The Story of Murihiku/Southland

Transcription

1 The Story of Murihiku/Southland A synopsis An overview of Southland s Heritage Dusky Sound Reading the landscape is like a collage, interweaving the patterns of ecology and the fragments of history with footprints of the personal journey Geoff Park Authors: - Russell Beck - Cathy Macfie - Lloyd Esler April 2007 March 2008

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3 FOREWORD Tēnā koutou katoa He mihi nui ki a koutou Greetings to All Murihiku/Southland s heritage is rich and colourful. Our community believes that it is important to preserve our stories and tell them in ways that help us, our nation and our visitors to appreciate Murihiku/Southland s place in the development of our region and, indeed, New Zealand. Heritage activity has always been strong in Southland as we work to acknowledge and celebrate the legacy left by our forefathers. Stories of Murihiku/Southland are already being collected and told in many places, by a wide variety of organisations and people. This collective effort to preserve our region s heritage is impressive and is an approach that will continue into the future. Mō tātou, ā, mō ngā uri kei te heke mai For us, and, for the generations to come With a view to further improving collaboration around heritage, the three Southland Councils Invercargill City, Gore District and Southland District have set up a joint committee called the Regional Heritage Committee (from May 2005). The purpose of this committee is to establish and implement a strategy for preserving the regional heritage of Murihiku/Southland, including the preservation of collections of regional significance that tell the stories of Murihiku/Southland. Southland Regional Heritage Committee funds are collected via a household heritage rate, the bulk of which is distributed to our regionally significant museums. A modest but useful portion is also distributed as contestable grant funding for small museums that are not rates funded, or as seed funding for new projects or project upgrades that tell significant stories of Southland. In an attempt to be wise with the available funds, the Regional Heritage Committee has supported the creation of a Roving Museums Officer for Small Museums, and commissioned Russell Beck (former director of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery) to develop a regional synopsis of our heritage called The Story of Murihiku/Southland A synopsis. We have done this in order to establish what our most important stories are, where they are best told, if they are being told, and where there might be any gaps. We believe that both of these initiatives will help us and other funders in Southland to be strategic and effective with our funding decisions. The Story of Murihiku/Southland A synopsis is a living document. Any readers who feel that something key has been missed, or have any new ideas to contribute, are encouraged to make contact with the Regional Heritage Committee via the Roving Museums Officer (based out of the Southland District Council office), or the Venture Southland Group Manager for Community Development. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa. Jackie Kruger Chairman Southland Regional Heritage Committee October 2007 March 2008

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5 Table of Contents SECTION A Introduction 2 Guiding principles 3 Priorities 4 Funding Prerequisites 6 SECTION B REGIONAL THEMES 1.0 INTRODUCTION Heritage Trails Southern Odyssey New opportunities GONDWANA HERITAGE TRAIL 2.1 Northern Southland Gondwana clues Limestone formations Central Southland Limestone landscape Eastern Southland Landslip Hill Coastal Southland Bluff Hill/Motupohue Oldest rocks Jurassic fossil forest Estuaries and coastal wetlands Coastal/marine wildlife Foveaux Strait and Subantarctic Islands Gondwana origins Ulva Island Kiwi-watching Beyond the Roaring 40 S Subantarctic Experience Aurora australis Western Southland Clifden Caves Gemstone Beach McCracken s Rest Mantell s Rocks Coastal wildife 15 March 2008 i

6 2.7 Fiordland National Park Milford Heritage Highway Largest known landslide SWNZ World Heritage Area Discover Fiordland Alpine communities Unique fiord communities Waitutu Forest Waitutu s marine terraces 16 Summary Table 3.0 ARANUI MATAURA RIVER JOURNEY 3.1 Northern Southland Headwaters Brightwater Springs Trout fishing Eastern Southland NZ s first freshwater mataitai reserve Site of early water and hydro electric power Te Puoho s last stand Highway and barrier Coastal Southland Whitebaiting camps Mahinga Kai 25 Summary Table 4.0 MAORI PERSPECTIVES KI TA TE MAORI TITIRO 4.1 Cultural taonga Mahinga kai 26 Summary Table 5.0 INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE TRAIL 5.1 Northern Southland Goldmining Central Southland Limeworks Electricity Eastern Southland Industrial heritage pioneers Dairy legend Coastal Southland Railways Flax milling Foveaux Strait And Subantarctic Islands Shipping Fishing industry 32 March 2008 ii

7 5.6 Western Southland Goldmining Sawmilling Electricity Fiordland National Park Tourism Deer recovery Fishing industry 34 Summary Table 6.0 RURAL HERITAGE 6.1 Regional Overview Living history Vintage machinery District museums Sheep farming Dairy farming Other farming activities District Stories High country stations 40 Summary Table SECTION C DISTRICT THEMES 1.0 INTRODUCTION NORTHERN SOUTHLAND 2.1 Gondwana heritage Geological diversity Ancient flora and fauna Goldmining Rural heritage High country farming Chewings fescue Historic homesteads 46 Summary Table 3.0 CENTRAL SOUTHLAND Stone industry Limeworks Dipton stone quarry 49 Summary Table March 2008 iii

8 4.0 EASTERN SOUTHLAND 4.1 Industrial heritage pioneers Hokonui moonshine 54 Summary Table 5.0 COASTAL SOUTHLAND 5.1 Estuaries and coastal wetlands Natural Heritage Human Heritage 5.2 Cultural heritage the coming together of Maori and Pakeha Foveaux Strait highway and food basket Curio Bay fossil forest and wildlife 60 Summary Table 6.0 FOVEAUX STRAIT AND SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS 6.1 Titi and Muttonbirding Islands of Refuge Cultural heritage the coming together of Maori and Pakeha Maritime highways and food basket 65 Summary Table 7.0 WESTERN SOUTHLAND 7.1 Goldmining Sawmilling Electricity Coalmining FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK 8.1 Te Wai Pounamu/South-west New Zealand World Heritage Area Mountains to sea power of ice and water Unique fiord communities Islands of Refuge Pushing the boundaries 74 March 2008 iv

9 SECTION D What are our stories? Northern Southland 78 Central Southland 90 Eastern Southland 105 Coastal Southland (including Invercargill) 117 Invercargill and Southern Coastal Region 127 Foveaux Strait and Subantarctic Islands 142 Western Southland 152 Fiordland National Park 166 SECTION E Appendices 1. List of heritage providers, resources and skills 2. List of Geological Preservation Sites 3. Invercargill: 150 years by Lloyd Esler, 2006 March 2008 v

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11 SECTION A INTRODUCTION This document is intended primarily as a resource and reference tool for the Southland regional Heritage Committee and other funding agencies who want to ensure that Southland s stories are presented in a co-ordinated and cost-effective way. It focuses on the themes and topics (or stories) - local, district and regional - that define our province and its people. This document is a first step in identifying the themes and topics (or stories) local, district and regional that define our province and its people. It is intended primarily as a resource and reference tool for funding agencies who want to ensure that Southland s stories are presented in a co-ordinated and cost effective way. Southland has been divided into the following interpretation districts : Northern Southland Central Southland Eastern Southland Coastal Southland (including Invercargill) Foveaux Strait and subantarctic islands Western Southland Fiordland National Park The boundaries are shown on the map. Approach Our approach assumes increased collaboration and co-ordination between stakeholders, recognising that the interpretation of Southland s human and natural heritage is not the sole domain of museums and heritage institutions. The document asks three questions. What are our stories? (Section D) Where should they be told? Who is best placed to tell them? (Sections B and C). The result takes the shape of a pyramid with the bulk of resource information (Sections D and E) providing the foundation for other sections. It is a first step because it identifies potential opportunities that need further thought and planning. In particular, the How? question (the most appropriate media to interpret new stories) was considered beyond the scope of this project. Aspects of cultural heritage (particularly relating to politics, the arts, sport and recreation) have received relatively little attention. They should be the subject of a separate study. Instead, this approach has focussed on our sense of place (landscape and geography) and those resources and activities that have sustained our survival and growth. Together they have shaped our provincial character and done much to define who we are. Disclaimer Despite the best efforts of the authors to develop a comprehensive and accurate resource, there will inevitably be omissions and corrections to be made. Rather than a definitive statement, the document should be seen as a work in progress. March

12 GUIDING PRINCIPLES Story driven Heritage providers need to demonstrate that new initiatives have identified and will feature those themes and stories that define their point of difference from the perspective of human and/or natural heritage. Resources needed for interpretation should be built in to heritage projects at an early stage, including an adequate financial allocation for research and exhibition design. (In the past, funding has tended to focus on structures with interpretation added as an afterthought.) They should also identify a maintenance and updating component. Regional packages The opportunity for district themes and stories to contribute to a big picture regional interpretation package creates added value and should be encouraged. Heritage Trails and the Southern Odyssey are acknowledged as Southland s first regional themes. Other opportunities identified in this document are: Gondwana heritage trail Aranui Mataura River journey Maori perspectives ki ta te Maori titiro Industrial heritage trail Rural heritage Additional regional opportunities (not considered) include war and defence, the Great Depression. Ownership Implementation of this strategic approach depends on collaboration and buy-in from stakeholders. While the opportunity for a much stronger Maori perspective has been highlighted, this can happen only with iwi control over its stories, how they are told and where. Department of Conservation and territorial authorities are among the other stakeholders who need to be actively involved. Both stakeholders have welcomes the opportunity to be involved. Southland runanga intend to consider the potential for Māori stories in depth. In the meantime they ask that emphasis be given, wherever possible, to dual Māori /English place names. A regional hub A regional hub is necessary for two reasons: To provide an overview of the Story of Southland that also makes the links with other regional and district opportunities. The hub is where people visit to get a sense of the big picture and to be directed to other layers of the story that hold particular interest for them. To provide co-ordination management for the collaborative approach that underpins this interpretation strategy March

13 It is strongly recommended that the Southland Museum and Art Gallery take on the regional responsibility for at least the overview role: It already holds many of the physical resources (collections, research, images) necessary for the interpretive overview. It has the Information Services capacity to provide orientation and direction for visitors to other specialist hubs, district museums and interpretive centres. It has access to professional skills It is already perceived, nationally, as Southland s regional museum The Museum would, however, need additional resources to take a leadership role in co-ordinating development and implementation of the regional interpretation strategy. Specialist hubs A second tier of interpretive hubs provides either specialist themes or serves a district. Centres that exist or are in progress include: Hokonui Heritage Centre (human heritage) Te Hikoi Southern Journey (human heritage) Discover Fiordland (natural and human heritage) Curio Bay Natural Heritage Centre (natural heritage) A proposed new living history interpretation hub is outlined on page 39. Setting priorities The brief has asked us to identify strategic priorities at Regional and District levels. We were reluctant to do this because many priority-setting criteria were beyond our scope. We have however identified two strategic priorities that will maximise heritage outcomes for Southland: Regional opportunity: Gondwana heritage trail (see page 10) Reasons: Southland is probably the best place in New Zealand to tell the Gondwana story simply because everything is here to link the whole story together as a package. Major investments in the Curio Bay Natural Heritage Centre and the Discover Fiordland centre will provide specialist hubs for their respective areas. Southland Museum and Art Gallery has already identified this theme as an important element of its display planning programme. District opportunity: Industrial pioneers heritage trail (Eastern Southland) (see p54) Reasons: Eastern Southland has a plethora of interpretive opportunities to recognise the outstanding achievements of Southland s industrial pioneers many of whose initiatives led the way nationally. March

14 The theme will be reinforced by the development of the Croydon Aviation Heritage Museum and the Hokonui Heritage Centre. Implementation creates the basis for a subsequent regional heritage trail. Priorities have also been given to new District and Regional interpretation opportunities solely on the significance of the theme or story. (See summary tables for Sections B and C) 1= National significance 2= Regional significance 3= District significance March

15 FUNDING PREREQUISITES Completion of an Interpretation Concept Plan should be an essential criteria for funding consideration. Next steps Accept the strategic approach in principle. Set up a working group to identify the responsibilities, processes and protocols that will foster a co-ordinated approach and buy-in from stakeholders. Develop a package of criteria that will provide a guiding framework for identifying additional priorities amongst the interpretation opportunities outlined in District and Regional summaries. Initiate detailed feasibility and interpretation plans for high priority opportunities. March

16 SECTION B REGIONAL THEMES 1.0 INTRODUCTION While many of these stories have already been identified as District Themes, they also contribute to a wider perspective of Southland. Their interpretation should keep in mind the potential for Southland-wide, themed packages which can encourage visitors (and locals) to explore less familiar parts of Southland or experience routine journeys with different eyes. Two regional interpretive initiatives have already been developed/are being developed in Southland. 1.1 Heritage Trails They are part of a national network which has been operating in New Zealand since 1989 with over 100 trails. A combination of self-guided brochures and on-site panels have been developed for Northern Southland, Catlins, Takitimu, Gore, Winton, Invercargill, Bluff and Riverton/Aparima. They provide an excellent resource, alerting travellers to features of historic and natural interest along (and off) major routes. One of their strengths is that they emerged as grass root initiatives, building a sense of heritage pride amongst local communities. That has also proved to be a weakness as there appears to be no on-going commitment from any one agency to sustain marketing and supply of brochures. Given the considerable initial investment and value of the resource, it makes sense to ensure that Heritage Trails continue to be marketed and brochures made available from visitor centres. Mechanisms to ensure their continued maintenance also requires thought. 1.2 Southern Odyssey It is also based on road journeys but has taken a multi-media, layered approach to the theme of Southland s Wild and Colourful Past. It is about to trial the concept in Northern and Eastern Southland, bringing to life (through art, music, performance and stories) the colourful characters associated with local communities. As such, it provides a vehicle for even the smallest centre to host an interactive experience that celebrates its own unique story. It is the intention that the Southern Odyssey will become a Southland-wide experience. 1.3 New opportunities Among the new regional interpretation opportunities that have been identified, some lend themselves to themed trails, linking drawcard features or sites around Southland. Others, however, bring the regional focus to a single site. (New interpretation opportunities have been highlighted by using this font and in italics.) March

17 Priority rankings have been given in the summary tables on the basis of interpretation strength. 1= national significance 2= regional significance At this stage new interpretation opportunities are ideas only, subject to further discussion and appropriate consents. March

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19 2.0 GONDWANA HERITAGE TRAIL The Gondwana story is the story of New Zealand s origins told by its rocks, flora and fauna including the subsequent events that took place in Southland up to the present day. These categories tell how New Zealand was subjected to wrenching faults, violent volcanic activity, mountain building, ice ages, erosion, climate change, extinctions and survivors of life. Southland is probably the best place in New Zealand to tell the Gondwana story simply because everything is here to link the whole story together as a package. The overview would be best be told at Southland Museum and Art Gallery (SMAG) with special aspects covered at strategic Southland sites reinforcing the story at grass roots. Extensive collections that enable the story to be told exist among SMAG (including the tuatarium), Otago Museum, IGNS and University of Otago. It is exciting that SMAG has already identified this theme as a major focus for future presentation. 2.1 Northern Southland Gondwana clues There are several Northern Southland sites that have won national (and international) recognition from geologists and palaeontologists. They are described on pages 46, 80 and 81 and include some notable features that may be interpreted from viewpoints. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Good views of the Southland Syncline are obtained from the Josephville Hill, just south of Lumsden, where a rest area already features a Northern Southland Heritage interpretation panel. Livingstone Fault and West Dome (where the boundaries between geological periods are exposed, marking an era of mass extinction on earth, see page 80) could be interpreted from a rest area or suitable site near Mossburn. Large sample rocks from the Ophiolite Belt could be displayed from the Mossburn quarry. The Takitimu Mountains (described on page 81) were the source of a major fossil discovery, Glossopteris, that finally proved New Zealand was once part of Gondwana. A replica of the fossil is displayed at the Otago Museum. Moa remains have been found in several Northern Southland localities, including a remarkably well preserved skeleton of a small moa with feathers and mummified skin. It is displayed at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. The most complete skeleton of Haast s (giant) eagle was found at Castle Rock. Rare and unusual plants and invertebrates still survive in the Eyre, Takitimu, Garvie and Umbrella Ranges of Northern Southland. Interpretation - existing or in progress The Wilderness Scientific Reserve a remnant of once extensive bog pine on SH 94 between The Key and Te Anau has on-site interpretation panels that include a focus on the unusual nature of this natural community. March

20 INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY The Wilderness Scientific Reserve would provide an opportunity to interpret the spectacular geological origins of the Takitimu Mountains. The Takitimu Mountains could also be interpreted from Invercargill sites such as the Water Tower or Southland Museum and Art gallery which have views of the range Limestone formations Spectacular limestone formations are clearly visible from the Dipton Mossburn Road at Castle Rock, Castle Downs. 2.2 Central Southland Castle Rock Limestone landscape Forest Hill Scenic Reserve incorporates a prominent bush-clad limestone hillside south-east of Winton. Walking tracks provide access to limestone features including a weta occupied cave. Interpretation existing or in progress On-site interpretation panels (DoC) INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Re-open an overgrown track to view a limestone sinkhole, which were natural traps for moa and have been the source of many bones. 2.3 Eastern Southland Landslip Hill with its legend of the so-called Meteorite Crater and outstanding examples of fossil leaves found in silcrete (see page 107 and 108) lend themselves to interpretation at Pukerau. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Develop display of silcrete boulders with fossil leaves at the Pukerau Rest Area. An associated on-site interpretation panel could explode the myth of the meteorite crater at Landslip Hill. March

21 2.4 Coastal Southland Fossil leaf from Landslip Hill Bluff Hill/Motupohue is the best vantage point to get a sense of the scale and character of the Southland Plains and coastal area. It has its own interesting geological history and great cultural significance for Maori. Interpretation existing or in progress On-site interpretation panels near the summit of Bluff Hill Some of New Zealand s oldest rocks; sediments laid down around 270 million years ago and subsequently altered by a period of violent volcanic activity are found in this area. Some of these rocks have had economic significance: Argillite, (Bluff Harbour and Tihaka) See pages 119 and 122. Norite (Bluff granite) has featured in numerous Southland structures including Bluff s Island Harbour and the Bluff and Invercargill war memorials. See page 119. Ventifacts are particularly noticeable around Bluff Harbour and Mokomoko Inlet. See page 119. Interpretation existing or in progress On-site interpretation panels near the summit of Bluff Hill and at Greenpoint Domain Jurassic fossil forest Fossil sites with evidence of Jurassic age forests occur at a number of places on the south Catlins coast but nowhere so spectacular or accessible as Curio Bay. Curio Bay is already the most visited site in DoC s Murihiku Area. Visitor numbers are approximately 50,000 60,000 per annum with projected increases to 100,000 by March

22 Fossil fern from Slope Point Interpretation existing or in progress On-site interpretation panels (to be updated) Proposed Curio Bay Natural Heritage Centre has given priority to the interpretation of the fossil forest Estuaries and coastal wetlands In 2007, some 20,000 hectares of Southland s estuaries and coastal wetlands from New River Estuary to Toetoes Harbour were given international recognition under the Ramsar Convention, making it the largest such protected wetland complex in New Zealand. The Awarua Wetland, as it is known, ranks among the top three wading bird habitats in the South Island and is home to unique and unusual wildlife communities. See page 120 Interpretation existing or proposed includes: For full list see page 58 Wetlands trail brochure for Southland s Ramsar sites Waituna Wetlands interpretive boardwalk and shelter Waituna Wetlands interpretation shelter March

23 2.4.5 Coastal/marine wildlife Wildlife communities that already attract considerable interest include: resident pods of Hector s dolphins at Porpoise Bay and Te Waewae Bay; yellow-eyed penguins on the south Catlins coast around Curio Bay; New Zealand sealions at Waipapa Point; fur seals; occasional sightings of southern right whales close inshore. See page 121. Interpretation existing or in progress On-site interpretation panels at Porpoise Bay, Te Waewae Bay and Waipapa Point (DoC); DoC plans to review existing interpretation at Waipapa Point. The proposed Natural Heritage Centre at Curio Bay will provide a hub for visitors with a general interest in Southland s landscapes and wildlife communities. 2.5 Foveaux Strait And Subantarctic Islands Gondwana origins Despite the distances between, New Zealand, Stewart Island and most of the subantarctic islands all share a common base, sitting on the submerged Campbell Plateau which is a huge sunken landmass and a major part of what is now termed Zealandia. Interpretation existing or in progress Beyond the Roaring 40 S Subantarctic Experience at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery explains island origins and their relationship to New Zealand Ulva Island is a predator-free wildlife sanctuary that allows the public the rare opportunity to experience close encounters with a range of threatened species including saddleback and yellowhead Kiwi-watching in the wild is possible both as a guided activity from Halfmoon Bay and for visitors to Masons Bay Apart from the privileged few who visit the subantarctic islands on a nature cruise, its wildlife can be experienced through Beyond the Roaring 40 S Subantarctic Experience. See page 65. Those displays are complemented by a subantarctic focus in adjacent Queen s Park which features a subantarctic garden and subantarctic birds (including Campbell Island teal and Antipodes Island parakeet) in its aviary. Interpretation existing or in progress See pages INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Wildlife spotting around Halfmoon Bay introduced in a self-guided booklet. See page 65. Kakapo on Ulva Island. See page Aurora australis This spectacular event is totally dependent on activity on the sun and therefore cannot be turned on when required. Dr S Voss of Invercargill has specialised in photographing the aurora in Southland. The best place for the aurora to be interpreted is at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery where it has already been identified as a future focus. March

24 On-site, the aurora should be viewed away from city lights with an unobstructed view of the southern sky, bearing in mind that it can extend from east to west and, occasionally to the zenith. Awarua is recognised as a good aurora viewing point, although this may be affected by proposed industrial development. 2.6 Western Southland Clifden Caves are a popular destination, providing an accessible caving experience for many visitors. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Given their high level of use, Clifden Caves provides a good on-site opportunity to tell the Southland story of limestone. There is potential to incorporate the bigger picture into existing site specific interpretation Gemstone Beach near Orepuki is a popular place to fossick for garnets, sapphires and other semi-precious stones. The bulk of the beach pebbles have travelled from inland sources and are composed of the compacted sediments and igneous rocks associated with Gondwana. Interpretation existing or in progress Heritage Trail panel McCracken s Rest is a rest area that provides spectacular coastal views towards the Waiau River mouth. Interpretation existing or in progress On-site interpretation panels that identify landscape features and the wildlife community associated with Te Waewae Bay Mantell s Rocks a group of large plutonic boulders outcropping on a hill crest are part of the Median Batholith and relate to Gondwana. They provide an opportunity to explain the origins of the Longwood Range, which provides the landscape backdrop. Interpretation existing or in progress Features in the Riverton/Aparima Heritage Trail brochure Coastal wildlife regularly seen in Te Waewae Bay includes a resident pod of Hector s dolphin, fur seals, Southern right whale and two of the world s rarest penguins, Fiordland crested and Yellow-eyed. Interpretation existing or in progress McCracken s Rest on-site interpretation panels Port Craig self-guided interpretation trail 2.7 Fiordland National Park Driving the Milford Heritage Highway from Te Anau to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi is one of the most outstanding (accessible) glacial journeys in the world. The route abounds in spectacular viewpoints. Some views, like Mitre Peak in Milford Sound, are tourist landscape icons. Others, like Mt Tutoko, are cultural icons with spiritual significance to Maori (recognised as Topuni sites). There are few other drives that pass through such magnificent stands of southern beech forest; another clue to New Zealand s links with its Gondwana heritage. March

25 Interpretation existing or in progress On-site interpretation panels at key visitor sites on Milford Heritage Highway include new developments at Lake Gunn and Mirror Lakes; also Milford Sound, Key Summit, Great Walk huts. The significance of Mt Tutoko as a Topuni site is explained from a viewpoint at the Tutoko Historic Suspension Bridge. The Department of Conservation is currently preparing an interpretation plan for the Milford Road journey. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Cascade Creek in the Eglinton Valley lends itself to the development of a rock garden that interprets the area s geological diversity and links with Gondwana The second largest known landslide on earth is visible from the Borland Saddle. It happened some 12,000 13,000 years ago when a 9 km section of the Hunter Mountains collapsed. It created a dam some 800 metres high that trapped Green Lake and Island Lake. Interpretation existing or in progress Borland Lodge Eco-Centre Borland Saddle Discover Fiordland will provide the visitor hub, introducing the diversity of landscapes and ecosystems that underpins Fiordland s inclusion in Te Wai Pounamu/South-west New Zealand World Heritage Area. See page Fiordland s alpine communities make an outstanding contribution to the big picture of Southland s wildlife spectrum. The takahe has iconic status in Fiordland and might be used to front a wider story on behalf of endangered flightless birds. Kea and alpine flowers are among the special attractions of the alpine sections of the Milford Heritage Highway. Interpretation existing or proposed Homer Tunnel Key Summit self-guided walk West Arm Visitor Centre DoC Visitor Centre, Te Anau Okaka Hut, Hump Ridge Track Unique fiord communities Fiordland s underwater community is unique product of a special relationship between land and sea. A layer of fresh water (1-5 metre thick) filters light, coupled with the vertical fiord walls, creates unusually dark conditions in the sea water beneath. This fools normally deep-sea creatures (including sea pens, sponges and black and red corals) into thriving less than 30 metres from the surface. Non-divers can experience the underwater community by visiting Milford Deep. March

26 Interpretation existing or in progress DOC Visitor Centre, Te Anau interpretive displays and audio-visual DOC Milford Sound Terminal Milford Deep Underwater Observatory at Piopiotahi Marine Reserve (exclusive focus on this theme) On-site interpretation panels at Milford Sound and Deep Cove, Doubtful Sound Real Journeys interpretive commentaries on Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound boat cruises Milford Deep Underwater Observatory INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Opportunities to increase interpretation through diving group guides should be explored Waitutu Forest New Zealand s largest, least modified lowland native forest is one of this country s most important centres of biodiversity and a refuge for some 25 threatened species. Interpretation existing and in progress Discover Fiordland needs to be the hub that highlights Fiordland s critical role in safeguarding wild places in the broad spectrum of Southland s biodiversity. DOC Visitor Centre, Te Anau interpretive displays and audio-visual Interpretation panels at Okaka Hut, Hump Ridge Track Waitutu s staircase of marine terraces is renowned amongst geologists world-wide and contributed to Fiordland s World Heritage status. A flight of 10 steps climbs to 400 metres above sea level. Each step has been carved out of mudstone and represents an old beach level. The terraces are now mainly forested and not always easy to identify. Good views are obtained south and south-west from Hump Ridge. Interpretation existing and in progress Okaka Hut, Hump Ridge Track March

27 Story of Southland Summary of Regional interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. Gondwana Heritage Trail 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance District Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Priority 18 Regional overview Present the big picture of our Gondwana origins at a regional hub where visitors can also be directed to follow up on-site interest Regional trail that highlights best sites to experience the Gondwana theme Ideally placed at Southland Museum and Art Gallery Use mix of existing and new on-site interpretation; develop interpretation plan to identify best approach. 1 Northern Southland Identify crucial Gondwana clues Southland Syncline Livingstone Fault Mid Dome and West Dome Explain spectacular origins of Takitimu Range Limestone formations, Castle Rock On-site interpretation at a viewpoints/rest areas between Josephville Hill and Mossburn. In consultation with DOC at Wilderness Scientific Reserve Viewed from Dipton Mossburn Road at Castle Rock, Castle Downs 1 2 Central Southland Limestone landscape Forest Hill limestone sinkhole Re-open access track in consultation with DOC 2 Eastern Southland Landslip Hill Explode the myth of Meteorite Fossil leaves in silcrete Silcrete boulder/fossil display at the Pukerau Rest Area with associated interpretation meteorite myth 2 March 2008

28 Coastal Southland Bluff Hill viewpoint and rocks Awarua wetland Jurassic fossil forest Coastal/marine wildlife Covered by on-site interpretation and Ramsar wetland trail Covered by on-site interpretation and Curio Bay Nature Heritage C 1 1 Foveaux Strait and Subantarctic Is Aurora australis Ulva Id wildlife sanctuary Kiwi watching, Stewart Island Wildlife spotting around Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Island Subantarctic Islands Best presented thro SMAG Consult with DOC re feasibility of live kakapo display No new recommendation Consult with DOC re potential for selfguided booklet where to go Reinforce the inter-relationships between Beyond the Roaring 40 S and Queen s Park displays Western Southland Limestone landscapes/features Gemstone Beach, near Orepuki Consult with DOC re Clifden Caves onsite interpretation Incorporate into regional trail guide 2 3 McCrackens Rest provides viewpoint over Foveaux St. and district Coastal wildlife incl resident pod of Hector s dolphins, penguins, whales, fur seals Mantell s Rocks No new on-site recommendation On-site interpretation already in place at McCrackens Rest and Port Craig Develop on-site interpretation to incorporate story of Longwood Ra March 2008

29 20 Fiordland National Park SWNZWHA biodiversity Geological diversity viewed from Milford Heritage Highway Beech forest links with Gondwana Borland world s second largest landslide Alpine communities accessible to all on Milford Heritage Highway and Wilmot Pass; iconic species Unique underwater communities Discover Fiordland should provide the specialist hub Consult with DOC re interpretation review for Milford Heritage Highway Rock garden at Cascade Creek All three species seen along Milford Heritage Highway (interpreted at Mirror Lakes) Interpreted at Borland Ecocentre Opportunity for Discover Fiordland to use takahe to front the story of our flightless birds Well covered above water level but consult with DOC re potential for an underwater interpretive trail No new on-site recommendation Waitutu Forest and renowned marine terraces 1 March 2008

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31 3.0 ARANUI RIVER JOURNEY Southland s major rivers travel from mountains to sea. They exert a powerful influence, both shaping the landscape and providing essential life support. Southland rivers have served as highways, barriers and boundaries. For Maori, rivers also have their own life force or mauri which depends on their physical and ecological well-being. DoC s Southland Conservancy identified water as the over-arching theme in its Interpretation Strategy This theme lends itself to all four of Southland s major rivers: Aparima, Oreti, Waiau and Mataura. If only one river journey is featured in the Story of Southland, however, it should be that of Southland s longest river, the Mataura. Rising in the Eyre Mountains, the Mataura River travels 240 km to its outlet at Toetoes Harbour, Fortrose. Along its journey, there are numerous river crossings over our busiest highways (SH1 and SH6) and viewpoints that lend themselves to story-telling. The Mataura River has ruled the life of much of Eastern Southland, in particular and to an extent it still does. Its influence has included transport, mahinga kai, water for drinking and industry and power. Its flood plains have contributed to agricultural productivity and the social turmoil of flooding. As a freshwater habitat, it has become renowned for trout fishing and whitebait. The following are just a selection of story opportunities. 3.1 Northern Southland Headwaters The Cainard Road and a 4WD track provides relatively easy public access to the Eyre Mountains/Taka Ra Haka Conservation Park where the Mataura River has its headwaters. Early Maori followed the Upper Mataura River on a trail into Central Otago and beyond. Sheep farmers mustered the pastoral runs and Beech Hut, built in 1913, is one of the oldest musterers huts in Southland (now available for trampers). Existing interpretation On-site panels in Beech Hut and Dog Box Hut (DOC) INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Develop on-site interpretation at an appropriate bridging point or rest area on SH6 between Athol and Fairlight, associated with Brightwater Springs A major source of the Mataura River are underground springs near Garston. The springs are the largest in Southland and remarkable for the clarity of their water. They are on private property and permission for access is required from WP Gordon. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Associated with perhaps at Garston, so that visitors have an understanding of the springs without having to visit the site. March

