ORARI GORGE STATION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1435, 1 December 1885, Page 2

ORARI GORGE STATION.

(By Our Special Reporter) There were two institutions of great • importance to this colony which until a few days ago I had never visited, viz., a thorough sheep station and a goldfield. The nearest goldfield I could not visit without having a good deal of time and money at my disposal, but not so as regards a sheep station ; several of them were ' within easy distance, and I resolved to remain no longer in ignorance of what they were like. Knowing that the Orari Gorge Station ; the properly of Mr C, G. Tripp, has the reputation of being the best managed in South Canterbury, and knowing also that nowhere else could 1 meet with so genial or so courteous a welcetne, I resolved to make it the scene of my investigations, and, with this object in view, I set out early last Thursday morning. lam inclined to think that there are few newspaper readers in this colony who have not a thorough knowledge of what a sheep station is, and consequently 1 feel doubtful as to whether I shall be able to make my description of what I saw interesting enough to them. But even at v the risk of failing in this respect 1 cannot resist the temptation of putting into print my first impression of a sheep station. bird’s-eye view. Agreeable to directions received when starting on my journey, I kept on a straight road until I found it blocked by a gate. I then knew I had reached the boundary of the station. I may as well now take a bird’a-eye view of it, as a large portion of it can be seen from this spnt. The station contains 45,000 acres of leasehold land bslonging to the Crown, aed 18,000 acres of freehold. The freehold is down on the plains, the leasehold is up beyond the ranges, and fur out of view of the observer standing at the boundary gate. It is a vast tract of country—63,ooo acres—yet Mr Tripp finds it insufficient at times to feed his , flocks, as during the winter time half of ) it is covered with snow for three or four months. Last year he rented 1000 acres of the Rainclifl: Run, and he has invariably to rent land down on the plains in winter time sufficient to feed from 8,000 to 12,000 sheep. There are on the run 95 miles of wire fencing, 24 miles of roads for pack-horses, 700 acres of bush, 7 sets of sheep yards, 12 shepherd’s huts, 5 houses for married couples, besides a small street of houses near the homestead. In this street there is a saddler’s shop, a blacksmith’s shop, a carpenter’s shop, a tool-house, stables, sheep sheds, dog houses, piggeries, cow shed, etc. All the implements necessary to carry on the above trades are there, and a blacksmith, a carpenter, and a saddler are kept pretty constantly at i work. There are about 60 horses and 15 mules on the station. The mules were imported many years ago by Mr Tripp for the purpose of taking such requisites ■ as were necessary over the run in packsaddles, and he has found them answer the purpose admirably. On their backs all , the fencing materials that went to make the 95 miles of fencing were conveyed, and as many of the tracks are rugged and dangerous it will be easily realised it was no small work. Four shepherds live out in the lonely mountains looking after sheep, and two men with 19 dogs are employed all the year round looking for rabbits. These two men bring into the homestead yearly about 350 rabbit skins, and the tails of about 60 wild pigs. The usual number of men employed on the station all the year round is about 20, but there were about 70 men there when 1 visited it, it being shearing time. The average nnmber of sheep on the station is 48,000* amongst which there is a stud flock of about 300 merino ewes, some of which coat £2O, while, not n few of the rams on the station cost £IOO. As much as of wool have been clippel off one merino ram, IMPROVEMENTS. And now having taking a cursory glance at this vast estate, I think I may enter its outermost gate. The gate, though very' wide; is hung on one side, and is fastened by a chain which is 1 dropped on it from the post at the other side. It is very easily opened and closed, and is exactly like every gate on the estate. A peculiarity of the post-and- , rail fences 1 noticed was that not one of ] the posts are mortised ; the rails being fixed on to the posts by wire fastenings. It will easily bo seen that this is the best plan. Mortising tiie poets must weaken them, and render them more liable to decay; not to moitise them must, therefore, be much the better plan. The distance between this gate and the homestead is, I should say, about two and a-hi.lf miles, and