SOUTH CANTERBURY: HISTORICAL SURVEY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21529, 16 December 1939, Page 31 (Supplement)

SOUTH CANTERBURY: HISTORICAL SURVEY

Ordered March of Progess

SPIRIT OF PIONEERS PRESERVED

(Written for the “Timaru Herald” by W. Vance.) IN the history of South Canterbury there is no romantic • story to tell of warfare with the Maoris as in the North Island; there is no glamour of gold-rush days as on the West Coast; there is none of the picturesqueness of an organised “pilgrim” settlement such as took place in Christchurch. But if South Canterbury has had few dramatic incidents to colour its history, it has been somewhat compensated in being the focal point of a number of experiments and events of national importance. For example, the exclusion of South Canterbury from the Canterbury Association Block gave to the Governor of New Zealand, Sir George Grey, the opportunity of experimenting with his “cheap land” policy, as opposed to the land policy of the Canterbury Association—an experiment that was to have important bearing on the future development of New Zealand. The taking up of large areas of land by the “squatter” station-owners resulted in the eventual breakdown of the original scheme of the Canterbury Association. The isolation of South Canterbury from the remainder of the province by the Rakaia and Rangitata rivers led to the separatist agitation which was strong enough to induce the Central Government to pass the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works Act—an event that marked the beginning of the end of Provincial Government. The discovery and settlement of the Mackenzie Country brought the evolution of a new technique in high country management peculiar to New Zealand. The conversion of the dangerous Timaru roadstead into a safe harbour gave a lead in artificial harbour construction in New Zealand. The development of Rhodes town as opposed to Government town, into the township of Timaru; the change-over of the district from a pastoral to an agricultural economy; the experiment with irrigation; the breaking up of the large estates; the conquest of the high peaks of the Southern Alps, and the development of the Waitaki hydro electric power—all these, while they are peculiar to South Canterbury, are events of national importance.

According to native tradition, the first inhabitants of South Canterbury were a race of giants who were known as the Kahui Tipua. Other tribes followed on but the first tribes of which we have any knowledge are the Waitaha tribe. The founder of this tribe, the chief Wai-taha, sailed across the great sea of Kiwa in the Arawa canoe and settled in Canterbury about the year 1477. These people lived in peace and plenty until they were conquered by the Ngati-mamoes. Then about the

year. 1650, the Ngai-tahu tribe, crossing over from the North Island, waged

war on the Ngati-mamies and drove them southwards. It is supposed by some authorities that it was during this southward retreat of the Ngatimamoes that the cave drawings to be seen in many parts of South Canterbury were executed. As with the Wai-tahas; so with the Ngati-mamoes—the conquerors slaughtered them in large numbers and those who were not killed, were absorbed into the conquering tribe. With the disappearance of the tribe as a separate entity, so disappeared also its history. The discovery of a pathway through the Southern Alps to the greenstone country in Westland was made by a party of Maoris, guided by a woman named Raukhka who led them up the Rakaia Valley and over the Browning Pass. Quarrel with Te Rauparaha broke out in 1827 and the devastating warfare lasted for ten years. Then came the Pakeha.s. Coming of the Pakehas So far as can be traced, the first - hite man to see the district ot South Canterbury was Captain James Cook. He passed Bank’s Peninsula on 17th February, 1770, but almost immediately afterwards he was blown out to sea by a Nor-west gale. He had drifted as fax south as the Waitaki river before land was sighted again. Cook thus missed sighting the clay cliffs of I'irnaru and about which he would have been sure to have made mention had he seen them. After the explorers came the whalers. The Weller Brothers had a number of whaling stations along the coastline of New Zealand. In 1838 they decided to establish one in the shinglebeach cove mid-way between their stations at Banks Peninsula and Otago. The whaling ship Caroline came to deliver stores to the whalers there, thus the cove came to be known as Caroline Bay. Whalers are not usually historians, so very little is known of this station; but we do know that a man who acted as one of the steersmen at this station wa.s Sam Williams. This fact had an important historic sequence. Owing to financial difficulties, the whaling station closed down and Sam Williams went to work at a whaling station at Banks Peninsula. Edward Shortland, travelling on his mission as ‘•Protector of the Aborigines in the Colonial Government ot New Zealand,” journeyed along the East Coast of the South Island from Dunedin to Akaroa. He it is who gives a first recorded impression of South Canterbury. On the afternoon of January 10. 1844. he arrived at the Southern Bank of the Waitaki River, after walking against a Nor'-west wind “which along this coast Is strangely hot. dry and oppressive.” At the Waitaki he met the Chief Huru Huru. 'a man of singularly pleasing manners and address--qualities which I was the , more surprised to meet with in this wild desert-looking place.’ Huru Huiu told Shortland that the Waitaki was , ted by seven lakes and that there were extensive grass plains in the interior of this part of the island.” Shortland was a shrewd observer of the potentialities of lancf for he declared that this part would become a great sheep country and also made the somewhat re-