32 Mataura River near the Brightwater Springs Trout fishing Athol, on the upper reaches of the Mataura, has built an international reputation for trout fishing. Interpretation existing or in progress Gore Historical Museum has an exhibition devoted to fly fishing INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY An interpretive opportunity could be developed in association with a fishing access; store or rest area near Athol. 3.2 Eastern Southland New Zealand s first freshwater mataitai reserve The Mataura Falls have a traditional association with kanakana (lamprey) and the site has been a nohoaka or special food gathering place for generations of Maori. See page Interpretation existing or in progress Ngai Tahu has interpreted the traditional importance of the Mataura River and the falls in a Mataitai Reserve panel situated above the river, adjacent to the former paper mill Site of early water and hydro-electric power In 1893 the Mataura Freezing works was the first plant in New Zealand to be driven by electricity, generated from the Mataura Falls. In 1876 the Mataura Falls were used for a waterwheel to drive the paper mill on the opposite bank and later to generate hydro-electricity INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY A viewing platform built on the left bank of the Mataura River between the bridge and former paper mill would provide an excellent view of The Falls and context for the story of Mataura s industrial heritage (flour and paper mills plus freezing works). Interpretation could also highlight the towers from Southland s first suspension bridge, designed by J T Thomson. An adjacent empty lot provides safe off-road parking and is the current site for on-site interpretation panels for the Mataura River Mataitai Reserve. March

33 Mataura Falls showing freezing works and paper mill Te Puoho s last stand The Maori monument at Tuturau that commemorates the last intertribal conflict between southern Ngai Tahu and Te Rauparaha s men from the north (led by Te Puoho) looks over serene pastures towards the river. Perhaps because of its apparent tranquillity, it is a place that inspires respect and reflection on the uncertainty and rigours of daily life for Murihiku s early inhabitants. In this instance, the Mataura played a critical role in enabling news to be carried south to Tuhawaiki and providing access for the southern warriors surprise attack. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY At present, public access appears limited to the Maori Reserve at the foot of the monument hill (on the Mataura-Wyndham Road) where there is limited and somewhat aged interpretation. It would be more effective to tell the story, both of the battle and the significance of the river for early Maori life, in association with the monument. (The story of Tuturau personality Reko could also be told here.) See page Tuturau Maori Reserve and monument. March

34 3.2.4 Highway and barrier Early European settlers depended on the Mataura River as a highway but also experienced it as a barrier for east-west travel. The first settlements tended to develop around river crossings. From source to sea there are some 19 bridges over the Mataura River. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Mataura Island or Gorge Road bridges lends themselves to this topic because a nearby spectacular railway bridge, built in 1897 for the Seaward Bush branch railway, is still intact, less the approaches and access is now over private land. 3.3 Coastal Southland Whitebaiting camps The bridging point over the Mataura River, south of Gorge Road, presents a good opportunity to explain the quirky culture of whitebaiters caravans and sheds, as well as the nature of this native delicacy Mahinga Kai The lower river reaches particularly around Fortrose and Waituna Lagoon had special significance for Māori. March

35 Story of Southland Summary of Regional interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only Aranui Mataura River journey 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance District Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Priority Northern Southland Brightwater Springs main source Interpretation panel at Garston 2 Trout fishing eminence Interpretation panel at Athol 26 Eastern Southland Source of early hydro-electric power at Mataura (See also Industrial Heritage) NZ s first Mataitai Reserve Discovery of Otago-Southland s first gold near Tuturau Role of the river in Te Puoho s last stand at Tuturau Viewing platform with view of Mataura Falls On-site interpretation already in place On-site panel if appropriate Develop in consultation with local iwi and farmer, either at the Tuturau Maori Reserve or provide access to monument. 2 2 River highway, boundary and barrier Use Gorge Road or Mataura Island Bridges as an example of a river crossing, use photos of the 1897 branch railway bridge or negotiate with farmer to visit bridge 2 Coastal Southland Whitebaiting Use the bridging point over the Mataura River south of Gorge Road to interpret the quirky culture of whitebaiting as well as the nature of the native delicacy. 2 March 2008

36 4.0 MAORI PERSPECTIVES KI TA TE MAORI TITIRO Maori have had a presence in Southland for several centuries longer than Europeans, yet their contribution to the Story of Southland has been relatively neglected. The imbalance needs to be redressed with local iwi given the support to tell their own stories in the way they see fit. As a regional museum, the Southland Museum and Art Gallery has established a strong liaison with iwi and can play a leading role in providing this support. Some interpretation has been developed for the following themes: 4.1 Cultural taonga The Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement included statutory acknowledgment for sites of historic, spiritual and cultural significance. Interpretation existing or in progress Motupohue (Bluff Hill) Mt Tutoko Takitimu Mountains Mataura River Hananui (Mt Anglem) Lake Hauroko Manawapopore (Lower Mavora Lake) Hikurangi (Upper Mavora Lake) Lake Te Anau There is a need to ensure other sites identified in the Ngai Tahu Settlement Act have interpretation in place. This will be done by the Department of Conservation in liaison with Iwi. Outstanding sites include: Aparima River Moturau (Lake Manapouri) Oreti River Toi Toi Wetland, Rakiura Waiau River Waituna Wetland 4.2 Mahinga kai Mahinga kai refers to the physical resources that Maori used for everyday life, including food, shelter, clothing, transport and tools. While most permanent settlement was coastal, Southland s rivers, forests and inland sites were all important seasonal sources of mahinga kai. Interpretation existing or in progress includes: Southland Museum and Art Gallery Te Hikoi Southern Journey Piano Flat nohoanga Port Craig Village hut March

37 INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Stone-working The availability of good workable stone was a critical resource for early Maori. The Southland coast supported several stone quarries including Tihaka, near Riverton/Aparima and Bluff Harbour. Bluff Harbour is believed to be one of the main stone-working sites in the Pacific region. While Te Hikoi Southern Journey includes the story of local stone-working, its emphasis is on the Riverton/Aparima district. The wider significance of this early industry should be presented through the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. There is potential for iwi to conduct specialised guided tours to Murihiku sites of Maori significance. Titi and muttonbirding This is a story that creates interest around the world but has its roots here, on the islands of Foveaux Strait and the Southern Ocean. It provides a huge opportunity to bring together natural and cultural heritage through our improved understanding of these fascinating birds, their mind-boggling migrations and the fact that traditional Maori muttonbirding skills and memories are still alive and practised. The story is told in a fragmentary way but warrants an integrated, high quality approach. See page 64. Early contact and Maori leadership The leadership role of Maori in the largely peaceful coming together of Maori and Pakeha on the south coast is the focus of Te Hikoi Southern Journey at Riverton. It is, however, a theme that bears further development in a regional overview. See page 59. The above ideas have been accepted by Iwi representatives as indicative and subject to further thought. Additional ideas, put forward at a meeting on 20 September, include: Travellers Unique travelling stories that range from inland and coastal to the subantarctic islands. Pre-European leadership Examples of leadership among the three main tribes, prior o European contact. Legends Oral histories are the basis of many legends and should be worked into regional themes at every opportunity. March

38 Summary of Regional interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. Maori perspectives ki ta te Maori titiro 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance District Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Priority Regional overview An opportunity to fully acknowledge and celebrate the contribution Maori have made to The Story of Southland Local iwi need to be supported/resourced to tell their own stories as they see fit. The Southland Museum and Art Gallery could play a leading role in providing this support All districts Almost every part of Southland had value for mahinga kai and associations with cultural taonga Review whether statutory acknowledgements have been completed for sites of historic, cultural and spiritual significance, identified by the Settlement Act 1 Coastal Southland The importance of stone-working sites on the south coast to pre-european Maori Needs to be iwi-led with support, ideally from Southland Museum and Art Gallery 1-2 Foveaux Straits and Subantarctic islands Titi and muttonbirding story an integrated approach combining the bird with its cultural importance to Maori of Rakiura descent The leadership role of Maori chiefs during the early contact period played an important part in Maori-Pakeha relationships Needs strong engagement between iwi and Southland Museum and Art Gallery Where? and How? to be discussed A focus for Te Hikoi-Southern Journey but potential to reinforce the theme through the first settlement sites on Rakiura/Stewart Island 1 2 March 2008

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40 5.0 INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE The theme defines industrial heritage in its widest sense to include infrastructure and services. It captures the resourcefulness of post-european settlers and their leadership role in pioneering new technologies that, more often than not, pushed Southland to the forefront of national development. Rabbit canneries made a significant contribution to Southland s economy particularly during the Depression years of the late 1930s. This is a story not told elsewhere in New Zealand and should be incorporated into the regional Industrial Heritage package. 5.1 Northern Southland Goldmining Includes the story of mining at Switzers, the Canton Claim and dredging at Waikaka. See page 46. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY The Waikaia Museum is the logical place to focus on this district theme. 5.2 Central Southland Limeworks See page 50. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Develop an old limeworks as a self-guided interpretation site. : McDonald s limeworks site Electricity While Central Southland has no especial claim to this theme, the opportunity has arisen to use the original Winton substation to tell this story. The Winton Museum has recently re-established itself here and the owners have expressed an interest in developing this focus. This interpretive opportunity needs to be weighed against the merits of establishing a museum at Monowai. See pages 34 and 70. March

41 5.3 Eastern Southland Industrial heritage pioneers The district boasts a number of early initiatives which lend themselves to a heritage trail. See page 53. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Develop self-guided package for an Industrial Heritage Trail together with on-site interpretation panels and a viewing platform over the Mataura River Dairy legend The story of Thomas Brydone s national role in dairying is a remarkable one, firmly rooted in the Edendale area. The story is the more engaging because the tradition of innovative leadership has continued from 1882 to the present day, through Fonterra. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY If it could be negotiated, development of the former Brydone Dairy Factory, visible from SH1 would be an evocative venue to tell this story. It would also provide a drawcard and central attraction for the wider Industrial Heritage Trail. This may be a project that Fonterra would wish to support. 5.4 Coastal Southland Brydone Dairy Factory in Railways Invercargill was a pioneer in New Zealand railways and the centre for Southland s vital railway network with yards that, at one time, were busier than those of Wellington. It was also a manufacturing centre for locomotives. Between 1896 and 1930, at least 26 Johnston locomotives were built for bush railways. Interpretation existing or in progress Replica of the Lady Barkly and interpretation for the Great Northern Railway on Stead Street Wharf, Invercargill. The Mandeville Aviation Museum plans to feature the Gore to Lumsden Railway Ohai Railway Museum The Department of Conservation is considering new on-site interpretation associated with the Black Maria (an Invercargill-built locomotive) at Pourakino. March

42 INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES The importance of railways to Southland s economic development, it is a theme that should feature large in any regional overview of Southland s history. The Southland Museum and Art Gallery has collections and a leadership role in this respect. Two rail trail sites have been suggested. The Glenham Tunnel is Southland s only true railway tunnel and is accessible across farmland from the Glenham Road. Although overgrown, the old rail trail from Waimahaka to Tokanui (approx. 10 km) was walked as a fundraising event by Tokanui Lions Flax milling This story belongs to many places in Southland. The fact that Templeton s Flax Mill Museum at Otaitai Bush near Riverton has been restored as a working museum should justify the focus there. 5.5 Foveaux Strait And Subantarctic Islands Shipping An expansive theme that starts with waka and includes trade, ferries, disasters and lighthouses. Interpretation existing or in progress Refer to list on page 66. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Bluff Maritime Museum is well placed to develop this theme and any future development should keep this focus in mind. Stirling Point lighthouse could tell the wider story of Foveaux Strait s lighthouses and their role. As the accessible site of New Zealand s worst civilian maritime disaster, Waipapa Point lends itself to interpretation of this theme. The Department of Conservation is planning site development that incorporates interpretative provision Fishing industry Apart from early sealing and whaling, there is relatively little interpretation about Southland s fishing industry. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Trade in Stewart Island oysters in the early 1860s makes it one of New Zealand s oldest fisheries. The story of the oyster industry deserves a much higher profile than it has received. 5.6 Western Southland Goldmining In the 1870s and 80s, Round Hill was the 5th most important goldfield in southern New Zealand. It was also the only goldfield where, for a long time, Chinese miners outnumbered Europeans. Their community, called Canton, was the southernmost Chinese settlement in the world. Interpretation existing or in progress Refer to list on page 70. March

43 INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Canton Chinese Village See page Sawmilling Every Southland district could tell a sawmilling story. The interpretive opportunity fits best with Western Southland, however, because of the longevity of the local industry (to the present day) and the outstanding stories that are already told here. Interpretation existing or in progress Refer to list on page Electricity Lake Monowai in Western Southland was at the forefront of initiatives that made Southland a national leader of electricity generating initiatives. The potential of Lake Monowai as a source of hydro-electric power was identified as early as 1910 and led to a grand electrification scheme which saw Southland establish the first electric power board. The Monowai Power Station opened in 1925 and still continues to contribute 6 megawatts to the national grid. The subsequent provision of hydroelectric power to the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter from Lake Manapouri also has a significant presence in Western Southland as the giant pylons march over the Borland Saddle. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY The original Monowai Substation may be available for development as an Electrification Museum. The story fits well here but needs to be weighed against the practical merits of the Winton Substation opportunity. See pages 31 and 70. Winton Substation Coal See p71 and p160. Monowai Substation 5.7 Fiordland National Park Tourism Tourism is a Fiordland success story that has been sustained since the first tourists walked the Milford Track in Numerous Fiordland identities bring character and humour to the theme. See page 175. March

44 Interpretation existing or in progress DoC Visitor Centre, Te Anau Milford Track huts Milford Launch terminal New Zealand s Fiord Heritage Neville Peat INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Develop stories in conjunction with Discover Fiordland and Fiordland Museum Trust Deer recovery The first red deer were liberated on the shores of Lake Manapouri in Little did anyone guess that those deer would become the object of a lucrative industry first for commercial hunters and later, in the 1980s, to pioneer live recovery by helicopters to stock the emergence of New Zealand deer farming. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Develop stories based on oral histories recorded by Fiordland Museum Fishing industry Fiordland s fishing industry highlights the fact that national park protection ends at the tidal edge. The Fiordland Lobster Company is one of New Zealand s largest live crayfishing facilities. In recent years, a combined initiative driven by commercial fishermen has established a Guardians of Fiordland Fisheries and a Marine Conservation Strategy. March

45 Story of Southland Summary of Regional interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. Industrial heritage (see also Rural heritage) 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance District Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Priority Regional overview Develop the theme of innovation and leadership in pioneering new technologies that often put Southland to the forefront of national development Position Southland Museum and Art Gallery as a regional hub, providing the big picture and directing visitors to on-site opportunities around Southland 1 Northern Southland Goldmining at Switzers, Canton Claim and Waikaka dredging Waikaia Museum 2 36 Central Southland Limeworks Develop an old Limeworks as a self guided visit or roadside interpretation 2 Electricity Evaluate opportunity to interpret at Winton substation vis-à-vis Monowai 2 Eastern Southland Industrial pioneers including brick and tile works, Flemings oatmill, coal mining, paper mill, freezing works, HEP generation Industrial Heritage Trail 1-2 First gold discovery Otago/Southland Southern Odyssey and/or Mataura River Journey 2 March 2008

46 Eastern Southland cont d Story of Thomas Brydone, father of New Zealand s dairy industry Explore potential for support from Fonterra and the possibility of developing a permanent exhibition at the Brydone Dairy Factory 1 Coastal Southland The story of Southland s railways is centred in Invercargill Southland Museum and Art Gallery regional overview Locomotive display (using Black Maria from Pourakino) site Rail trail at Glenham and/or Waimahaka to Tokanui track 1 Flax milling Templeton s restored flaxmill at Otaitai Bush, Riverton 2 Foveaux Strait and Subantarctic islands Shipping Bluff Maritime Museum Stirling Point lighthouse 2 37 Fishing industry focus on Bluff Oyster Discuss where and how with stakeholders 1 Western Southland Goldmining On site interpretation/restoration at Canton Chinese village, Round Hill 1 Electricity Evaluate opportunity to interpret at Monowai Substation vis-à-vis Winton 2 Sawmilling Already achieved Fiordland National Park Tourism Deer recovery Fishing industry Develop themes in tandem with Discover Fiordland and/or Fiordland Museum 2 March 2008

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48 6.0 RURAL HERITAGE Southland s rural roots permeate many of its stories reflected in agricultural landscapes; farm buildings; traditional skills and machinery and, above all, in the memories of a generation who grew up in a rural environment dominated by horse power, simple technologies and self sufficiency. With a few exceptions, the majority of rural heritage themes are ubiquitous and a regionally centred approach would avoid unnecessary duplication. 6.1 Regional Overview The Southland Museum and Art Gallery provided this regional overview through the now dismantled Southland History gallery. It is important that it be replaced in some form. 6.2 Living history Harvesting oats near Winton Living history keeps alive stories, skills and traditional technologies. It is also the most effective way to engage the interest and appreciation of a younger generation who have never know what it was to live on a farm or in a rural environment. Interpretation existing or in progress Rural Heritage Day - a biennial event that, in 2005, brought together 25 rural heritage organisations and interests to practise traditional skills and activities. Southland Oral History Project is recording the memories of those who have made a significant contribution to Southland s rural heritage. The annual Armagh Ploughing Challenge near Winton provides a rare opportunity to watch teams of working horses. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Donovan Farm a living history centre Based on the Southland Rural Heritage Trust s original concept of a working family farm c.1930s at Donovan Park, Invercargill, the centre would combine an innovative celebration of rural heritage with the retention of traditional knowledge, skills and technologies. Similar living history centres in Australia (Sovereign Hill, Ballarat) have proved a successful visitor drawcard and there is no rural heritage equivalent in New Zealand. March

49 The concept received strong support from the Southland community particularly for its educational and tourism appeal. It was laid aside in 2004 when a feasibility study questioned its viability as a stand-alone operation. It would be timely to review the concept and alternative modus operandi, particularly through its ability to complement the overview role of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. 6.3 Vintage machinery Almost every district has its own collection of vintage machinery: Pioneer Park, Gore, Thornbury, Riversdale, Te Anau, Winton. Some operate as museums; many are small club-based organisations, facing insurance issues associated with fire and other risks. Bill Richardson s private truck collection is one of the largest in the country. Interpretation existing or in progress Events such as the Edendale Crank-Up Day provide opportunities to showcase vintage machinery. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Stories that give context to local collections would add considerable value. Ditch digging, for instance employed hundreds of Southland men during the Depression years; a story that would give new meaning to the tools involved. Too often, the availability of such information depends on the presence of a knowledgeable enthusiast. 6.4 District museums Many of Southland s district museums emerged from early settler associations or historical committees motivated by the desire to safeguard and display local collections. These museums have the potential to provide an insight to local community character and the special contributions each district made to Southland s rural (and industrial) heritage. In reality, few local museums have got further than their collections, many of which are repetitive. Future focus should rest with local stories that reflect their points of difference so that visitors may be directed to special areas of interest from interpretation hubs at Southland Museum and Art Gallery and Hokonui Heritage Centre. 6.5 Sheep farming Sheep have been such an important part of Southland s rural heritage and economic development that it is surprising how little interpretive attention they receive. Their contribution should be incorporated into a regional overview. Interpretation existing or in progress The Shearing Museum in Invercargill provides a multi-media presentation on this topic. 6.6 Dairy farming See Page for details of a proposed dairy museum. March

50 6.7 Other farming activities Grain cropping, pig farming (using waste whey from dairy factories), flax and swamp drainage have all featured in Southland s rural heritage. While those stories are all part of a regional overview, they may take centre stage from a district museum perspective. They are also an integral part of Southland s industrial heritage. See page District Stories High country stations The Eyre Mountains, Garvie Mountains and Black Umbrella have pastoral leases which allow public access to the high country. Glenaray Station is the largest privately run pastoral lease in New Zealand. Interpretation existing or in progress Musterers hut interpretation at Dog Box Hut and Beech Hut in Taka Ra Haka Conservation Park in the Eyre Mountains, see On-site interpretation panel at Piano Flat (DoC) INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Waikaia Museum is well placed to interpret this theme. See page 47 Develop the stories associated with the early large rural enterprises such as the New Zealand Agricultural Company in Eastern and Northern Southland. These could be at a regional level or covered by District Museums in more detail. March

51 Story of Southland Summary of Regional interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance Rural heritage (see also Industrial heritage) District Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Priority Regional overview Rural heritage and agricultural practices continue to shape Southland s character Southland Museum and Art Gallery has traditionally taken a lead role in providing this regional overview 1 42 Use living history to safeguard traditional skills and practices; and make rural heritage meaningful to a younger generation Review the potential for a living history centre based on the concept of a family farm of 1930s. 1 All Districts Vintage machinery collections Add value by providing context through interpretation 2 District museums Provide a point of difference by focussing on local heritage stories Same principle applies to Industrial heritage. 2 Northern Southland High country stations have made a special contribution to small, isolated communities Exhibition on Glenaray and neighbouring stations at Waikaia Museum 2 March 2008

52 SECTION C DISTRICT THEMES 1.0 Introduction For the purposes of this project, Southland was divided into seven districts, shown on the map. They are: Northern Southland Central Southland Eastern Southland Coastal Southland (including Invercargill) Foveaux Strait and subantarctic islands Western Southland Fiordland National Park For each district, we have identified interpretive themes that belong to that area and provide important points of difference for regional interpretation. NB Some district themes also fit into a regional package. (New interpretation opportunities have been highlighted by using this font and in italics.) March

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55 2.0 NORTHERN SOUTHLAND 2.1 Gondwana heritage Geological diversity Northern Southland has some outstanding geology and a remarkable diversity of rock types all bounded by old and active fault systems. They are described in Section pages Among the distinctive landscape features are the Southland Syncline, the Livingstone Fault (possibly one of the longest faults in the world), the Mid and West Domes and the Takitimu Mountains. Castle Rock (seen from the Dipton to Mossburn Road) has some spectacular limestone formations. Interpretation existing or in progress On SH 94 between The Key and Te Anau, an on-site interpretation panel explains the signi5ficance of a large glacial erratic boulder at a geological reserve rest area. Northern Southland Heritage Trail brochure includes the large glacial moraine just south of Kingston INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES The Josephville Hill, south of Lumsden, provides spectacular views of the Southland Syncline s eye-catching strike ridges across the Hokonui Hills; the Waimea Plains and Northern Southland landscape. A rest area has already been provided for a Northern Southland Heritage Trail interpretation panel but is not well placed for the best views. An alternative might be considered. Northern Southland s geological diversity should feature in the proposed regional theme of Gondwana heritage. See page Ancient flora and fauna Moa remains have been found in several Northern Southland localities, including a remarkably well preserved skeleton of a small moa with feathers and mummified skin. It is displayed at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. The most complete skeleton of Haast (giant) eagle was found at Castle Rock. The discovery in 1971 of fossil leaves known as Glossopteris on the southern side of the Takitimu Mountains proved that New Zealand was once part of Gondwana. A replica of the fossil leaf is displayed in the Otago Museum. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Northern Southland examples of ancient flora and fauna should feature in the proposed regional theme of Gondwana heritage. 2.2 Goldmining The Waikaia area is the only part of Southland which practised every method of goldmining: gold pan and cradle, hydraulic sluicing and elevating, underground shafts, dredging. Switzers Diggings, dating from 1861, were among the oldest in the province. Like Round Hill in Western Southland, there was also a significant Chinese population of miners. (See also Eastern Southland pages ) INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY The Waikaia Museum is well placed to interpret the stories associated with this topic. March

56 2.3 Rural heritage High country farming While high country stations are not exclusive to Northern Southland, they are particularly accessible and continue to dominate the character of much of the district. Glenaray Station in particular is the largest privately owned pastoral lease in New Zealand and, historically, made a significant contribution to the Waikaia area community. Glenaray is readily accessible from Piano Flat on foot and by 4WD. Interpretation existing or in progress Musterers hut interpretation at Dog Box Hut and Beech Hut in Taka Ra Haka Conservation Park in the Eyre Mountains, On-site interpretation panel at Piano Flat (DoC) INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY The Waikaia Museum is well placed to interpret the stories associated with this topic Chewings fescue Southland has become associated with this special grass, sown by George Chewings on his Mossburn farm and promoted internationally as a specialist, hard-wearing turf. In the mid 1950s some 11,000 acres were dedicated to harvesting the grass seed around Mossburn and Five Rivers. Interpretation existing or in progress Northern Southland Heritage Trail brochure makes reference to the grass seed. 2.4 Historic homesteads Northern Southland is fortunate in that many of the original homesteads and buildings have survived. They include Captain Howell s home and outbuildings at Fairlight, built in 1869 and Five Rivers homestead built by whaler Johnny Jones in For a full list, see page 84. Interpretation existing or in progress The Northern Southland Heritage Trail includes several historic homesteads in its brochure. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY A guided or self-guided tour of historic homesteads might also be extended to include Wantwood homestead in Eastern Southland. The nature of the development would depend upon negotiation with and co-operation of the owners. March

57 Summary of District interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance Northern Southland Identifying theme Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Ref. Priority Gondwana heritage Geological and natural links to Gondwana heritage Spectacular limestone formations at Castle Rock Creation of rest areas/on-site interpretation at key vantage points e.g. Josephville Hill Feature in regional package p Goldmining Variety of goldmining techniques practised within short distance of Waikaia Develop goldmining focus in Waikaia Museum development p High country farming Historic and continuing significance of high country farming in N Southland particularly Glenaray Station Develop high country farming focus in Waikaia Museum development p Historic homesteads Potential offered by numerous historic homesteads including icons such as Fairlight, Five Rivers and Wantwood (E. Southland) Consult with owners before investigating opportunities for guided or self-guided homestead tours (may be confined to exterior views) p March 2008

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59 3.0 CENTRAL SOUTHLAND 3.1 Stone industry Limeworks Central Southland limestone is credited with sustaining agricultural productivity in the south. McDonald s limeworks is thought to be the first in Southland (c.1882). By the turn of the century burnt lime was beginning to be replaced by powdered carbonate of lime a process pioneered in Southland. See page 96. Doherty s Limeworks at Centre Bush is also an early Limeworks. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Develop interpretation at or near a disused limestone quarry where buildings, limekiln and other equipment allow the story to be told. McDonald s limeworks site Dipton stone quarry From around 1875, Dipton was a major source of building stone. The greywacke was quarried from a now overgrown site on the south-west edge of the township and used particularly for bridge abutments and culverts on the Dipton to Lumsden railway line. See page 96. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Develop a display of bolstered and worked blocks at the Dipton area, relating to the nearby railway bridges and stone culverts. March

60 Summary of District interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance Central Southland Identifying theme Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Ref. Priority Limestone landscape Improve access to limestone sinkhole at Forest Hill Scenic Reserve Consult DOC re clearing and maintaining overgrown track p Stone industry Limeworks led the way in achieving agricultural sustainability Dipton stone quarry provided much of the material for bridges and culverts associated with the Dipton to Lumsden railway line, also Invercargill buildings Explore the possibility of developing an old limeworks as a self-guided interpretation site Develop interpretation associated with rest area at Dipton P50 2 P50 3 March 2008

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62 4.0 EASTERN SOUTHLAND 4.1 Industrial heritage pioneers Eastern Southland has led the way in establishing industries that broke new ground for their time. Some are still operating (albeit under different names), others have left sufficient relics to tell their story. They include the Edendale dairy factory; Mataura paper mill; Mataura freezing works; Flemings Cremoata mill at Gore; Norton s Brick and Tile Company at Pukerau. The first gold in Otago/Southland was discovered near Tuturau. Although it is a more recent initiative, the Croydon Aviation Heritage Trust s work at Mandeville profiles early aviation in Southland. Interpretation - existing or in progress The Croydon Aviation Heritage Trust s museum development will feature Southland s early aviation, including Bob Murie s successful balloon flight in 1908 (thought to be the first in New Zealand fitted with a basket for the crew) and Herbert Pither s metalframed monoplane which proved the aircraft was capable of flight. The opportunity to fly in a Tiger Moth (or similar open cockpit plane) will add to the experience. The museum also plans to highlight the contrast between air travel and railways, through the story of the Gore to Lumsden railway line. Gore Historical Museum collections interpret various aspects of the district s industrial heritage. Wyndham Museum is full of (fragmented) stories from the district s industrial, commercial and social past. Clematis Cottage, Mataura s museum, has been restored as a typical pioneer workers cottage. Gore Heritage Trail features Fleming s mill and the replica streetlight on Main Street that commemorates the centenary of Gore becoming only the 3rd town in New Zealand to have two electric street lights. Flemings Cremoata, Gore March

63 Norton s Brick and Tile Company, Pukerau INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Industrial heritage trail (a) A combination of interpretive displays and guided tours around some of Eastern Southland s major industrial heritage sites would provide a historic context for today s achievements. Ideally, sites would include: - Fleming s oat mill, Gore - Original power house, Gore - Norton s Brick and Tile Works, Pukerau - Waimumu Coal Mine - Mataura Paper Mill site - Mataura Freezing Works - Fonterra Dairy factory, Edendale - Edendale Nursery (Plantation forestry) - Gore Cemetery If on-site access is not practical, a self-guided resource (incorporating images, oral histories and sound effects) would heighten awareness of the outstanding level of Southland achievement and the visual legacy that remains. (b) A viewing platform built on the left bank of the Mataura River between the bridge and former paper mill would provide an excellent view of The Falls and context for the story of Mataura s industrial heritage (flour and paper mills plus freezing works). An adjacent empty lot provides safe off-road parking and is the current site for on-site interpretation panels for the Mataura River Mataitai Reserve. See also River Journey. (c) There is potential for the Wyndham Museum to provide a more focussed presentation about the district s rich industrial heritage, including flour milling and flax milling. (d) The first gold discovery could be told in conjunction with the story of Sam s Grief through Southern Odyssey. The larger story of goldmining at Waikaka and Waikaia is more appropriately told at the Waikaia Museum. Dairy legend The story of Thomas Brydone s national role in dairying is a remarkable one, firmly rooted in the Edendale area. The story is the more engaging because the tradition of innovative leadership has continued from 1882 to the present day, through Fonterra. March

64 4.2 Hokonui moonshine Edendale entrance sign, SH1 Development of the old Brydone Dairy Factory, visible from SH1 would be an evocative venue to tell this story. It would also provide a drawcard and central attraction for the wider Industrial Heritage Trail. Educational resource Development of a virtual reality tour round Eastern Southland s heritage sites (including historic images, sound effects and oral histories) through a website would complement the heritage trail and provide a useful educational resource. Illicit liquor distilleries were widespread throughout Southland although the words Hokonui and moonshine have become synonymous. The MacRae family who founded the Hokonui industry lived in Central Southland but Gore has embraced the whole area of the Hokonui Hills for this story. Interpretation existing or in progress The Hokonui Moonshine Museum does an excellent job of using the moonshine theme as a vehicle to explain the wider social context of early Hokonui settlement, its characters, drinking culture and the impact of Prohibition. The Hokonui Moonshine Festival reinforces the theme through food and drink. March

65 Summary of District interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. Eastern Southland 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance Identifying theme Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Ref. Priority 56 Industrial heritage pioneers Industrial heritage trail including: Norton s brick and tile works Fleming s oatmill Waimumu coalmine Mataura paper mill site Mataura freezing works Fonterra dairy factory Gore electricity generation Gore cemetery On-site interpretation panels Viewing platform over Mataura River (between bridge and paper mill) Guided tours(access dependent) Self guided package Virtual reality/website tour educational resource Encourage Wyndham Museum to develop more focussed presentation on the district s industrial heritage p54 2 Gold Discovery of first Otago/Southland gold at Tuturau Waikaka and Waikaia goldmining Incorporate into Aranui-Mataura River journey regional theme Incorporate into story of Sam s Grief through Southern Odyssey Waikaia Museum p Dairy legend Story of Thomas Brydone and development of dairy industry around Edendale Develop permanent exhibition; consider Fonterra support and explore the possibility of the Brydone Dairy Factory as a venue. p Hokonui moonshine No new initiatives recommended March 2008

