Farming in Canterbury

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 81, Issue 5, 15 November 1950, Page 405

Farming in Canterbury

NEW ZEALAND owes a ■L great debt to Canterbury’s pioneer farmers and pastoralists, who, perhaps more than any others, successfully adapted English and Australian experience to the new environment and established a firm tradition of careful cultivation and management. Despite its late start, Canterbury was by 1860 the premier agricultural and pastoral province in New Zealand, a position maintained for many years. Experienced men have gone from Canterbury to the North Island and have successfully adapted themselves and their methods to help in its development. Today New Zealand is peculiarly dependent on Canterbury in other ways. Not only does the province produce most of the cereals consumed, but produces most of the high-quality grass seed which is the basis of New Zealand’s grassland farming. With the Canterbury Centennial now being celebrated, a survey of the progress of farming in Canterbury over the past 100 years is opportune. This article is the first of a series which traces the history of farming in Canterbury and discusses the influence of that farming on agriculture in other parts of New Zealand.

IN this series the development of A Canterbury’s farming has been divided into four periods, each of which is treated in a separate article. This article deals with the first period, 1850-1880, and describes the initial settlements and the partial occupation and concludes with an account of the more intensive development of land and public works during the 1870’s. The second article, which will. appear in next month’s “Journal”, will discuss the next period, from 1880 to 1900, the salient features of which are the fortunes of the wheat. industry, the development of refrigeration, and the cutting up of larger estates for closer settlement. The third article, which will be published in the January issue.

will describe the period 1900-1920 and will deal with the continued development of the frozen-meat industry and the. effects on farm management which it brought about; the progress of closer settlement; the effects of

war; and the beginning of farm mechanisation. The final article, to appear in the February issue, will bring the story of Canterbury’s farms up to the present day and will discuss the impact of depression and war; the effects of changing patterns of farm management; the effect of mechanisation; the development of minor industries such as fruit and vegetables and poultry; improvements in farm amenities; and the changing structure of Canterbury’s population. Throughout this series it is intended to deal with the area included in the Canterbury Land District and not with the provincial district alone. The counties of Amur! and Cheviot were always economically allied, to Christchurch, even if a historical accident led to their being annexed by Nelson. Practically uninhabited before 1864, Westland was included in Canterbury from 1864 to 1867, when it was created a county with administrative but not legislative power. Westland Province had a brief existence, from 1873 to 1876. . These articles are based on notes supplied by officers of the Extension Division and have been compiled by P. R. Stephens, Assistant Investigating Officer, Department of Agriculture, Wellington. NEW ZEALAND IN 1850 In 1850 most New Zealand settlements had been established for 10 years ' and the settlers were slowly beginning to adapt themselves to the new unfamiliar environment. The ; enthusiasm of the initial stages had been damped, the hopes of easily gained wealth and security had been

abandoned, but the settlers were beginning to see what the future would hold in store for them and were prepared to set about achieving their more modest goals. Each settlement drew upon the experiences of its predecessor, and if one reason for Canterbury’s success was the more favourable environment, another was the lessons that had been learnt from the earlier settlements. By 1850 there were ten scattered settlements from one end of New Zealand to the other, with a number of smaller ones little more than mission or whaling stations. These settlements had grown up separately, had little direct communication with one another, and were strongly parochial m outlook. Auckland was the largest, having a population of 8300, and was followed by Wellington with about 5500, Nelson with about 4000, Otago with 1500, and New Plymouth with 1400; the Banks Peninsula settlements immediately before the arrival of the Pilgrims contained about 250 people. Large-scale Sheep Farming T ‘ . r4J ., ~ . , In the first settlements little thought ws V T^? v ? n n w h a t the newly established farmers would produce, farming on the English model being out of the question, but by 1850 a way out of this impasse was becoming apparent. Large-scale sheep farming, which had proved so profitable in Australia, was being pioneered in New Zealand, and on the agricultural land

near the settlements a class of small farmers was replacing the imitation squires. These small agricultural settlements formed an indispensable base from which the later pastoralists could begin their operations.