■ markable prophecy of the utilisation o: hydro-electric power. He says: “W: may however carry on the imaginatior to another century—when this now desert country will no doubt be peoplec —when the plains will be grazed on bj numerous flocks of sheep and the streams, now flowing idly through remote valleys, will be compelled to perforin their share of labour in manufacturing wool.” While he was making camp near Makikihi, he saw the solitary figure of a man approaching. Il

was Bishop Selwyn, who had walke< from Akaroa and had outstripped hi

attendants. On Caroline Bay Short

land found ‘many forlorn-looking huts still standing there, with casks, rusty iron hoops and decaying ropes lying about in all directions.” This was all that remained of the old whaling station. The New Zealand Company were now looking for land for the establishment of their Free Church of Scotland settlement so Frederick Tuckett was dispatched to report on a suitable locution for the settlement. In April. 1841. he landed at Lyttelton and walked on to the Deans property in Christchurch. Tuckett was not impressed with the land around Christchurch so he decided to go overland to Otago. At the last moment, however, he quarrelled with his Maori guides over the question of payment so he decided to go by sea. At Moeraki Tuckett learned from the Maoris “and others from whom I made subsequent enquiries, that the land adjacent to the River Timaru as the most fertile on this line of coast.” Had Tuckett made his overland journey, it is most probable that he would have selected Timaru as a suitable site for his Scottish settlement—so, but for quarrell about the payment of the guides. South Canterbury might have been Scottish.

Canterbury Association By this time, plans for the proposed Canterbury Association settlement were ' being made and Captain Thomas was 1 dispatched to survey the “Great Southern Plains.” The Canterbury Associai tion block extended only as far as the i Ashburton River, but Captain Thomas • deemed it expedient to survey the land • as far south as the Waitaki River and Charles O. Torlesse was deputed to I make this southern survey. Torlesse ' was most favourably impressed with the agricultural possibilities ol South . Canterbury and it is from him that we , get the first detailed description of this ■ district. i On December 16. 1850, the first four ships entered Lyttelton Harbour and , so was begun the Canterbury Association settlement. But these Pilgrims had come imbued with the English agricultural ideal and were content to settle on small agricultural farms clustered round their village of Christchurch. But John Robert Godley, the founder of the settlement was far-

seeing enough to realise that this method would be of little avail in the taming of this new land. Onq of the principles of the Canterbury Association was the maintenance of a “fixed” and “sufficient” price for land. But the Governor of New Zealand. Sir George Grey, considered the price fixed by the Canterbury Associa- I tion as too high, and, in spite of the strong protests from the Canterbury Association, he threw open the land outside the Canterbury Association block (south of the Ashburton River) to anyone who cared to take it at a very low rental. First Settlement Sam Williams, the former .steersman on the Caroline Bay whaling station was now working on a whaling station at Bank’s Peninsula, and there he came in contact with George Rhodes. He told Rhodes of the great tract of sheep country that extended inland from the Caroline Bay whaling station. Rhodes decided to investigate. In 1850 the Rhodes Brothers applied for a pasturage licence to stock this country. Not waiting for the licence, Robert and George Rhodes, together with several men to assist them started from Bank’s Peninsula with 5000 sheep to stock this ne.. land. Their first big difficulty was the Rakaia River. There they struggled for three days in a vain endeavour to swim the sheep across. George Rhodes then suggested that they turn back, but his brother Robert asked to have “one more try to-morrow.” That "one more try” wa.s successful and the sheep were successfully driven to South Canterbury. This action on the part of the Rhodes Brothers was viewed with concern by the Canterbury Association and Godley wrote to the Association headquarters in London that their regulations be amended. He write: “The question o£, Pasturage Regulations become every day more pressing. Several stockholders have come from Australia with a view to settling here, but not one of them admits the possibility of establishing a station or taking an extensive run on the terms offered by the Association. If no better are offered, our district would soon apparently be, so far as stock is concerned, an occupied waste in the midst of pastures teeming with cattle and sheep. Mr Rhodes has just driven 5000 of his sheep to a run immediately outside our block, and several of the Canterbury settlers who meditate following his example.” Indeed th? pressure from “these outside stock-holders” became so urgent that • Godley felt impelled to amend the Canterbury Association pasturage regulations without waiting for permission to come from London.