five gates must be opened, passed through, and shut, on the way. The road is good, and the land and its surroundings hear evidence of much patient industry. It is in some places very stoney, but, judging from what has been done in the past, and what is going on at present, the next generation of the Tripp family will find it free from stones, as they are now being picked up and stacked together in large heaps. This land has been all ploughed, and laid down in English grass. I had not gone far when 1 had to cross an artificial water-race, may not be generally known that Air ■ •* Tripp has constructed, at his own expense, two and a-quarter miles of a water--race through his land, and that about 1000 acres of land have thus been supplied with wate r . The plan was designed by' Mr Marchant, and is very simple. A \ box of wood, about 18in wide by Bin \ deep, is placed in a creek below the ordinary level of its water ; it has a grating on it, which prevents anything but water ’ passing into it—and this is the source of a . good stream, which has a length of two and a-quarter miles. The cost was only £75, mid Mr Tripp asserts that with this supply of water the land can carry nearly )f double the number of sheep it would carry without it. He expressed great

regret at noticing that the Waitohi people are opposing the proposal for a waterrace through that district. The waterrace crosses the road two or three times between the boundary gate and the homestead. SHEEP. I had not travelled far inside the gate when I came across sheep—long-woolled sheep, short-woolled sheep ; shorn sheep, unshorn sheep ; horny sheep ; grey sheep’; white sheep; black sheep ; droves of sheep, groups of sheep, platoons of sheep, companies of sheep, armies of sheep, regiments of sheep, multitudes of B h ee p_and all of them meek, mild, and timid. Mr Andrew Grant was the greatest sheep man I had hitherto encountered. I am so accustomed to meet Mr Grant’s sheep on every road, that I always look out for Mr Grant’s men when I meet a drove of sheep. Instinctively I turned to the men who were driving the hosts of sheep I now met, believing that I would find them to be Mr Grant’s men ; but they were not, and I realised that here I was in the sheep’s own dominions, where they hold supreme sway. There they were, scattered over the vast plains in myriads, roaming free, and unfettered as the winds ; and when I looked at them 1 had no difficulty in ridding myself of the nolion that all the sheep in the country belonged to Mr Andrew Grant. THE HOMESTEAD. In due course, I passed through the gate that admitted me to the avenue which leads to Mr Tripp’s residence, when suddenly a scene of great loveliness burst in view. The drive is the best part of a qumter of a mile long, and intersects a well-kept lawn on which there is a tennis court. All round it is sheltered by a border of native bush, while handsome shrubs and trees, beds of rhododendrons of various hues, and flowers bespeak what civilisation has done to beautify a scene naturally lovely. Here at the mouth of the Gorge, with some native bush and green-clothed terraces as a back-ground, and sheltered from every wind, stands the residence of the most universally-beloved man in South Canterbury—Mr C. G. Tripp. In front of it runs a clear, limpid stream, tolerably well stocked with trout which disport themselves without danger of molestation in its chrystal waters —for no , one is allowed to touch them. Sometimes very heavy floods come down this stream with extraordinary suddenness, and so, to prevent scour, Mr Tripp has concreted and otherwise protected the bed of the stream. A plan which he has found very .effective is to bind good-sized stones together with wire, and place them in the form of pavement in the embankment. They have stood the test admirably. This stream is spanned by two wooden bridges, which lead to the garden on the opposite slope. Here there is a large apiary where busy bees are industriously employed in the mysteries of their work, which they carry on without fear that machinery will ever destroy their occupation. The hives are so constructed that they can be seen at work. In this garden there is a great variety of fruit and ornamental trees, rose trees and flowers, and all kinds of vegetables. It has a fence of ivy, and the borders round the walks are of strawberries. The area of the garden and shrubbery is altogether ten acres. Thrushes, blackbirds, goldfinches, green linnets, and yellow hammers are to be seen here, and pheasants and hares are plentiful on the estate. Jhe house is a large two-storey wooden building, It is literally covered with