SETTLEMENT OF CANTERBURY

All the writers of the period enjoined simplicity and hard work on the emigrant to New Zealand. In a handbook published in 1848 it was stated: “Let the emigrant bear in mind that the mere possession of a formidable array of agricultural implements is not agriculture, but the industrious use of the spade and mattock is.” The most successful wielders of the spade and mattock were the small farmers who had come out as labourers. The farming practised by these small cultivators was designed to meet local needs alone, with the result that time and energy were spent in many districts in producing crops which were not entirely suited to the local soil and climate. But until a more satisfactory division of labour could be found no other course was possible. Areas of Settlement The settlements fell into six welldefined areas-—North Auckland, Auckland, Wellington (with its offshoots at Wanganui and New Plymouth), Nelson, Akaroa, and Otago. Auckland, in spite of the advantages of being the capital, suffered from a shortage of readily available land, perhaps a lack of sufficient attention to farming, and land speculation. The New Zealand Company’s . settlements, Wellington, Nelson, New Plymouth, and Wanganui, faced similar difficulties and endeavoured to overcome them in much the same way. Disputes with the Maoris, disputes with the Government, excessive amounts of land sold to absentees, and general disillusionment were common to all, but by 1850 the beginning of extensive pastoral farming in the Wairarapa, Hawkes Bay, and on the Wairau Plains was giving them some economic stability. Otago’s progress was also very slow at first, but it, too, progressed rapidly when the interior was opened up. In character the settlements were vastly different, ranging from Auckland, with no formal schemes of emigration and land settlement and attracting mainly those who hoped to

profit by being first in the field, to Otago, where it was hoped to maintain a rigid system, with every immigrant selected not only for his industry and adaptability but because he held particular religious beliefs. The company’s settlements at Wellington and Nelson occupied an intermediate stage, adhering to a definite land settlement policy, but not making any stipulations about the religion or morals of their immigrants. The Canterbury Association demanded membership of the Church of England as well as a good character .of prospective immigrants but beside the careful selection of immigrants the Canterbury settlement had the advantage of more careful preparation. The land was adequately surveyed, some attempt had been made to house the immigrants on their arrival, and the settlement was vigorously led. At no stage were there any fears for its survival. FOUNDING OF CANTERBURY For the antecedents of the Canterbury settlement one must look first at the state of British society in the first half of the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution in the late 18th and early part of the 19th centuries changed Britain from a predominantly agricultural community to the urban one that it is today. During the 40’s of last century the transition had reached its most painful stage, with new inventions enabling machine production to spread into fresh fields, railways revolutionising transport, and yet ' the accumulation of wealth seeming to benefit relatively few. Emigration became more than a vague possibility; it was an urgent necessity and, though the majority of emigrants between 1845 and 1855 went to America, large numbers went to the British colonies. Wakefield's Land Scheme Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s scheme for the sale of land at a high and sufficient price assisted emigration, and

the granting of some form of selfgovernment was proposed at a time when the Government regarded colonies more as a burden than an asset. Wakefield felt that the abundance of cheap land caused the working class to withdraw themselves from the labour market, and his high price was designed to prevent this. The emigration of “young marriageable persons” of both sexes would give some stability to new settlements, make colonial society more attractive, and also help to solve the problem of the redundant population in Britain.

