Early Days in South Canterbury

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20077, 6 April 1935, Page 12

Early Days in South Canterbury

ILLUMINATING GLIMPSES INTO THE EVADING PAST

(Specially Written for “The Timaru Herald” by T. W. Ewart.)

In the older civilised countries of the world, particularly in the British Isles the soil is, as it were, hallowed, because every town to the smallest hamlet has a history; there is the mellowing affect of centuries and tradition in the air. Perhaps some inn has housed a Queen, or perhaps the fields around have witnessed a battle for a Crown or for a kingdom. Of course reference could be made to the sacred soil of the Holy Land, to Greece and Italy and the other places where civilisation has been nurtured, but the traditions of Britain are peculiarly British. Whatever the story or legend of even the smallest British hamlet, it has made its contribution to the great mass of tradition that lies behind the British Empire. It might be argued, especially by the advocates of untried nebulous theories, that nothing can be found in the past that can be of use to-day, that only by forgetting the past can we progress; but no argument can prove that tradition is not one of the main ties binding the British Empire, and one of the qualities on which Britain’s stability is based. Obviously is the past valuable for the lessons it has to show.

A fact that might be overlooked is that during the years since its foundation, South Canterbury has built up history. To record that history is to write not merely of the lessons from the past, but it is to write also of deeds that have been worthily achieved without prompting from acclamation or public favour. In the work of her pioneers, South Canterbury can take an honest pride. Some of the district’s history is on record, but unfortunately many notable efforts and many heroic deeds have gone unremembered. In different corners of the district, however, there must still remain useful historic decuments, and what is more, there must still be people who can relate treasured reminiscences of the rapidly-fading past. Of necessity, only random glimpses into our district’s past can be taken here. The facts from the past that follow have been collected from various sources. Most of the figures have been taken from a large volume containing copies of the letters that the managers of Three Springs Estate sent to the owners of the property—a mercantile firm—between 1881 and 1888.

A Link with the Mackenzie The records of Three Springs Estate are particularly interesting, because they offer a basis on which farming prices in the past can be compared with those ruling to-day. Up to March 31, 1886, Mr John McCaw, a member of an Oamaru family, was manager, and he was followed by Mr J. C. Park, who was one of the first chairmen of the Silverstream School Committee. In the very early days Three Springs is supposed to have included Albury and Opawa, and like all the original stations its area was an indefinite quantity. Grants of land were usually bounded, so to speak, by “somewhere and anywhere.” On September 30, 1881, the estate comprised 5174 acres of freehold land and 9800 leasehold—an area much smaller than the original Three Springs. In the inventory for that date, 13,729 sheep are entered; about a quarter of them were merinos, another quarter long-wool and a half crossbred. The wool shorn in November of that year was 82,969 lbs. (253 bales) —an average of 6.721b5. a sheep. Shearing and pressing cost £l3l, which when the number of sheep and bales are considered, was not an excessive amount. The general lambing percentage was 96.5, and the per- | centage for threequarter-bred paddock ewes was 107.5—in 1883 the paddock percentage reached 117. In March 1882, 238 halfbred cull ewes were sold for 8s 6d each, and 20 Leicester rams realised 25s each. The manager, however bought in 2-tooth and 4-tooth Leicester rams at five guineas a head. Wool Prices in 1882 An interesting fact is that the 249 bales of wool sold in 1882 realised approximately £l3 12s 6d a bale; that average included, however, 11 bales of scoured wool. It is rather peculiar to notice that the best prices for scoured wool were realised for Merino pieces at Is Bd. Merino locks were next at Is Sid. These prices fell to Is 5d and Is lid in the next season’s clip. The wool was sold in London and the cheque was £3393 9s 4d in ’B2 and £3919 6s lOd for 290 bales in ’B3. Cannington, according to the manager of Three Springs, realised the top price (Is Id) for halfbred wool in ’B3. The wool that Three Springs had scoured was put through Messrs McCaskill and Rooney’s scour at Kimbell. Mr Thomas Rooney also worked a scour in Temuka near the Park, and was noted for employing some Chinese labour. It is said that the Chinese were more sensitive in the hand and consequently could handle wool without damaging it. The Kimbell scour was in a building at present occupied by Mr J. Annan, not far from the Kimbell hotel. Farming: Costs in the ’Bo’s In the inventory for 1881, Three Springs owned only 15 horses, and like : most of the stations in those days ' found it more economical to have ' agricultural work done by contract. ■ Contract ploughing was done on the estate for 5s to 5s 3d an acre, harrowing lOd and sowing Is. Including - grass seed and all contract work, the