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67 5.0 COASTAL SOUTHLAND 5.1 Estuaries and coastal wetlands Despite land development, extensive areas of flat peatlands (bog), salt marsh and estuarine tidal inlets still dominate the landscape character of coastal Southland and have influenced the development of its human and natural history Natural heritage In 2007, some 20,000 hectares of Southland s estuaries and coastal wetlands from New River Estuary to Toetoes Harbour were given international recognition under the Ramsar Convention, making it the largest such protect wetland complex in New Zealand. The Awarua Wetland, as it is known, ranks among the top three wading bird habitats in the South Island and is home to unique and unusual wildlife communities. See page Human heritage For early Maori, Southland s estuaries and coastal wetlands were a precious resource: highway, source of food and materials. To the first European settlers, on the other hand, the boggy ground was a frustrating barrier to travel and communication and they put their energy into draining them for industry, agriculture and settlement. Ironically, were it not for the special character of its wetland location, Awarua would never have achieved recognition as an international research and space communications site. See page 126. Interpretation existing or in progress Natural heritage Wetlands trail brochure for Southland s Ramsar sites (Department of Conservation, in progress) Waituna Wetlands interpretive boardwalk and shelter (Department of Conservation) Bushy Point Reserve, Otatara: educational boardwalk across fernbird habitat on privately owned land Bushy Point Restoration Project - self-guided interpretation walk from Bryson Road (Otatara Landcare Group, in progress) Sandy Point Visitor Centre, Sandy Point Road: interpretive and inter-active displays about the New River Estuary Greenpoint Domain walking track has an on-site panel that interprets the intertidal wildife community (Invercargill City Council) Human heritage Te Hikoi Southern Journey, Riverton will touch on Maori and early European relationships with the Jacobs River Estuary Bluff Hill provides commanding views over the coastal wetlands, supported by interpretive panels that provide a sense of place. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Human heritage Riverton Focal Point Project (Southland District Council) has identified the traditional importance of the Jacob s River Estuary for both Maori and European settlers. It has yet to secure funding for on-site interpretation. The Awarua Experience (Southland Post & Telegraph s proposed Communications Museum) provides a potential opportunity to interpret the role, past, present and future, of this wetland area for international communications. It is also known as a vantage point to watch the Aurora australis. Stanley Town and Omaui self guided walk. March

68 Human and natural heritage Invercargill Estuary Walkway is a new, accessible and immediately popular walking/cycling track developed by Invercargill City Council from Stead Street Wharf. It lends itself to on-site interpretation of both human and natural heritage features of the New River Estuary. Entrance to Invercargill Estuary Walkway Southland Museum and Art Gallery is well placed to provide an overview of the contribution made by coastal wetlands and estuaries to the character of Southland s human and natural heritage. 5.2 Cultural heritage - the coming together of Maori and Pakeha. (Theme shared with Foveaux Strait s islands) The early contact period, development of trade and inter-marriage are stories that have shaped the identities of Riverton, Bluff and Stewart Island. The leadership role of Maori leaders like Te Whakataupuka and his successor Tuhawaiki in this story has not been adequately recognised, at least by the European community. See page Interpretation existing or in progress Te Hikoi Southern Journey, Riverton s new museum development has a central focus on the theme of two peoples coming together. It plans to recognise the leadership role of Maori alongside Europeans like John Howell. Motupohue/Bluff Hill has an on-site interpretation panel that celebrates whakapapa and the multi-national ancestry of many Bluff families. (Bluff Community Charitable Trust) Carvings in Te Rau Aroha s wharenui at Bluff feature the Maori women who married sealers and whalers Rakiura National Park entrance - the stylised anchor chain sculpture symbolises the physical and spiritual connections between Stewart Island/Rakiura and Bluff/Motupohue, the traditional taurapa or sternpost of Te Waka o Aoraki (where there are plans for the other end of the chain to emerge). It also symbolises the history of inter-relationships that have given the two communities a common sense of heritage and identity. March

69 Interpretation opportunities Stone foundations pre-european Maori depended on stone tools. The abundance of argillite at Bluff and Tihaka was a fundamental resource. Bluff Harbour is said to be one of the most important sites in the Pacific. Rakiura (and specifically Whenua Hou/Codfish Island) is the birthplace of Southland s multicultural history. An archaeological investigation in early 2007 added to the limited knowledge and has provided an opportunity for interpretation. The leadership role of Maori ariki during the early contact period deserves a higher profile. Whether there is opportunity for greater recognition than that planned for Riverton s Te Hikoi is something that should be discussed with iwi. Proud of who we are a celebration of mixed Maori/multinational ancestry that is a matter for pride amongst many of today s families, particularly from Bluff, Riverton and Rakiura. The oral histories/visual images provided by Tiny Metzger (Bluff) and Jane Davis (Aparima) and presented by Te Papa s Mo Tatou the Ngai Tahu Whanui Exhibition, 2006 is an example of what can be achieved through these media. 5.3 Foveaux Strait highway and food basket (Theme shared with Foveaux Straits and subantarctic islands) A broad spectrum of stories includes shipping (from waka onwards), disasters, lighthouses, trade and the fishing industry, including whaling and sealing. See pages Interpretation existing or in progress Waikawa Museum includes mention of shipwrecks. Waipapa Point/Tararua Acre have on-site interpretation panels about the wreck of the SS Tararua (Department of Conservation). Bluff Maritime Museum focuses on local shipping and associated activities in Foveaux Strait. Rakiura Museum has a whaling display and is considering a future focus on shipping and navigation. Greenpoint Domain walking track has an on-site panels that interpret Rotten Row, the ship graveyard; Maori stone working and ventifacts. (Invercargill City Council). Bluff Hill summit spiral walking track includes an on-site interpretation panel about sealers and whalers (Bluff Community Charitable Trust). Southland Museum and Art Gallery provided an overview of shipping, lighthouses etc in the now dismantled Southland History Gallery. Beyond the Roaring 40 S Subantarctic Experience also offers an insight to a sealer s way of life. Te Hikoi Southern Journey plans include an interpretive focus on shore whaling Interpretation opportunities The Bluff Maritime Museum is the logical venue to develop the Foveaux Strait theme on the mainland. While the Museum already includes some of the stories, they could be presented in a more cohesive and engaging way. The story of Foveaux Strait s oyster industry is one in particular that deserves a much higher profile than it has been given. Associated with the Oyster Festival, innovative interpretation would help to ground the iconic story in Bluff. Plans to restore and provide interpretation panels at Stirling Point lighthouse would provide a valuable opportunity to tell the story of Foveaux Strait lighthouses and their crucial role. (This was originally a CEG project which has since been steered by Invercargill City Council with unknown outcomes to date.) March

70 5.4 Curio Bay fossil forest and wildlife Curio Bay s Jurassic fossil forest is already the most visited site in DoC s Murihiku Area. Visitor numbers are approximately 50,000 60,000 per annum with projected increases to 100,000 by Visitor interest includes yellow-eyed penguins and a resident pod of Hector s dolphins at adjacent Porpoise Bay. See page 121. Interpretation existing or in progress On-site interpretation panels above the rock platform (to be updated) The proposed Natural Heritage Centre at Curio Bay will make the fossil forest its primary focus but also provide a hub for visitors with a general interest in Southland s landscapes and wildlife communities. The emphasis on fossilised wood opens the opportunity to develop a specialist niche, including specimens from other New Zealand sites. March

71 Summary of District interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. Coastal Southland 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance Identifying theme Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Ref. Priority 62 Estuaries and coastal wetlands Human heritage Traditional importance of the Jacobs River estuary for both Maori and early European settlers Why Awarua has been the preferred choice as an international communications centre since 1913 Human and natural heritage Overview of the contribution made by Southland s estuaries and coastal wetlands. New River Estuary s human and natural history features Guided boat trips on New River Estuary Consult with SDC re on-site interpretation panels as part of Riverton Focal Point Project Proposed Awarua Experience Southland Post & Telegraph Museum on original Awarua site. Southland Museum and Art Gallery? Consult with ICC to develop onsite interpretation panels along Invercargill Estuary Walkway Explore viability with interested parties p58 p Cultural heritage the coming together of Maori and Pakeha Maori stone technology Using high quality resources Early contact period Profile Maori leadership role Proud of who we are A celebration of mixed Maori/multinational ancestry Consultation with iwi Southland Museum and Art Gallery overview Reinforce links with Te Hikoi Southern Journey interpretation Use of multi-media oral histories P March 2008

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73 6.0 FOVEAUX STRAIT AND SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS 6.1 Titi and Muttonbirding This is a story that creates interest around the world but has its roots exclusively here, on the islands of Foveaux Strait and the Southern Ocean. It provides a huge opportunity to bring together natural and cultural heritage through our improved understanding of these fascinating birds and their migratory patterns and the fact that traditional Maori muttonbirding skills and memories are still alive and practised. See page 146 and 147. Interpretation existing or in progress Existing interpretation tends to be piecemeal and includes: Display elements at Rakiura Museum, DOC Visitor Centre Oban, Southland Museum and Art Gallery, Te Hikoi Southern Journey On-site interpretation panels on Foveaux Walkway (Stirling Point) and Ackers Point, Stewart Island Oral histories/visual images provided by Tiny Metzger (Bluff) and Jane Davis (Aparima) about muttonbirding presented by Te Papa s Mo Tatou the Ngai Tahu Whanui Exhibition, 2006 INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES A new Titi/Muttonbirding exhibition would need to be iwi driven (by Maori of Rakiura descent) and feature top quality, innovative interpretation: - Multi-media oral histories - Virtual reality experiences - Associated artefacts - Opportunity for scheduled demonstrations and talks Titi create burrows in soft peaty soils that collapse under the tread of human feet. Ackers Point, Stewart Island is probably the only place where the public can experience safely the sight and sounds of titi coming in to land at night. Spectacular black clouds of titi can be seen rafting (prior to leaving the southern hemisphere) from mainland sites including Bluff and Riverton. Potential venues include: Southland Museum - Beyond the Roaring 40 S allowed space and undertook preliminary research to interpret the phenomenon of titi on the Snares Islands. Lack of funding meant the development was put on hold. A co-ordinated approach might fit with the Museum s future development plans. Bluff might be associated with Te Rau Aroha Marae Riverton but unlikely to fit within the existing structure of Te Hikoi Southern Journey. Colac Bay is a traditional departure point for muttonbirders. 6.2 Islands of Refuge (Theme shared with the Fiordland coast) Stewart Island has been likened to an ecological stepping stone between modified mainland New Zealand and the relatively pristine subantarctic islands. It is home to a range of plants, birds and animals found nowhere else in the world. The existence or creation of predator-free islands have provided Islands of Refuge for some of New Zealand s most vulnerable plants and animals including kakapo (Whenua Hou/Codfish Id) and Campbell Id teal. March

74 The predator free wildlife sanctuary of Ulva Island offers the public a rare opportunity to enjoy close encounters with a range of New Zealand s rare and iconic species. Interpretation existing or in progress Rakiura/Stewart Island Interpretive displays in the DOC Visitor Centre Ulva Island self-guided interpretive booklet Variety of guided eco-tours Conservation volunteer programmes On-site interpretation panels at Ulva, Ackers Point, Mason Bay, Lee Bay (entry to Rakiura National Park) Rarotoka Annual conservation volunteer programme Subantarctic islands Controlled eco-tourism cruises with limited landing opportunities Beyond the Roaring 40 S Subantarctic Experience at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Southland is the gateway to the subantarctic and I think the gallery exemplifies that very effectively. Sir Ed Hillary who opened the gallery in May 1998 Audio-visual screenings at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery Exhibitions resulting from the Arts to the Subantarctic programme Neville Peat s book Subantarctic New Zealand is one of the Department of Conservation s key tools for interpreting the subantarctic islands. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Self-guided booklet that introduces the wildlife that can be encountered (when, where and how) within a short distance of Halfmoon Bay including: kaka, bats, kereru, blue penguin, titi, kiwi, weka The temporary display of kakapo on Ulva Island demonstrated what a huge drawcard this would be on a permanent basis. Given the effort and expense of visiting Ulva, more accessible mainland locations should also be considered. 6.3 Cultural heritage the coming together of Maori and Pakeha (Theme shared with Bluff and Riverton, see page 59.) Interpretation existing or in progress Stewart Island Relics of the early contact period are displayed at the Rakiura Museum Te Puka a Maui the anchor chain sculpture at the entry to Rakiura National Park at Lee Bay symbolises the physical and spiritual connections between the people of Stewart Island and Bluff and also the history of inter-relationships that have given the peoples of Stewart Island a strong sense of heritage and identity. The symbolism will be completed by the emergence of the other end of the chain at Bluff. On-site interpretation panels at Ackers Cottage and Wohlers Monument INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES A Stewart Island historic brochure or publication that includes not only Maori occupation sites, place names and the early contact period but also industries like shipbuilding, forestry and mining of which there is now little physical trace. The need for such a publication was identified in DOC s Interpretation Strategy for the Southland Conservancy The publication would draw links with Murihiku and complement interpretation at Riverton s Te Hikoi Southern Journey. Ruapuke Island was a particularly important Ngai Tahu stronghold during the early contact period. If iwi felt it appropriate, there would be considerable potential for guided tours to Ruapuke (and possibly other islands of Foveaux Strait). March

75 6.4 Maritime highways and food basket (Theme shared with coastal Southland) A broad spectrum of Foveaux Strait stories includes shipping (from waka onwards), disasters, lighthouses, trade and the fishing industry, including whaling and sealing. While the Southern Ocean shares many of the same stories, the isolation and ferocity of its nutrient-rich waters adds another dimension. See page 146. Interpretation existing or in progress Stewart Island Rakiura Museum has indicated its intention of a future display focus on local shipping Real Journeys provides a general commentary on its ferry service to and from Stewart Island Subantarctic Islands Beyond the Roaring 40 S Subantarctic Experience at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery features the perils of Southern Ocean as a highway, including stories of shipwrecks and castaways. A number of publications focus on the Southern Ocean, particularly exploration and shipwrecks. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Foveaux Strait Both Rakiura and Bluff Maritime Museums need to work closely together to ensure that their Foveaux Strait focus is complementary. Liaison with Real Journeys could provide a complementary interpretation package Southern Ocean All subantarctic life (whether oceanic or terrestrial) depends directly or indirectly on the nutrient rich waters of the Southern Ocean. It was intended to feature this fundamental fact in Beyond the Roaring 40 S Subantarctic Experience but the gallery ran out of time and money to complete it. This is a glaring omission which should be addressed. March

76 Summary of District interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance Foveaux Straits and Subantarctic Islands Identifying theme Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Ref. Priority Titi and muttonbirding Titi story The first integrated approach, combining the nature of the bird with its cultural importance for Maori of Rakiura descent Discuss where and how with stakeholders Possible venues include Southland Museum and Art Gallery p Islands of refuge Kakapo on Ulva Island Halfmoon Bay wildlife: self-guided booklet - Kaka, bats, kereru, blue penguin etc are commonly seen Consult with DOC and other stakeholders to explore the feasibility of regular or permanent display bird. Liaise with DOC to promote awareness for general visitor p Cultural heritage the coming together of Maori and Pakeha (See also Coastal Southland) Stewart Island early contact period: historic brochure/publication Ruapuke Island/other Maori centres: potential for Maori led initiatives Consult with DOC and other stakeholders Consult with iwi potential for interpretation; iwi led tours p65 2 Maritime highway and food basket (See also Coastal Southland) Foveaux Strait stories outlined in the Coastal Southland table. All subantarctic life depends on the nutrient rich waters of the S. Ocean. Include display in Beyond the Roaring 40 S gallery Facilitate liaison between Bluff Maritime Museum and Rakiura Museum to ensure that they develop complementary interpretation Explore an additional package with Real Journeys Consult with Southland Museum and Art Gallery p March 2008

77 Foveaux Strait highway and food basket Stories include: Shipping (from waka onwards); disasters, lighthouses, trade, fishing, including whaling and sealing Bluff Oyster needs a stronger focus Review Bluff Maritime Museum displays Use Stirling Point Lighthouse to tell wider story of Foveaux Straits lighthouses/role Discuss where and how with stakeholders P March 2008

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79 7.0 WESTERN SOUTHLAND 7.1 Goldmining In the 1870s and 80s, Round Hill was the 5th most important goldfield in southern New Zealand. It was also the only goldfield where, for a long time, Chinese miners outnumbered Europeans. Their community, called Canton, was the southernmost Chinese settlement in the world. See page 158. Interpretation existing or in progress Te Hikoi Southern Journey at Riverton will include a focus on this theme The Long Hilly (Round Hill) Track provides access to a range of historic mining sites with plans to explain how gold (and timber) was extracted from the Longwood Range in the 19th century. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY Canton Chinese Village On-site interpretation (which might include some reconstruction) would be a huge drawcard for Chinese visitors, increasing numbers of whom make pilgrimages to visit such sites where their ancestors struggled to better their lives. 7.2 Sawmilling Every Southland district could tell a sawmilling story. The interpretive opportunity fits best with Western Southland, however, because of the longevity of the local industry (to the present day) and the outstanding stories that are already told here. Interpretation existing or in progress Bushman s Museum at Tuatapere focuses on the local sawmilling industry Port Craig a think-big forestry project that led to the creation of huge wooden viaducts and heavy duty machinery is interpreted at Port Craig through a self guided interpretation trail and panels inside the tramping huts. Te Hikoi Southern Journey will interpret the role of More s Mill in the Longwoods Range. 7.3 Electricity Lake Monowai in Western Southland was at the forefront of initiatives that made Southland a national leader of electricity generating initiatives. The potential of Lake Monowai as a source of hydro-electric power was identified as early as 1910 and led to a grand electrification scheme which saw Southland establish the first electric power board in the world. The Monowai Power Station opened in 1925 and still continues to contribute 6 megawatts to the national grid. The subsequent provision of hydro-electric power to the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter from Lake Manapouri also has a significant presence in Western Southland as the giant pylons march over the Borland Saddle. Interpretation existing or in progress Interpretation panels at the Borland Eco-Centre. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY An Electrification Museum at the original (and disused) substation at Monowai would be an authentic and evocative location to tell this story. (Another opportunity exists at the Winton substation, see page 31.) March

80 7.4 Coalmining Thought should be given to interpretation opportunities for the coalmining industrial heritage in the Nightcaps-Ohai area. March

81 Summary of District interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance Western Southland Identifying theme Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Ref. Priority Goldmining Develop on-site opportunity to recreate elements of Canton Chinese community Consult with landowners and local community P Electrification Lake Monowai was the primary source of Southland electricity Consider benefits of developing displays at the Monowai substation vis-à-vis other opportunities, e.g. Winton P70 2 Sawmilling Coalmining Already interpreted by Te Hikoi- Southern Journey, Tuatapere Bushmen s Museum and Port Craig. No new initiatives recommended Explore opportunities to interpret coalmining heritage of Nightcaps-Ohai P70 P71 2 March 2008

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83 8.0 FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK 8.1 Te Wai Pounamu/South-west New Zealand World Heritage Area Fiordland s primary point of difference is its remarkable biodiversity (reflected in both landscapes and ecosystems) that underpins its inclusion within the SWNZWHA. The Gondwana heritage theme features strongly in the world heritage status and it is anticipated that this will be a focus of the new Discover Fiordland centre. The following stories deserve special mention: 8.2 Mountains to sea the land-shaping power of water and ice The advance and retreat of glaciers over the last two million years have been responsible for creating Fiordland s most stunning landscape features, including lakes, sculpted mountains and valleys and the 15 main fiords extending from Piopiotahi/Milford Sound to Preservation Inlet. Water continues to play an important role in the Fiordland landscape, feeding the lakes, rivers and cataracts for which the park is rightly famous. See page 169. Interpretation existing or in progress DOC Visitor Centre, Te Anau interpretive displays and audio-visual DOC/Real Journeys West Arm Visitor Centre displays (focus on HEP) On-site interpretation panels at key visitor sites, particularly Milford Heritage Highway, Milford Sound, Key Summit, Great Walk huts. Real Journeys Te Ana-Au glow-worm caves displays Real Journeys interpretive commentaries on bus and boat cruises Publications including Wild Fiordland by Neville Peat and Brian Patrick Discover Fiordland visitor centre Gunns Camp Museum Hump Ridge track huts Rugged Fiordland mountains March

84 INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Driving the Milford Heritage Highway from Te Anau to Milford Sound is one of the most outstanding (accessible) glacial journeys in the world. It is some years since the Department of Conservation developed an Interpretation Plan for this highway. Given the road s significance for a number of important themes, it would be timely to review the interpretive approach and look at a range of potential interpretive media. Marian Corner Camp near the junction with the Hollyford Road was an important base for the construction of the Milford Road and has a story worth the telling at Gunn s Camp Museum which has some of the original Public Works camp buildings. 8.3 Unique fiord communities (closely linked to water theme above) Fiordland s underwater community is unique product of a special relationship between land and sea. A layer of fresh water (1-5 metre thick) filters light, coupled with the vertical fiord walls, creates unusually dark conditions in the sea water beneath. This fools normally deep-sea creatures (including sea pens, sponges and black and red corals) into thriving less than 30 metres from the surface. See page 170. Interpretation existing or in progress DOC Visitor Centre, Te Anau interpretive displays and audio-visual DOC Milford Sound Terminal Milford Deep Underwater Observatory at Piopiotahi Marine Reserve (exclusive focus on this theme) On-site interpretation panels at Milford Sound and Deep Cove, Doubtful Sound Real Journeys interpretive commentaries on Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound boat cruises INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities to increase interpretation through diving group guides should be explored Islands of Refuge (Theme shared with Foveaux Strait and subantarctic islands) Like some of the southern islands, Fiordland has harboured a spectrum of plant and animal species rarely seen elsewhere. Because they evolved in isolation, they have been particularly vulnerable to the introduction of mammalian predators and pests. Many have become threatened, endangered or extinct. Like Stewart Island and the subantarctic islands, DOC has focussed its efforts on creating predator-free Islands of Refuge. Fiordland National Park has also targeted pest/predator species where good outcomes are likely. Predator control in the Eglinton Valley (associated with a good beech mast year) has, for instance, helped safeguard its significant populations of threatened yellowhead, yellow-crowned parakeet, South Island kaka and long-tailed bat. See page 170. Interpretation existing or in progress DOC Visitor Centre, Te Anau interpretive displays and audio-visual Real Journeys interpretive commentary on Doubtful Sound boat cruises Summer visitor programme guided walks and evening presentations Conservation volunteer programmes associated with predator control Knobs Flat toilet complex Mirror Lakes March

85 INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITY The story of Richard Henry who pioneered Islands of Refuge in Fiordland provides a historic context for conservation that is so compelling, it has the potential to be a powerful tool in engaging visitor interest and raising their awareness of the current situation. The proposed Discover Fiordland centre would lend itself to this story. 8.5 Pushing the boundaries While this theme is not peculiar to Fiordland, its hostile, challenging terrain puts into sharp relief the efforts of those who have pushed physical and mental boundaries. They include early Maori, through European explorers to more recent initiatives and personalities. Interpretation existing or in progress Early exploration, climbing and guiding initiatives are well-covered in interpretive displays and publications. INTERPRETATION OPPORTUNITIES Dusky Sound was the site of several European firsts for New Zealand. They include the first house to be built (1792); the first European vessel to be built; the first recorded shipwreck in New Zealand; and the first European settlement. Another first was the spruce beer brewed by Captain Cook in The Fiordland Museum has identified this important story as a priority and is likely to develop the theme in tandem with Discover Fiordland. However, there should also be an overview at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery since the story is one of national importance and largely unknown by many New Zealanders. Work undertaken by the Fiordland Museum Trust to record oral histories In the Wake of the Pioneers and beyond, provides the opportunity to tell the stories of those who pushed boundaries in a more contemporary context. March

86 Summary of District interpretation opportunities Priorities indicate interpretive strength only. 1 = National significance 2 = Regional significance 3 = District significance Fiordland National Park Identifying theme Interpretive opportunity How to achieve Ref. Priority Mountains to sea the landshaping power of water and ice Milford Heritage Highway One of the most outstanding (accessible) glacial journeys in the world Review new interpretive opportunities in consultation with DOC and Discover Fiordland p74 1 Construction of the Milford Road At Gunns Camp Museum and/or Discover Fiordland p Unique fiord communities Opportunities to increase interpretation through diving group guides should be explored. In consultation with DOC and other stakeholders p75 1 Islands of Refuge (See also Foveaux Straits and Subantarctic Islands) Richard Henry story: pioneer of Islands of Refuge in 1894 In consultation with the new Discover Fiordland development p74 1 Pushing the boundaries Stories of exploration and initiatives against the physical odds Oral histories recorded of early 20 th century Te Anau people In the Wake of the Pioneers provide a valuable resource for interpretation Reference only. Work undertaken by Fiordland Museum Trust p74 2 European firsts for New Zealand at Dusky Sound include the first house to be built, first wreck, first settlement Fiordland Museum Trust/Discover Fiordland and SMAG are well placed to present this story p74 1 March 2008

87 SECTION D THE STORY OF MURIHIKU/SOUTHLAND CONTENTS Northern Southland Russell J Beck Central Southland Russell J Beck Eastern Southland Cathy Macfie Costal Southland Cathy Macfie Invercargill and Southern Coastal Region Lloyd Esler Island of Foveaux Strait and New Zealand s subantarctic islands Cathy Macfie Western Southland Lloyd Esler Fiordland National Park Cathy Macfie March

88 NORTHERN SOUTHLAND WHAT ARE ITS STORIES? Compiled by Russell J Beck 2007 Windfarm near Mossburn March

89 NORTHERN SOUTHLAND Definition The southern boundary is defined by a line drawn from Manapouri to Gore. The eastern boundary on a line from Grove Bush through Riversdale and Waikaia. The western boundary is Fiordland National Park boundary. The northern boundary is the Southland/Otago boundary. Geology and landscape features Northern Southland has some spectacular geology with four distinctive terranes they are Caples, Dun Mountain-Maitai, Murihiku and Brook Street. Within these terranes is a remarkable diversity of rock types such as schist, marble, ultramafics, volcanics, volcaniclastic sediments, conglomerates and limestone. These are all bounded by old and active fault systems. Three of these terranes, Dun Mt-Maitai, Murihiku and Brook Street are distinct arcs which represent the remains of classic volcanic island arcs, just like the present-day arc of Vanuatu, or the Aleutian Islands. The tremendous friction of the ancient Pacific Plate being forced under the eastern margin of Gondwana produced these volcanoes over a long period from million years ago. Unfortunately, today, we do not see the actual volcanoes as they are either buried or destroyed. All we see is what they produced. To the west is the prominent feature of the Takitimu Mountains. These are of the Brook Street Terrane (named after a Nelson site) and are simply a gigantic Permian age massif of predominately volcanic ash, lava flows and sedimentary rocks. The whole block is some 14 km long, tilted on its side and bounded by active faults. This means the mountains are probably still rising. The volcanic rocks are deeply eroded and fractured giving rise to large active screes. The rocks on the south eastern section of the Northern Southland region are the Murihiku Terrane, also known as the Southland Syncline, is shared by the Eastern Southland and Central Southland sections and full descriptions are in those sections, however, the spectacular ridges of the folded rocks are best seen from the Waimea Valley up as far as Mossburn. The northern segment is the Caples terrane which is made up of volcaniclastic sediments of fine to medium grained sandstones and mudstones, mostly grey in colour but with narrow red, green and black zones. The texture of the rocks grade into semischists and eventually schist further north. Their age is late Permian to Triassic and were accumulated in submarine fans and basins. It is interesting to note that no fossils are known to occur in these rocks in Northern Southland. The Livingstone Fault, named after the Livingstone Mountains, is now inactive but is still impressive as it appears to begin on the east coast near Balclutha, then sweeps in an arc right across Southland to the west coast near Jackson Bay where it is cut off by the Alpine Fault. The ultramafic rocks that are against the Livingstone Fault reappear in Nelson on the other side of the Alpine Fault and act as a marker which illustrates the displacement of some 480 kilometres along the active Alpine Fault. Remnants of an extensive limestone sheet of Cenozoic age occurs at Balfour, Castle Rock and Freestone Hill near Manapouri. March

90 There is obvious evidence of subsequent huge glaciers, moraines and monstrous rivers which carved the landscape in ancient times. Interesting geological points In 1971 at the base of the Takitimu Mountains on the southern side an important discovery was made that finally proved New Zealand was once part of Gondwana. Fossil leaves known as Glossopteris were used by scientists to prove the existence of continental drift and these have been found in India, South Africa, Antarctica, South America, and Australia, which were all once part of the super continent, Gondwana. With the discovery of this leaf in Southland, it proved that New Zealand was also part of this giant continent, albeit, largely only as volcanic islands with the bulk under the sea. A replica of a leaf is displayed in the Otago Museum, and the University of Otago have original specimens. A feature of interest to geologists is located on the slopes of West Dome near Mossburn. It is a rare example of the boundary between the Permian and Triassic periods which is also the boundary between the Palaeozoic and Cenozoic ages. This boundary, which is seen in the sedimentary rocks marks one of the greatest periods of mass extinctions of life on earth. Being one of the best of these rare exposures it is regarded as an important scientific site. (Dr C J Adams pers. comm.) West Dome near Mossburn The remains of an incomplete fossil Ichthyosaur was recovered from the quarry near Mossburn and is held by the University of Otago. Two new minerals were found in the sedimentary rocks of the Hokonui Hills in They are ferroceladonite and ferroaluminoceladonite. These belong to a family of clay-like minerals and are two of only 13 minerals first described from New Zealand. The glacial moraines around Te Anau exhibit a wide assortment of rock types as boulders. Among them are large pieces of limestone which with subsequent March

91 weathering has dissolved the surface into fantastic fluted natural sculptures. The limestone probably originated in the mountains far up the lake and were transported by the huge glacier which once occupied the lake. Examples of these can be seen in Te Anau township as decorative features. On the northern side of the Takitimu Mountains a rare zeolite mineral has been found with the Japanese name of Yugawaralite. On Highway 94 between the Key and Te Anau is a geological reserve layby featuring an erratic glacial boulder of many tonnes with a signboard giving a detailed explanation. Gemstones and ornamental rocks that are known to occur in Northern Southland are nephrite, thulite, rhodonite, epidote, hydrogrossular, jasper, marble and serpentinite Landscape features Dramatic landscape features are the Eyre Mountains, Takitimu Mountains, Livingstone Mountains, Mount Hamilton, West Dome, Mid Dome, East Dome, Garvie Mountains, Te Anau Basin, Southland Syncline, the Waimea Plains, upper Oreti valley and Mavora Lakes. Castle Rock is a huge limestone outcrop north west of Dipton. The rocks have eroded into spectacular complex shapes, some of which resemble the ramparts of a castle. Others, as pinnacles. It is unfortunate that this feature is tucked away from main highways as it has the potential to be an important attraction for tourists. Castle Rock limestone formations North of Garston are the Brightwater Springs which are major contributors to the upper Mataura River. These are the largest springs in Southland. March

92 A popular destination for Southlanders are the Mavora Lakes with an attractive mix of open and forested mountain landscape. The two lakes were originally known as Lake Hikuraki (south) and Lake Manawaipore, or Manawapora (north). Mavora was the name given by the explorer David McKellar in 1858 after his horse of the same name. Near the Oreti Valley turnoff to the lakes is a well-preserved glacial moraine with tarns. Mt Bee on the flanks of the Eyre Mountains has a public access four-wheel drive road providing spectacular views. The hut at the top and especially its toilet, boasts the best view to be had of the plains below! The Haycocks on the northern side of Centre Hill are a series of curious shaped hillocks which are particularly obvious in the setting sun. The Ramparts Lookout above Te Anau provides one of the best panoramic views of the Te Anau Basin and other landscape features. Five Rivers is a well known place name, but few people know the names of the rivers which are Acton, Cromel, Irthing, Oswald and Dilston. There are a number of walking tracks of various lengths in Northern Southland which incorporate many of the geographical and geological features of the area. The Department of Conservation has these tracks described in their literature. Key references TURNBULL I M, ALLIBONE A H (Compilers), Geology of the Murihiku Area, Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences, TURNBULL I M, (Compiler) Geology of the Wakatipu Area, Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences, STEVENS Graeme, et al, Prehistoric New Zealand, Reed Books, Auckland, STEVENS Graeme R, New Zealand Adrift, A H & A W Reed, Wellington, CAMPBELL Hamish, A Rocky Riddle Solved, New Zealand Science Monthly, May Flora and fauna North west of Castle Hill Downs is a huge peat swamp. At one time there were many swamps over the Southland Plains, few now remain and this one would have to be among the largest. Near the top of Gorge Hill is a red tussock reserve administered by the Department of Conservation. On State Highway 94 between the Key and Te Anau is The Wilderness reserve, a large area dominated with bog pine bushes. This reserve is a remnant of extensive similar stands in Northern Southland. Several rare and unique alpine plants survive in the Eyre and Takitimu Mountains. The flats surrounding Te Anau and Manapouri townships were once dominated with extensive stands of manuka, but this is now replaced with farmland. By the Glenure Hill Lookout is a special reserve where many native species have been planted including kauri trees. March