He first publicly announced his interest in New Zealand in 1836 when giving evidence before a House of Lords Select Committee on the Disposal of Waste Land in the Colonies, as he then declared, “We are, I think, going to colonise New Zealand, though we be doing so in a most slovenly, scrambling and disgraceful fashion”, and soon after, in June, 1837, the New Zealand Association was formed to induce the Government to assist in the colonisation of New Zealand and make some moves toward annexation. Viewed with suspicion by the Colonial Office, the association, and later the New Zealand Company, was involved in a long conflict with the Government, but finally forced its hand by dispatching the Tory to Port Nicholson in 1839, the main body of colonists leaving a few months later. Plans for a Church Settlement After the founding of Wellington Wakefield was engrossed for some time in Canadian affairs, but he had already conceived the idea of a church settlement in New Zealand, the church to

provide a unifying force which had been lacking hitherto, and in the New

Zealand Company’s report for 1843 it was stated: “It is proposed that the plan of the other colony shall contain a scheme of large endowments for religious and educational purposes in connection with the Church of England. As it is intended that this colony shall be on a larger scale than any hitherto adopted by the Company, the plan of it will not be ripe for publication until next year.” But the depressed state of the existing colonies, the parlous condition of the New Zealand Company’s finances, and the Wairau massacre reduced the enthusiasm for colonisation in New Zealand. The Otago scheme was also making very slow progress. The open, tussock-covered South Island did not attract the attention of prospective colonists as early as did the North, settlements around Banks Peninsula beginning, as in most places in the South Island, with the establishment of shore whaling stations. Akaroa was frequently visited by whalers in the 1830’s and in 1837 William Hempieman established a station at Peraki, on the south coast of the peninsula. According to his own statement, which is supported by fairly strong evidence, he purchased the whole of the peninsula from' the more influential Maori chiefs in 1837. William Barnard Rhodes, another whaler bought a large area of land from the Maoris at Akaroa in 1839 and after bringing some cattle from Australia, installed William Green as his manager in November, 1839. These cattle were not allowed to be sold, but simply allowed to increase as quickly as possible, despite the pressing needs of the first colonists. Eventually, in 1843, the first cow was sold for £43, and such was the beginning of dairy farming in Akaroa.

Arrival of French Settlers From 1837 onward numbers of French whalers had visited Banks Peninsula, and in 1838 Captain Langlois, of the whaler Cachelot, made an arrangement to purchase the whole of Banks Peninsula. On his return to France Langlois sold this right to the newly formed Nanto Bordelaise Company, which early in 1840 dispatched the Compte de Paris with 59 French and 6 German settlers. These arrived at Akaroa soon after British sovereignty had been proclaimed. The French settlers did not go far afield, but devoted their time to cultivating the 5-acre blocks to which they were entitled and trying to utilise, the large variety of seeds and vines which they had brought with them; the Germans, wishing to live together, moved further up the harbour to a spot known to this day as German Bay. At the end of the first year the immigrants had not procured any stock, but were living on preserved and salt meats with what vegetables they could get from their gardens. There was no grain grown the first year or two, and the colonists were dependent on supplies from outside sources, their lack of capital being a severe handicap. The first attempt at cultivation in the plains was made by James Herriot, representing a Sydney firm, who selected some land near the present site of Riccarton to grow wheat. The bankruptcy of the Sydney firm compelled his withdrawal, but one McKinnon endeavoured to carry on until March, 1841, when he returned to Akaroa. 1 William Deans, who had become dissatisfied with the prospects of Wellington, secured permission from the Governor to squat (to occupy land without a title) on the Canterbury Plains, and with his farm

workers, Gebbie and Manson, he moved to Port Cooper in the schooner Richmond and, after exploring the upper reaches of the Avon, finally settled at Riccarton near the site of Herriot’s . earlier venture. Shortly after John Deans brought stock from Australia. During 1843 the Richmond made two more voyages from Wellington, bringing the Sinclairs and Hays to Pigeon Bay and the Greenwood brothers to Purau. Importance of Cows By 1844 these families were reasonably settled, almost completely selfsufficient farming communities. The Hays . had 18 cattle running loose in the bush, including 9 cows, which gave them about 251 b. of butter a week. All through the 1840’s they “grew wheat, cut it with a reaping hook, threshed it with a flail, and ground it at night or on a wet day”. Gebbie and Manson were dairy farmers and what produce could not be sold to the whalers on the peninsula was forwarded to Wellington by coastal schooner. Cows were indeed the mainstay of all the early settlers. After the Deans brothers had built the first house on the plains John Deans sailed for New South Wales and returned with 61 head of cattle, 3 mares, 43 sheep, seed wheat, seed oats and barley, lucerne seed, and potatoes. After much trouble all the animals and supplies were landed at Riccarton, and work was started on farming and clearing. The river was bridged, several fields were fenced and cultivated, orchards were established, and a small plantation was begun. In 1843-44 they grew their first grain crops, which consisted of 2| acres of wheat, 1 acre of oats, and 2| acres of barley, but as the seed was sown too late, the crops were light. However, the following season the wheat crop of 26 acres, which followed a crop of