cost of putting a paddock down in English grass was 22s an acre—the cost in some instances was as low as 20s. The cost of turnips was 10s 22d apd rape cost 8s lOd an acre. Contract ploughing rates rose to 6s 6d and 7s in ’B2. The manager wrote that he was experiencing difficulty in obtaining contract ploughmen, and he thought they were being absorbed by Raincliff station where, so he heard, 6000 acres were being ploughed that year. If that information about Raincliff was correct, it would be interesting to learn why such a large area of ground was being ploughed there that year. Mention of Raincliff station brings to mind the fact that the original owner was Michael John Burke, the man who discovered Burke’s Pass. A commemorative stone with an inscription to that effect was erected at the top of the Pass in 1917 by Mr T. D. Burnett M.P. As a matter of fact in 1885 the same year as Burke entered the pass bearing his name, John Mackenzie discovered Mackenzie Pass. Raincliff station, for some considerable time was the home of Jessie Mackay whose poems have won a worthy place in New Zealand literature. Early Days Recalled The Three Springs Estate was put up to auction on March 1, 1883. “I was rather surprised,” wrote the manager, “that there were no bids for the property on the Ist inst., and I am inclined to think that the high reserve may have deterred people from bidding. I have not the slightest doubt that the price will be obtained for it later when we have the railway running alongside of it, and more sheep and the freezing process in full

swing. With regard to the railway to Fairlie Creek, it may take some time yet, but I hear that we will have the railway open to Coal Gully (Winscombe) in about three weeks —that is two miles on the Albury side of Fairlie Creek.” In a later letter he referred to the early completion of the line to Fairlie Creek and mentioned the Government’s intention to continue it to “Allen’s Mill” (Eversley). Allen’s Mill is still standing, but it has been out of use for many years. It is on the same property as Mr D. H. Doyle’s soda water factory. The mill was driven by water power and was opened on September 22, 1883. It is said that Allen, the original proprietor of the mill saw a sample of wheat from Rollesby station in the Mackenzie County and insisted on buying some of the wheat. With the flour obtained from it, he won the first prize at the Christchurch Exhibition. In the early days the Three Springs district was a great wheat growing area. The cost of producing wheat was low and the price ranged around ss, and the large amount grown under those conditions would account for the establishment of the mill. The district’s great wheatgrowing days are reflected, too, in the 1 large stone granary which still stands where the Three Springs Estate had its farm buildings. As will be seen from the figures quoted above, which show the cost of sowing various crops, production costs were very low. In time the ground required artificial fertiliser and this cost added to the other costs that have risen, has caused the district to produce a much smaller amount of wheat to-day. The railway reached Fairlie in September 1883. The extension to Allen’s Mill (Eversley) has now been removed. It is interesting to hear how in the | early days it was thought that New { Zealand would ultimately have a close

network of railway lines. With this idea perhaps the Government surveyed a route for a railway line past Three Springs and on into the Mackenzie Country, and through to Omarama. There was at the time, it is said, an agitation for the line to connect with the branch going to Kurow. No less than three townships have been laid out at Kimbell and another, Clulee, has been laid out at Burke’s Pass. The country seemed to be very much alive to the advantages connected with railway communica- i tions and no doubt after years of travel through mud and slush and floods and snow with bullock waggons and horse waggons, those advantages would be much more evident. As far back as August 1877, a public meeting at Silverstream (Kimbell) urged the completion of a line to Burke’s Pass,