93 Near the mouth of south Mavora Lake the floor of the beech forest is heavily clothed with moss, making it resemble a goblin forest and this, and numerous other sites in the region were used in the film Lord of the Rings. In the north west section of the Northern Southland region there are extensive beech forests the largest being west of the Livingstone Mountains. Others are Snowdon, Margin, Eyre, Takitimu and the Burwood Bush. Beech trees are a link with Gondwana. Many of the upper, now open, river valleys and mountain flanks of Northern Southland were originally clothed in prickly matagouri and speargrass making foot travelling difficult. In some places these plants are regenerating where annual burning off has ceased. Near Burwood Bush on State Highway 46 is sited the Takahe breeding facility operated by the Department of Conservation. A variety of skinks and geckos (lizards), wetas and rock wrens inhabit the alpine screes of both the Eyre and Takitimu Mountains. Moa remains have been found in several Northern Southland localities. A particularly important discovery was made in 1980 near Lake Echo when a remarkably well preserved complete skeleton of a small moa with feathers and mummified skin was found. It is displayed at Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Maori history Archaeological evidence and finds of artefacts show that Northern Southland was extensively explored by early Maori. They utilised the area s resources such as an important early argillite quarry high on the flanks of the Eyre Mountains and a stone working site on the banks of the Mararoa River. Because of the dry climate it was not suited to large permanent settlements, but the region would have been regularly visited on food gathering trips and traversing the routes for inland destinations. There were several major routes from the southern coast to the interior, especially to the head of Lake Wakatipu for pounamu. These were via the Mararoa River-Mavora Lakes-Greenstone River, Oreti River-Von River and Mataura River to Kingston. Fiordland was also accessed via the Waiau River with small settlements at Manapouri and Te Anau recorded. The Waikaia Valley gave access to the Clutha River watershed via the Old Man Range also the Garvie Mountains and the Mataura River via the Nevis River. These were important routes to obtain supplies of porcellanite and silcrete. Around 1725 there was the Battle of Waitaramea between Kati Mamoe people and Ngai Tahu invaders. There is a brief marker recording this event at Lowther near Five Rivers on State Highway Six. The chief involved was Tutemakohu and he lived at a pa called Otaupiri near Glenure Hill on the edge of the Waimea Plains. The details of this event are well recorded and make for an interesting on site interpretation. Few original Maori place names have survived in Northern Southland, they are Waipounamu, Waiparu, Te Anau, Manapouri, Hikuraki, Takitimu, Upukeroa, Waimea, Parawa, Nokomai and the Oreti, Aparima, Mararoa, Waiau and Mataura Rivers. March

94 Myths and legends Several myths and stories within the Northern Southland area have been recorded by Herries Beattie, Iwi and others, and they paint a colourful picture. Stories of the original explorers and settlers, ancestors of the Waitaha people, relate to the exploration of the coast and interior with the discovery and naming of the inland lakes. These are followed by the legendary Takitimu waka (canoe) which was wrecked at the Waiau River bar to later become the Takitimu Mountains with its prone ra (sail) now the Waimea Plains and a hill at Mandeville, the tata (bailer). An interesting myth is recorded on the information board at the Glenure Hill Lookout. It relates to the formation of the Hokonui Hills (Southland Syncline) by the taniwha, Matamata, who spat out into the air mouthfuls of molten rock gradually building up the hills. This is not too far from reality as the Southland Syncline is made up of ash and sediments derived from old volcanoes. Key references ANDERSON Atholl, When All the Moa-Ovens Grew Cold, Otago Heritage Books, Dunedin, DACKER Bill, The People of the Ahikaaroa, Ch 3, Murihiku, The Southland Story, Southland 2006 Book Project Committee, Invercargill, Post European settlement and farming Following a brief period of exploration and surveying in the 1850s, Northern Southland was soon settled by runholders with huge sheep stations. When these big tracts of land were cut up occupation of mainly the plains and river valleys by more settlers increased. Some of the large stations were Mararoa, Longridge, Linwood, Nokomai and Glenaray, of which today, Glenaray is still held by the original family and is the second largest in New Zealand. Molesworth Station being the largest. The climate was suited to growing grain, but a disadvantage was when the land was ploughed, the prevalent high winds would carry off the dry soil. It is reputed that huge dust clouds could be seen as far away as Invercargill. Northern Southland farms became very productive with crops, lamb, wool, beef and, at one time, suffered like other Southland areas from rabbit infestations. Today, there is an increasing number of dairy production units. Deer farming began in the late 1960s by Jock Murdoch in the Te Anau basin and Herbie Taylor at West Dome Station near Mossburn. The industry has developed across all of Southland, although Mossburn is regarded as the deer capital. The most notable crop grown in the region was fescue seed. This was started in 1888 by George Chewings on his Glenelg property near Mossburn. The grass proved to be hard-wearing, suitable for turf and was exported to England and USA. In the mid 1950s some acres were harvested. The seed is still being grown, but not on such a large scale. Chewings fescue was planted at Wimbledon and Lords as well as airstrips. March

95 Northern Southland has a number of settlements which have remained since early times. Te Anau is the largest. It is a growing centre being the gateway for tourism to Fiordland and is also an important hub for servicing the greater Te Anau Basin farming community. Manapouri, a holiday and tourist destination, became prominent during the construction of the Manapouri hydro electricity scheme. Lumsden was an important railway centre and now services the surrounding farming sector. Smaller settlements, such as Mossburn, Balfour, Waikaia, Five Rivers, Athol and Garston, each have their distinctive heritage and special personalities. In the 1950s Lands and Survey Department purchased Linwood Station and several others to begin a huge development in the Te Anau basin and later at Burwood. The fully developed farms were then sold in the 1960s to new settlers, making Te Anau a boom town. This unique story is presently being researched by the Fiordland Museum Trust Oral History programme. Homesteads Northern Southland is fortunate in that many of the original homesteads and buildings have survived. Captain Howell s home and outbuildings at Fairlight, built in 1869, is a fine example in a beautiful tree-lined setting. Five Rivers originally owned by Johnny Jones, the whaler, dates from 1861 with later additions, plus the stable, woolshed and other buildings. Nokomai Station has restored a section of the original homestead of 1872, plus the old baker s oven and dairy. The Naylor homestead is a stone building that has been recently restored and is set amongst Wellingtonian and Oak trees. Castle Rock Station has a restored cookhouse. Chartlea Park is an attractive homestead built in 1896 with extensions in The Waikaia Plains Station is a stone homestead, 1868, with later alterations. Nearby is the remains of McKellar s earlier house. Many other homesteads exist on the western side such as Linwood, No 3, Mararoa and Te Anau Downs. Although the magnificent Wantwood homestead is in the Eastern Southland section, it could be included with the above to make an interesting organised tour of Northern Southland homesteads as a specialised tourist venture. Co-operation of the owners would need to be negotiated. Many of these homesteads are already on the Northern Southland Heritage Trail. March

96 Key references Portion of the Five Rivers Homestead which dates from 1861 CUTT John, Gaining a Living from the Land, Ch 9, Murihiku, The Southland Story, Southland 2006 Book Project Committee, Invercargill, MACFIE Cathy, Animal, Vegetable and Mineral, Ch 10, Murihiku, The Southland Story, Southland 2006 Book Project Committee, Invercargill, Northern Southland Heritage Trail, Brochure, Northern Southland Development Trust. Industries Mining Gold was discovered at Nokomai in 1862 and a settlement was soon established. The extensive workings required water and races were constructed which can be seen on the hillsides extending many kilometres up the Mataura Valley beyond Garston. In 1992 a successful venture of open cast mining began by L & M Mining. They excavated down to 26 metres and restored the ground back to farmland. Near Athol is Round Hill which was another gold placer deposit. Waikaia was an important goldfield (see Eastern Southland section), however, gold was also sluiced from the gravels of the Washpool Creek area on the west side of the Waikaia River. Serpentinite was mined at Black Ridge near Mossburn from the 1940s for fertiliser. Mining ceased in 1984, but there is now renewed interest in utilising this deposit. View of the Plains from the Mossburn Serpentine quarry. March

97 Limestone deposits at Balfour and Castle Rock have produced lime for the fertiliser industry. Road metal and aggregate is quarried from time to time at Mossburn and alluvial deposits are mined at Te Anau and elsewhere. Sawmilling Last century small scale sawmills operated in various patches of beech forest particularly on the southern slopes of the Eyre Mountains and the general Te Anau area. Forestation of exotic species occupy small areas. Electricity generation In the twentieth century electricity was generated by private individuals at various places in Northern Southland, especially in the more remote parts, until Monowai and later, Roxburgh supplied the region. A wind farm is presently being established at White Hill near Mossburn with spectacular white wind turbines like gentle kinetic sculptures. Venison Although Fiordland was the main focus for this industry, helicopters also worked many blocks in Northern Southland. A plant was established at Mossburn to process venison and is now operated by PPCS. Other industries long gone were flaxmilling on the west bank of the Waikaia River, dairy factories at Switzers and Freshford and a flour mill at the mouth of Winding Creek, Waikaia, which was driven by an eight metre diameter waterwheel. A live eel processing plant was set up for a time at Mossburn. Tourism Northern Southland receives a vast number of tourists travelling to Fiordland and other destinations. Specialised guided trout fishing trips utilise Northern Southland s rivers and lakes. Both Te Anau and Manapouri are centres for many tourist activities in Fiordland. The Kingston Flyer vintage train is an important attraction. Northern Southland offers many recreational activities and opportunities. The Eyre and Takitimu Mountains attract climbers and trampers. Numerous interesting walking, 4 x 4 tracks and bike tracks, camping spots, huts and picnic grounds. Deer, pig and opossum hunting in the back country. Excellent trout fishing in a multitude of rivers, streams and lakes. Jet boating on at least four braided river systems. Ideal thermal conditions provide good gliding opportunities at Five Rivers. The area also has numerous holiday destinations such as Te Anau, Manapouri and Waikaia, with quaint fishing and holiday cribs at Cattle Flat and Nokomai. At one time Garston had both a ski field and a skating rink. March

98 Key references TURNBULL I M, (Compiler) Geology of the Wakatipu Area, Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences, HAMILTON G A, History of Northern Southland, MILLER F W G, History of Waikaia , TYRRELL A R, Waikaia & Districts A History, Infrastructure Roads Road making in Northern Southland was made easier by the open valleys and the abundance of gravel from the many rivers. The early dirt road to Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau was not so easy and had to skirt around Centre Hill to avoid the Gorge Hill. The Key meaning, Key of the Lakes was an important stopping place and the old wooden hotel survived until the 1960s. Similarly the rough track to Mavora Lakes was only formed as a road in the 1970s. Northern Southland does have some formidable obstacles for road makers, such as the Aparima, Oreti, Mataura, Mararoa and Waikaia Rivers which are all prone to flooding. Most of the old wooden bridges have been replaced with concrete structures. Evidence that travelling in the old coaching days was very hazardous is marked by a monument near the Jollies which was erected by the local people in memory of several travellers who perished in a snowstorm and others who were drowned crossing nearby rivers. Railways The Great Northern Railway, Invercargill to Kingston began in 1864 to take advantage of the Otago goldfields, and finally got to Kingston in 1878, long after the rush was over. Lumsden became an important rail centre and branches to Mossburn, 1887, and Waikaia, 1909, were established to service the farming industry. The station (now Information Centre) is probably the most complete original station complex left in Southland. It comprises of the station building, stone platform (probably Waikawa stone) water tank, crane and signal levers. A small museum is located within the building. Some of the iron supports for the water tank are original Bluff to Winton bull-nosed rail. More of this rail is mounted as a barrier for the recreation grounds to the south of the station. March

99 Lumsden Railway Station and stone platform The Waimea Plains Railway was a private venture and opened between Lumsden and Gore in It was purchased by the government in All Northern Southland lines were closed in the 1960s except from Lumsden to Kingston which was retained for the Kingston Flyer run, but was later shortened to go from Fairlight to Kingston. One of the original Kingston Flyer locomotives, a Rogers K built in the USA, runs on a loop of track at the Croydon Aircraft Museum. The two operations present a fascinating extreme of engineering the loco is massive and over-designed for strength, while the planes are made as light and efficient as possible so they can fly. Key references WATT J O P, Southland s Pioneer Railways, The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Inc, Wellington, March

100 CENTRAL SOUTHLAND - WHAT ARE ITS STORIES? Compiled by Russell J Beck 2007 Winton Post Office March

101 CENTRAL SOUTHLAND Definition The Central Southland region as centred on Winton. Western boundary, Aparima River north from Otautau, northern boundary on a line from Manapouri to Gore, eastern boundary on a line from Riversdale to Hedgehope/Grove Bush, southern boundary on a line Otautau to Tautuku Peninsula. Geology and landscape features This précis is drawn predominantly from Turnbull The main features of Central Southland are the Southland Plains, Forest Hill, the Hokonui and Taringatura Hills, the Aparima and Oreti Rivers. The plains are gently rolling or flat comprised of Quaternary alluvial plains and terraces of gravel eroded from the older rocks of the catchments of the main rivers. Older terraces are capped with windblown loess that has been subsequently eroded. The western Hokonui and Taringatura Hills are part of the Murihiku Supergroup composed of Triassic to Jurassic sandstones, mudstones, conglomerates and tuffs. These sedimentary rocks were deposited under water in a huge basin over a long period of time adjacent to an active volcanic island arc near the edge of the continent of Gondwana. These sediments solidified and were uplifted and folded to appear today as spectacular parallel ridges (a result of subsequent weathering of the softer sections) known as the Southland Syncline. Many rare and beautiful marine fossils have been found in these rocks and are held in collections in SMAG, Otago Museum and University of Otago Geology Department. They include spectacular spiral ammonites, bi-valves and the remains of swimming reptiles. The Taringatura Hills have produced many fine examples of silicified driftwood which is probably the oldest petrified wood in the country. Several special geological reserves have been set aside to protect these unique and rich fossil deposits. See Appendix 2. Later Eocene to Pliocene sedimentary rocks originally covered most of Central Southland as a sheet several kilometres thick, most of which has eroded away. Near Hedgehope these sediments contain coal deposits. Limestone occurs as the largest remnants of this sheet at Fairfax, Isla Bank, Forest Hill, Browns, Winton Hill, Limehills, Castle Rock and Kauana. Within the limestone spectacular fossil seashells, urchins, sharks teeth and whalebones have been recovered during quarrying. The more recent geology consists of river gravels deposited from the Waiau, Oreti, Aparima and Mataura Rivers which appear to have, at various stages, changed courses and meandered over the Southland Plains. Turnbull (2003) Fig 36, outlines possible routes during the Quaternary period which infers that the Aparima was, at one time, a very large river. March

102 Interesting geological features Spheroidal weathering A good example of this process is exposed on the road cutting at the bend just before Dipton (southern end). This shows the process starting from cross fractured hard sandstone. Weathering has changed the cubic structure into spheres or rounded boulders just as if they had been stacked. This effect is often mistaken for man-made stone walls, but is completely natural. Further examples, although not so spectacular, are visible on SH6 on the new cutting over Josephville Hill and in the Otapiri Gorge. Spheroidal Weathering in road cutting near Dipton Taringatura Hills The sedimentary rocks of the Taringatura Hills are now regarded as low grade metamorphic rock zeolite facies which are a world standard type locality with the research pioneered by Professor D S Coombs of the University of Otago. Sinkholes These occur in limestone country basically from Forest Hill to Castle Rock. Many are relatively deep and some contain calcite cave formations, but their scientific importance relies on the fact that they were natural traps. Over time birds fell, or were washed into these holes, their remains forming deposits of sub-fossil bones, sometimes half a metre thick. When properly excavated, these time capsules give a record of the species inhabiting that area at certain times. Extinct birds such as moa, eagle, laughing owl and aptornis, plus takahe and kakapo have been recovered and are in the collections of SMAG and other northern museums. Many sinkholes served as dump sites for farmers, or have been filled in for safety reasons. Waterfalls The Winton Stream cascades 25 metres over a sandstone bluff in the western Hokonui Hills near Benmore and can be spectacular when the stream is in flood. Also, the Makarewa River drops 30 metres in the Lora Gorge which is also in the Hokonui Hills. March

103 Key references TURNBULL I M, ALLIBONE A H, (Compilers) Geology of the Murihiku Area, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Lower Hutt, ESLER Lloyd, Southland Book of Records, Lloyd Esler, Invercargill, Flora and fauna Much of Central Southland is farmland with some stands of bush on the western side of the Hokonui Hills, Winton Hill and Forest Hill. There were also isolated patches of bush mapped by early surveyors Ryal Bush, Centre Bush, Heddon Bush, Spar Bush and many others. These were remnants of a total cover at one time. Wet and swampy areas adjacent probably protected these stands from natural and intentional fires. Most of these have disappeared, or been greatly reduced by milling. The Taringatura Hills, once tussock land, are now largely forests of exotic species. Some original tussock/scrub country still exists on the higher slopes at the head of the Otapiri and lower down in the Lora area are some solitary native trees prominent on the green pastures, proud reminders of the once dense forest. Forest Hill has particular botanical significance as the plant life has adapted to growing on limestone. There are several uncommon species. Extensive peat deposits occupied many areas of the Southland Plains and only a few of the larger occurrences survive, east of both Otautau and Winton. Moa bones of several species and other extinct birds are recovered when some swamps are drained. The Hokonui and Forest Hill reserves have populations of several species of native birds and the open rocky outcrop tops are an ideal habitat for lizards. The Aparima and Oreti Rivers and Otapiri Stream are renowned for trout fishing. Cave weta and gloworms inhabit sink holes and caves in limestone country. There are no particularly uncommon native birds, although there are yellow-crowned parakeets and the odd kaka in both the Taringatura and Hokonui Hills. Maori history Both the Oreti and Aparima river valleys were natural routes from the permanent coastal settlements to the hinterland and testimony to this are the many recorded archaeological sites occurring on the hills flanking these rivers. The western Hokonui Hills from Hedgehope to Dipton were reputed to have been a rich food gathering area. The bush and scrubland would have had an abundant birdlife of many species including Moa. The rivers and small streams contain plentiful freshwater fish such as kokopu and eels. Ti (cabbage tree root) and fern root were also an important inland food resource. The archaeological evidence suggests that there were no large permanent settlements in Central Southland and the area was frequently visited for harvesting food and journeying north. Traditional stories mention that at an early period fires destroyed much of the bush in Central Southland and these are recorded as the fires of Tamatea. March

104 When the Southland Plains were first ploughed, many stone adzes were recovered and some early spectacular examples of the Murihiku style are held in the SMAG, Otago Museum and Te Papa. These long implements are quite sculptural, are not found outside Murihiku. They are very similar to examples from Pitcairn Island. A compact quartzite (silcrete) occurs near Hokonui and artefacts show that Maori recognised this material as suitable for ripi (knives) and other flake tools. Key references ANDERSON Atholl, When all the Moa Ovens Grew Cold, Otago Heritage Books, Dunedin, DUFF Roger, The Moa-hunter Period of Maori Culture, Government Printer, Wellington, DAKER Bill, The People of the Ahikaaroa, Ch 3, The Murihiku Story, The Southland 2006 Book Project Committee, Post European History Settlement and farming Many early whalers and explorers walked up the Aparima and Oreti River valleys to discover large tracts of relatively open land suitable for farming. John Turnbull Thomson chief surveyor of Otago, and later Surveyor General of New Zealand walked over Central Southland in 1857 surveying the land and naming some features. The land was made available for sale or lease and farming began in earnest. This was extremely hard work clearing and bringing in the land, let alone making a living from it. The industry s progress was unchecked and regarded to day as some of the best farmland in New Zealand. The advent of the drain plough enabled thousands of hectares of wet and swampy land to be brought in the limestone greened the pastures. Rabbits were a curse and they favoured the hilly, drier areas. Rabbit boards were formed to eradicate the pest and good money was to be made by selling the skins. Many farmer s sons took to rabbiting and shearing. Frequently the proceeds were used to purchase their first farm. During the 1950s, with the high wool prices, Central Southland farmers did particularly well. Often was the case with the new found wealth, father got a new car, and mother a new house, thus we have lost many of the early homesteads. An interesting piece of farming ingenuity is at Boggyburn where the by-product of draining the swamps were tons of bog pine roots. Here farmers made dykes from them forming impenetrable fences, also buildings such as the straw barn which still existed in the 1990s. March

105 Key references OVERTON J Nigel, The Birth of a District, J Nigel Overton, Winton, Industries Mining and quarrying The prominent mining activity in Central Southland has been and still is, the limestone industry. The soils of the Southland Plains were quite acid and lacked many essential trace elements for stock and crops. Limestone was the answer and Central Southland had huge deposits of easily quarried limestone. Burnt lime was used in the building industry for mortar and as a fertilizer. In the early 1900s an Invercargill chemist, G.D. Macindoe, advocated the use of natural, crushed limestone and Docherty s at Browns was the first works to produce it, setting a trend that was followed by the rest of New Zealand. McDonald s limeworks at Limehills is believed to be the first in Southland (c1882) complete with a kiln for burnt lime. Another early venture was George T Queale and his two sons, who opened up a quarry in Forest Hill in They also built a kiln to produce burnt lime, but by 1909 shifted their operation to Browns. The Browns quarry changed hands several times and continued to work up until the twenty-first century. Quarries were opened up at the southern end of the limestone belt, Forest Hill, Browns, both ends of Winton Hill, Lady Barkly, Limehills, Fernhill at Kauana, Castle Rock and Isla Bank. The lime industry continues from fewer quarries supplying most of Southland, keeping the pastures so green. Dipton was, at one time, a major source of building stone. A compact sandstone known as Oreti Bluestone was quarried at Dipton (known as Oreti at this time) from around This dark green/grey hard stone was extensively used by the advancing railway for bridge abutments and culverts, especially north of Dipton. Dressed blocks were railed to Invercargill and used as a building stone with existing examples being the foundations for buildings in The Crescent and the former BNZ on the corner of Clyde and Tay Streets which is built entirely of this stone. Kerbstones and cobblestones on Dee Street between Esk and Spey have been retained as an historic feature. Excellent examples of stone construction work in the Dipton area are the abutments for the road bridge over the Spirit Burn and the old road bridge over the Oreti River at Dipton, with parts used in the Dipton West School fence. Some six railway bridge abutments and arched culverts over small streams can be seen on the disused railway line from before Dipton to Caroline. The actual quarry is presently overgrown with gorse and located on the south-west edge of Dipton township. March

106 One of the many stone railway culverts near Dipton Coal was mined for a while north of Hedgehope and a special horse-drawn tram to Winton operated until 1899 when it was replaced with a railway line to Hedgehope, with a branch line to the mine. The whole line closed in Nearby a fine white clay was mined in the Mako Coal Measures and was used by McSkimmings for bathroom porcelain. Gravel pits in the Oreti and Aparima Rivers provide valuable aggregate for construction and roading. This industry has operated for a long time and is a renewable resource. Oil has been prospected for and drilled in several places in Central Southland, but findings have been disappointing. Wells were drilled in at Kauana, Benmore and Centre Bush, the latter to a depth of over 500 metres with some showings, and three much deeper wells (over 2000 metres) were sunk in the 1960s at Gap Road West, Winton, and north of Drummond. Only one detected hydrocarbons. Peat is currently mined near Tussock Creek for horticultural purposes. Many of the Central Southland peat swamps are believed to be several thousand years old and one east of Winton known as Hamilton swamp was partly excavated by SMAG in Several species of moa remains including juveniles and adults were recovered in a thick layer of bones and tree roots. Dairying Many dairy factories producing butter and cheese were established around the 1900s and later. The first was the Oreti dairy factory near Dipton These have been recorded in a recent book by A Collinson which lists some 13 factories in Central Southland. In the mid 1940s and 1950s as farms were converted to more profitable sheep, the factories gradually closed. Probably the best preserved factory building is the Awarua Dairy Factory, just north of Winton. It was the longest lived and is now being used as a vintage machinery museum. The wheel has turned, and Central Southland has again a strong dairy industry with the milk being processed at Edendale. March

107 Flourmilling Extensive crops of wheat and oats were once grown on the Central Southland plains and a mill operated on the corner of Gap Road West and Substation Road. The mill was steam powered and the brick fire box is all that remains. For a time two millstones adorned the gateway of the landowner. Today, oats are grown on Saunders property just north of the mill site. Traditional methods of harvesting are still used and the farm supplies the horse racing industry with chaff. Sawmilling In the 1860s there existed large stands of bush in Central Southland, particularly in the west Hokonui Hills. Prior to steam power, timber was all pit sawn by hand. A mammoth example being the contract to cut the wooden rails (200 x 200 mm square) for the Great Northern Railway from Invercargill to Winton in The railway only reached Makarewa and the unused timber rails were sold off for construction. An interesting remnant is a small farm building near Wilson s Crossing which is made entirely out of the pit sawn rails. The joists still have the contractor s, J R Davies, initials branded on them. The building is registered by the HPT. Shed near Lochiel constructed from the wooden rails With advent of steam power and the introduction of circular saws, mills sprang up everywhere there were stands of trees. A sawmill has been sited at Winton from those early times to the present, although it now processes exotic timber. Flaxmilling Originally there were many stands of native flax in the wetter areas and several sawmills also doubled as flaxmills sharing the steam power, particularly in the Otapiri area. March

108 A linen flaxmill was established near Winton in the early stages of World War II. This was a government initiative to produce linen yarn for the fabric covering of British fighting planes. The venture was short-lived as aluminium alloys were developed making the linen obsolete. The factory continued producing linen flax and ceased production in Remains of the concrete building exist on Gap Road West and now are part of Burford Tanks outbuildings. Brick making A substantial factory operated at Browns from 1887 for 100 years producing bricks and field tiles which were in demand to drain the swampy areas of the region. The kiln was of special interest being the last coal-fired kiln in New Zealand (1982) and it was hoped to preserve it as a working example, but this was not achieved. Henry Woodnorth and his brother, William, established a brick and pottery works at Winton around The main product was field tiles, but Henry specialised in producing colourful ornamental pottery. His works have become valuable collectors pieces and examples are in the Winton Public Library, SMAG and Otago Museum collections. The two-storied factory ceased production in Miscellaneous Like most country areas, Central Southland had a big variety of small industries and businesses. Some of them lasted two generations, while others were short-lived. The Blyth family started a blacksmith and wheelwright business at Winton in 1886 and was continued by the sons as a motor garage and engineering works. It was taken over by Mr and Mrs Ryan, but kept trading as Blyths Garage until Another was Heenan s garage at Heenan s Corner near Heddon Bush. This began as a blacksmiths shop in the 1920s, then garage and specialising in farm machinery and manufacturing farm equipment and buildings. It closed in the early 1980s. George Begg, in 1957, established a garage on his father s farm at Drummond servicing the farming community and light manufacturing. The business grew and manufactured sheep handling equipment and several other farm machinery inventions. A new purpose built factory was built in Drummond and the range of products extended. The business went into partnership with the Allen family and another factory was established in Auckland, followed by one in Christchurch. The Drummond operation was relocated to Invercargill and the business was later sold. George Begg is better known for the 18 racing cars that he built between 1963 and For some time, Winton has had concrete products industries making tanks, fence posts and pipes. Even a fruit wine factory was established in the 1950s, but that has since closed. From the 1900s to the 1930s, the plains were infested with rabbits and to capitalise on the plague, a rabbit canning works started in Gap Road West, Winton. It was a substantial operation and most of the product was exported. March

109 Key references Rabbit Canning Works, Winton COLLINSON Ossie, Limeworks of the South, Ossie Collinson, Bluff, COLLINSON Ossie, Dairy Factories of the South, Ossie Collinson, Bluff MILLER F W G, Hokonui, The School and the People, Hokonui Centennial Committee, TURNBULL I M, ALLIBONE A H, (Compilers) Geology of the Murihiku Area, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Lower Hutt, OVERTON J Nigel, The Birth of a District, J Nigel Overton, Winton, SOUTHLAND MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY, Annual Report, JOHNSTONE Jack, The Southern Motor Industry, The Motor Industry History Committee, WINTON HERITAGE TRAIL, Brochure, Winton Area Promotions Inc. Infrastructure and services Railways Railways are now absent from Central Southland, but were once vital to the region s development. As the rail network increased, Winton became an important railway link as the trains transported people and products such as limestone, building stone, coal, timber, livestock, milk, clay and grain. It all began at the height of the Otago goldrush in the early 1860s when huge numbers of miners were landing at Bluff and heading north to Lake Wakatipu. After Invercargill, Winton became the first major stopover, but the so-called roads between were atrocious bogs. In 1863 Australian engineer and contractor, J R Davies, (who was building the Bluff railway) proposed the Great Northern Railway from Invercargill to Winton, utilising wooden rails. He had brought to Southland a locomotive which he had designed and built in Australia in 1861 to run on wooden rails. Named The Lady Barkly after the state of Victoria s Governor s wife, it was demonstrated on the Invercargill jetty in 1863 to support the feasibility of the proposal. This event being the first steam locomotive to run in New Zealand. March

110 The wooden railway reached only as far as Makarewa and ran for just a few years. Winton, which was booming because of the impending railway, was devastated it even had a Railway Hotel, but no railway. In 1869 the broad gauge wooden line was replaced with iron rails and in the following year finally extended to Winton and known as the Oreti line. There was now a broad gauge iron railway from Bluff to Winton and on 6th March 1871 it was officially opened by the Governor of the Colony, Sir George Bowen. On that occasion a public holiday was announced in Invercargill and the train was packed with some 1300 people in varying degrees of comfort as reported in the newspaper. In 1876 the whole line from Bluff to Winton was changed from the broad gauge to the standard New Zealand narrow gauge we have today. The original rail used was known as double-sided bull nose which was wedged in cast iron chairs bolted to the sleepers. After this rail was superseded by the standard rail hundreds of tons of the bull nose rail became a useful commodity in the building industry and can be seen today on various railway and other constructions. In 1874 work began on the line north to Kingston and a sawmill started up five kilometres north of Winton to cut the sleepers. The site is now known as Lady Barkly after Davies locomotive which was used there in a stationary capacity to power the mill. The little engine was subsequently converted to tow logs at the Woodend sawmill. A replica has been set up on the Invercargill jetty where it first began its chequered career in New Zealand. The line finally reached Kingston in 1878 realising the dreams of those early entrepreneurs. The gold was gone and rail now served the farming community. The railway was a vital passage to Invercargill with many colourful stories. On one occasion passengers had to collect firewood because the ageing engine and poor coal could not achieve the desired boiler pressure to get over the hills north of Dipton. The train through Central Southland was infamous for its numbers of stops and in the 1920s regarded as the slowest train in the world. Locals petitioned their member of parliament to rectify this and assurances were given that the train s speed would average 20 mph. A positive result was the introduction of the fast Friday Market Day Train running from Dipton to Invercargill every Friday with extra carriages bursting with passengers. A branch line once went to Browns and Hedgehope, but was later closed. There are some unique remnants of railways in Central Southland such as McCallum s shed, Centre Bush goods shed and the stone culverts and bridge abutments between Dipton and Caroline. The passenger service through Central Southland was closed in 1959 and the whole line closed in Roads and bridges In the early days there was poor drainage with many swampy patches and stands of bush which had to be avoided by the bullock teams and wagoners. Heavy loads on wagons with narrow wheels and the hooves churned the soft ground to impassable bogs, especially in winter. Slowly a network of permanent roads was established assisted by the unlimited supplies of suitable gravel and basically flat land. March