At tile loot ot George Street, where Dalget.v's store now stands, the first house in South Canterbury was erected - and their nearest white neighbours were nearly 100 miles away. This house was the home of George Rhodes who had named his new station, the Levels Station, after the Rhodes' home in Yorkshire. The boundaries ol this station extended from the Opihi River to tile Pareora River and from the sea to the snowy ranges. To this home came Mrs George Rhodes in 1854. She had been married but a few weeks when she made the journey on horseback from Bank's Peninsula and to her belongs the distinction ol being the first white woman to cross the Canterbury Plains. In order to be more

Rhodes moved their home to where I the present Levels homestead now stands. The old totara slab hut where first they lived is still standing. Tlie Station Blocks In 1853 William Hornbrook came to the Arowhenua station. This run was bounded on the west by the Arowhenua Forest and ran along the north bank of the Opihi. The following year Mrs Hornbrook joined her husband at Arowhenua. Mrs Hornbrook was the first white woman in South Canterbury and her son Richard was the first white child to be born in South Canterbury. After a journey lasting six weeks Michael Studholme with his companion Saul Shrive pitched their camp at the point bush, where the township of Waimate now stands. Next morning they were escorted by a body of Maoris to see their chief Huru Huru, the man who had piloted Edward Shortland and Bishop Selwyn across the Waitaki River many years before. Te Huru Huru. though stricken with paralysis, wa.s still mentally alert. That day he and Studholme made an agreement regarding each other’s rights and both parties faithfully adhered to that agreement. The first Studholme homestead. “The Cuddy" still stands on its original site at Te Waimate Station. The station boundaries extended from the Waihao tG the Hook rivers and from the sea to the Hakataramea Downs. In 1864 Mrs Studholme came to Te Waimate which was to Im? her home until her death in 1912. She had lived to see remarkable changes come over the district ... a few sawmill huts evolve into a beautiful and prosperous township; a flax swamp become one of the richest agricultural districts in New Zealand. It is to Mrs Studholme that we owe a great deal for the preservation of a good deal of the early history of Waimate. The Macdonald Brothers occupied the land between the Rangitata and the Orari rivers and from the sea to the Upper Orari bridge, their station being named “Orari.” "Peel Forest” station, extending from the Upper Orari bridge to Peel Forest and from the Rangitata to the Orari rivers was taken up by Francis Jollie in 1853. The following year "Raukapuka” station was occupied by Alfred Cox. The boundaries of this station were from the Hae Hae te Moana River to the Orari River and from the sea to the foothills. Raincliff, in the fork of the Opihi and Opuha Rivers was allotted to Michael John Burke in 1853. Pareora Station, immediately to the south of the Levels station which took in all the land from the Pareora to the Otaio rivers and from the sea to the Hunter Hills was occupied by David Innis in 1853. In 1864 Edward Elworthy entered into partnership with Innis and shortly afterwards the station wa.s divided, Elworthy taking the upper portion, which was named Holme Station The only woman to take up a station I in her own rights was Jeannie Collier. . who took up the Otaio run which extended from the Otaio River to the Hook Creek and from the sea to the hills. The body of Miss Collier Is buried under some gum trees on the