EARLY FARMING IN CANTERBURY

ORGANISED SETTLEMENT OF CANTERBURY

potatoes, yielded between 60 and 70 bushels per acre. Subsequently more seeds, livestock, fruit trees, and implements were bought on trips to Sydney.

Interest on the part of the New Zealand Company in the Canterbury Plains was aroused as early as 1841, when Colonel Wakefield dispatched Captain Daniell and George Duppa to inspect the country around Port Cooper, and in 1844, Frederick Tuckett made a brief survey of the plains for the promoters of the New Edinburgh settlement, finally deciding that they were suitable only for pastoral purposes and not for a compact agricultural settlement, which the New Edinburgh promoters envisaged.

Shortly after his first meeting with John Robert Godley, who had already displayed a keen interest in emigration, Wakefield began detailed discussions with him on the ■ subject of the Canterbury settlement. At the beginning of 1848 Godley formed a committee of management, which in March of that year issued a plan of the Canterbury Association and a list of the members. The association, a board of trustees rather than a company, took an option of purchase over 300,000 acres held by the company.

High Price of Land

The land taken over by the association was to be sold to selected immigrants for the unusually high price of £3 per acre, of which onesixth (10s.) was to be paid to the New Zealand Company, one-sixth was to be devoted to surveying and public works, one-third was to be devoted to religious and educational endowments, and one-third to financing the emigrant fund. Some 1000 acres were to be reserved for the capital city, in which public reserves were marked out, and 1000 acres for suburban land alongside. Rural land was not to be sold in lots of less than 50 acres, and exclusive rights of pasturage over unoccupied land were to go to land purchasers. The first task of the association was the selection of a site on the land held by the company in New Zealand, and in July, 1848, Captain Thomas was sent out to make a decision in consultation with the Governor and the Bishop of New Zealand. The Governor suggested the Manawatu and the Wairarapa, but Thomas himself preferred Port Cooper, and he was strengthened in his opinion by the success of the Deans brothers in farming the plains. The Deans farm had already been favourably reported on to Colonel Wakefield, but the deciding factor was the Deans Report on the Condition of the Plains, which was a reply to a number of queries of Captain Thomas. Although the Deanses had at the time been only 6 years in Canterbury, they had acquired a thorough knowledge of the methods required on the plains, and their letters can be regarded as a brief guide to farming. They described the weather, suitable crops, the breaking in of land, and the stock and farm implements most suitable. They considered the land most fertile, wheat crops of more than 60 bushels per acre having been obtained, and that no part of the plains should be difficult

to break in at reasonable cost. Finewoolled sheep from Australia were felt to be most suitable for stocking the country, but it was considered that Durham and Galloway cattle should be brought from England. Agreement with N.Z. Company