111 Although railways provided a necessary service, new roads were increasingly in demand and with the growing numbers of motor vehicles, buses and trucks during the 1920s and 1930s, Central Southland soon became criss-crossed with roads. It was the responsibility of the local authorities to provide roads and bridges and several local and government Road Boards were formed to standardise and seal roads. An interesting road is the Hundred Line which is a straight road running from Centre Bush west to Scotts Gap broken only by the Aparima River. Along this road was a northern boundary for a large block of land under the Land Sale and Leases Ordinance of There were several other blocks of land known as hundreds in the Southland Plains. Ryal Bush was the scene of an international road race during the centennial celebration in 1956 and a further event was held later. The narrow winding Forest Hill road has been used for hill climbs and rallies for many years. An infamous bend in the road between the Oreti pub site and bridge on SH96 is known as casualty corner because of the frequent number of vehicles failing to navigate the bend and some colourful stories about the mishaps exist locally. Place names are important as they preserve the heritage of any region similarly are road names. Most Central Southland roads are named after early settlers or long term residents. Unusual road names are - Harbour Endowment Rd, Winton Substation Rd, Hundred Line Rd, while more colourful examples are Bally Hooley Rd, Looney Rd, Breakneck Rd, Sharks Tooth Rd, Ivy Lane and Boggyburn Rd. There are few roads with Maori names. Further obstacles for the road makers were the many creeks and rivers, especially the Oreti and Aparima. Most rivers, being relatively shallow and braided with gravel bottoms made crossings possible when they were low and, likewise, easily bridged. Keeping the water under them, and not around them, was the challenge. The first bridges were wooden piles and carriageways, but were susceptible to damage from flooding. Most of these have now been replaced with concrete structures which represent third generation bridges in many cases. There are still some old wooden examples such the Benmore bridge over the Oreti River. Flooding was a recurring event that affected the roads and the bridges and was not alleviated until the channels were stabilised. The last big flood was at Dipton in the 1980s. Benmore Bridge over the Oreti River March

112 Key references WATT J O P, Southland s Pioneer Railways, New Zealand Railway Locomotive Society, Wellington, MULLIGAN David, Moonlight Ranges, Story of Dipton, Dipton Centennial Committee, CLARKE A, On a Peaceful Plain, Oreti Plains School and District Centennial Committee, THORNTON Geoffrey, New Zealand s Industrial Heritage, A H & A W Reed, Wellington, Services and communications Central Southland once supported many small country primary schools complete with resident school houses. These one/two classroom schools knitted the community together with strong parental support. Education has now been concentrated with amalgamation of small schools with their neighbouring district school. Probably the best preserved remaining school, complete with playshed, is the disused tiny Lora School. It was the same story for the Post Offices, Manual Telephone Exchanges, Police Stations and grocery stores sited in the small towns. The so important personal links with the community have now disappeared in the name of cost efficiency. Telegraph communications were the first to be introduced and the lines generally followed the railway. However, no other invention but the telephone united the people and gave those living in isolated areas the ability to communicate. From the 1920s on, small manual exchanges were attached to Post Offices, or as was the case at Dipton West, where it was sited in a private home and store combined. Most subscribers in country districts were on party lines with individual ringing codes based on the Morse Code and everyone knew who was on the phone or who was at home, or away. As lines got busier frustrations grew. To make a call one said working. If no reply, then a call was made by turning the generator to the required code and another for exchange for a non party line call. Not always were the lines clear and easily heard thus a call was always answered Are you there? The introduction of automatic exchanges in the 1950s changed all this. As with communities throughout New Zealand many small churches/sunday schools and cemeteries were established in Central Southland. Three fine examples of churches are at Winton and Centre Bush. These are registered by NZHPT. The Winton Cemetery on SH6 is a good example, but the cemetery with the best view is at Forest Hill. There were several small towns surveyed with named streets and land set aside for public buildings. Most of these did not progress beyond a few buildings. Dipton was split in two Dipton East and Dipton West as a result of the railway, but the main town in Central Southland is Winton which is regarded as the oldest inland town in Southland (1861). Named after Thomas Winton, a boundary rider, the town has grown steadily and now has a population exceeding There are some fine buildings on Great North Road and these are registered with the NZHPT. Yet to be registered is a selection of homes, notable are the buildings designed by architect F W Burwell C Lambeth and others. Winton is a popular retirement location for many Southland farming folk. March

113 Key references MULLIGAN David, Moonlight Ranges, Story of Dipton, Dipton Centennial Committee, WINTON HERITAGE TRAIL, Brochure, Winton Area Promotions Inc. Personalities and events Every community has its characters and memorable events. Below is by no means a comprehensive list, but are mentioned to illustrate the diversity. Forest Hill was the scene of an early flight in 1931 by Dugald Johnstone who built a German designed glider and flew it successfully. A Winton man suffered an accident to his arm and became a skilled paperhanger the proverbial one-armed paperhanger. Minnie Dean lived just north of Winton and was found guilty of murder 1895 and was the only woman ever to be hanged in New Zealand. Adam Hamilton was born at Forest Hill in 1880 and became a farmer, attended the University of Otago and entered parliament as a member of the National Party in He held many challenging portfolios and from was the Leader of the Opposition. Central Southland has consistently produced long-serving distinguished members of parliament. The McRae family and others of the Hokonui region were renowned for their illegal whisky distilling. This subject has been thoroughly covered in the Hokonui Moonshine Museum at Gore. Like all places, Central Southland has suffered extreme weather conditions from deep snowstorms to floods. Browns recorded golfball size hail and in 1883 two children were fatally struck by lightning at Forest Hill. The Southern Odyssey Programme organised by Eastern Southland Gallery is currently concentrating on Northern and Eastern Southland but is designed to ultimately include the Central Southland personalities. Key references OVERTON J Nigel, The Birth of a District, J Nigel Overton, Winton, ESLER Lloyd, Southland Book of Records, Lloyd Esler, Invercargill, Interpretation suggestions Below are suggested points of interest which could be incorporated into Heritage Trails or interpretation laybys etc. Geological features such as the spheroidal weathering example at Dipton. Create a viewing area on Matthew s Road with some clearing so the Winton Falls can be visible from the road. March

114 Limestone industry. Ideally a disused quarry with evidence of buildings, limekiln etc with interpretation panels and walkway similar to the Golden Progress Mine, Oturehua. Regarded as the first lime quarry, McDonald s abandoned quarry at Centre Bush could be a good example and equipment from other sites could be transported there to support the story. The Dipton building stone quarry is overgrown, but a display of bolstered and worked blocks could be set up at the Dipton rest area where the nearby railway bridges and stone culverts could be referred to (surplus examples from the quarry are available in Invercargill). The old water wheel at Finlayson s at Benmore was taken to Queenstown many years ago and sat at the head of the Mall. It is now down by the lake. It has no relevance to Queenstown and would be much more appropriately sited at the Dipton layby along with the building stone display. Lady Barkly interpretation layby explaining the history of the Great Northern Railway and possibly other material for a small display on railways in Central Southland. This site could also be used to relate the sawmilling industry in this region. The Bastion is a distinctive geographical feature of the landscape. It was named by surveyor J T Thomson and is 520 m high with spectacular rocky bluffs on the northern side. Although on private land, a walkway access track to the summit has potential for an interesting walkway incorporating the native flora, fauna and geology. Gap Road East and West has some interesting examples of industrial heritage: - site of brick works - nearby site of Woodnorth s Pottery Works - remains of linen flax mill building - remains of flourmill - the rabbit canning factory building - site of drilled oil well The Bastion near Dipton March

115 EASTERN SOUTHLAND - WHAT ARE ITS STORIES? Compiled by Cathy Macfie 2007 The handsome bowstring arch bridge at Mataura March

116 EASTERN SOUTHLAND Definition The western boundary is defined by a line south from Waikaia (township covered in the Northern Southland section) to Grove Bush. The boundary with the coastal Southland section follows a line east through Mataura Island to Waikawa Harbour. The eastern boundary is defined by the Southland/Otago boundary. Geology and landscape features From early Permian to the end of the Jurassic period, sediments built up on the ocean floor derived from a volcanic chain that was active between million years ago. They are known as Murihiku Terrane rocks. Murihiku Terrane rocks sandstone, mudstone and volcanic ash are the basement rocks underlying the Southland Plains. Southland s soil fertility owes much to these basement rocks. They are rich in fossils, especially shellfish. Silcrete outcrops around Arthurton (on the Otago border, north east of Pukerau) provide examples. Fossils (including the shells of extinct mussels, snails and lampshells) exposed in the middle and lower reaches of the Titiroa Stream near Mataura Island are the oldest rocks known from the Murihiku Terrane: 258 to 254 million years old. Murihiku rocks have been twisted and folded to create one of Southland s most distinctive landscape features the Southland Syncline. In the Hokonui Hills their layers have been tilted to create a series of parallel strike ridges. These are particularly eye-catching (and a text book example) from the air or travelling between Gore and Riversdale. Landslip Hill, near Pukerau deposits of silcrete contain beautifully preserved casts of fossil leaves. Looking up towards Landslip Hill March

117 Local folklore has it that a meteor was responsible for creating The Crater at Pukerau. In fact it was an outcrop of silcrete that has eroded naturally. Some of the material looks as if it has been vitrified, however it is a fine sediment that embedded plant material as it solidified. Lloyd Esler. Examples of ventifacts distinctive ridged rocks created by sandblasting winds over a long time have been found at Chatton and surrounding areas, north of Gore. The Pyramid, a hill so-named for its natural shape north east of Riversdale. Silcrete boulders and outcrops occur in the Umbrella Range, east of Waikaia. Silcrete was used by early Maori for making tools. Deposits of iron ore have been found in the sandstones of Mokoreta, east of Wyndham. Eastern Southland has New Zealand s largest lignite reserves. Deposits have a low sulphur content (less than 1%), particularly around Mataura and Waimumu. Alluvial gold was found in the Mataura River valley and its tributaries. Croydon clinker this porcellanite deposit has been identified as a geological preservation site. March

118 Key references ESLER Lloyd, The Southland Book of Records, Lloyd Esler 2002 CAMPBELL Hamish, A Rocky Riddle Solved, NZ Science Monthly, May 2000 THORNTON Jocelyn, Field Guide to New Zealand Geology, Reed Methuen 1985 WILLIAMS G.J., Economic Geology of New Zealand, Vol 4, Office of the Congress, and of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Melbourne 1965 Flora and fauna Much of Eastern Southland has been cleared and developed for farming, leaving only isolated natural remnants. Croydon Bush provides the best glimpse of the forest, grassland and shrub communities that once characterised much of the area. Native podocarp forest features rimu, matai and kahikatea. Crimson rata flowers are a summer-time feature. It is likely Croydon Bush would also have been milled had it not been for the initiative of the then Mayor of Gore, D.L. Poppelwell in 1893 to reserve the fast disappearing bush. Other accessible forest remnants include Edendale (known locally as Kamahi) Scenic Reserve, Seaward Downs Scenic Reserve. The Mokoreta River valley east of Wyndham marks a farming frontier, pushing a long finger into forested hill country that merges with the Catlins Forest Park.. Waikaia Bush in the north is a large stand of beech forest with walking tracks at Piano Flat. Pukerau Red Tussock Reserve alongside SH1 is a splendid example of this impressive native tussock grass. Native tussock grasses also flourish in those parts of the Hokonui Hills that exclude grazing. The Mataura River is Southland s longest river, travelling 240 km from its source in the Eyre Mountains to its outlet at Toetoes Harbour, Fortrose. The river and its tributaries provide a freshwater habitat that has earned the area an international reputation for trout fishing. Maori history and legends The name Mataura has ancient associations that are linked with an ancestor of Ngatoro-i-rangi, tohunga of the great Arawa waka/canoe. This alone gives the Mataura River great spiritual significance not only for Ngai Tahu but for the iwi of Waitaha and Ngati Mamoe before them. Early Maori also valued the river as a highway, meeting place and for its mahinga kai. The river valley was known for the size and quantity of its tuna/eels. Around 1855 an early runholder described how Tuturau resident and identity Reko would get into the water and feel with his hands under all the rocks and banks. He had a large hook tied to his wrist and it lay upon the palm of this hand, so if he felt and eel he had only to pull his hand forward to have the fish securely hooked. March

119 There is a story associated with the discovery of kanakana/lamprey which still travel up-river to spawn. Ngati Mamoe chief Paroparo Te Whenua was camping at a site overlooking Croydon and Gore when heavy rain caused a flood to cover the plains. As the river returned to normal, Paroparo noticed a large flock of gulls circling in the distance over Mataura. Closer investigation revealed large numbers of kanakana stranded by the receding flood waters. More were found clinging with their suckers to the rocks of Te Au Nui the Mataura Falls. From that time, Te Au Nui has been a nohoaka or special food gathering place for generations of Maori. In 2006, a stretch of the Mataura River on both sides of the Mataura bridge was designated New Zealand s first freshwater mataitai reserve. The Hokonui Hills are the landform to and from which, and around which, many of the events of the history and their participants flowed. Bill Dacker (Bill Dacker s report for Southern Odyssey The Mataura Valley, Associated Plains and Hills a Maori Perspective provides many stories and place name origins.) Tuturau occupies a strategic position close to the Mataura Falls but high enough to be above the flood plain. It was also close to a major river crossing downstream of the falls with an abundant supply of flax flower stems to make mokihi. It also connected traditional pathways from up-river, down-river and, via the river crossing, the track through the Waimumu Gorge to the hinterland. The first small kaik at Tuturau was the site of Te Puoho s daring raid in 1836 and the last act of inter-tribal warfare in New Zealand. During the 1850s and 60s Reko was the main occupant of a later kaik (downstream from the original) at Tuturau. There are many stories of Reko s hospitality for both Maori and Pakeha travellers. (See Personalities and Events.) Reko also guided European explorers inland, to the upper Mataura through the Waimea Plains. Nathaniel Chalmer s journey in 1853 was recorded by James Herries Beattie. Key references DACKER Bill, The Mataura Valley, Associated Plains and Hills a Maori Perspective, an unpublished report for Southern Odyssey TE RUNANGA O NGAI TAHU, Mataura Te Awa Mataitai, on-site interpretation panel at Mataura, 2006 Post European history Settlement and farming The first European runholders and settlers had a predominantly Scottish ancestry. Sheep farming in district started with the following runs: 1855 Run 111 Knapdale, A McNab; Run 112 Waimea Plains, P. McKellar; Run 116 Mataura West (Hokonui), A. McNab. Run 116 was bought by Nathaniel Chalmers in 1858 and called Croydon after the London school he attended. It included the site of Gore township. Other early runholders included F.L. Mieville (Run 74, Glenham) and his future father-in-lay Dr F.H. Richardson (Run 65, Mataura Island, between the Kuriwao and Titiroa Streams with the Mataura River as the western boundary). Mieville is credited with being the first non-whaler or immigrant settlers to take up a run, registering his holding a few weeks after the Murihiku Purchase. March

120 Dr James Alexander Robertson Menzies became owner of Run 88 (he called it Dunalister) which included the future site of Wyndham. It stretched from the Mataura River to Mokoreta and was bounded by the Mimihau and Wyndham Rivers. The first priority for run holders was to stock their runs which generally involved buying cattle and Merino sheep imported from Australia and driving them from Southland ports or even Christchurch. By 1857 the Mataura Plain was well stocked and look[s] quite civilised on a fine day. Herries Beattie. Merinos struggled to survive in Southland s cold wet climate and the forested Hokonuis were one of few places where feral flocks became established. Early communities comprised run holders, drovers, stockmen and labourers who worked on the runs. Drainage was a priority on swampy soils, frequently encountered in the Hokonui Hills. Much of it was by hand but traction engine and drain ploughs speeded the process. Runholders often assumed public office (such as Justices of the Peace) and, when Southland was declared a separate province in 1861, James Menzies became its first superintendent. Some of Southland s earliest ploughing matches were held on (what is now the Salvation Army s) Jeffs Farm on the Old Coach Road. Rabbits reached plague numbers over much of the region for example, on two properties near Te Tipua, in 1952, several thousand rabbits were killed during three weeks. Key References SMITH Hallam L., The Town of Gore-a history Part One, The Wayland Trust 1996 THWAITES Agnes M., The Wyndham Story , Wyndham and Districts Historical Committee 2003 Infrastructure and services For the early settlers, the Mataura River was both a highway and physical barrier for east-west travel. Early supplies for Glenham were landed at the mouth of the Mataura River and rowed approx. 16 km up the Titiroa Stream. From Titiroa to Glenham transport was on a sledge pulled by two bullocks. Overland travel was arduous. On one stretch of a journey from Croydon (Gore) to Invercargill in 1857 no fewer than 21 bogs were bridged with scrub to allow the drays to cross John Watt Horseback, drays and sledges were the only means of early transport; coaches, buggies and gigs came later. As roads became formed, Eastern Southland was served by coach and mail services between Invercargill and Dunedin. In 1871 a special coach, painted bright red and yellow, carried the mail from Popotunoa (Clinton) to Invercargill. March

121 The first settlements, particularly accommodation houses and stables, tended to grow up around river crossings on main routes north and south. Long Ford across the Mataura River on the future site of Gore was one example. Others included Menzies Ferry and Tuturau Ford (some 3 km below the Mataura Falls). The first permanent bridge over the Mataura River was at Mataura township; a suspension bridge designed by J T Thomson in (Its foundations and towers are still visible, although it was replaced in 1939 with a concrete bowstring arch bridge with a span of 43.3 metres.) Gore s first bridge was financed by toll charges for people and horses. Rather than pay, many people continued to use the ford. The railway and nearby road bridges over small streams at Pukerau both have stone masonry abutments and are good examples of stone craftsmanship. Pukerau Road bridge with stone abutment Development of rail was a catalyst to improved transport services. When the Invercargill-Gore railway opened in August 1875, a regular coach service began to operate from Edendale to Wyndham, and then to Fortrose. By 1900 the Mail Coach met trains at Edendale four times daily. Construction of the Gore to Dunedin line brought skilled German workers to camp in tents and sod huts at Germantown near Gore. Some stayed on, establishing the community of Whiterigg, just north of Gore. German family names are all that remain today. The first train from Christchurch to Invercargill left on 21 January During the 1880s several branch lines were constructed in Eastern Southland. The Edendale to Wyndham line was extended to Glenham by The brick-lined Glenham Tunnel was the only tunnel that had to be built. (This was the first section of Southland track to be closed and was later used as a walking track.) March

122 A private company built the Waimea Plains line from Gore to Lumsden (opened 1880). It was purchased by the Government in A line from McNab to Waikaka operated from 1908 to 1962; and from Riversdale to Switzers (Waikaia) from 1909 to In 1908 and 1909 early motor vehicles raced through Eastern Southland (Invercargill- Dunedin), having to negotiate unformed tracks between Mataura and Popotunoa (Clinton). Eastern Southland was quick to recognise the benefits of the motor car with mail and carrier services available from the early 1920s in the Wyndham-Mokoreta-Mataura Island area. Gore was the first town in Southland and Otago (the 3rd in New Zealand) to be lit by electricity in The privately owned syndicate was taken over by the Borough Council in In 1905 a power line from Mataura to Gore enabled the original, expensive coal-fired boiler to be replaced by cheaper power from the Mataura freezing works hydroelectric plant. (Mataura township did not get electric lighting until 1912.) Wyndham s J.F.Burleigh was the only electrician between Invercargill and Gore in In 1936 Southland was linked to the national grid by extending a 110 kilovolt line from Halfway Bush (near Dunedin) to the Gore substation. In the early 1950s the line was extended to Edendale and Invercargill, becoming Southland s main transmission line. Key references SORRELL Paul (editor), Chapters from The Murihiku Story, The Southland to 2006 Book Project Committee, 2006 THWAITES Agnes M., The Wyndham Story , Wyndham and Districts Historical Committee 2003 WATT J.O.P., Southland s Pioneer Railways, NZ Railway and Locomotive Society Inc Industries Gold Nathanial Chalmers found traces of gold in a hole at the Kanakana (Mataura) Falls in Charles Ligar, the Otago Provincial Surveyor-General reported paydirt on river gravels near Tuturau in In 1860 a group from Invercargill worked the same beach and won 28 ounces of gold in the vicinity of Sam s Grief. (See Personalities and events.) This was the first recorded goldmining in either Otago or Southland. In 1864 the discovery of gold on Dr Menzies run at Camp Hill south of Tuturau led to a mini gold rush and the overnight appearance of a canvas community (complete with stores) known as Menzies Town. (The original grains are held by the Southland Museum and Art Gallery.) The fine gold was too hard to extract and Menzies Town s population plummeted from a peak of to just a few miners in a short space of months. March

123 In 1863 the discovery of gold at Welshman s Gully triggered a goldrush and the creation of a new gold town called Switzers at Carnie s Hill, some 3 km east of present day Waikaia. In 1868 the township boasted a hospital, school and post office which received mail twice a week (on horseback) from Mataura. As Carnie s Hill was slowly sluiced away, the township shifted to Waikaia. The landscape still bears reminders of gold mining activities, including a huge mound of stones that marks the site of the King Solomon mine which operated from 1929 to 1937 and won 19,462 ounces of gold. Gold was also discovered in Waikaka in 1867 with up to 800 (mainly Chinese) working there. Southland s dredging boom is reflected by the increase of dredges from 41 in 1900 to 85 in During the early 1900s several dredges worked the Charlton and Waimumu valleys west of Mataura. Dredges were fuelled by the lignite that is, today, itself the object of a potentially major new industry. In 1905, 15 dredges worked the Waikaia area and recovered 6,800 ounces of gold. As the gold ran out, dredges were dismantled and transferred to Waikaka which became the heart of dredging territory with up to 30 dredges operating. Cinnabar an ore of mercury was once mined at Greenvale, on the Southland-Otago border, north of Waikaka. Lignite Eastern Southland s extensive lignite deposits were valued by early settlers and local industry for fuel. The first open cast mining activity on the banks of the Waimumu Stream is dated between 1861 and The Waimumu Mine still operates and supplies the Fonterra dairy factory at Edendale. Coster s pit near Brydone was an early pit and supplied the paper mill at Mataura. Solid Energy has been buying farmland north and south of its Mataura Opencast Mine (closed in 2000) with a view to major new development. Sawmilling Much of the Hokonui hills were forested and cleared by early runholders for pastoral farming. Many of Gore s old houses were built from timber produced by the first sawmill on the Croydon Run, established in Milling was also important at Waikaia Bush and forests west of Wyndham, particularly in the mid-1950s when a mill operated at Mokoreta. Wyndham s NZ Forest Service base also provided an important source of winter employment for freezing workers from Gore and Mataura from Links with the timber industry continue through the medium-density fibreboard (MDF) plant on SH1 between Mataura and Edendale. Flaxmilling Wherever large stands of flax grew, flax cutting and milling became part of the scene small mills were sometimes shifted from place to place. Some of the fibre produced supplied Invercargill s Rosedale Twine Mills (1902) and the Southland Rope and Twine Company, established in Nith Street (1860). Flaxmilling became the dominant activity in the Mokoreta-Redan area in the early 20th century. The seven mills were a big employer with each mill needing two wagons and 5 or 6 horses each to cart flax to the mill and the finished fibre to the railhead at Wyndham. Johnston s mill at Redan was one of the last three Southland mills to close in Its stripping machinery is held by the Wyndham Museum. March

124 Dairying Like the rest of the province, Eastern Southland experienced a proliferation of small dairy factories from the 1880s, each serving their local community. Today only their architectural legacy lives on Through Thomas Brydone, however, Edendale emerged as a national leader. The Edendale Dairy Factory, opened in 1882 (only the second factory in New Zealand) combined factory with an experimental station and dairy school which ran month-long courses. Brydone became known as the father of the dairy industry and Edendale was the first factory in New Zealand to produce more than 50 tons of cheese ( Pioneer brand). Among Brydone s innovations were the country s first pasteurisers, modern curd agitators and the first manufacture of whey butter. Edendale s leadership in the dairy industry continues through the giant co-operative Fonterra. Grain milling Eastern Southland was served by many small flourmills, including Doulls Mill at Wyndham. Its millstones remain at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery and Wyndham Museum. The best known mill was Gore s oat mill, modernised by Thomas Fleming in 1892 and used for all Southland s oatmeal production. Through the mid 20th century the Creamota Mill (with its iconic Sergeant Dan and Scotch Thistle trademarks) was New Zealand s only oaten cereal mill and Gore s largest employer. The mill closed in 2000 but its unique steam plant (that once burned grain husks to generate steam) still functions. Whisky Hokonui and illicit whisky distilleries are inextricably linked, although there are stories of stills in other parts of Eastern and Central Southland (including Menzies Ferry). Whisky was part of a traditional way of life for Scottish Highlanders and a welcome release for the drudgery of breaking in new land. It also offered easy money and quick returns. The McRae family were the founders of the Hokonui industry although the practice lived on into the 20th century. The industry has provided the source for many colourful stories. Freezing works The fact that Eastern Southland farmers tended to send their sheep by rail to Dunedin for export provided the incentive to open a freezing works at Mataura. When it opened in 1893, it was the first plant in New Zealand to be driven by water power from the Mataura Falls. The Mataura Flour Mill on the same site was demolished to make way for the freezing works. Belgian-owned Clover Export Ltd in Gore is the only Southland freezing works that has a European Economic Community licence to process ostrich for export. Brick and tile works Norton s Brick and Tile Company at Pukerau is one of just two Southland surviving brick and tile companies. Some traditional features of this 1881 family business remain unchanged, including the private railway that carts clay from the quarry on one side of SH1, beneath the highway, to the factory on the other side. Paper mill James W. Bain founded the Mataura Paper Mill Company in The mill started operating in June 1876, using tussock, waste paper, old ropes, rags and flax as raw materials. Company sold to Thomas Cumming who upgraded the plant machinery. In 1891, Southland Frozen March

125 Meat and the paper mill joined forces to build a weir and races to provide the power requirements for both industries. Wood pulp was imported from Scandinavia during the first decade of the 1900s. Centennial celebrated in In 1991 the mill was taken over by Carter Holt Harvey Ltd who mothballed it in August 2000 with the loss of 155 jobs. The mill has since been stripped and closed. Croydon Aircraft Company (Mandeville airfield) Has developed an international reputation for repairing and restoring vintage planes, especially de Havillands. Key references A replica of Pither s monoplane, 1910, built by the Croydon Aircraft Company HALL-JONES J., Goldfields of the South, Craig Printing Co MILLER F.W.G., Hokonui, Hokonui Centennial Committee, 1982 MUIR D.C.W. (editor), Mataura City of the Falls, Mataura Historical Society, 1991SORRELL Paul (editor), Chapters from The Murihiku Story, The Southland to 2006 Book Project Committee, 2006 Redan Valley of Farming and Flaxmilling, Redan District Book Committee 1990 Personalities and events Reko s hospitality, humour and knowledge of the region were legendary among early Southland explorers and settlers. F.L. Mieville, J.T. Thomson and N. Chalmers are among those who documented their meetings. Sam Perkins was a former whaler with the gift of the gab who worked on J. Menzies Dunalister run near Tuturau. Perhaps fuelled by alcohol, he convinced disappointed miners (who had discovered that a reported new field at Tapanui was a hoax) that there were rich diggings on the Mataura. Several hundred men followed him south and when his deceit was uncovered, Sam Perkins was lucky to escape with a flogging and shaved head. The river bluff where this happened is still known as Sam s Grief. There are numerous Personalities among Eastern Southland s early economic and political leaders. Thomas Brydone is an outstanding example. March

126 Contemporary heritage Gore is recognised as an international centre for country music, reflected in the following for its Country Music Festival and Gold Guitar Awards. The acquisition of the John Money Collection and its dedicated Eastern Southland gallery wing has helped to put Gore on the map as a centre of art and culture. The Croydon Aircraft Company has developed a special heritage niche around the restoration and repair of vintage aircraft. See Industrial heritage pioneers. Gore promotes its heritage through eye-catching icons that include trout, giant guitar and Sargeant Dan (Flemings oat mill). Eastern Southland has become known for its many fine gardens, some of which are open to view. They include Maple Glen (near Wyndham) and De Boer Roses, Edendale. Gore Cemetery is recognised as one of the best in New Zealand for its hillside aspect, landscaping and headstones March

127 COASTAL SOUTHLAND - WHAT ARE ITS STORIES? Compiled by Cathy Macfie 2007 South coast near Slope Point March

128 COASTAL SOUTHLAND Definition This section focuses on Southland s coastal hinterland and the influence of its lower river reaches. Its northern boundary follows a line from Grove Bush, through Mataura Island and down the Waikawa Valley to The Brothers Point (on the Southland/Otago border just north of Waikawa Harbour and Porpoise Bay). It includes Aparima/Riverton as its western boundary, although Riverton s stories draw equally from its relationship with Western Southland. Geology and landscape features Dominated by Southland s major river systems (Aparima, Oreti and Mataura) and their associated lagoons, wetlands and estuaries. As well as highways, these rivers have also provided natural boundaries and barriers. The Mataura River is the sixth longest in New Zealand running 240 km from its source in the Eyre Mountains to Fortrose. Expanses of relatively unmodified sandy beaches, dunes, dramatic headlands and rocky reefs at Curio Bay, Slope Point, Waipapa Point, Omaui, Oreti Beach and Riverton. Some of New Zealand s oldest rocks; sediments laid down around 270 million years ago and subsequently altered by a period of violent volcanic activity. Some of these rocks have had economic significance: - The tough, fine-grained qualities of argillite made it a prized source of stone tools by early Maori. Early archaeological quarry sites include Bluff Harbour and Tihaka. - Norite (Bluff granite) was first used by early Maori as a stone hammer to shape argillite tools. It was later quarried at Bluff and Ruapuke Island as a building stone and has featured in numerous Southland structures including Bluff s Island Harbour and the Bluff and Invercargill war memorials. It was also used for headstones. Sandblasting by wind over thousands of years has created distinctive ridged rocks called ventifacts. They are particularly noticeable around the Bluff Harbour and Mokomoko Inlet. Fossil sites with evidence of Jurassic age forests occur at a number of places on the south Catlins coast but nowhere so spectacular or accessible as Curio Bay. Permian wormcasts of international importance Mokomoko Inlet. Miocene fossils found at Bluff show that at one time, Bluff experienced a tropical climate. March

129 Key references THORNTON Jocelyn, Field Guide to New Zealand Geology, Reed Methuen 1985 PEAT Neville, Land and Environment, Ch 2, The Murihiku Story pp 24-32, The Southland to 2006 Book Project Committee, 2006 MACFIE Cathy, research notes for Greenpoint Domain on-site interpretation panels, based on site visit 21Jan 2001 with Russell Beck and Maurice Watson BOSEL C A, COOMBS D S, Foveaux Formation: a warm-water, strandline deposit of Landon-Pareora age at Bluff Hill, Southland. NZJGG, Vol 27: , 1984 Flora and fauna Much of coastal Southland has been converted to farmland. However, isolated stands of the original bush cover remain in the form of reserves in the greater Invercargill area with substantial tracts west of the Mataura River. A distinctive feature is the Monkey Puzzle trees on the Gala Street Reserve, Invercargill. Similar trees once grew on Gondwana. Southland s estuaries and coastal wetlands are recognised as areas of international importance. Waituna Wetland Scientific Reserve was one of the first places in New Zealand to be recognised in 1976 under the Ramsar Convention for the protection of the world s wetlands. The area will be extended in 2007 to include another 16,500 ha of estuarine area including Fortrose, Awarua Bay and New River Estuary, making it the largest wetland complex in New Zealand to achieve such recognition. Waikawa Harbour s estuarine waters are recognised as a Wetland of National Importance to Fisheries. Special features include: - The most important bird habitat areas in Southland and one of the top three wading bird habitats in South Island (ranking alongside Farewell Spit and Lake Ellesmere). - From spring to late autumn they become the feeding and breeding grounds for thousands of migratory waders from the northern hemisphere. - Coastal wetlands are a stronghold for invertebrates. - Three species of skink have been recorded on Tiwai Peninsula. - Breeding ground, nursery and highway for numerous native and commercial fish species. - Habitat for rare and unusual plant species, including the cushion plant Donatia at Waituna Lagoon which normally grows in a subalpine environment. Southland s nutrient-rich coastal waters also support an abundant wildlife that features: - Various species of kelp, the largest of which is bull kelp. - High-profile delicacies like paua, rock lobster fishery, blue cod and oysters - Toheroa on exposed sandy beaches - Marine seabirds including mollymawks (especially Buller s which breed on nearby Solander Islands) and sooty shearwater/titi; commonly seen from the Southland coast at Waipapa Point and between Bluff and Riverton. Riverton Rocks is a particularly good place to watch the great rafts of sooty shearwater gathering over the water before beginning their long autumn migration north. March