station that she founded. Waikaka station extended from the sea Elephanl Hill and from the Waihao the Waitaki rivers. Tins station w; controlled by Messrs Harris and Inn: By 1858 all the plains were taken u Charles Tripp, a cadet working fi Michael John Burke was returnii from Raincliff station to Chrislchurc when he was forced by flood in tl Rangitata River to go up nearer tl hills. He noticed the number of wi pigs on the hills and he consider* that “ii wild pigs can live on th country, then sheep can.” He then ii duced his friend John Barton Aclar to enter into partnership with him : the adventure of converting th rugged COUntrv into fl sheen Rtfitin

and eventually this station extended from Peel Forest to Forest Creek and from the Rangitata to the Orari rivers. Of the families who first took up land in South Canterbury, the descendants of only five of them retain the I original holdings, which, in mast cases, are considerably diminished in size. The names of these families are Acland of Mt. Peel. Tripp of Orari Gorge. Macdonald of Orari, Burnett of Mt. Cook and Studholme of Waimate. In those early days, a journey to Christchurch would frequently take more than a ship now takes to go to England. There were no tracks, much of the land was swampy and when the hills were obscured by mist, it was necessary to chart one’s course by compass. Horses were still a rarity, so the customary conveyance was by bullock waggon that jolted over tussock clumps and wallowed through bog at the rate of two miles an hour. The only shelter was under the tarpaulin of the bullock waggon and should the rivers be flooded one would have to wait until the river would become normal again, which might mean a stay on the river bank for as long as three weeks. Mackenzie Country In these early days a number of Maoris were employed as stationhands. One of these shepherds, Taiko by name, worked for the Rhodes Brothers and lived in a hut on what is now known as Tycho Flat. One morning' in March, 1855, on returning to his flock, Taiko was alarmed to discover the yard gate open and about a thousand ewes missing. A trail of broken flax and beaten-down tussock showed the track that the sheep had taken. The news was hurriedly conveyed to the Levels overseer, who, together with Taiko and another Maori set out to recover the sheep. They traced the trail to Mt. Misery, over the mountain to the flats above the lower Pareora Gorge, crossed the river near Cannington, and recrossed it near “the bushy gorge of the Pareora” where the river emerges from the Hunter Hills. Here the party camped for the night. All next day was spent in following the track along the foothills and over the branch of the Te Ngawai. Throughout the third day (Sunday), they continued their trek along the practically unexplored Dalgety range, past what Is now Waratah station. Towards sundown they came to an unknown pass hidden in the ranges. From the top of the pass they could see a great tussock plain that stretched away to snowcovered peaks. But they also saw . . . immediately below them, the lost sheep, grazing peacefully. With the sheep was a dog. and a bullock, and a man—resting. Cautiously approaching they seized the man. whom they recognised as a drover named Mackenzie, and had him tied up before he had recovered from his surprise. After a rest. Sidebottom, alarmed at the noises made by Mackenzie decided to make lor Cave immediately. As they were nearing the top of the pass. Mackenzie escaped into the fog and they saw him no more. Word, however, was despatched to Rhodes at Purau and Mackenzie was recaptured in Lyttelton. After a number of escapes and recaptures, Mackenzie’s sentence was remitted on condition that he left New Zealand, and his subsequent history is unknown. News of this newly discovered land, known as the Mackenzie plains, soon spread. Driving their bullock sledge, John McHutcheson, his wife Mary, his nephew Francis Sinclair. H. J. Gladstone and a Maori boy named Simon left Pigeon Bay in May, 1856 and took

up the first run in the Mackenzie country. Mrs McHutcheson left after about 10 months' residence. The first . white woman to dwell permanently in the Mackenzie country was Mrs Hay. j whose t husband, John, took up Lake* Tckapo station. The Hays were the , first people to pasture a flock of sheep in the Mackenzie country, excepting, of course, the reiver. John Mackenzie. Explorers Even with the earliest settlers, there I was the strong belief that there was. gold in the mountains. Samuel Butler. , the owner of Erewhon station and New | Zealand’s most noted literary figure, I confesses, "I would sometimes lie flat down to drink out of a stream, and would see little yellow specks among , the sand. Were these gold?” It was largely this desire to discover precious ' metals that sent Butler on his moun- . tain explorations. He reported his discovery of a pass at the headwaters of the Rakaia River to the Provincial Government which despatched Whit- (