The association finally obtained a charter from the Government and concluded an agreement with the New Zealand Company, giving it an option over 2,500,000 acres of land for 10 years, though the surrender of the New Zealand Company’s charter and the tardy response of the land buyers handicapped the association for some time. With the departure of the Randolph, Charlotte Jane, and Cressy from Plymouth on September 7, 1850, and the Sir George Seymour the following day the first phase in the

settlement of Canterbury was completed. INITIAL SETTLEMENT, Reactions of the settlers to their first view of the plains varied greatly, their hopes and fears being often both confirmed. The featureless landscape seemed to have struck everyone, and the small areas of cultivation around Christchurch in later years seemed only to accentuate it. At the beginning of 1851 the first land purchasers among the Pilgrims took over their estates, practically all of which were in the immediate vicinity of Christchurch. Most of them comprised a modest 50 or 100 acres, and with the limited number of horses and bullocks available, nearly all hired from the Deanses at Riccarton, they set to work to cultivate their properties and supply themselves with wheat, oats, and potatoes. Though much of the land was covered in flax and toi-toi and was rather swampy, the Pilgrims did not have the backbreaking work of clearing the bush

that their predecessors in the North Island had to face. They were able to break in the land as soon as sufficient horses and bullocks were available, and in the second year of settlement there were 500 acres of wheat sown within a short radius . of Christchurch. In 1853 W. G. Brittain, the Land Commissioner, gave some details of a crop which he grew near the present Barbadoes Street bridge: “I had thirteen acres laid down in wheat. The land, which was originally covered in tutu, fern and grass, had been broken up the previous year, and had borne a first crop, partly of wheat and partly of potatoes. The land was ploughed about the latter end of March, and remained fallow until the last week in May, when, having been lightly harrowed, it was sown with wheat broadcast with two bushels to the acre. The soil being very light, the plough followed the sower and covered the seed to a depth of about three inches. In the spring when the young wheat was about two inches above ground it was well rolled with a heavy horse roller. The crop threshed at seventy bushels to the acre.” Scarcity of Labour In the first years of settlement the landowners did not have to exert themselves unduly, as there were sufficient labourers to do the heavy work. But the labourers were not particularly happy with this state of affairs and endeavoured where they could to jump the hurdle of the Wakefield land price or moved off to the recently discovered Australian goldfields. The “Canterbury Almanac” (1854), lamenting this situation declared, “During the early part of the year some of the labouring class, tempted by the goldfields, emigrated to Australia. . . . The consequence was that a scarcity of labour began to be sensibly felt and capital was chiefly invested in flocks and herds, while all tendency to refinement was genuinely checked by the want of leisure from manual work.” From the opening up of the country for pastoral runs . from' 1852 to the discovery of gold in Otago in 1861 agricultural farming remained very much of secondary importance, the local market being so limited and the profits both immediate and prospective from sheep so much greater that all but the stolid and unenterprising took to squatting. Cultivation was confined during the 1850’s to limited areas around Christchurch and Kaiapoi, though the total area under crop, including sown grasses, rose from 802 acres in 1851 to 13,900 in 1858, which included 4200 acres of wheat, 2500 acres of oats, and 4200 acres in grass. By 1858 a small export trade in wheat had developed, but at that time the incipient conflict between the squatter and the small farmer was coming to the fore and the squatter was effectively asserting his claims. Wheat prices were fairly high, from 6s. to 7s. a bushel, but primitive transport, inadequate shipping services, and a certain contempt for small-scale farming discouraged much attention to it. Effects of Gold Discoveries The effects of the gold discoveries on the Canterbury economy were both immediate and profound, and the first

result was a stimulus to agriculture and the raising of fat cattle. Wheat, which was selling at 6s. per bushel in Christchurch in 1861, rose to Bs. Bd. in 1864, oats rose to ss. 7Jd. in 1863, and in the same year beef reached 535. per hundredweight. Wheat acreages did not rise very, much over the 3 years 1861-1864 (from 12,785 acres to 13,328 acres), but during the period of. the west coast gold rushes it more than doubled (from 13,328 acres in 1864 to 26,683 acres in 1867). The Maori Wars, too, created a demand in the North Island both as a result of army purchases and the general disruption of farming. Driving cattle to the west coast was a most profitable business, John Grigg of Longbeach being one of the largest suppliers. During the 1850’s agriculture in Canterbury was still in the “manpower” stage, the methods and implements used being simple, with sowing, reaping,' and threshing being done by hand as they had been in Europe for centuries. On the Deans farm at Riccarton a “Bell’s Improved” reaping machine was introduced in 1856. It was a cumbersome affair pushed by two horses and had been developed in England about 30 years before. Ploughs were a single-furrow swing type, usually a Barrowman or a Grey, and by 1860. there were estimated to be about 250 in Canterbury. Much of the plains must have been broken in by these ploughs pulled by a slow and awkward team of bullocks.