Three Springs Station even with all q its sheep and its large area of ground, s did not employ many permanent s hands. In fact, only three men were f permanently employed: the manager, f a shepherd and an add-job man. Most f of the work from ditching, fencing and tree planting to agricultual work was done by contract, as stated above. At one period, the estate’s odd-job man, who was a teamster, cowboy and 1: groom, among other duties, gave v notice. Some idea of the wages he received can be gathered from the fol- ; 1 lowing advertisement for a successor t inserted in “The Timaru Herald” in o 1884: "Wanted immediately, a strong i lad to milk, attend to horses and be £ generally useful. For a suitable lad wages from 10s to 12s a week.” Referring to advertisements, it is interesting to note that on October 20, i 1882, the manager wrote requesting the shearing commencement date (Novem- c ber 2) to be advertised in “The Timaru c Herald.” In recent years, because hold- i ings are smaller and travel is easier, i shearers are within call, and the cus- , tom of advertising the shearing date i has almost vanished. s Some Rural Plagues One serious stock disease of the past J j was "scab,” and it assumed such seri- < ous proportions that the Provincial Council had to take action. Scab was at its worst in the 1860’s and in the 1880’s no mention of it is found in the I Three Springs records. However, i he had not seen any symptoms of the ] disease amongst the estate’s sheep, j but later in the year he had to dose i hoggets. In the same year, footrot j appeared on Three Springs. j The “fly” ruined a paddock of tur- ■ j nips in 1882, and they had to be sown ■ j over again. Oat and wheat crops were affected with rust. . Rabbits were on the increase in the , district, but apparently the estate did ■ not have many. “I had a man on for j three days to kill rabbits on the run,” the manager wrote to the Stock Inspector after repeated demands to take action, “and during that time he saw six and killed five of them. I think that ought to show that in the meantime we are fairly free from the pest.” j Beginnings of “Paddy’s Market” j Not so many miles from Three Springs homestead and two miles be- j low Burke’s Pass township, there is a place called “Paddy’s Market,” and quite an interesting story seems to be attached to the origin of the name. In the early days, there were, of course, no boundary fences and the boundaries had to be traversed by shepherds who slept in huts along the line. One man, we will call him Mr “X,” who was famous over the Mackenzie as a dealer in old clothes or anything, was at the time of the story camped in one of those huts and because they knew that a chance to \ make a deal would probably be too j much for him to resist, several sta- J tion hands plotted a trick to play on i him. So they sent a new chum to him, but even though he looked to be i a likely customer, the dealer found he j would neither sell nor buy. At last, j however, he said that he rather liked ! the clothes Mr “X” was wearing. Mr “X” hesitated, but the new chum produced the money and he saw a deal and stripped to the last inch. That night a penetrating gale blew up and the station hands heard Mr “X” calling to the person living with him to ; , bring him clothes for the wind had taken all his away. Through that dealing and further dealing, the place : , became “Paddy’s Market.” The Three Springs . One of the very interesting features ■ about Three Springs is the springs . from which it takes its name. Three , large springs flow out of the hillside , and join together. What feeds them is j one of N&w Zealand’s natural curiosit ties. Some people .believe that their . source is Lake Tekapo; but perhaps a they are fed from the perpetual snow’ s on the Mackenzie mountains. It seems j that their origin has yet to be proved. The springs joined together flow past j- the old homestead, now occupied by ; Mr T. B. Smith, and meet the Opihi. When the estate was formed into a _ settlement, in 1900, the original name ~ j Three Springs w'as changed to PunaB roa in an attempt to render the name r in Maori, but the change is unfortunate and a beautiful name has almost been lost, <5 | Acknowledgements for information have I to be made to Mr Al. S. Smith of Fairlie. Mr G. W. Armitage, senr., of Sherwood e Downs, and for the use of a volume of V correspondence, to Mr T. B. Smith, of e Kimbell.]