130 - One of the world s rarest penguins, yellow-eyed penguin, breeds on the Southland coast near Curio Bay. - Little blue penguin and the rare Fiordland crested penguin also breed or visit the Southland coast. - A small resident population of Hector s dolphin (the world s smallest marine dolphin and one of the rarest) spends time close to shore at Porpoise Bay during the summer and autumn months. (Southland s other resident population of Hector s dolphin is at Te Waewae Bay.) - Fur seal and New Zealand sealion numbers are increasing after their slaughter by sealers in the early 18th century; a small group of mainly juvenile sealions has become resident at Waipapa Point. - Increased whale sightings, particularly Southern right whale, off the Southland coast and at the entrance to Bluff Harbour. Key references BURNS Lynda, Curio Bay Interpretation Concept Plan, Appendices 1-2, 2006 DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION, Information sheet on Ramsar Wetlands 2006 DEPARTMENTOF CONSERVATION, Southland s Estuaries and Coastal Wetlands 2002 ESLER Lloyd, The Southland Book of Records, Lloyd Esler 2002 PEAT Neville, Land and Environment, Ch 2, The Murihiku Story pp 24-32, The Southland to 2006 Book Project Committee, 2006 Maori history and legends The first people on the southern coast found the anchor of Maui (Rakiura) bound by aho (lines or sandbanks) to the coast making navigation hazardous. Kiwa, god of the Pacific Ocean, was asked to intervene. The whale Kewa was instructed to chew through the lines and Te Ara a Kewa became the name of the strait, later named Foveaux Strait after the once governor of New South Wales. (from Bill Dacker, The Murihiku Story p 45). The township of Omaui on the former site of a Maori village. named after Maui March

131 A creation story handed down from Waitaha people tells how the taurapa/sternpost of Aoraki s wrecked canoe became Bluff Hill, known to Ngai Tahu as Motupohue. The Ngai Tahu Deed of Settlement identifies Bluff Hill as a Topuni site as a symbolic recognition of landscape features that hold special cultural significance for Maori. The Southland coastline provided natural resources mahinga kai for food, shelter and clothing. Some of the earliest occupation sites are associated with the quarrying and manufacture of argillite stone tools at Tiwai Point, Riverton (Tihaka Beach) and Wakapatu. Flax, an abundant plant of coastal wetlands, provided an invaluable source of mats, clothing, ropes and baskets. Later it became a useful trading item as a source of rope fibre for European trading ships. The large bladders of bull kelp provided a means of food storage, most commonly associated with titi/muttonbird. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle of Southland Maori followed a seasonal pattern, using the resources of estuary, coastline and inland forest and rivers. It featured: - Late winter forest hunting (tui, pigeon and kaka). - Spring lamprey fishing on the Mataura River. - Early summer eeling brought them to the coast for fishing, shellfish gathering and hunting seals. Nohoanga, campsites associated with traditional mahinga kai areas, include a Ngai Tahu Deed of Settlement entitlement on the Waikawa River near Niagara Falls which is still used for mahinga kai. Foveaux Strait, estuaries and rivers were also effectively highways for regularly used trails to more distant destinations inland and around the coast. The main semi-permanent Maori settlements/kaika in Southland were coastal. In the 1820s, they included Pahia (west of Riverton), Aparima (Riverton), Ocean Beach, Omaui, Oue (Sandy Point), Toetoes (Mataura River mouth), Waipapa and Waikawa. - The original Aparima kaik site including the tauranga waka (canoe landing) is still accessible a short walk from the new Te Hikoi Southern Journey museum development, via Kohikohi Park. Kohikohi s cottage still stands and is protected by the Historic Places Trust. (Kohikohi was a high-ranking Maori chief s daughter and first wife of Captain John Howell.) - The Aparima River is formally acknowledged in the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement for its cultural, spiritual, historic and traditional associations. The introduction of potatoes (probably by early sealers) to Foveaux Strait settlements had a profound impact on Maori life and were the single most sought after European trading item. They grew particularly successfully around Bluff (with reports of 100 acres under cultivation at Greenpoint) and Riverton. Leader/ariki of the southern chiefs in 1790 (at the time of the first European contact) was Honekai of Oue. He was responsible for the peace accord that largely ended tribal hostilities between Ngai Tahu and Ngati Mamoe in the south and allowed southern Maori to focus energy on new trading opportunities. March

132 Despite initial cordial relationships with the first Europeans, tensions grew as sealers decimated a resource important also to Maori and flouted their local protocols. In 1810 James Caddell was spared by Honekai after his men attacked a sealing gang which had angered them. Caddell became integrated into the tribe as a tatooed chief and married Honekai s niece Tokitoki. Caddell was to have a significant influence over Honekai s son and successor Te Whakataupuka and his grandson Tuhawaiki, both of whom played key leadership roles in encouraging trade and intermarriage between Maori and sealers/whalers who stayed on in Southland. See also Personalities and events Many Southland surnames can be traced back to those early days, particularly in the long established townships of Bluff and Riverton. The good rapport between Pakeha and Maori in Southland has much to do with the investment in these early interrelationships. Key references ANDERSON Atholl, When all the moa-ovens grew cold, Otago Heritage Books, 1985 ESLER Lloyd, 150 Years Invercargill, Lloyd Esler 2006 DACKER Bill, The People of the Ahikaaroa, Ch 3, The Murihiku Story pp 44-59, The Southland to 2006 Book Project Committee, 2006 LOGIE Stephen, The Founding of Jacob s River unpublished 2002 NGAI TAHU CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT 1998, New Zealand Government Post European history Sealers and whalers Southland s first European arrivals were sealers who, like Maori led a nomadic, hunting/gathering life but, unlike Maori, were driven by profit (not subsistence) which led to the virtual extermination of fur seals on the Southland coast by the late 1820s. Rising prices for whale oil (fuelled by the Industrial Revolution) led to a rush of shore whaling stations along the Southland coast between : Bluff (Stirling Point), Oue (Sandy Point), Omaui (New River), Toetoes (Mataura Mouth), Waikawa. When the Omaui and Oue stations closed (after the loss of the 500 ton oil ship Lynx in November 1837), their whaling gear was taken round to the Jacob s River and set up at Trypot Bay, just inside the river mouth on the south bank of the Aparima River. By 1844 declining right whale numbers in Foveaux Strait signalled the end of the industry. Falling prices associated with the discovery of mineral oil in the United States in the mid 1850s was the last straw for the Riverton station industry which was the last to close in Settlement and farming Some whalers turned to farming initially developing inlands runs. Captain John Howell is said to have imported the first stock (cattle, sheep and horses) into Southland. His eye for good animals fostered profitable trading between Otago and Southland. His passion for horse racing also saw him promote the sport in the 1850s and 60s with horses known for their speed and endurance. March

133 Rabbits were introduced c.1857 between the Waimatuku Stream and Riverton. By 1881 they were already a serious pest. Possums were first introduced to New Zealand at Riverton in Waianiwa is Southland s first recorded inland settlement, with 5 men and their families arriving (by rowboat up the Oreti River) in May A stone monument at Argyle Corner on SH 99 at the turnoff to Waianiwa marks the centenary of their arrival. Availability of small farming blocks encouraged the arrival of new settlers; the initial focus on self-sufficiency saw small flourmills and dairy factories in most districts. Draining the boggy peatlands of Southland s coastal wetlands was a big challenge for early farmers. Even in the 1930s ditch digging was an important source of labour for large numbers of unemployed men. A large drainage scheme was undertaken at Waimatuku during the 1920s and later. As agriculture intensified and new technologies made large scale drainage more efficient, pressure on wetlands has increased. Infrastructure and services In the early days, settlers remained dependent on navigable rivers and coastal waters for transport. Given the volume of coastal shipping (both goods and passengers) in notoriously treacherous waters, the number of shipwrecks along the Southland coast is hardly surprising. Notable losses include: - SS Tararua: New Zealand s worst civilian shipwreck, Waipapa Point Lynx: New River Estuary, A further 9 shipwrecks are recorded in the New River Estuary (particularly near the mouth) between 1859 and Success: the first shipwreck recorded at Bluff in 1845 when it went onto rocks off the whaling station at Stirling Point. A further 34 disasters were recorded between then and 1973 in the vicinity of Bluff Harbour. Shipwrecks were the catalyst for a network of coastal and offshore lighthouses. Stirling Point and Waipapa Point are among the most accessible to visitors. Riverton became a port of entry in 1862 although its hopes of becoming Southland s main port were dashed by shallow water and a bar across the river mouth. There were also plans to develop the Port of Mokomoko associated with the paper town of Stanley. The jetty, however, was in use for only a few months before it silted up. Despite being limited to small coastal vessels, the New River Harbour remained Invercargill s principal port until Bluff was linked by railway in March

134 The remains of the jetty at Stanley Bluff s long history as a port has played a key role in Southland s story and continues to do so. High quality gravel carried downstream by Southland s main rivers provided a vital source of road construction material. At Sandy Point, gravel was carted across the estuary in flat-bottomed punts, called lighters and beached at high tide at Pleasure Bay. At the tide went out, the gravel was shovelled out into horse-drawn carts. A steam powered wrought iron vessel was made by Invercargill engineer, Jabez Hay and sailed across the Invercargill Estuary to service Otatara before the Stead Street bridge was built. The bow section is displayed in the Maritime Museum, Bluff. Railways provided the first effective means of east-west transport across large tracts of flat swampland and opened up new opportunities for trade and settlement. - Invercargill Railway Station was the first in New Zealand (1864). - The Invercargill-Bluff railway line was begun in 1863 and completed in February 1867 which included a branch line to Stanley. - The Lady Barkly was the first locomotive to get up steam and run in New Zealand. It was imported from Australia in August 1863 and demonstrated on the Invercargill jetty. See also Railways, Central Southland. Replica of the Lady Barkly locomotive on the Invercargill jetty March

135 - Completion of a rail link west from Makarewa through Riverton to Orepuki in 1885 provided the first access to virgin podocarp forest west of the Aparima River. During the 1950s up to 11 trains a day passed through Waianiwa loaded with coal from Ohai, timber from Tuatapere, livestock and passengers. Pupils from Waianiwa School travelled by train to manual and cooking classes in Riverton and secondary school pupils to Invercargill. - Branch lines reached Fortrose in 1899 and Tokanui in Despite its limitations as a port, improved rail and road links positioned Invercargill as Southland s service hub. As the only high point for miles around, Bluff Hill has always been a natural lookout and communications centre. In 1862 a flagstaff was erected with a range of signal flags which instructed in-coming and out-going ships. Radio made the signal station redundant in 1938 although it continued to be used as a radar site during World War 2. The masts that stand on Bluff Hill today provide emergency and communications services for marine VHF, radio, telephone and mobile phones. Awarua radio station was one of two high powered stations built by German company Telefunken and opened just before the onset of World War 1. Awarua was considered the superior of the two sites both for its absence of hills and good ground conductivity through its wetland soils. Awarua supported naval and merchant shipping in peace and war until satellite communication made it obsolete. The absence of radio interference and its proximity to the south magnetic pole are among the reasons why Awarua remains a focus of interest for twenty-first century science. Both the Unwin space weather radar project and a rocket tracking facility for the European Space Agency are being based here. Industries Fishing Has shifted from an essential part of subsistence survival to an important industry that has included coastal, estuarine and fresh waters. Sealing and whaling were arguably Southland s first industrial fishery and Chief Tuhawaiki is said to have sailed one of his vessels to Sydney to trade dried fish for guns. Cod, crayfish, oysters and paua remain the mainstays of the traditional inshore fishery. Bluff and Riverton are the primary seafood processing centres for coastal Southland. Sawmilling was one an early coastal industry, clearing land for settlement and providing timber to build its infrastructure. Tokanui and Gorge Road were important sawmilling centres. Much of Invercargill was originally part of Seaward Forest which covered 80 sq kms from the Otepuni Stream towards Rimu and Kapuka. Kew Bush and Seaward Bush are tiny surviving remnants of this once mighty lowland podocarp forest. Thomson s Bush is a reminder another big forest Taurakitewaru which covered the land north of the Otepuni. These relatively accessible lowland forests were the first to be milled, leaving little behind except for place names ending in Bush. March

136 Apart from the Waikawa harbour entrance where locals mined for beach gold in the 1880s; the Mataura river mouth (where gold dredges worked in the1890s); and beaches near Waipapa Point (where dredging took place from 1880s to 1937), the coastal focus (east of Riverton) was to supply miners with goods and services. The gold-rush years had a huge impact particularly on Invercargill which saw its population increase 300% from and a dramatic investment in port and rail facilities. Coastal/lower river quarries include traditional Maori argillite sites (see Geology and landscape features); gravel, still quarried near Sandy Point; Bluff granite (norite) quarried until mid 1950s; dunite, still quarried at Greenhills and used mainly as a decorative stone and fertiliser. Sandstone was quarried at Waikawa and used in many railway applications. Flaxmilling was not an exclusively coastal industry but the association between flax and coastal wetlands prompted a number of mill sites including Sandy Point, Gorge Road (1912) and Otaitai Bush near Riverton (1911). Niederer s mill near Gorge Road and Templeton s flax mill at Otaitai were two of the last three mills to close, around Templeton s mill has recently been restored for demonstrations. Waikawa sandstone quarry (foreground) with the harbour in the distance. Frozen meat works tended to be built within easy reach (originally by rail) of Bluff s port facilities. (The exception was Mataura which was originally aligned with Port Chalmers.) Leather tanning: Slinkskins Limited is the sole survivor of Southland s tanning industry and one of only five or so tanneries left in New Zealand. The groundbreaking concept of turning dead newborn lambs into a valuable product started at Jack Hazlett s Oreti home. The family business owes its survival to the development of a highly specialised niche market focussed on the top European fashion houses. Service industries have flourished on the south coast from the first trade with whalers and sealers. Many long established businesses can trace their origins to a particular event. Forestry, for instance, provided opportunities for joinery, furniture and engineering (that started by supplying steam haulers and bush locomotives to mill sites). March

137 The environmental qualities of the coastline and its hinterland have attracted industries with particular needs, such as the aluminium smelter at Tiwai. Personalities and events Ariki of the southern Maori chiefs Te Whakataupuka and his successor Tuhawaiki were men of character and enterprise, whose vision (and ability to speak English) laid the foundation for peaceful relationships with pakeha during the early contact period. Of the early Europeans, Captain John Howell stands out for his leadership in the economic and community development of Riverton. Sealer Jacky Price and whaler/farmer Owen McShane were among the rascals of the coast. Jacky Price was notorious for stealing sealskins and Owen McShane for his wicked brew of cabbage tree rum. McShane successfully tendered to build the Bluff jail and was its first occupant. One-time Invercargill mayor Joseph Hatch and Bluff-raised New Zealand prime minister Sir Joseph Ward epitomise the dogged resourcefulness and entrepreneurial character of many Southland pioneers. Joseph Hatch is best known for his controversial harvesting of penguins and seals for their oil on Macquarie Island. Among his many business and political ventures, Sir Joseph Ward established the Ocean Beach Freezing Works and was responsible for the Foveaux Strait telephone cable in Contemporary heritage The built landscape, from simple cribs at Curio Bay to Invercargill s wide streets and Victorian facades provide an insight to a rich cultural heritage. The imagery of the redeveloped Te Rau Aroha Marae at Bluff (much of it the product of visionary master carver Cliff Whiting) provides an inspirational perspective of Maori relationships (legendary and actual) with land and sea. Fred and Myrtle Flutey s paua shell house at Bluff has become a Southland icon although, since their death and the recent dismantling of its displays, its future is uncertain. Key references BUCKINGHAM Rhys and HALL-JONES John, The Catlins, New Zealand Forest Service 1985 CUTT John, A celebration of history (Waianiwa), Southland Times 15 December 2006 ESLER Lloyd, 150 Years Invercargill, Lloyd Esler 2006 ESLER Lloyd, The Southland Book of Records, Lloyd Esler 2002 HALL-JONES John, Bluff Harbour, Southland Harbour Board 1976 LOGIE Stephen, The Founding of Jacob s River unpublished 2002 McGRAW John, Coastmaster, Silverdale Publications, Hamilton, 1999 SORRELL Paul (editor), Chapters from The Murihiku Story, The Southland to 2006 Book Project Committee, 2006 March

138 INVERCARGILL AND SOUTHERN COASTAL REGION - WHAT ARE ITS STORIES? Compiled by Lloyd Esler 2007 Stirling Point Signpost, Bluff March

139 INVERCARGILL SECTOR Definition Northern boundary line Edendale to Thornbury, extending east to the Otago/Southland boundary at the head of the Redan Valley. From Thornbury south to Otaitai Beach is the western boundary. Eastern boundary is the Otago Southland boundary. Geography The western half of the region is dominated by relatively flat alluvial plain, bordered to the south by the Bluff Hill/Omaui ridge, to the north by Forest Hill and Pebbly Hills and to the east by the rolling hills that form the Catlins block. The Catlins is area of around 1900 km². Invercargill Estuary, Bluff Harbour, Waituna Lagoon, the Mataura Estuary, Waipapa Point, Haldane Harbour, Slope Point, Curio Bay and Waikawa Harbour are the significant coastal features. Two major rivers, the Mataura River and Oreti River, cross the region, as do many lesser ones such as the Makarewa River, Titiroa Stream and Waikawa River. The highest point is Mokoreta Hill 713m. The best vantage point is the top of Bluff Hill which gives a view of most of the Invercargill region. There are other viewpoints at Hatch s Hill on Sandy Point, the Invercargill Water Tower, Forest Hill, Slope Point, Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay. Another will be available when landscaping work on the hill formed at the old Invercargill Rubbish Dump site is completed. Popular sandy beaches are Oreti Beach and Porpoise Bay Geology The hills to the east of the Mataura River are part of a sequence of Jurassic/Triassic rocks with significant plant fossils, including the world-famous tree fossils at Curio Bay. Petrified tree stumps removed from the Tokanui/Haldane area are displayed outside the Southland Museum. The Bluff-Omaui chain of hills is formed from ancient igneous and metamorphic rock and has many features of interest to geologists as well as having been mined for building stone (norite) and road metal (dunite). The cenotaph in Invercargill is built from Bluff norite, sometimes called Bluff granite. Beneath the Southland Plain is most of New Zealand s known lignite reserve. This is mined on a small scale at Waituna and a few other places but has the potential for a large-scale industry. Quartz pebbles, of which the Southland Plain is largely formed, are mined for fill and for decorative use in gardens. They are bagged and exported to a market in the United States. Quartz mined in Southland has been proposed as the raw material for a silicon plant which could be based at Tiwai Point. Ventifacted (wind-shaped) rocks and petrified wood are more abundant in this area than anywhere else in New Zealand. Rock enthusiasts visit the south coast at Haldane, Slope Point and other nearby places looking for good quality petrified wood. Sand and gravel, used in the building industry, are mined on Sandy Point and extracted from several riverbed sites. March

140 The most extensive interpretation of the geology of the region is at Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Signage at the summit of Bluff Hill and at Curio Bay add to the story of Southland s geological past. Reserves There are a number of large reserves in the region, particularly in the east. The largest of these are Waituna Wetland and Catlins State Forest Park (420km2), both administered by the Department of Conservation. The Catlins area, a third of which is in Southland and the rest in Otago, is the largest forested area on the South Island s east coast. The Waituna Wetland and surrounding areas are to gain new significance when they are recognised as a RAMSAR site of international significance. Rare species within these reserves, notably the Yelloweyed penguin and the New Zealand dotterel attract the attention of visiting bird enthusiasts. Significant numbers of wading birds spend the summer at Awarua Bay, making this one of New Zealand s best wader sites. Other reserves include private land which is covenanted two notable examples are the Munro s wetland at Mokotua and the Gamble s boardwalk in Grant Road Otatara. The Invercargill city council maintains Sandy Point as an important recreational reserve and administers other reserves such as Seaward Bush, Thomson s Bush and Bluff Hill. Within these reserves there are a number of tracks and historic sites. Flora The greater part of this area is agricultural land. There are tracts of bush in Otatara, Sandy Point, Thomsons Bush, Seaward Bush, Seaward Downs, Bluff Hill and Omaui with about a quarter of the land east of the Mataura River in forest. There are a few patches of forest containing Silver beech in the lower Mataura floodplain near Titiroa Stream but the forests of the area are dominated by kamahi, rimu and rata. The totara forest in the Otatara/Sandy Point area is regarded as nationally significant as it is growing on relatively recently formed sand dunes, the only place in New Zealand where this occurs. Another area of significance is the extensive wetland extending from the Mataura River Estuary to the New River Estuary and encompassing Waituna Lagoon, Awarua Bay, Tiwai Spit and Bluff Harbour. A number of uncommon species live here and many others reach their southern limit here. There are a few existing tracks into wetlands. One is at Waituna Lagoon and another is the Gamble s Boardwalk in Otatara. Elsewhere the wetland is accessible off the Tiwai Road, the Awarua Bay Road and from the end of Moffat Road at Waituna Lagoon. Several plants occur only in the region Asplenium scleroprium and Gunnera hamiltonii live only on the Southland coast apart from small populations on Stewart Island. Several plants threaten Southland ecosystems. These include Spartina or Cord grass, an invasive species which has now been almost eliminated from mudflats, Chilean flame creeper which is spreading through forests and Wakame or Undaria, an invasive Japanese seaweed now well established at Bluff. March

141 Visiting plant enthusiasts can see a range of species and ecosystems by visiting Gamble s Boardwalk, the Greenpoint Walkway, the Glory Track, Seaward Bush, Kilmock Bush, Daffodil Bay, Tiwai Spit and the Waipohatu Walk at Haldane. Brian and Chris Rance maintain a Threatened Plant Garden at their residence in Otatara and there is a collection of native plants in the Cockayne Garden in Queens Park Invercargill. Fauna The Invercargill Area has a good range of bird species, especially coastal ones. Of particular significance are two endangered endemic waders the southern race of the New Zealand dotterel and the Black stilt and the migrant waders of which about 15 species arrive in Southland estuaries each spring after a flight from Alaska or Siberia. Awarua Bay is nationally significant as a wader habitat with a number of rare species turning up each summer. The head of Awarua Bay is regarded as the best place in Southland to see bitterns and the best place to observe a range of species in close proximity is Sandy Point. 70 species were recorded from the Otatara/Sandy Point/Oreti Beach area during a five-year survey which ended in The iconic Yellow-eyed penguin breeds sparingly on the Southland coast with a number of the birds usually visible, and attracting much attention, at Curio Bay. Two aviaries in the Invercargill Area provide the opportunity to see birds which are hard to observe in the wild. The Queens Park Aviary has parakeets, keas, kakas, wekas, Campbell Island teal and many exotic species. It has a large walk-through aviary and smaller cages. Ostriches, Guinea fowl and bantams live in nearby enclosures. Maple Glen near Glenham offers one of the south s more unusual bird experiences. This garden and nursery near Glenham has an extensive collection of exotic birds, many of which are flying free. These include pheasants, mute swans, lovebirds, cockatiels and various other parrots. There are a number of private aviaries including some dedicated to raising or rehabilitating native species. Two marine mammals are significant in the area. These are Hectors dolphins and Sea lions. Hectors dolphins are found in shallow coastal waters and a small pod is resident at Porpoise Bay where they are often seen close inshore. Sea lions live around Waipapa Point and in Porpoise Bay. The commonest marine mammal is the Fur seal, quite frequently seen on Oreti Beach and around the Bluff and Haldane coast. Two other species of New Zealand seals the Elephant seal and the Leopard seal are sometimes seen on beaches. There are occasional visits to Bluff Harbour by Right, Humpback and Killer whales. Three other dolphins species Dusky, Bottlenose and Common are seen around the coast at times. Settlements and towns Invercargill, Bluff, Woodlands, Waimahaka, Greenhills, Wallacetown, Makarewa, Thornbury, Gorge Road, Fortrose, Tokanui, Edendale, Waikawa, Niagara, Kapuka and Wyndham. March

142 Maori history In pre-european times there were Maori villages at Omaui, Whalers Bay and Bluff but little remains of the pre-european settlement of the area apart from occasional artefacts and middens. These villages were situated in areas rich in resources such as seafood, birds, seals, eels, lampreys, totara wood and flax used for clothing and mats. There was an extensive adze manufactory at Tiwai Point in the area now occupied by the smelter and at other points in Bluff Harbour. The stone was argillite, easily chipped into shape for later grinding into adzes. Southland Museum and Art Gallery has a display of Maori artefacts, mostly collected locally. There are also collections in Bluff Maritime Museum, Wallace Early Settlers and Waikawa Museums. The largest single object in the SMAG collection is a waka carved from a totara log. A post-european carved house at Anderson Park is another significant item of traditional Maori culture in the area. There is recognition of Maori as the first occupiers of the land in signage at the aluminium smelter and at the summit of Bluff Hill. There are suggestions below on doing more to acknowledge Southland s first inhabitants. See p 138. Industries Coal Most of New Zealand s lignite reserve is in the Invercargill area. There are a few small mines operating, the largest of which is the Waituna Coal Mine. It seems likely that in the near future a massive mining operation may be announced. Aluminium Smelter This is the single largest industry in the Invercargill Area. It opened in 1971 following the completion of the Manapouri Power Project and has been expanded three times since then. The current production capacity is 330,000 tonnes of aluminium per annum. Aluminium ranks as the seventh New Zealand commodity export earner, but the Tiwai Point smelter is the largest single operating site in New Zealand. The economic benefit of NZAS to the New Zealand economy is about $3.65 billion and the smelter credited with creating 18% of the region s GDP and providing employment, directly or indirectly, for around 2,600 workers. Railways There was formerly a system of branch lines throughout the area but with the decline in timber extraction and the improvement in the road network these have closed with exception of the lines From Invercargill to Bluff, Invercargill to Ohai and Invercargill to Dunedin. Forestry Indigenous forestry has largely disappeared. There are a number of pine plantations, the most extensive in the Invercargill area being at Pebbly Hills. Extensive eucalypt plantations are now covering former rough farmland in the Redan Valley, at Fortification, Waituna, Tokanui and the Waikawa Valley. March

143 Fishing A small fishing industry is based at Waikawa and a larger one at Bluff. The oysterboats which work the Foveaux Strait beds are also based at Bluff. Farming There were a number of dairy factories in the area, and a total of 80 in the whole of Southland - now all closed - with the milk being transported to the Fonterra plant at Edendale. Current farming is a mixture of beef, dairy, sheep and deer with a few crops. Electricity There is no present electricity generation within the area although the original Invercargill power house is still preserved as Warehouse Stationery. Electricity generating equipment from the Civic Theatre was formerly displayed at SMAG. Gold mining A small amount of goldmining took place in the Invercargill area namely at Bushy Point in Waituna Lagoon and on Waipapa Beach. The only signs of goldmining are a derelict dredge in the sandhills at Waipapa Beach. This is accessed by a 7 km walk from the lighthouse or across private land. The structure has had some conservation treatment from DoC but has now collapsed. Whaling Shore whaling stations were established in the area in the 1830s and each lasted only a few years before the stock of whales was exhausted. There were whaling stations at Omaui, Sandy Point, Bluff, Fortrose and Waikawa Harbour. Nothing remains of any of these and the only recognition given to the presence of the former stations is a whale pot at Whalers Bay. Sealing Sealing began on the Southland coast in the 1790s. Flaxmilling The last of the flax mills in the area was at Redan and Gorge Road. It closed around Linen flax was grown for a few years around WW2 with one factory at Woodlands. Tourism Tourism is a growing business. Invercargill does not have a reputation as a tourist town and perhaps it should be content with this. It lacks both the climate, the geographical features and the spectacular attractions that somewhere like Queenstown can offer. Invercargill is perhaps best regarded as a gateway to exploring the rest of the south Fiordland, the Catlins and Stewart Island. Within the Invercargill area there are however plenty of tourist attractions. These are: Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay, the view from Bluff Hill, the Southern Scenic Route, Oreti Beach, Southland Museum and Art Gallery, Queens Park, distinctive Invercargill buildings, Waipapa Point lighthouse, Niagara Falls, Bluff walks, Bluff Maritime Museum, Waikawa Museum, Anderson Park Art Gallery. Tourist accommodation is available in the main areas of settlement with hotels in Invercargill and Bluff, a range of homestays and farm stays plus camping grounds in Invercargill and Bluff and at Porpoise Bay, Fortrose and Haldane. March

144 Recreation Tracks There are many kilometres of walking tracks in the area, installed and maintained by DOC, ICC SDC and private landowners. The best known of these is probably the Foveaux Walkway which follows the exposed Bluff coastline around from the end of State Highway One. Branch tracks the Glory Track, Topuni Track and Millennium Track take the fit walker up to the summit of Bluff Hill and through coastal forest. A new track at Omaui leads to a lookout point. Sandy Point has a number of tracks including McShane s Track, the Daffodil Bay Tracks, Petrie s Track, the Rover Track and the Kilmock Bush Track. There are tracks through Seaward Bush, Edendale Scenic Reserve, Seaward Downs, Whitebaiting Popular in the Titiroa Stream and Mataura River. Fishing Popular in the major rivers and their tributaries. Sea fishing takes place around the Bluff coast and in Bluff Harbour. An annual fishing competition at Bluff Birdwatching Bird-watching groups regularly pass through the area on their way to Fiordland and Stewart Island. Favoured bird-watching localities are Awarua Bay, Daffodil Bay, the new lagoon, Bluff and Waikawa Harbour. Swimming Oreti Beach and Porpoise Bay are popular with hardy bathers in the summer Existing historical and natural history interpretation The area is well-supplied with museums these are: Southland Museum and Art Gallery This is Southland s foremost visitor attraction drawing over 200,000 visitors annually. The museum features a popular Roaring Forties Gallery interpreting the Subantarctic islands, Tuatarium, Maori, Natural History, Victoriana Galleries, Fastest Indian exhibition, art galleries and the Information Centre. There was a total redevelopment in This changed the shape of the museum to a giant white pyramid and inspired its Maori name Niho o te Taniwha - Tooth of the Taniwha. Observatory The Observatory attached to the museum opened in It is open on Wednesday nights during the winter. Bluff Maritime Museum Bluff Maritime Museum has an important collection of material relating to Southland s links with the sea. There are whaling, oystering and fishing artefacts as well as a working tripleexpansion steam engine. Outside the museum the oyster boat Monica has been preserved. March

145 Wyndham and District Historical Museum Wyndham Museum has collections of historic items relative to the Wyndham area including sheep farming, dairy farming, dairy factories, horseracing, fishing, household items and histories of local clubs. Richardson Truck Museum The Richardson Truck Museum contains the largest collection of trucks in the South Island. The late Bill Richardson was willing to show small groups through but the museum has never been open to the public. Waikawa Museum and Information Centre The Waikawa Museum contains a substantial amount of local material including fossils, Maori artefacts, early technology and clothing and relics of whaling, fishing, milling, quarrying and gold mining. The museum is an old school building and the old jail is adjacent. Thornbury Vintage Machinery Museum This museum opens when required. It has a valuable collection of vintage farm machinery and local history. Anderson Park Art Gallery Anderson Park Art Gallery, Invercargill, formerly the grand home of Sir Robert and Lady Elizabeth Anderson. The home is set in 24 hectares of bush and gardens and since opening as an art gallery in 1951, it has built up a fine collection of over 800 items of New Zealand art. Southland Fire Service Museum The recently opened Fire Service Museum has five engines and a great deal of fire equipment and memorabilia. Start of SH1 This sign is a favourite with tourists. For many it is the southernmost point in the world they will ever visit. Wyndham Park Heritage Centre The Heritage Centre is at Glenham. It has a garden and a collection of vintage farm machinery. Hospital Museum of Southland The museum is set up at Kew Hospital. It has a large collection of old medical equipment and memorabilia. Paua Shell House The loss of the Paua Shell House is another blow to the Bluff Community in its efforts to encourage tourism. Old Invercargill wharf The area around the old wharf is being landscaped. Useful signage, the replica locomotive, the landscape and the suitability of the area for picnics make this to be the single best place from which to talk about Invercargill s history to school groups. March