Sowing was usually done by hand, a skilled man being able to cover 25 acres a day. Wheat sown broadcast on well-made furrows and given one stroke of the harrows came up in rows as straight as those made by a drill. A seed drill was first imported into Canterbury in 1853, but drills do not seem to have been -popular until an American corn drill was introduced over 20 years later.

Up to 1860, apart from what was done by the Deanses’ machine, reaping was done by scythe and sickle; in 1859 a Burgess and Key reaping machine was imported, and at the time it marked a very great advance on the old hand methods, even though the crop still had to be gathered by hand. Besides the use of the primitive flail, threshing was done by simple horsedriven machines, the horse being driven around a capstan which worked a revolving drum; one of the first of these machines was imported in 1850. In 1865 a 6 h.p. steam engine was imported and started work near Prebbleton, a charge of 9d. per bushel being made for threshing; a steam engine was at work near Kaiapoi about the same time. This was a very marked reduction in current rates and can be taken as the real beginning of mechanisation of farming in Canterbury. Development of Mechanisation From 1870 onward mechanisation made rapid progress with the coming into use of double-furrow ploughs, reapers and wire binders, the grain drill, and the traction engine. These innovations, along with the extension of the railways and the bridging of the rivers, made possible the great expansion of wheat growing from 1870 to 1880 which so changed the face of the plains and the style of farming. With the opening of the

Lyttelton tunnel 'in 1867 and the gradual advance of the railway southward, wheat. production became more profitable, and about the same time a fall in wool prices discouraged farmers and squatters from leaving their best land any longer in tussocks. Small farmers moved south to around Ashburton and also established themselves around Temuka and Winchester, with a few near Waimate. Sometimes special settlements grew up, such as that of the. Irish tunnel workers at Loburn, near . Rangiora, who cultivated their modest lots in the manner to which they were accustomed in Ireland and eked out a very frugal existence. But the English and sometimes the Scotch farmers who were taking up land in the plains possessed a much longer tradition of good farming practice, and some of the best-known families in Canterbury farming today first established themselves in the late 1850’s and early 1860’s. THE SQUATTERS' INVASION The Canterbury block consisted of 2,500,000 acres lying between the Waipara and Ashburton Rivers and extending back / from the sea to the mountain ranges, but up to the arrival of the Pilgrims not very much thought

had been given to the manner in which it would be used. Though it was natural for the Pilgrims to purchase lots of rural land close to the organised settlement, they were in fact discouraged from dispersing, for the pasturage regulation provided that 20s. for each 100 acres had to be paid, and in addition the licences over any of this . pasturage. gave no . automatic right of purchase and no security for any improvements which might be effected, on the land. Extension of settlement is referred to as follows in the “Canterbury Almanac” (1854): “Early in the year F1853] some of the newly-arrived colonists from England located themselves on the banks of the rivers Courtenay [Waimakariri] and Cam near the native village of Kaiapoi. This promises to become a position of some importance.” This then was the position for a short period after the arrival of the Pilgrims; a relatively small compact settled area around Christchurch, with a large area of nearly 2.500,000 acres stretching north to the Waipara River and south to the Ashburton River unoccupied except for a few settlers who had taken up land before the Pilgrims’ arrival, such as Captain Mitchell of Mt. Grey and the Banks Peninsula settlers comprising the French at