jessamine, roses, and other creepers,which at the present time look beautiful, and, taken with its surroundings, it is a lovely residence. To give a true description of it without appearing to indulge in extravagant language is not e^sy—but to speak of the open-hearted and genial hospitality which is here dispensed, without seeming indelicate, would be far more difficult. Everybody is kind, courteous, and easily approached, and the stranger finds himself at once at his ease. THE COALFIELD. On making the object of my visit known, Mr Tripp volunteered to be my guide. We were soon mounted on horses, and, accompanied by a neighboring fentleman, made for a coalfield, which Mr 'ripp has discovered on his land. We passed by plantations of trees—there are 50 acres planted with trees in the vicinity of the homestead—and a plantation of eight rows of filberts, each eight chains in length —till at last we came to a dense bush. Leaving our horses here, we proceeded through the bush till at last wo reached the coul seam. The coal has been exposed by a running creek, and to all appearances the seam is about half a chain wide, Mr Tripp has came to the detei ruination of testing whether tha coal is worth working or not; he lias employed two men to expose the seam, and (hey were at work at it when we reached there. There can be do doubt but this is the same coal seam which breaks out at the foot of the hills all along this coast. It is found at Malvern, where it is being worked ; it is found at Mount Somers, at Kakahu, and at Wa'mate—all of which are on the Hue— and there can be little doubt but that it is tha same coal. The place where Mr Tripp’s men are working is about two and a-half miles from the homestead, in the dense bush, and it is probable that n few weeks more will enable them to see what is there. I could not help regretting that Mr Tripp was not in the place of Mr Wigley at Kakahu. If be were, we should have had the Kakahu minerals in full working order long ago; The coal already discovered is not so dark and lustrous as that found at Kakahu, but only the surface so far has been touched, and it is probable good coal will be found there in a few weeks. THE WOOLSHED, The next place I visited was the woolshed. This is a tremendous place, capable of holding about 2000 sheep, and of giving room to 28 shearers to work in, together with the number of men employed iu classing, sorting, pressing, branding, etc., the wool. When 1 reached there 28 shearers were at work, ripping, tearing, and cutting at a tremendous rate. They were shearing about 3000 sheep daily, the largest number turned out being 3009 sheep. I watched the shearers with great interest, and one of them offered to lot me try my band, but I declined. I remember once having tried my hand at sheep shearing. 1 tackled a big burly wether, bat he was an obstinate brute; he would not lie down to be shorn, and so I resolved to make him. We wrestled about for some time, but neither of us appeared to gain

any great advantage; we fought, we struggled, we fell, we rose, till at last I triumphantly placed him on his back, and prepared to shear him. But where were the shears? They were chains away, and so 1 had to let the wether stand up again to get the shears. No sooner did he find himself on his legs again than he cleared, and I do not know whether he has ever since been shorn. Mr Tripp s sheep are not like him. I never realised the full meaning of the words “as quiet as a lamb” until I saw them shorn. There were the shearers tearing them, ripping them, cutting them, yet not one of them would as much as wince. 1 think the only Stoic to be found in the animal kingdom is a sheep. Cut, wound, break her bones, yet she will notcomplain. There has not been half enough poetry written about her stoical indifference to pain, her meekness, her gentleness, her quietness, and, above all, her usefulness. Everything here was new to me, but 1 soon made myself acquainted with what was being done. After the wool is shorn off it is handed by boys to the woolclasser, who, with his assistants, classes it first, second, and third combing. On another table was another classer classing the pieces, and more men were employed in putting the stained pieces of wool through a further process of classing, Three men were busy in pressing the wool into bales with a screw press. This press is capable of pressing 49 bah-s of 4Jnwt. daily. The bales, as soon as ready, are taken to the weighing machine, over which Mr Tripp himself presides. He weighs every bale of wool that leaves the shed ; and, if not present, it must wait until he returns. After _ being weighed, the bales are