Lincoln University Digital Dissertation Copyright Statement The digital copy of this dissertation is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). This dissertation may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: you will use the copy only for the purposes of research or private study you will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the dissertation and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate you will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the dissertation. U"N(;OLN UNlVERS1TY UBRAR1 S;'\N-rE:(~:t:~urf)'. ~~.Z. MOUNT PEEL STATION 1856-1982 A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH-COUNTRY RUN IN CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND. Gillian Wilson B. Hort. CONTENTS PART I: 6. Shel ter 7. Access roads PART I (A) 8. Technology INTRODUCTION AND LOCATION 9. Buildings 10. Weeds and pests 11. Runholders' attitudes PART I (B) PART II (C) NATURAL ELEMENTS INFLUENCING THE LANDSCAPE SUMMARY 1. Cl imate 2. Geology PART III: THE MOUNT PEEL STATION HOMESTEAD 3. Topography 4. Soil s 5. The natural vegetation of Mount Peel 1. Site selection criteria 2. The homesteads of Mount Peel Station PART I (C) 3. The Church of the Holy Innocents THE POLYNESIAN INFLUENCE ON THE 4. The homestead garden NATURAL LANDSCAPE PART IV: A PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY PART II: STATION DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AFFECTING THE LANDSCAPE APPENDIX PART II (A) EARLY STATION HISTORY BIBLIOGRAPHY PART II (B) AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AFFECTING THE APPEARANCE OF THE LANDSCAPE 1. Burning and pasture development 2. Field sizes and methods of enclosure 3. Livestock 4. Crops 5. Forestry PARTI(a) Introduction and Location 1 MOUNT PEEL STATION 1982 boundary line SCALE I :b~3bO PEEL FORtST KEY PARk.. Xl[: Ranca;lalo. Gorse ~ """" River \:errace.~ ::>- 'S-\reQ.M8 = 1'18:1. ~ou.c-.ck-y l;re., 2 Mount Peel Station is located in South of the homestead area specifically, inclu­ Canterbury, in the Rangitata River valley, ding the Church of the Holy Innocents, the about 6.5km from Peel Forest Park and about homestead itself and its gardens. 60km from Timaru, the nearest city. It In Part IV there is a small section of occupies the sunny, north easterly slopes photographs from some of the Acland family of the range of hills about Mount Peel, albums. Where possible, some of the land­ from the Rangitata River up to a level of scape photographs have been taken from about 1600m. similar angles to illustrate the change Mount Peel Station is one of the few large which has taken place over the last 100 stations in New Zealand to have remained years or so. under the ownership of the same family. It Throughout the history of Mount Peel Station was established in 1856 by J.B.A. Acland different practices have helped to create and C.G. Tripp, and since this date it has the agricultural landscape present today, been controlled by four generations of the and which, as part of the whole rural land­ Acl and family. scape, is so important to the increasing The size of the station has changed dra­ urban populations as a visual resource. matically during this time; at one time covering about 100,000 hectares, under joint ownership with Acland and Tripp. The sta­ tion today is only a fraction this size, occupying about 8,000 hectares and to be further divided in the future, with nearly half of this going to the Waikari Hills run. It will, however, still be in the family as the Waikari Hills run is managed by Mark Acland, the brother of John Acland who manages Mount Peel Station at present. (Refer to MAP 2) This dissertation looks at the history of Mount Peel Station and especially at the historical development of the agricultural landscape. Part I looks at the natural history of the Nount Peel region, while, Part II concentrates on the factors which have been instrumental in the development of the visible landscape in the area. Part III then goes on to discuss the development 3 2 MOUNT PEEL STATIO proposed boundary SC.Al-E I: b;S'5bO KEY lOt Ro~;l:al:.o. GO ....<je 1(ood. ~ \(;ve.... ~T~e~ :::::-. '5treo.M~ I<!l?!i ':Boundary \;nt:. P'oF'~ed. ltoundos-y \:ne. o Ar<t.a. b~ 'b4Gc.o....-.e ~= \: ot -\he LJa, k,.; ~i \b R.un. 4 5 Climate In the diaries of J.B.A. Ac . , re is are the dryest months, during which less freguent reference to the 'nor'westers' a than 10 percent of the rainfall occurs. 