146 Summit of Bluff Hill This is the best vantage point in Southland. Good signage and a newly reconstructed observation platform make it easier for the visitor to identify landscape features and learn about the geology and long human history of the area. Gunpits on Bluff Hill These have been restored - although a gun is lacking and signage installed. These represent the only coastal defences built in Southland and have a corresponding historical importance. Waituna Walkway A board walk and bird hide have recently been opened at Waituna Lagoon to introduce visitors to the bird and plantlife of the Waituna ecosystem. Tuturau Monument There is a monument at Tuturau commemorating the last inter-maori conflict in the south in 1837 at the small settlement of Tuturau. Access to the monument is across a paddock. There is signage by the road telling the story of the conflict. Bushy Point Educational Area Ian and Jenny Gamble have built a boardwalk on their property at the end of Grant Road Otatara. The most interesting feature of the area is its fernbird population and visitors are unlucky not to see one of them. Visitors need to contact the Gambles before arriving. Tararua Acre This is the mass grave for some of the bodies recovered after the loss of the SS Tararua in 1881 at Waipapa Point. It is accessed by a 10 minute walk across paddocks. Access is closed during lambing. Signage at Waipapa Point tells the story of the loss of the SS Tararua and its passengers. It was the third greatest loss of life in a New Zealand shipwreck after the Orpheus and the Wairarapa. Of related interest is a second mass grave in the Fortrose cemetery. This contains more unidentified bodies recovered from the beach after the shipwreck. These are the only two mass graves in Southland. Waipapa Point Lighthouse The first lighthouse was built following the wreck of the Tararua in The present light is automated and is the most easily accessible of the lights on the Southland coast. Waipapa Point This is an extensive rock platform popular with tourists, fishermen and school groups doing a rocky shore study. Although exposed it has abundant marine life and is one of the best rocky shore study sites. Bluff and Omaui are the other two sites in the area used by schools. Fur seals and Sea lions both live in the area. Sandy Point Visitor Centre The visitor centre on the Sandy Point Road has displays relating to the history and natural history of the Sandy Point area. Unfortunately it is little used, not regularly open and needs to be revitalised in some way to encourage visitors and make it viable. March

147 Green Point Walkway Opened a few years ago this boardwalk is proving an asset for visitors and school groups. The useful signage, wheelchair access, ship graveyard and nearby estuarine animal and plant life make this a suitable site for fieldtrips and visitors interested in the story of Bluff Harbour. Shearing Museum (Shearing South) This is a private museum with interactive displays in Arcade 55 off Dee Street Invercargill. The museum doesn t have much publicity but makes a useful contribution to preserving the story of shearing, Southland s fist major export industry. Slope Point Slope Point is the southernmost point in the South Island. It is accessed by a 20 minute walk over private land but access is closed during lambing. The spot is popular with tourists and fishermen. Slope Point is near Haldane and is one of the attractions for people exploring the Catlins area. Curio Bay World famous for its tree fossils, Curio Bay draws large crowds throughout the year. Niagara Falls This spot got its name as a joke. The Niagara Falls drop about a metre just before the stream flows into Waikawa Harbour. Historical buildings and other structures 71 of Southland s 98 structures listed by the Historic Places Trust are within the area. This includes 15 of the 24 structures classified as Category one National significance. These 15 are: Dog Island Lighthouse (1865); Waimahaka Homestead (1929); Invercargill Water Tower (1889); Dee Street Hospital (1876); Southland Provincial Council Building (1864); Invercargill Town Hall (1906); St John s Church (1887); First Church (1915); Masonic Hall (1926); St Mary s Basilica (1905); Anderson Park (1925); Lennel (1882); Gerards Railway Hotel (1886); Troopers Memorial (1907) and Bank of New South Wales (1904). Potential development and interpretation At various times these projects have been suggested Omaui Coastal Track Having walked almost every inch of the coast in the area being covered I (Lloyd) have seen spectacular coastal views which few other people have enjoyed because of lack of easy access. A future track development might be the continuation of the Bluff coastal track the whole of the way around to Omaui. In places this is across private land although a road reserve may go the whole of the way around the coast. The tramp would be in the order of ten hours on a reasonable surface and would afford great views, a mixture of rocky and sandy beaches and cliffs and the chance to see seabirds and marine mammals. A trust would need to be formed to organise the track but the project is worthwhile and achievable. Another coastal walkway would be along the clifftops and beaches from Fortrose to Waipapa Point. March

148 The largest tract of native bush within Invercargill city limits is the Omaui Scenic Reserve administered by DoC. This is a well-preserved tract of forest extending from the Omaui Road to Rocky Knoll. A walking track through this forest could link up to the existing Lookout Track which heads up the hill from the end of the Omaui Road near the township. The forest contains kidney ferns, the only locality for this species in the Invercargill Area. Other possible tracks The Falls Track at the Waipohatu Stream near Haldane was abandoned some years ago and has become overgrown. I believe this is being restored by a local group. The Slopedown Nature Walk and picnic area was accessed from what is now Egremont Road on the Wyndham-Mokoreta Road. This was a popular school camping site but is no longer accessible because of forestry operations in the area. Is it possible to open up this area again for recreation? Shoreline tracks Continued development of the Invercargill shoreline tracks could see tracks developed on the airport side of the Waihopai Channel from the Stead Street Bridge and along the embankment leading from Stead Street to the old rifle range. History Gallery at the Museum A very obvious loss in the interpretation of Southland s past has been the closure of the History Galley at Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Immediate steps should be taken to replace this either in its former space or in a new building. Redeveloped Observatory The Observatory has a number of disadvantages. It is now 35 years old and technology has greatly changed since it was built. It is difficult to access because of the stairway, the museum obscured the sky to the east and increasing light in town makes viewing the night sky difficult. The Southland Astronomical Society has plans to relocate the facility. Kakapo The recent public display of a kakapo on Ulva Island for paying visitors shows that people are keen to take any opportunity to see one of the world s rarest birds. Considerable taxpayer money goes into maintaining this species and it might not be unreasonable to have a facility in Invercargill where at least one of them is on free pubic display. Oysters Is Southland doing enough to promote its association with oysters? Where is the giant oyster and the National Oyster Museum? Aquarium There are many fine aquaria in New Zealand, the closest to Invercargill being at Portobello. With its close association with the marine environment could Bluff be the ideal place for the Southland Aquarium? Richardson Truck Museum Here is a splendid collection of vehicles of national and worldwide significance. Can this be made available to the public? March

149 Maori Southland Although there are a number of modern marae in Invercargill and one in Bluff, there is little to show that the area was occupied for several hundred years before the arrival of the first Europeans. A recent attempt to reconstruct a Maori settlement at Omaui has folded and it would seem that there is potential for an organisation to offer an authentic Maori experience. There is a genuine need for school groups to be able to find out about how Maori gathered food, cooked and dressed themselves in pre-european times. There are few written resources available to schools either. Rail Trail The Central Otago Rail Trail has proved very popular and attracts large numbers of cyclists. There is limited potential for a small-scale rail-trail in the area. Two sites have been suggested. The first of these is the Glenham Tunnel. This is the only Southland railway tunnel unless we count Cayfords Tunnel at Ohai which is actually a rather thick overbridge. The Glenham Tunnel was used only briefly as the branch line was only open a short time. It is a significant piece of Southland architecture but rarely seen. Access is through a farm but it is no great distance from the Glenham Road. A walk through the tunnel and along the remnant of railway embankment would be an interesting experience, and similar to Tunnel Hill not far from Owaka. Several years ago the Tokanui Lions held a fundraising event where they arranged for hikers to be able to walk the old rail trail from Waimahaka to Tokanui, a distance of about 10km. Although well overgrown and at times missing, the route was not too hard to follow and may be worth opening as a rail trail. Interpretative rock garden Some years ago plans were afoot for an outdoor display of Southland s rocks. The proposal was that large rocks representing as many rock types from Southland as possible would be collected and moved to a display area close to the museum. One rock a garnet boulder has been put in place and others are stored with more to be collected and the project completed. Boat tour of New River Estuary Despite the importance of the New River Estuary in the growth of Invercargill, there are not many places from which is can be appreciated. Is there a possibility of a commercial boat trip from the old wharf or Oreti River which could show people what the estuary is like from the inside? A locomotive display Despite the importance of rail to the south there are no historical locomotives in the region apart from the fine replica of Lady Barkly at the old Invercargill wharf. Between 1896 and 1930 at least 26 Johnston locomotives were built in Invercargill for bush railways. The surviving example is Black Maria, built in 1902 and displayed at the Pourakino Picnic Ground. Between 1924 and Traills Tractors were built in Invercargill. These were Fordson model F farm tractors mounted on a four wheeled trolley and coupled to a fourwheeled bogie - all eight wheels being powered. One of these survives at the old mill site at Tautuku. Similar Wilson Tractors were built in Invercargill between 1925 and 1951 and seven Melhop tractors were constructed, the last being in Would it be possible to locate one, restore it and return it to the south? March

150 Tram restored Regrettably none of the Invercargill trams was kept when the tram service ceased in Two exist in derelict condition at Ferrymead in Christchurch. They are restorable at a price. Is there a possibility that one day an Invercargill tram will again run in our streets? References Bremer, J.E The History of Greenhills J.E.Bremer Invercargill Bunce, M.L., Douglas, K.F & McDonald, D.J Teretonga 25 Southland Sports Car Club Inc Invercargill Bunce, M.L Sawdust and Scholars Otatara School Centennial Committee Invercargill Chandler, H.L A History of New River Estuary and its Environs New River Estuary Technical Advisory Committee Invercargill Cooke, P Defending New Zealand Defence of New Zealand Study Group Wellington Cyclopedia of New Zealand Volume 4 Otago & Southland 1905 Wellington Dear, L The Invercargill Book Morepork Press Invercargill Esler, I. L Invercargill 150 Years Lloyd Esler Invercargill Galer, L Historic Buildings of Otago and Southland New Zealand Historic Places Trust Wellington Griffiths, G.J Names and Places in Southern New Zealand Otago Heritage Books Dunedin. Hall-Jones, J Bluff Harbour Southland Harbour Board Bluff Southland District Walkway Committee 1983 Get Out and Walk Dept. of Lands and Survey Invercargill Thomson, J. (ed.) 1998 Southern People Longacre Press Dunedin Turnbull, I.M. & Allibone, A.H Geology of the Murihiku Area IGNS Lower Hutt Tyrrell, Watt, J.O.P Southland s Pioneer Railways The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Wellington Information on regional museums March

151 Waipapa Point and Lighthouse Porpoise Bay Niagara Falls Ventifacts Bluff Jail, Waikawa Museum Birdwatching Invercargill Aviary March

152 THE ISLANDS OF FOVEAUX STRAIT AND NEW ZEALAND S SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS - WHAT ARE THEIR STORIES? Compiled by Cathy Macfie 2007 A small island in Paterson Inlet, Stewart Island March

153 THE ISLANDS OF FOVEAUX STRAIT (AND NEW ZEALAND S SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS) Definition The significant islands of Foveaux Strait are: Stewart Island/Rakiura (including Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, Ulva Island and the Titi Islands); Ruapuke Island; Dog Island; Rarotoka/Centre Island; Solander Islands/Hautere. New Zealand s subantarctic island groups are: Snares; Auckland, Campbell, Bounty and Antipodes. Geology and landscape features During the last ice age (14,000 to 10,000 years ago), so much water was stored as ice that sea levels were lower than today and it would have been possible to walk from Bluff to Stewart Island. It s likely the windswept landscape would have been characterised by tussock grasses, tough leaved shrubs, ponds and wetlands (similar to Waituna wetlands). There would have been few, if any trees. As ice melted, the sea level began to rise, taking more than 5,000 years to rise 130 metres (an average of 25 mm p.a.) About 6,000 years ago the sea level was higher than it is today but then settled back to today s coastline. Foveaux Strait is 10 nautical miles at its narrowest point and never more than 60 metres deep. Geologically, Stewart Island is part of a batholith of igneous rocks (mostly plutonic and most of those granite) that extends northwards through Bluff Hill and western Southland into Fiordland. The northern quarter of the island is diorite and gabbro and features Mt Anglem/Hananui, the highest mountain at 980 m. Granite weathering (exfoliation) has created spectacular bare domes in the landscapes of the Tin Range and Fraser Peaks (Gog and Magog). Fraser Peaks, Pegasus, Stewart Island March

154 With few exceptions, glaciation has not played a part in shaping the landscape. The features of Paterson Inlet are not ice-carved but the result of rising sea levels flooding river valleys (rias). Wind has been an important influence in shaping landforms. The orientation of parallel sand ridges in the Ruggedy Flat-Freshwater River depression reflect the prevailing WNW winds that funnel round both sides of the aptly named Ruggedy Mountains. Mason Bay is an outstanding sand-dune landscape with its 14 km long beach fronting duneland 3 km wide and up to 150 m high. The fearsome teeth of the Solander Islands guarding the western approach to Foveaux Strait are relatively recent and volcanic in origin. They are the only New Zealand volcanic feature above water associated with the subduction of the Australian plate beneath the Pacific plate. The five subantarctic island groups sit on continental crust that extends south and east of mainland New Zealand. The northernmost groups (Snares and Bounty Is), like Stewart Island are made of parent seabed rocks: granite and metamorphic rocks more than 100 million years old. Auckland, Campbell and Antipodes Is are more recent and volcanic in origin, with the last activity on Antipodes Is less than a million years ago. However, a small outcrop on Campbell Island has been dated as possibly New Zealand s oldest rocks, some 515 to 545 million years old. Key references DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION, Southland s Estuaries and Coastal Wetlands a conservation education resource, Southland Education Centre 1994 MOLLOY Les and SMITH Roger, Landforms the Shaping of New Zealand, Craig Potton Publishing 2002 PEAT Neville, Subantarctic New Zealand, Department of Conservation 2003 Flora and Fauna Rakiura/Stewart Island has been likened to an ecological stepping stone between modified mainland New Zealand and the relatively pristine subantarctic islands. It is home to a range of plants, birds and animals found nowhere else in the world. It showcases a mosaic of vegetation types from mountains to sea. Its coastal shrublands, dunelands and alpine habitats are nationally important with a high proportion of endemic plants. The existence or creation of predator-free islands have provided Islands of Refuge for some of New Zealand s most vulnerable plants and animals including kakapo (Codfish Id) and Campbell Id teal. The predator free wildlife sanctuary of Ulva Island offers the public a rare opportunity to enjoy close encounters with a range of New Zealand s rare and iconic species. March

155 Ulva Island, Stewart Island Stewart Island offers one of the best opportunities to observe rare native birds such as kiwi, kaka and penguins in the wild. The nutrient rich waters of Foveaux Strait and the mix of circum-polar currents in the Southern Ocean support prolific life from microscopic plankton to large marine mammals. A good example is the millions of titi (sooty shearwater) that make an annual migration to nest on the islands of Foveaux Strait and the Snares. The marine environment has an over-arching influence as a habitat, food source and highway. The small albatross Buller s mollymawk, breeds on the Snare s and Solander Islands and is commonly seen on Foveaux Strait. The subantarctic islands are an extraordinary wildlife stronghold. Their combined land mass would fill no more than half Stewart Island yet they provide an essential landfall for oceanic birds and mammals. More species of penguin and albatross breed here than anywhere else in the world. The Auckland Islands in particular are the principal breeding ground for two of the world s rarest marine mammals: the New Zealand sealion and Southern right whale. Foveaux Strait and the waters of the Southern Ocean also support a commercially important fishing industry, including oysters, crayfish and cod. Key references PEAT Neville, Subantarctic New Zealand- a rare heritage, Department of Conservation 2003 PEAT Neville, Stewart Island a Rakiura Ramble, University of Otago Press, 2000 Notes from on-site interpretation panels Rakiura National Park and display notes for Beyond the Roaring 40 S Subantarctic Experience. March

156 Maori history and legends Te Ara a Kewa is the name given to Foveaux Strait. It relates to the time when the atua or deity Kiwa became tired of crossing the land isthmus which then joined Murihiku (Southland) with Rakiura/Stewart Island. Kiwa requested Kewa the whale to chew through the isthmus and create a waterway so that Kiwa could travel to and fro by waka. This Kewa did and the crumbs that fell from his mouth are the islands in Foveaux Strait. Solander Island is Te Niho a Kewa, a tooth that came loose. Note: This legend is taken from the Statutory Acknowledgment for Rakiura/Te Ara a Kiwa and differs slightly from the version outlined in Coastal Southland which used The Murihiku Story (p 45) as its source. The Statutory Acknowledgment includes a note from Michael Skerrett which explains that Murihiku tradition names Foveaux Strait after the whale Kewa and not the deity Kiwa. The Murihiku version of the legend is aligned with that told in The Murihiku Story. Rakiura means land of the glowing skies. While it refers to the embarrassment of an unrequited love story, it also describes the island s spectacular sunsets and night-time displays of Aurora australis. Omaui is said to have been named after Maui when he stayed at the mouth of the New River Estuary. It is said that in order to keep his waka from drifting away, he reached into the sea and pulled up a stone to be used as an anchor, which he named Te Puka o Te Waka o Maui (Rakiura/ Stewart Island). After the death of Honekai (principal chief of Murihiku, based at Oue in the early 1820s) there was a shift from coastal villages to Ruapuke Island which became the main Ngai Tahu stronghold (prompted by fear of invasion from the north). Pahi and Tupai were among the first rangitira to settle on the island. Treaty of Waitangi signed on Ruapuke Island by Tuhawaiki and others. The pa was never completed with realisation that Te Rauparaha could not reach this far south. Rarotoka (Centre Island) provided a safe haven for mainland kaik of Pahi, Oraka and Aparima. Rakiura has a prominent part in Maori history with the Neck being a particularly favoured settlement spot. Port Pegasus had a Maori settlement with a legacy of middens and cave dwellings. There was also a pa at Port Adventure. Rakiura Maori had some of the earliest contact with Europeans through the focus of sealing and whaling on southern waters from late 1700s. Rakiura and the Titi Islands were renowned for their rich resources of bird life, shellfish and wet fish. A variety of plant resources were also taken in the coastal area including flax and pingao. Black mud (paru) was gathered at Ocean Beach for dye. Poha were made from bull kelp around the coast, wrapped in totara bark. Titi Islands are an important part of the Ngai Tahu southern economy with Taukihepa (Te Kanawera) being the largest. Titi were and are traded as far north as North Island. Solander Island (Hau tere) was used by Maori for fishing and titi gathering. Foveaux Strait was a major highway and trade route especially where land travel was difficult. There was regular travel to and from Rakiura and between other islands, especially Ruapuke and Rarotoka. The titi season involved large movement across the Strait, using Whenua Hou and the Ruggedy Islands as staging posts for the Titi Islands off the south-west coast of Rakiura. March

157 Waka hunua (double-hulled canoes or canoes with outriggers) were an important means of early transport on the open waters of Foveaux Strait and around the Rakiura coast. Post European contact, whale boats became the preferred transport. Archaeological finds on the Snares and Enderby Island (Auckland Id) confirm Maori visited at least two subantarctic islands before their European discovery. Key Reference The State of Southland s Environment: Coastal Statutory Acknowledgements, Environment Southland 2005 Post European history Sealers, whalers and the early contact period European discovery of the subantarctic islands with their seal rookeries between late 1700s and 1810 took the pressure off Foveaux Strait exploitation for a few years. At its peak, sealing ships might return to Sydney with 80,000 to 100,000 skins. Although Captain Cook had his suspicions, it was sealer Owen Folger Smith who confirmed the existence of Foveaux Strait in 1804, although the information was initially suppressed. Captain John Grono provided the first description of Smith s Strait from the west when he returned to Sydney in 1809 with 10,000 sealskins and named it Foveaux Strait after his friend and then New South Wales Governor, Major J. Foveaux. The abandonment of sealing gangs for months (even years) at a time was commonplace. One gang of four was left on the Snares for 8 years; another in 1808 was stranded on Solander Island for 4 years. Stories of hardship and deprivation abound. The revenge killing by Honekai of five sealers from the Sydney Cove (when James Caddell s life was spared) took place on Big South Cape Island. The successful integration of Caddell into Maori life and the considerable contribution he made to early Maori-Pakeha relationships and trade is a compelling story. Sealing gangs that respected Maori protocol and got permission from Chief Honekai fared better. During , for instance, Robert Murray s sealing gang was based in Port William trading iron goods for potatoes. By 1824 with Caddell s involvement, local Maori from Pahia and Ruapuke were trading with Australian trading vessels that returned to Sydney with cargoes of flax and potatoes in return for European commodities. Between 1816 and 1826 some 100 sealers lived semi-permanently in and around Foveaux Strait. The first mixed marriage communities formed on Codfish, Ruapuke and Stewart Island where a shipbuilding venture started at Port Pegasus in James Spencer, founder of Bluff, was one of the Codfish sealers who married a Maori woman. March

158 Seal on the rocks in Paterson Inlet, Stewart Island The first whalers were ships from Australia, Britain, America and France cruising New Zealand waters in search of sperm whale. Diminishing numbers forced a switch of focus to shore-based whaling gangs hunting southern right whale. The whaling season was normally March to October when migratory southern right whales frequented Foveaux Strait to calve and mate inshore. Foveaux Strait Maori were employed as whaleboat crews for the first New Zealand shore whaling station at Preservation Inlet (1829). The small shipbuilding community at Port Pegasus also found employment constructing boats and buildings for the whaling station. When whaling shifted to Foveaux Strait in the mid 1830s, trypots sprang up around Stewart Island and Ruapuke Island. Johnny Jones ran shore-based whaling stations at Paterson Inlet and Codfish Island. In the 1836 and 1837 winter seasons, he also had a small seasonal camp with a whaling boat and trying out equipment on Ruapuke Island. Tuhawaiki established his own whaling business, employing Pakeha as whalers and book keepers. In 1924, a repair yard and service base was built at Price s Inlet, Paterson Inlet for the Norwegian-based Rosshavet Whaling Company. It closed in 1932 and some of the buildings and equipment were relocated. March

159 Key references Damaged propellers from the Norwegian whaling base HALL-JONES John, Stewart Island Explored, Craig Printers 1998 LOGIE Stephen, The Founding of Jacob s River historical events leading to early Riverton settlement, unpublished paper 2002 PEAT Neville, Subantarctic New Zealand a rare heritage, Department of Conservation 2003 Settlement and farming Towards the end of the 1820s (motivated by the threat of a northern invasion), Ruapuke Island became the centre of southern Maori leadership. Missionary Rev. Johann Wohlers landed on Ruapuke Island in 1844, at the invitation of Tuhawaiki. Until his death in 1885, Wohlers (with the support of his wife) served the far-flung Maori communities of Foveaux Strait. In addition to potato crops which flourished on Ruapuke island, Wohlers introduced wheat, vegetables, cattle and sheep. Foveaux Strait island settlements have tended to be short-lived, associated with specific initiatives and rarely surviving beyond their original purpose. Oban with a population of approximately 400 is the only substantial township. The subantarctic islands have no permanent settlement despite some futile efforts to establish farming ventures on the Auckland and Campbell Islands. Attempts to farm Stewart Island were also challenged by wet ground and isolation, although pastoral runs created in 1879 at Island Hill and Kilbride in the Mason Bay area were farmed until The Rakeahua Run at the head of Paterson Inlet s South West Arm proved too wet for sheep grazing although it ran sufficient cattle to supply the Norwegian whaling base in the 1920s. The development of aquaculture salmon and paua is Stewart Island s main contribution to farming. March

160 Key references HALL-JONES John, Stewart Island Explored, Craig Printers 1998 HALL-JONES John, Taking the Measure of the New Land, Ch 4 Murihiku the Southland Story, Southland to 2006 Book Project Committee LOGIE Stephen, The Founding of Jacob s River historical events leading to early Riverton settlement, unpublished paper 2002 PEAT Neville, Subantarctic New Zealand a rare heritage, Department of Conservation 2003 Infrastructure and services Even today, roads are minimal or non-existent. Stewart Island has just 25 km of formed roads. Infrastructure focuses on shipping and to a lesser extent air transport. Dependence on marine highways is steeped in history from ocean-going waka to whaling boats and sailing ships travelling the Great Circle Trading Route through the Southern Ocean. (See Maori history and legends) Foveaux Strait ferries and water taxis still play an essential transport role on Stewart Island. Air transport now plays an increasing role, including helicopters able to transport mutton birders to remote islands. Thanks to fuel depots on Enderby Island, helicopters can now respond to subantarctic emergencies. There is a strong association with shipwrecks, particularly on the subantarctic islands where inaccurate charts brought many ships to grief. In the case of the Grafton, survivors depended on their own resourcefulness and resilience for 19 months before three of them managed to reach Stewart Island and organise a rescue party. The lighthouses of Foveaux Strait have historic interest. Dog Island is New Zealand s tallest lighthouse, built in 1865 from stone quarried on the island (and later reinforced with a sheath of concrete inside and out). The last keeper left in (The need for lighthouse keepers to be self-sufficient is exemplified by the story of a Dog Island keeper who was forced to extract one of his own teeth with forceps.) Centre Island lighthouse was built of kauri in 1878 and manned by 3 keepers until It is now solar-powered. Ackers Point is the site of Stewart Island s only lighthouse recently replaced with an automatic beacon. Stewart Island has been self reliant in generating its own electricity. In 1897 the Port Pegasus fish factory started to power its freezer from electricity generated by a pelton water wheel. In 1987, scores of individual home generators around Halfmoon Bay were replaced by a diesel-powered central generator. The first communication between Stewart Island and the rest of New Zealand was postal; for many years, the NZ post office accepted messages written on the pale underleaf of muttonbird scrub. Telephone communication began after 1902 when an undersea cable was laid between Oreti Beach and Lee Bay. In 1931, Awarua Radio provided a radio link to Halfmoon Bay, as the cable was proving unreliable. A new cable laid in 1932 lasted some three decades. Stewart Island is now served totally by radio. March

161 Key references: HALL-JONES John, Stewart Island Explored, Craig Printers 1998 PEAT Neville, Subantarctic New Zealand a rare heritage, Department of Conservation 2003 BOYLE Vince, BROWN Jim, MACFIE Cathy and SLATTERY John, Sea and Air Transport, Electricity and Communications Ch 8, Murihiku the Southland Story, Southland to 2006 Book Project Committee Industries An industry that remains an iconic part of these island stories is muttonbirding. While Maori of Rakiura descent treasure their traditional practices, they have also been able to make the adjustment so that the annual harvest remains vibrant in the 21st century. (Beyond the sealing and whaling era), sawmilling, shipbuilding and localised mining initiatives for gold and tin have made their mark on Stewart Island, leaving relics to be seen, particularly around Paterson Inlet, Port Pegasus and Maori Beach. Norite was mined on Ruapuke Island for monumental purposes. For many years, fishing supported (directly or indirectly) Stewart Island s population. Crayfish, blue cod and paua remain an important commercial fishery. Tourism has become a big industry for an area that epitomises all that is clean, green and wild about New Zealand. Cruise ships and eco-tourism opportunities are thriving. Personalities and events A number of Maori personalities, notably Tiny Metzger and Jane Davis have recorded their memories of muttonbirding for a current major Te Papa exhibition: Mo Tatou: Ngai Tahu whanui. The Reverend Wohlers deserves credit (alongside his Maori contemporaries) for the contribution he made to the peaceable relationships that developed between Maori and Pakeha in Southland. The aurora australis is an unscheduled but nonetheless, a potentially stunning event. A combination of southern latitude and skies free from city lights make Stewart Island (and coastal Southland) outstanding vantage points for spectacular viewing. Rakiura is said to partly owe its name to the event. Contemporary heritage Despite the emergence of a small café culture around Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Island remains a place where visitors can delight in a simple lifestyle where No.8 wire still has its place and kiwi ingenuity has not been replaced by megastores. Apart from the privileged few who have experienced the subantarctic islands first hand or have the fitness to explore Fiordland, Stewart Island for most visitors provides an accessible sense of wilderness, where people have adapted to life that remains dominated by natural forces. March

162 WESTERN SOUTHLAND WHAT ARE ITS STORIES? Compiled by Lloyd Esler Edited by Russell J Beck 2007 Wind blown macrocarpas, Colac Bay March

163 WESTERN SOUTHLAND Definition Northern boundary is a line from Manapouri to Gore. Eastern boundary is the Aparima River, excluding Riverton township which is in Coastal Southland. Western boundary is Fiordland National Park. Southern boundary is the sea shore. Geology and landscape features Geology Much of the Takitimu Range is sediments and remnants of a mighty volcano formed in the Permian Era as an island and later buried then thrust to the surface again. The south east side of the range is Triassic and Permian sedimentary rock with significant fossils. Several sub-divisions of geological time such as Etalian and Malakovian are based on the age of fossils here. Extensive beds of Cretaceous sub-bituminous coal are exploited in the Ohai and Nightcaps area. Miocene limestone is quarried and crushed at Clifden. A nearby cave, the renowned Clifden Cave, is a popular attraction. The Longwood Range is part of the Median Batholith and is composed of plutonic rocks (granites and gabbros) of Paleozoic to Mesozoic age. The Twinlaw and Woodlaw Hills and Riverton peninsula are uplifted blocks of Permian volcanics with some good examples of pillow lavas at Howells Point, Riverton, and on Twinlaw. Alluvial deposits between the Longwoods and the coast have been a rich source of gold and platinum. Miocene fossil beds in the vicinity of the Clifden Bridge are particularly significant and several sub-divisions of geological time Altonian, Lillburnian, Clifdenian and Waiauan are based on the age of strata here. A recently discovered fossil Eocene forest in the Waiau riverbed at Pikopiko north of Tuatapere is attracting interest from palaeontologists. Gemstone Beach near Orepuki is popular place to fossick for garnets and sapphires. March

164 Landscape features Hydrogrossular garnet pebbles from Orepuki Beach The main geographical features of Western Southland are the Takitimu Mountains, the Longwood Range, Waiau River and Valley, the western margin of the Southland Plains and the diverse coastline extending from Riverton to the western end of Te Waewae Bay. The spectacular scenery of the region gives the main road its name Southern Scenic Route. Specific features are the distant views of the Solander Islands and Fiordland mountains, the twins on the Twinlaw Range, the snow-capped peaks of the Takitimu Range, limestone bluffs in the Eastern Bush area and scenic spots along the Waiau River such as Clifden Bridge, Monowai Bridge, Mararoa Weir, Jericho Hill, Redcliff Lookout and Tuatapere. Around the southern coast there are viewpoints at More s Reserve, Tihaka, Cosy Nook and McCracken s Rest. There are popular beaches at Riverton, Colac Bay, Wakapatu, Monkey Island and Orepuki. Flora and fauna The extensive native forests in the region are dominated by beech with rimu and kamahi as lesser components. More s Reserve is dominated by kamahi. Apart from the forests, areas in native vegetation are the tussock-covered tops of the Longwoods and Takitimu Mountains, manuka shrubland around Lake Monowai and Jericho, riverbank shrubs and several wetlands including the Borland Mire, Lake George and Redcliff Wetland. There are native coastal plant communities at Riverton, Tihaka, Wakapatu, and Te Waewae Bay. There are extensive pine and eucalypt plantations in the region including the Alton Forest, plantations in the Blackmount area and up the Lillburn Valley. One interesting botanical feature is the wind-shaped trees which are characteristic of the southern coast. March

