness we sometimes feel at the loss of so many one time trusted friends, for real and true friendship is an instinct and should never be an effort. But I must stop moralising or the history of Dipton will be forgotten.

To begin I have two versions given me re the origin of the name Dipton. The first was that, it came about through the prevalence of scab amongst the merino sheep on Dipton Station in the early days. They had to be dipped so often in arsenic and tobacco wash that it was thought Dipton would be a very appropriate name for the station. Then again I was told that when the late J. T. Thomson was SurveyorGeneral and was making a flying survey of the Southland runs to be, as he ascended the Moonlight ranges from Jacob’s River side and stood on top of what is to-day known as Break-neck and is about the dividing boundary between Avondale and Dipton, the Dipton Valley lay before him and its resemblance, with its river and creek, and the Dipton bush, put him so in mind of a place called Dipton in either England or Scotland, I don’t know which, that he decided to call it Dipton. If this is so no doubt it will be on some one of his tracings of the features of the country he ~was exploring at that time. If not, then we may presume Dipton did .get its name from the process of dip and re-dip again and again. Now that’s all I know ..upon that heading. Dipton is a pretty name anyhow and carries many happy early associations for me in many ways in spite of very hard work and poor returns. The first owner of Dipton station I can recall was one Captain Russell, with a Mr. Jemison at Hillend. I fancy the latter gentleman was a manager for either Cuthbertson Bros, or Captain Russell. Morison, Law and Squires bought Dipton station from Captain Russell, and also acquired Hillend and later added Heddon Bush to their possessions, making a total of 75,000 acres upon which they ran merino sheep and some cattle. Mr. Law was a merchant and lived in Invercargill. Mr. Squires was a man of considerable means and went home. A younger brother of Mr. John Morison came out from London and joined his brother, John Law, and Squires did not appear after this, but was supposed to be a deeping partner and the Morisons carried on alone as owners. They afterwards sold Heddon Bush and Hillend to Spence Brothers, Melbourne, merchants, thus leaving Dipton intact, bounded on the south by Hillend, on the west by Avondale boundary (Captain Raymond), on the north by Castle Rock boundary and on the east by the Oreti River. This was all before the appearance of any railway this side of Winton.

Up until 1874 or 75 there was little or no cultivating done on Dipton beyond a decent garden at the homestead and a ram" paddock near what was known as the Wash in those days. It may be interesting to some if I pause here a moment to relate the significance of the word “wash,” which is mostly applied to washing clothes, but in this case it was washing live sheep, and whilst on the subject I will explain the process as nearly as my memory serves me. It was all merino sheep in those days, and there being no rabbits, blue tussock a kind of native bunchy fescue, aniseed and other nutritious grasses were in abundance, and it was nothing unusual to get big fat merino wethers 65 to 70 lbs weight off the native hills. When in good condition the tops of the wool was inky black with coagulated yolk. Before the sheep were immersed in the hot water bath the yolk was softened by the sheep being showered on in a square pen with a flat iron top, which was perforated with holes, water being pumped on to the roof by a Californian pump from a lagoon close by. After this they were crutched through a long narow warm water and soap bath much as we put sheep through a dip. They went up on to a dripping stage, and when sufficiently dripped were shot down a shoot to a cold water bath to be rinsed, so to speak, by men in overalls, one taking the head and two front legs and the other, who was opposite, taking the two hind legs. The sheep went through a process of turning and were thoroughly swilled. The only difference to ordinary washing was they were not hung on a clothesline to dry, but in a few days when thoroughly dry they were a beautiful sight and had to be handled very carefully until after they were shorn. The late Mr. Cowan of Okaitarua and the Morisons were the only ones I ever heard of doing this kind of thing. I understand the extra amount per lb of the wool at home did not compensate for loss in weight of fleece and working expenses so the practice was abandoned. The hot water was supplied from 400 gallon iron tanks (square) set in brick on the edge of the washing trough with taps to the trough. It was i great fun although a fellow was wet through all day. There was one chap amongst us we called “Frothum-up” who had such a big mole or wart on the back of his neck he suspended his back cape from it from the button hole, much to our amusement. (To be Continued.)