'sou'westers', the two winds i t Mount Peel Station, therefore, generally considerable discomfort to set experiences warm, wet summers and cold, They are, perhaps, the most i dry winters. climatic influence on Mount Peel Sta The other form of precipitation on the The northwesterly wind, originall station is snow, which falls in varying thought to be from hot, dry Austra ia, amounts on different areas. The homestead is a Fohn wind created by the air stream is 305m above sealevel where it is common losing its moisture as it ses over to get about two'filll s of. snow, of abou~ Plains. Dl,Ie .Hslack sture, 75-100mm; e'ach year. Any snow rarely lles the wind is' and dry and often around roY"more than a'day' or so but there strong. does appear to be a trend for a good fall Th; s wi~d'wa$ ,also i.nd; rectly i t of snow of about 450-600mm every ten years to the res:idel1ts. at Mount Peel or so. it wasobservedtha,~ the qui cklj rose, to' 'f;loodd th is wi nd- occurred,.'\,-j \- obviously due ~o ,the ea's.e extra wa.tero,'ver the fdv,er,~ ca tchlTlen't in 'the Southern The southwes'te'rh is the sta predominant wind and often fo northwesterly. It is is brings most of the annual rainfall l105mm. t Peel Station's warmest mon s are January and February, and July are the coldest. The wettest man s are December a January, during these two 20 percent of the rain falls. July land Papers, Cante i vers i brary 7 PHOTOGRAPH 1: The Rangitata River showing the steep north bank and the prominant series of river terraces. Ge~ogy The Southern Alps and their associ places, the morraines, are still visible foothills, which abut the ry ains, today. Other signs of glacial action are the dominant landscape features in within the Rangitata area are, the lUI Mount Peel district. shaped valleys with their flat floors and steep ridges, also hanging valleys and Mount Peel Station covers a consider­ truncated spurs. able portion of the geological r­ mations in the area, from ver terraces The ridge above and to the west of the to alpine areas. Mount Peel homestead is the lip in front of In the beginning, sand, silt the glacier that occupied the mountain was washed in large quanti es valleys in the Rangitata district, up to and troughs of the ocean bed. Gra beyond Mesopotamia and Erewhon. faulting and folding processes The Rangitata River is the main snow fed a great range of alps ch, river in the Mount Peel area and in the past cyclic course of nature, were wo it has deposited large amounts of alluvium, upon by erosive forces, eventually re­ contributing to the formation of the plains. joining the sea bed. Its flood waters gradually cut the narrow Rangitata Gorge and dumped the gravel down­ e Southern Alps we see today are stream on the plains, where the gorge widened res t of a second similar 0 and water flow decreased. As the glaciers are, in their turn, being sl continued to retreat, the river lost alot of is erosion has resulted in its bedload and began cutting into the mation of the Canterbury Plains as we alluvial deposits to create the present, know them. prominent series of river terraces. ing the history of the present ran of alps there has occurred cyclic of glaciation with warmer intergl periods. There have been at least of these cyclic periods, the last one occurring about 14000 years ago. To­ gether, their action, has fa the present landscape of the district. The intense cold associated of glaciation caused rocks to and shattered by frost action, being carried along the deepeni valleys and their eventual s 9 3 MOUNT PEEL STATION location of topographical & cr.oss-sections S (ALE I :63360 KEY Cro'Ss- :::sec'hoils \j~\ands bownlonds T ~rro.ce and lowlQ8\ds = 1'1'32 'Boundary I ;ne u: Ral\~;lo.lo. Gor~e Road 1'Tm" \(;'IIer terraces -:r- ';)-treams 10 Topography The topography of Mount Peel Sta is These categories, and their relationships variable, covering the rela ve to soil and vegetation, are illustrated hills in the Mount Peel range, to in the following cross-sections, which the river terraces and the Rangitata river have been chosen to show the range of bed in the valley oar. Most of the topography throughout the station. land, however, may be classed as hi country and downlands, rolling ridges and spurs. The tussocky lower slopes of afford good pasturage, and are stay of the station as a co Although the valley oar is all riverbed, its alluvial ats are capable of yielding good crops of nter feed. It is possible to divide into three topographical areas i relate strongly to the geology of area, and which also influence soils found on the station.