combe and Louper on their ill-fated expedition over the Whitcombe Pass and down the Teramakau River. Il was at the mouth of this river that Whitcombe lost his life. In his report Louper refers to the find of gold on the Teramakau. The discovery of gold in Otago prompted the Provincial Government to send Dr Julius von Haast to the Mt. Cook district in search of auriferous deposits. The party first explored the Godley district and then went on to the Mount Cook district Von Haast and his party were the first men to set foot on the Tasman Glacier which they so named in honour of the explorer. They climbed to a height of over 7.000 feet on the Mount Cook range. After spending some time m this district they returned via Lake Ohau. After the explorers came tin 1 shepherds. The Dark Brothers founded Glentanner Station. Big Mick Radove came to Birch Hill and Andrew Burnett built his little cob homestead almost within the shadow of Mount Cook itself. The opening up of the back country stations meant increased trade. Trans-, port of wool across the hundred miles of swamp and tussock and the danger of flooded rivers meant the transport of wool and supplies by sea and once more ships were to be seen at the old whaling anchorage. Labour was so scarce that the loading and unloading had to be done by the station-owners in small boats. It was soon realised that the site of this landing place would one day become a town, so in

. 1866 the site was surveyed for a town- | . 'nip. The most northern street in the . township, which was named North Street ran alongside the fence of j Rhodes’ shearing paddock, and i Alexandra Square wa.s set aside as a . market place. The first store in this j embryo township was opened by Cap- ■ tain Cain who spread his wares on »a . tarpaulin on the beach and used to 1 sleep under the tarpaulin at night. In ' May, 1859, Captain Cain and H. J. I LeCren opened the first landing ser- ! vice at the foot of Strathallan Street. Growth of Township That same year Lieutenant (after- ; wards Captain> Woollcombe was ap- : pointed the resident magistrate for the • district. He was also appointed the ’ postmaster, the registrar of electors, of ; i births, marriages and deaths and later i was made harbourmaster. Sam Wil- | liams, the old whaler who had advised the Rhodes Brothers to take up the ' Levels station then came to Timaru : 1 and established an accommodation I I i

I ' house in the old home of George | Rhodes at the foot of George Street. I The arrival of the Strathallan in * ' 1859 with 120 immigrants gave a disi tinct fillip to the development of the I I town. After the site lor the township I | had been declared by the Government, , I the Rhodes Brothers purchased two | | sections immediately to the north of • ; the Government township. These two i i sections took in all the land from I North Street to Wai-iti Road and from i I the sea to about five chains beyondi Grey Road. For these two sections j they paid £lBO. There were now two | I towns —Government town and Rhodes | i town. In spite of all efforts to induce i newcomers to settle in Government ■ I town. Rhodes town continued to in- i i crease in popularity, and it was found ; j necessary to secure sites for public | buildings in Rhodes town. With the growth of the district and I j the isolation of Timaru from Christ- | | church, there developed a local con- I j sciousness and this local consciousness | i found expression in the establishment ' j of a local newspaper. This newspaper, | “The Timaru Herald,” first appeared ■ I on June 11. 1864. In its first editorial 1 : it said: "To the public we now con- ' ! fidently and respectfully appeal for aid | in an undertaking which, if properly j conducted, must become one ot the I • widest benefits to Timaru and * the 1 i whole southern district.” From its in- ; ception, "The Timaru Herald” wa.s well I supported and is now the fourth oldest j newspaper in continuous existence in ■ I New Zealand. Communication By 1868 the business portion of the ■ town had grown to a cluster of wooden * buildings with shingle roofs. Early in j the December of that year, after a | series of nor’-west winds, fire broke out in the northern portion of the I town and before evening the township | was a mass of charred ruins. That same year, Temuka was devastated oy | a large flood. Communication still left much to be | desired. It was not until 1858 that there was any mail service when Wil- | liam Bains commenced a fortnightly service between Waimate and Christ- | church. The following year Cobb and Coy. started a twice-a-week service between Christchurch and Timaru The first attempt at roadmaking was a long plough furrow stretching from Timaru to Ashburton. This served as a useful direction to travellers, particularly so in times of fog and at ; night. It was not until 1864 that the | first tenders were called for public | works in South Canterbury, when the ' Timaru Road Board called for tenders i for the forming of a portion of the Great South Road. It was largely due to this tardiness I in public works activities that led to i the long agitation for the separation of South Canterbury from the rest of the province. It was largely in order to remedy these grievances that a .