placed in the storeroom, where they are branded. This storeroom is capable of holding 350 bales of wool. Surrounding the shed are large yards, and each shearer has a pen of his own, so that the number of sheep he shears can be ascertained. THE dip. Not far off is the sheep-dipping yards—large enough to hold several thousand sheep. These yards and the dip are built upon the most improved principles. There is a double race with a swing gate to the dip, and the several other gates are lifted up by means of pulleys. The dip is built of concrete and is 37 feet long, and bollshaped at the plunge where it is 9 feet wide. It is capable of holding 2100 gals, of liquid,and 1500sheepcan bo passed through it in an hour. Te water with which it is supplied is brought' from a creek about half a mile avay by means of a water; race. Not far off is a foot-rot trough, having a concrete walk of 40 feet in length, 6 inches wide, and 12 inches in depth. In this a solution of 12 oz. of blueatone to the gallon of water is used, and 1000 sheep can be passed through it in three hours. The sheep yards are so constructed that 20,000 sheep can be put through in a day and the hoggets drafted. ! THE SHEARERS’ HHT. Beside it is the shearers’ hut. This socalled hut, is a large building two storeys high, and two-thirds of it is built of brick. Here two cooks are employed in cooking mutton, bread, and tea, No sooner you enter than a genial smile overspreads the vast visage of a gentleman of the negro persuasion who glories in the name of Powell, He is civil, obliging, polite, and communicative, and if you signify your desire to slake you thirst he deluges you with tea after having told you that he is “the man that boils the mate.” The quantity of tea dispensed by Mr Powell is prodigious. His teapot is pretty well as large as the boiler of an oeean-going steamer ; he is proud of it, and he does not forget to direct your attention to its enormous size. The dining-room is large, the kitchen is large, the fires in it are large, everything is large, and yet there is no room to spare when 60 or 70 men assemble for their meals. Upstairs are fixed bunks for the men to sleep in—how many I know not, MISCELLANEOUS. To bring all this vast estate to such a degree of cultivation must have cost an enormous sum of money. Not only have the plains been ploughed, but the steep hillsides—so steep that one cannot help wondering how on earth it was done, or how the horses were able to beep on their feet while ploughing. There are altogether 3000 acres ploughed and laid down in English grass, and now, clothed in verdure, it presents a splendid appearance- Twenty-two years ago all this place was a howling wilderness. Mr Tripp, with the Hon. Mr Acland, left England in October 1854, and, landed in New Zealand in January 1855—just 30 years ago last January. It is a fact, perhaps not generally known, that both gentlemen were admitted as barristers, and practised in London for some time before leaving there. After having acquired a knowledge of fanning from Mr M. J. Burke, who was then considered tha model sheen farmer of Canterbury, they took up 250,000 acres of Crown land, indudingMount Somers, MounfPossession and Mount Peel, It may not be nninterest iog to state why Mount Possession was so called. The reason was that some person came along and found no stock on it, and bo he went away for the purpose of bringing stock to take it up. In the meantime Messrs Tripp and Acland heard what whs going on, and they stocked it. By doing so they acquired possession of i , and thus named it. In 1862 Messrs Tripp and Acland separated, the latter remaining at Mount Peel, and the former taking up the Orari Gorge division. Mr Tripp went Home, and did not return until 1864, when he settled down permanently where he has since built so pleasant a borne. Twenty-one years ef patient toil and industry have now enabled him to surround himself with all the comforts and luxuries of civilized life ; he has made the proverbial three blades of grass grow where none grew before, and has therefore earned tha reward attac ed thereto. In the evening, after the labors of the day had ceased, a quiet conversation with Mr Tripp enabled me to ascertain his views on politics. He is an admirer of Sir Julius Vogel; he is a man of progress ; he favors Protection, a National Bank, and has very advanced views on almost all questions. If all runholders were as liberal in giving employment, in their views on politics, and in their dealings in other matters as Mr Tripp, the cry raised against them would not be so loud, nor the prejudice against them so strong, as it is at present^^^^^^^^