EARLY FARMING IN CANTERBURY

THE TOPOGRAPHY OF CANTERBURY

(I) THE SOUTHERN ALPS AND FOOTHILLS The rugged mountain chain, with a north-east trend, increases gradually in height southward. Numerous subsidiary ranges, some at right angles and others parallel to the main divide, are separated by deep valleys and broad basins such as the Hanmer basin in the north and the Mackenzie basin in the south. The distance from the main divide to the outer edge of the foothills varies from 30 to 40 miles; thus the high country occupies a large proportion of the area of Canterbury. The soils of the area are derived from the greywacke rock of which the mountains are mainly composed. (2) THE DOWNLANDS Practically along the whole length of the foothills there stretches eastward an area of down country which at either end of the . district extends to the sea coast. However, in the northern downlands area undulating country alternates with steeper hills. Most of the downlands are composed of a considerable depth of loess underlain by sandstone, limestone, volcanic rocks, and gravels. (3) THE PLAINS Between the foothills and ranges to the west, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the downlands to the north and south lies the almost level expanse of the Canterbury Plains, about 120 miles long and having a maximum width of 40 miles. With a, grade of 30 to 45ft. per mile the plains slope gently from almost sea level to about 1 000 ft. They are traversed by broad shingle rivers. , The plains were formed in an era during which the alpine region had a greater elevation and during which glaciation was extensive. The glaciers then occupying the head waters of the

A 3 C D ! E ! F !GI H ! I « m« **• *4* ——— *i* >,f . . '«* ■ 2 “* wL J— r rrt~ - • J West —® t— ■ *”■" East

Ideal sec Hon through Canterbury.' A —Main divide. Alpine region; rock and snow. C— Beech forest. D— High tussock grassland; wool and store stock; extreme temperatures; rainfall 20 to 60in. — Downlands; mixed farming, with extensive sheep farming on steeper country; rainfall 25 to 35in. —Plains; mixed farming on better soils; extensive sheep farming on shallow soils; rainfall 25 to 40in. G —Coastal lowlands? high water-table; fertile; mixed farming and dairying; rainfall 25in. H — Banks Peninsula; low effective rainfall; fair pasture; meat and wool; rainfall 25 to 50in. I —Banks Peninsula; good pasture; meat, wool, and dairying; rainfall 25 to 50in. J—Sea. [Photograph at top left by Whites Aviation Ltd.; others by V. G. Browne.

major rivers disgorged an immense amount of rock debris eroded from the greywacke mountains into the glacial rivers. This rock debris, composed of gravel, shingle, sands, and silts, was deposited by the rivers in the form of huge fans. The major river fans grew to such proportions that they eventually joined and overlapped one another as they spread eastward. When the land again subsided and the extent of glaciation declined the supply of debris fell away and the rivers began to cut down through the earlier deposits leaving terraces of considerable extent. Most rivers in their upper reaches are now well entrenched between gravel banks, as indicated in the above illustration of the Rakaia River. The more fertile parts of the plains occur at the outer margins of the great river fans, in the coastal lowlands, in the depressions between the fans, and along the banks of the rivers. (4) BANKS PENINSULA Midway between the northern and southern boundaries of the district, Banks Peninsula rises abruptly from the eastern portion of the plains. The present peninsula, with one peak reaching 3000 ft., is the remnant of a once larger mass of volcanic rock formed principally by two volcanoes which had their craters in the Akaroa and Lyttelton Harbours. Natural erosion has greatly increased the extent of the interior slopes of the volcanic cones and it has also formed the system of radiating valleys and spurs which occur on the outer slopes. This is shown above in the illustration of Akaroa Harbour and the southern part of the peninsula. The spurs have a relatively easy grade and reach the sea in wave-beaten sea cliffs. The soils of the peninsula are derived mainly from loess. The loess, the very fine rock flour product of glacial erosion, was swept up from the beds of the glacial rivers of the plains by the north-west winds, and considerable amounts were deposited on the peninsula, particularly on the lower slopes, obliterating in most parts the underlying volcanic soils.