measure of self-government -ua> granted the district by the passing of the "Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works Act" by the General Assenjbly. This wa.s followed by an era of public works expansion in the district. Road, were developed and work was staXled on the bridging of the rivers. Ten years after the completion *of the Lyttelton tunnel, the railway reached only as far as the Rangitata River find it was not until 1876 that Timaru Was connected with Christchurch by rail. As soon as the branch lines were completed. work was commenced on ihe construction of the branch lines. * In 1884 the branch line to Fairlie was completed and in 1877 the branch line to Waimate was in operation. Increased Productivity During the 'sixties, wheat had to be imported from North Canterbury at a cost of £3O per ton and it was not until the 'seventies that any great advance was made in wheat-growing. John Hayhurst erected the first flourmill at Millford, near Temuka. Following this a number of flourmills were erected in various parts of the country. The introduction of wheat-growing was followed by further sub-division of the country but this sub-division was not proceeding fast enough to satisfy the desire of those wishing to take up farming in a smaller way. It was the coming into being of this “landhungry" class that was to have an important political sequence. The development of the wheatgrowing industry meant increased prosperity to towns like Geraldine and Waimate which had previously prospered on the timber-milling industry which was now on the decline. The discovery of refrigeration gave a great fillip to the meat industry and the erection of the freezing works at Smithfield in 1874 solved for the South Canterbury sheep farmer the problem of the disposal of the sheep carcase. This increased productivity meant increased shipping to Timaru and that in turn brought the need for better harbour facilities. The first breakwater was constructed in 1870 and in that year the first cargo was landed in the port without the aid of the landing service. The contract for the second section of the breakwater was

let in 1879 and the third section was | commenced in 1881. The completion of the Marine Parade in 1890 gave to Timaru a, harbour of 50 acres and the completion of the Evans extension in 1914 made it one of the best artificial harbours in the Southern hemisphere. A surprise resultant of the harbour extension was tHe conversion of Caroline Bay from a shingle beach into a splendid bathing beach. Closer Settlement The introduction of the "Land for Settlement Act" by the Hon. John McKenzie meant the "bursting-up” of many of the large estates in South Canterbury. These sub-divisions meant increased numbers ol holdings and a rapid increase in the population. The years between 1395 and 1914 have been described as the golden age in New Zealand history. This was certainly the case in South Canterbury. Almost without exception, the farmers on their new holdings made good; prices were good; bumper harvests were being obtained; the motor-car had .vet to affect the transport revolution and the small towns were centres of thriving districts. The year 1914 saw the sudden closing of that era. First came the boom; then the slump. The boom hastened the general usage of the motor-car which broil’ ht about the decline of the small town as a centre of community. Perhaps the greatest development ot the post-war period has been the advent of the general usage of electricity In 1915 the Timaru Borough Council bought out the private plant of Scott Brothers; later, power was obtained from Lake Coleridge and the completion of the Waitaki plant in 1934 marked a great advance in the electrical development of this district. Almost 100 years have passed since Edward Shortland, the first man to give a recorded description of South Canterbury, prophesied that "we may, however, carry on the imagination to another century—when this now desert country will no doubt be peopled—when the plains will be grazed on by numerous flocks of sheep, and the streams, now flowing idly through remote valleys, will be compelled to perform their share ot labour in manufacturing wool.” That prophecy has been fulfilled to a degree of accuracy that even the imaginative mind of Shortland could not have fully visualised. South Canterbury has seen pood times and bad times; but through all the oscillations of booms and slumps there has been the steady, ordered march of progress. In this Centennial year, as Now Zealand looks back on its 100 years of organised settlement. South Canterbury can well be proud of the contribution it has made in all the departments of human activity—economic, political, social —towards the well-being of this land. And if we can be proud of the past, so we can face the future with full confidence.