165 Three species of mistletoes occur at Borland. Southland s largest trees a group of totaras are reached by a short track from the Motu Bush Road. A day-long botanical itinerary would include a walk in More s Reserve, Riverton Rocks, Tuatapere Scenic Reserve, Big Totara Reserve, Burnt Ridge Track and the Peninsula Track at Lake Monowai, Borland Nature Walk, Jericho Valley and Pourakino Valley. There are a number of large reserves in the region. The largest of these covers the Takitimu Mountains which has nine trampers huts and a network of tracks providing access through beech forest to the bare tops of the mountains. An information pamphlet is available from DOC. The Longwood Range has public access to the Bald Hill summit and vehicle access with permission. The range is predominantly beech forest and open tussock tops. More s Reserve has walking tracks and a viewpoint and is the subject of intensive pest plant and animal management. The Pourakino Valley was formerly popular but access is difficult because of forestry operations and a poor road. A well-formed walking track provides a good introduction to beech forest species. The Tuatapere Scenic Reserve is a remnant patch of podocarp/beech forest with a good walking track. There was formerly a popular picnic spot called Otway s Clearing in the Alton Valley but this has disappeared as result of forestry operations. A reserve in the Dean Forest 23 km from Clifden has Southland s largest trees a number or totaras around 1,000 years old. Reserve land around the Clifden Bridge protects this historic site. The Nature Walk by Borland Lodge is used extensively by school groups and visitors. A two hour walk from the Lodge the Burnt Ridge Track leads to Lake Monowai. For more information on the tracks in vicinity of the lodge, contact Borland Lodge. With permission, trampers can walk up the Jericho Valley from the Mahika Kai buildings to the base of the Takitimu Range. The Mahika Kai is an area of native shrubland being restored by Ngai Tahu. With the loss of native forest and the arrival of pests, the native fauna is greatly reduced from what it was in pre-human times. Areas visited for their birdlife include More s Reserve and Pourakino Valley for riflemen, Borland River for yellowheads, Jericho and Monowai for falcon, Borland mire and Jericho for fernbirds, Lake George for waterfowl, Aparima River at Otautau and Wairaki Rivermouth for river birds. Pied shags have a nesting colony close to the roadside at the Wakapatu turnoff. An annual Birds at Borland weekend introduces interested people to the birdlife of the Monowai area. Bats have been seen in the vicinity of Borland Lodge. Hectors dolphins are regularly in Te Waewae Bay as are a number of whale species. Fur seals breed on the Solander Islands and are seen along the southern coast. A number of small land snails, insects and spiders are unique to the western Southland area. March

166 Maori history In pre-european times there were several Maori settlements along the coast between Riverton, Orepuki and Sandhill Point. More substantial villages were at Colac and Pahia. The local area would have been rich in resources such as seafood, birds, seals, eels, lampreys, wood, stone for tools and flax for clothing and mats. Journeys would have been undertaken inland to hunt birds, trap lampreys and to access the lakes and Fiordland for pounamu. The argillite at Tihaka was an important resource. The stone is a distinctive pale green and because of its fine grain, can be worked to a smooth polish producing artefacts particularly beautiful, as well as functional. This argillite was worked from an early period until Europeans arrived. Argillite outcrops at Tihaka Beach Equally important were the hydrogrossular garnet pebbles found on Orepuki Beach which Maori used extensively for hammerstones to shape the argillite. Because these stones were harder and heavier than other rocks, they made the laborious process of toolmaking easier. This story is included in Te Hokoi at Riverton. Western Southland Maori were renowned expert workers of pounamu and undertook long, arduous journeys to the head of Lake Wakatipu to the source, then rafted the pounamu down the rivers to the coast. Finished artefacts were also traded to the north. A few cave drawings exist in the area and a huge number of stone artefacts have been found. SMAG has a large collection from this region and the Otago and OKains Bay Museums also have material gathered from Western Southland. A valuable description of Pahia at the contact period is given by the sealer, Boultbee. March

167 Post European history Settlement and farming Settlement began as a follow on from the demise of the whaling industry which was centred at Riverton. Land was brought in the hard way by clearing bush and draining wetlands. Initially dairying was important with the establishment of several dairy factories in the area, but sheep farming gradually took over with Aparima having some of the most productive farms in Southland. Dairying has made a comeback, but the factories are all gone with the milk being transported to Edendale. Current farming is a mixture of beef, dairy, sheep and deer. Mt Linton station is one of the largest sheep stations in Southland. Western Southland has several settlements and towns, some have grown, others dwindled Otautau, Fairfax, Ohai, Nightcaps, Tuatapere, Wairio, Colac Bay, Blackmount, Papatotara, Clifden, Eastern Bush, Orawia, Orepuki, Cosy Nook, Monowai Village, Waiau Mouth etc. Industries Mining Gold was discovered in the vicinity of Orepuki in the 1860s. It was originally obtained from the beach by stripping off the sand and gravel to obtain the sandstone bottom upon which the heavier gold had accumulated. In 1865 James Kirkton an Australian miner, discovered the goldfield the gold-bearing alluvial deposits in the hinterland. The Round Hill part of the goldfield was discovered in The Round Hill Field measures about 11 km by 6.5 km and is sited between Colac Bay and Orepuki. The first Chinese goldminers arrived at the Orepuki goldfield in By 1882 there were 500 Chinese there and the last Chinese resident, Lye Kai, died in Although there were substantial Chinese involvement in the Central Otago goldfields and on the West Coast, the most important discrete settlement in New Zealand was at Round Hill. In the 1870s and 1880s this was the fifth most important goldfield in southern New Zealand after the Dunstan, Tuapeka, Mt Ida and Wakatipu goldfields. Round Hill is important because it was the only goldfield where for a long time the Chinese outnumbered the Europeans and it was the southernmost Chinese settlement in the world. It was also unique in that the Chinese could keep up an almost selfsustained lifestyle, little affected by contact with the European world. Canton was the name given the Chinese town at Round Hill. It was the centre of life for the Chinese men who lived in huts scattered around the area, often several men sharing a house. In Central Otago, the Chinese availed themselves of natural caves and used schist slabs and mud-bricks to construct huts. On the Southland coast with an abundance of timber and mills, and a dearth of building stone, the houses were made of sawn planks. These of course had a limited life and Southland has thus been left with hardly a vestige of these buildings whereas Otago has an abundance of miners cottages. At one time the Southland Chinese settlement consisted of about 120 huts spread over about 5 square miles of gold-bearing ground. At the heart were the 38 buildings that constituted the settlement of Canton. Of these five were business houses, 20 were for opium smoking and gambling and the others for different purposes, including a Chinese Temple and a Mission House. The largest building the two-storied tea shop called Taai In Lau (peaceful tower) and owned by Lai Chong, the most prominent Chinese resident. March

168 Lake George is now a nature reserve but there had been much mining around it in the early days and the Great Western Gold Dredge worked on the lake for six weeks in 1900, recovering only 3.5 ounces of gold. The Lake George Rowing Club used the lake from 1908 to Nearby at Midlands Farm, the late Les McKay converted a shearing shed into a museum housing relics from the district. Many of these are of Chinese origin and were recovered from his farm. They include bottles, crockery and jars that once contained soy sauce and preserved food items imported from China. A tour around Midlands Farm reveals a network of water races, shafts, earth dams and the great Port s Race, built a century ago to carry water to the area being mined. Where the road crosses the Ourawera Stream, you see on the right the steep faces formed by sluicing although this is largely lost in native bush, gorse and scrub. There was some gold mining elsewhere in the district such as Diggers Creek and Ligar Stream at Blackmount. A gold dredge worked on the Waiau River for a time. Merrivale, on the north side of the Longwoods was also a scene of active placer mining. Shale Oil shale was mined and processed into oil and kerosene at Orepuki from 1899 to Around 14,000 tons of shale was extracted in this time. A brick building survives. There is currently an oil drilling project in the Eastern Bush area. Cement The Southland Cement Company operated from at Orawia, using the local lime resource. It was capable of producing 40,000 tonnes per year. Turpentine From Tom More processed podocarp waste timber to produce turpentine, and beech to make alcohol at Pourakino. This chemical plant used the equipment from the dismantled oil shale plant at Orepuki. A large concrete water tankstand remains. Chemical works tankstand. March

169 Flourmilling Reid s Mill, near Riverton, was powered by water and ground wheat and oats in the late 1870s. The huge millstones are held by the Riverton Museum. Otautau had a flourmill on the banks of the Otautau Stream in It burned down in the late 1890s and was replaced with a three-storied concrete structure in It was a roller mill, powered by water and was a landmark building. It has since been demolished. Coal Coal has played a significant role in Southland s development, most of which has come from the Ohai area. Underground mining has ceased in favour of opencast working. A private railway line ran from Nightcaps to Wairio between 1882 and In 1925 the Ohai Railways Board built a 13 km private railway track from Ohai to Wairio to link with the national railway network. The line was sold to NZ Rail in The railway from Ohai to Invercargill has remained operational although most other branch lines have closed. It is used solely for the transport of coal. Lime and other minerals Limestone is quarried at Clifden. Other useful minerals that occur in Western Southland are manganese, barium, molybdenium, copper, hematite and platinum. Platinum has been mined from time to time but most other mineral deposits have proven too small for economic ventures. Sawmilling Western Southland is synonymous with sawmilling simply because of the extensive forests in the region. Although sawmilling took place all over Southland, Tuatapere is regarded as the sawmilling centre and the Bushmans Museum covers this story. Sawmilling was also an important industry at Otautau. Significant milling took place at Port Craig, Lillburn, Rowallan, Dean Forest, Takitimu Mountains, Longwoods, etc. More s Mill in the Pourakino Valley was a big operation and its story will appear in the new Riverton Museum. Extensive eucalypt plantations are now covering former rough pasture in the Lilburn Valley and near the Wairaki River. These are harvested on a 15 year cycle. Silver beech is being selectively logged in the Happy Valley area on the west side of the Longwoods. It is processed at Tuatapere. Fishing The fishing industry is based at Riverton and at Cosy Nook. Flaxmilling There were several small flaxmills in the region and a linen flaxmill operated at Fairfax during the WW2 years. March

170 Electricity generation In 1920 the Monowai Power Project was initiated to supply Invercargill with electricity. The lake was dammed and raised 2.4 m, a canal dug, pipeline, penstocks and power station built, generators installed and the Monowai Power Station opened on 1 May It was linked to the national network in 1938 and continues to produce six megawatts. Investigations were carried out in the early 1980s to increase the output from the station by diverting the Borland River into the scheme. This proposal did not proceed. Pipeline to Monowai power station. Pylons built to carry electricity from Lake Manapouri to the Tiwai aluminium smelter traverse the area. Borland Lodge was formerly the Pig Creek Transmission Line Camp used by the New Zealand Electricity Department in the construction of the transmission line. Following the completion of the power project, the New Zealand Electricity Department handed the camp over to the Southland Youth Adventure Trust in Infrastructure Roads The main obstacles for roadmaking in the region were swampy areas and the rivers to be bridged. Substantial bridges were required over the Waiau and Aparima Rivers. The suspension bridge at Clifden is regarded as a handsome design and has been preserved through the HPT. It was designed by C H Howorth. Another suspension bridge crosses the Waiau River near Monowai. With completion of the road through to Manapouri, it has allowed the creation of the Southern Scenic Tourist Route. March

171 Clifden suspension bridge Railways Because of the sawmilling industry, the railway to Tuatapere was necessary and construction began in 1881 and finally reached Tuatapere in A branch line to Orawia opened in The Wairio railway is covered earlier under mining. An impressive railway bridge crossed the Aparima Estuary at Riverton, but it has since been removed. The line has some interesting stonework abutments. The station at Tuatapere has been preserved and the water tank at Orepuki survives. There has been some efforts to preserve the Wairio railway story at Wairio. Tourism and recreation The scenic features of the area have attracted tourists for over 100 years. Tuatapere is the base from which trampers tackle the Hump Track and other tracks begin at Lakes Monowai and Hauroko. Tourist accommodation is available at Borland Lodge, the Koawa Turoa and Takitimu, Monowai Holiday Camp and a range of homestays, farmstays, hotels, motels and camping sites. Tuatapere advertises itself as the sausage capital of New Zealand. Although fishing in the Waiau has dwindled because of the Didymo infestation, it is still popular in the Wairaki and Monowai Rivers and Lake Monowai. Whitebaiting was formerly popular at the mouth of the Waiau but now greatly restricted because of the Didymo infestation. Still popular in the Pourakino and Aparima Rivers where the whitebait stands are a feature. The Southern Scenic Route from Manapouri to Riverton via Tuatapere provides birdwatching groups with opportunities to see some of the less common species. March

172 Hunting is a popular recreation in plantations and native forests. Red deer and pigs are the targets with recreational rabbit and possum shooting. Chamois appear to be spreading into the mountains of Eastern Fiordland. Tramping is popular especially in the Takitimu Mountains where there are a number of DOC huts. Other tramps are in the Longwoods, the Hump Track and tracks near Lakes Monowai and Hauroko. The Wairaurahiri Jet takes runs on the Wairaurahiri River from Lake Hauroko to the sea. Jetboat races have been held on the Waiau River. Charter boats operate on Lakes Hauroko and Monowai. Mantell Rocks is one several spectacular rock outcrops that provide panoramic views. These plutonic rocks are the result of weathering which has left the harder cores as rounded boulders. Tuatapere Wild Challenge is an annual event involving mountain running, kayaking and cycling in the Hauroko area. Colac Bay is a popular surfing beach. Monkey Island, Taramea Bay and Colac Bay are popular with hardy bathers in the summer. Clifden Caves are used extensively by school groups. There is an annual hack race held at Wairio. The Birchwood Hunt has been going since The Riverton Racing Club traditionally operates a race meeting at Easter. Existing historical and natural history interpretation Coal-mining machine and wagons at Ohai Wairio Railway Museum Clifden Bridge panels and plaques and foundation stone Blackmount turnoff information display Borland Lodge Ecology Centre panels Lookout at Mararoa Weir Giant Totara at Motu Bush. Monowai Power Station interpretation Signage at Lake Hauroko Tuatapere Bush Museum Monkey Island panels Colac Bay Missing at Sea plaque Colac Bay Surfer Midland Farm museum at Colac Bay Tekofsky museum at Round Hill Southern Scenic Route Pourakino Valley Locomotive Cairn at Orepuki Sign McCracken s Rest Historic Places sign at Cosy Nook Mantell Rocks March

173 Historical Buildings and other structures Clifden Suspension Bridge Ringway Homestead, and stables The Turrets residence at Monkey Island Monowai Power Station Monowai Suspension Bridge Old Monowai Bridge supports Skeleton of the Cement Works at Orawia Shale works at Orepuki Sluiced faces at Round Hill Old Otahu Flat School Old railway embankments Potential development and interpretation At various times these projects have been suggested: Reconstructed Chinese Village at Round Hill Round Hill was the southernmost Chinese settlement in the world. It has been suggested that a reconstructed village here would be a big drawcard for Chinese tourists who will be a major part of the market in future years. Orawia historical reserve Orawia was once a thriving town centred on the cement works. There are no plaques or monuments to this industry. Old Otahu Flat School The school stands in a paddock. It appears to be in reasonable shape and could be restored. Access to Lake George Lake George is an important waterfowl area. There is no public access except for a very boggy track from the road. Viewing platform and canoe launch? Riverton to Tihaka Walkway This interesting piece of coast can be walked but there is no signage, marked track or recognised right to traverse the coastal land. Develop as a walkway? Access to east end of Wakapatu Beach A short walk through farmland is all that separates Colac Bay from Wakapatu Beach. Public accessway and possible walkway from Colac Bay around Oraka Point to Wakapatu? On the point is the headstone of Rawiri Te Awha, a Maori guide. Viewpoints from Twinlaw and Bald Hill Both these hilltops offer a superb view of most of Southland. Access to both is limited by forestry or telecommunications development. March

174 Pourakino Picnic Ground Formerly a popular camping and picnic spot. Now isolated by logging operations and a road in poor condition. DOC reserve with a loop track and two abandoned tracks leading up and down the valley. Features are a bush locomotive soon to be shifted and the bridge to nowhere which was built to provide access to the bush for locomotives. Improve road and re-open tracks? Tinkertown Formerly a picnic area close to Nightcaps and now largely in eucalypt plantation. Otautau forest loop track This is a few kilometres from Otautau on the road to Pourakino Valley. The track goes through excellent bush but has been abandoned for about ten years. Restoration? Plough at Raymond s Gap This huge yellow plough is mounted close to the road. It was made by the late owner of the property probably as a swamp plough. Plaque? Otter mystery Several of New Zealand s mysterious otter sightings have been in the vicinity of the Clifden Bridge. Potential for a spoof otter lookout? Otways Clearing Formerly a popular picnic ground up Alton Valley, now overgrown and inaccessible. Redevelop? Te Araroa There is a proposal for a walkway extending the length of New Zealand Te Araroa. The website says The proposed Longwood track will follow an old gold race, built by Chinese labourers over 100 years ago, and extending over 40 kilometres to the old release dams above the alluvial goldfields of Round Hill, near Riverton. The north-south alignment of the Longwood track suits Te Araroa, and will also provide a good stand-alone walk in Southland. This project would provide a big boost for tourism and publicity for Western Southland. References Pamphlets - Welcome to Riverton, South Coast Heritage Trail and various DOC pamphlets Adams J. & Nisbet, N East of the Twinlaws Wairio School Centennial Committee Otautau Esler, I. L The Chinese in Southland Lloyd Esler Invercargill Esler, I. L Monowai History and Natural History Borland Lodge Invercargill Hall-Jones, J The South Explored A.H & A.W. Reed Wellington Miller, F.W.G West to the Fiords Whitcoulls Christchurch Hall-Jones, J Goldfields of the South Craig Printing Invercargill Ng, J Windows on a Chinese Past Volume 2 Otago Heritage Books Dunedin Riverton Centenary Committee 1937 Records of Early Riverton and District The Southland Times Company Invercargill Begg, A.C. & N.C The World of John Boultbee Whitcoulls Ltd Christchurch Cyclopedia of New Zealand Volume 4 Otago & Southland 1905 Wellington March

175 Galer, L Historic Buildings of Otago and Southland New Zealand Historic Places Trust Wellington Hall-Jones, F.G Historical Southland Southland Historical Committee Invercargill Hall-Jones, J The South Explored A.H & A.W. Reed Ltd Wellington A.R River Punts and Ferries of Southern New Zealand Otago Heritage Books Dunedin Thornton, Geoffrey G,1892, New Zealand s Industrial Heritage, A H & A W Reed Ltd March

176 FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK - WHAT ARE ITS STORIES? Compiled by Cathy Macfie 2007 Mt Talbot (left) and Hollyford River March

177 FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK Definition From its northernmost point at Long Reef (Martins Bay), the national park boundary travels south, skirting the eastern margins of Lakes Te Anau, Manapouri, Monowai, Hauroko and Poteriteri, finally reaching Foveaux Strait at the Big River mouth. Although only parts of the Waitutu Forest are inside the Park it is included in this section. The western park boundary is defined by the fiord coastline and its associated islands. Note: Solander Islands are a Special Area of Fiordland National Park but have been included in the section on the islands of Foveaux Strait. Geology and landscape features Fiordland has some of New Zealand s most spectacular, most isolated and least modified landscapes, underlain by a complex and extraordinarily dynamic geological history. Some of the oldest rocks in New Zealand are sedimentary mudstones and slates, exposed along the south-west Fiordland coast (particularly around Preservation Inlet). They have been dated by the presence of marine fossils (graptolites) that lived in Ordovician seas some 450 million years ago. Further north, the geological story becomes complicated by combinations of heat, compression and upheaval that created a remarkable variety of metamorphic and igneous rocks (both volcanic and plutonic). Among the metamorphic rocks is a type of pounamu called bowenite or tangiwai, found near Hupokeka/Anita Bay at the mouth of Piopiotahi/Milford Sound and extends to Papa Pounamu/Poison Bay. About 100 million years ago, Fiordland s topography was much flatter and swampland extended some 100 km south of today s coastline. By 30 million years ago, sea levels had risen, reducing the land area to an island some 120 km long by 70 km wide. The limestone features along the eastern side of Fiordland National Park date from this period. The limestone bluffs on the Kepler Track above Brod Bay are particularly distinctive. Just south of Mt Luxmore (at approx m), a sandy limestone conglomerate contains a treasure trove of marine fossils that resemble current rocky seashore life. Today that former shoreline is more than 1 km above sea level and 50 km from the nearest ocean coast (entrance to Doubtful Sound). The Alpine Fault marks the boundary of the Australian and Pacific Plates which are responsible for the rapid rise (in geological terms) of the Southern Alps and Fiordland mountains. A stark example of horizontal displacement along the Alpine Fault is provided by the ultramafic rocks of the Red Mountains east of the fault) which once lay adjacent to Nelson s Dun Mountain (west of the fault), now some 480 km away to the north. A more accessible example providing the markers for the Alpine Fault displacement is Cascade Creek in the Eglington Valley which cuts into these ultramafic rocks. March

178 Continued activity along the plate zone triggers frequent earthquakes, most of which are too deeply centred to be noticed much. While the Alpine Fault is the most powerful, Fiordland is criss-crossed by other fault lines. The most obvious external force in shaping Fiordland has been water, first in the form of ice. The advance and retreat of glaciers over the last two million years have been responsible for creating Fiordland s most stunning landscape features, including lakes, sculpted mountains and deep, u-shaped valleys and the 15 main fiords extending from Milford Sound to Preservation Inlet. Driving the Milford Heritage Highway from Te Anau to Milford Sound is one of the most outstanding (accessible) glacial journeys in the world. An unusual feature occurs on Mt Titiroa near Lake Manapouri. The granite rocks are prone to decomposition producing a fantasy landscape. Alpine dunes and wind ventifact the outcrops. Balancing granite boulder on Mt Titiroa Water continues to play an important role in the Fiordland landscape, feeding the lakes, rivers and cataracts for which the park is rightly famous. Milford Sound is one of the wettest places in the world averaging over 7200 mm rain per annum. Falls of over 250 mm in a day are not unusual. A staircase of marine terraces on the south coast represents the combined effects of coastal erosion and fluctuating sea levels (correlating with periods of glaciation) over the last few hundred thousand years. These terraces are most noticeable between Te Waewae Bay and Lake Hakapoua. outstanding examples of the earth s evolutionary history are among the reasons why Fiordland National Park became part of Te Wai Pounamu World Heritage Area in Key references PEAT Neville and PATRICK Brian, Wild Fiordland, University of Otago Press, 1996 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND SURVEY, The Story of Fiordland National Park, Cobb/Horwood Publications 1986 March

179 Flora and Fauna The scale and wildness of Fiordland is what strikes most visitors. The Milford Heritage Highway is the only road that allows east-west access. For the most part, human footprints are few and far between. For many, Fiordland is the nearest they will come to a wilderness experience. Valleys and lower mountain slopes are thickly forested, mainly by beech with podocarps occupying more favourable sites. 35 plants are endemic to the wider Fiordland area, most of them found above the treeline. Alpine communities are rich in insects and invertebrates, many of them endemic to Fiordland. Flowering alpine plants are spectacular in early summer. The Eglinton Valley with its grassy river flats and extensive forest edge has significant populations of threatened species including yellowhead, yellow-crowned parakeet, South Island kaka and long-tailed bat. Kea make their presence felt, particularly around car parks on the Milford Heritage Highway. Takahe, once thought to be extinct, is Fiordland s best known endangered bird. Approximately 100 plants and invertebrate animals in Fiordland are found elsewhere only in north-west Nelson (an area that once sat alongside Fiordland and has since been displaced along the Alpine Fault see Geology and landscape features). The margin between coastline and fiord harbours a rich wildlife community. The narrow continental shelf off the Fiordland coast attracts sea birds and marine mammals including resident pods of bottlenose dolphins in Doubtful and Milford Sounds. Fur seals are making a strong recovery on the Fiordland coast after being hunted to near extinction in the 19th century. Fiordland crested penguin, one of the rarest penguins in the world, nest on islands and are regularly seen on the shoreline. Fiordland s underwater community is unique; the product of a special relationship between land and sea. A layer of fresh water (1-5 metre thick) filters light, coupled with the vertical fiord walls, creates unusually dark conditions in the sea water beneath. This fools normally deep-sea creatures (including sea pens, sponges and black and red corals) into thriving less than 30 metres from the surface. Marine Reserves have been created at Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) and Te Awaatu Channel in Doubtful Sound to safeguard a sample of these extraordinary communities. Despite their apparent isolation, Fiordland s plant and animal communities have become increasingly vulnerable to change and predation by introduced species. Possums and mustelids (especially stoats) have taken a heavy toll. As with some Foveaux Strait islands, the creation of predator-free islands has created Islands of Refuge for some of New Zealand s most vulnerable plants and animals, including Fiordland skink. Four islands near the entrance to Breaksea Sound have special area status, thought to be beyond the swimming range of stoats and rats. Ambitious plans are in hand to remove deer, stoats, mice and other pests from Fiordland s largest island, Resolution Island (20,860 ha). March

180 Key references PEAT Neville and PATRICK Brian, Wild Fiordland, University of Otago Press, 1996 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND SURVEY, The Story of Fiordland National Park, Cobb/Horwood Publications 1986 SOUTHLAND CONSERVANCY, Interpretation Strategy , Department of Conservation 2002 Milford Deep Underwater Observatory research notes Maori history and legends The demi-god Tu-te-Rakiwhanoa is credited with having created the fiords out of a sheer rock wall with his adze Te Hamo. Starting at the southern end, his technique improved until he achieved perfection with Milford Sound. Larger islands were said to be pieces of land shoved into the sea by his feet. Secretary Island is called Ka tu waewae o Tu the standing feet of Tu. Hine nui te po (goddess of death) visited Piopiotahi (the Maori name for Milford Sound) after Tu-te-Rakiwhanoa had finished his work and was so impressed by its beauty she feared that humans would not be able to tear themselves away. So she created Te Namu, the sandfly to remind humans of their mortality. Her powers are recalled in the place known as Te Namu Te Hine nui te po or Sandfly Point at the end of the Milford Track. Rakaihautu was another legendary figure who carved out the basins of Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri (Moturau) with his digging stick. The origin story of pounamu involves Tama ki te Rangi who was deserted by his three wives. He found one of them at the entrance to Piopiotahi turned to stone (pounamu). Tama s tears are preserved in the tangiwai and gave the bowenite its translucent quality. During the 18th century, conflict between Ngai Tahu and Ngati Mamoe saw groups of Ngati Mamoe pushed westwards into Fiordland. A Ngati Mamoe pa was established at Matauira Island, Preservation Inlet but later destroyed by Ngai Tahu warriors. A group of residents who had been away fishing saw the aftermath of the fighting and fled to Dusky Sound, taking with them Ngai Tahu canoes which they found concealed by foliage. The stranded Ngai Tahu warriors were not seen again. In a separate, incident, another group of Ngati Mamoe were pursued to Te Anau where some escaped into the forest. Captain Cook was received by a group of Maori on Indian Island, Dusky Sound in There were additional huts at Supper Cove and Cascade Cove thought to be 3 or 4 families and about 20 people in all. Other early explorers including Captain Vancouver reported huts but saw no Maori. (Rock shelters and caves were also common occupation sites, particularly around the large lakes and along the south coast as far as Chalky Inlet.) These settlements were most likely temporary as Fiordland was a seasonal source of seals, fish and sea birds. It also provided routes for several pounamu trails. The tangiwai canoe route travelled up the Fiordland coast, while the Waiau River trail branched at the northern end of Lake Te Anau, west to the Milford trail and north to the Hollyford trail (providing access to West Coast pounamu). March

181 The number of statutory acknowledgements in the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement is testimony to the importance, spiritual and physical, that Maori place on Fiordland. The Act (1998) names Lake Hauroko, Moturau (Lake Manapouri), Lake Te Anau, Mt Tutoko and the Waiau River as requiring statutory acknowledgement. Key references ANDERSON Atholl, The Welcome of Strangers, University of Otago Press, 1998 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND SURVEY, The Story of Fiordland National Park, Cobb/Horwood Publications 1986 NGAI TAHU CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT 1998, New Zealand Government Post European history Exploration from the sea Captain Cook was the first non-maori to set foot in Southland when the Resolution arrived at Dusky Sound on 26 March 1773 and stayed until 11 May. That stay in sheltered waters to repair and replenish the vessel gave Cook opportunity to chart and describe the Sound there is no Port in New Zealand I have been in that affords the necessary refreshments in such plenty as Dusky Bay. His endorsement influenced the next 50 years of European history. Cook was followed by George Vancouver who visited Facile Harbour (Dusky Sound) in Nov 1791 and completed Cook s mapping of the fiord. (Vancouver had been a midshipman on Resolution.) A Spanish scientific expedition of two ships commanded by an Italian, Alejandro Malaspina hove to off Doubtful Sound in February Chief navigator Don Felipe Bauza charted the fiord as far as the eastern end of Secretary Island and gave Spanish place names to a number of features. Sealers and whalers Captain Cook alerted the industry to the presence of fur seals at Dusky Sound. Seals are also here in Plenty, they chiefly inhabit the Rocks and small Isles which lie near the sea The sealing industry began in New Zealand in November 1792 when Captain William Raven of the Britannia left a gang of sealers in Dusky Sound. The first European house in New Zealand was built by members of this sealing gang at Luncheon Cove, Dusky Sound. The house was used by 12 sealers until the Britannia returned 10 months later. The same group under William Leith (the Britannia s second mate) also started work on the first European vessel to be built in New Zealand. When Captain Raven returned, it was almost complete and left on the stocks. March

182 Luncheon Cove viewed from the first European house and ship building site In October 1795, the Endeavour put into Facile Harbour, Dusky Sound in an unseaworthy condition. Fortunately, they were able to complete the Luncheon Cove vessel which was commissioned as the Providence. The Endeavour was stripped of all useful items, although two cannons sank to the bottom of Facile Harbour (retrieved and restored in 1984 and held by SMAG and DOC, Te Anau). Towards the end of the month the ship struck a rock after a gale and was hauled as far inshore as possible becoming New Zealand s first recorded shipwreck. (She also brought the first stowaway convicts 41 of them to New Zealand.) The total population in Dusky Sound at that time from the Endeavour and its companion the Fancy was over 240 more than the rest of New Zealand s European population at the time. Given that 35 people remained marooned there until 1797, this could be claimed as New Zealand s first European settlement. Both the Luncheon Cove and Facile Harbour archaeological sites have been excavated and the recovered artefacts are held by SMAG. By the early 1800s Australian sealers had nearly wiped out seals on the Bass Strait grounds and attention turned to the Fiordland coast. Captain John Grono and his ship Governor Bligh have strong associations with Fiordland from 1809, naming a number of places including Milford Sound (after Milford Haven in Wales) and Nancy Sound (after one of his boats). Grono Bay on Secretary Island was one of his Fiordland coast bases. Captain Abimeleck Riggs of the General Gates achieved notoriety as an unscrupulous and cruel sealing master, regularly abandoning gangs at sites around Foveaux Strait and Fiordland. He was often targetted for attack by Maori. Cargoes of 10,000 plus sealskins were commonplace; one sealing vessel Favourite returned with a cargo of 60,000 skins. By the 1820s, seal stocks were almost exhausted and attention turned to whaling. March

183 The first shore whaling station in Southland was established at Cuttle Cove, Preservation Inlet in The land was bought by whaler Peter Williams from Chief Taboca, the first documented land purchase from Maori in the South Island. The whaling station was subsequently managed by Johnny Jones and Edwin Palmer, closing around During its operation, the station averaged 153 tuns of oil per year. (A tun to US whalers = 8 barrels or approx litres). Settlement and farming Unlike the south coast where there was an almost seamless switch from whaling to farming, in Fiordland, there was a gap of some 20 years when little happened. Exploration and surveys in the 1850s paved the way for new activity. The Acheron survey that started in 1851 provided charts of the Fiordland coast with such detail and accuracy that many are still in use today. The first Europeans to venture inland were explorers C J Nairn and W H Stephen who in December 1851 (with the help of Maori guides) followed the Waiau River to its source in Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri. In 1854 Freeman Jackson and Donald Hankinson applied for the first runs near Lake Manapouri and Lake Te Anau (on the Upukerora River) respectively. Other settlers soon followed and by 1870 most runs were taken. Some runholders became explorers in their search for new pasture. Runs were leased high into the mountains; Jack Beer, for instance, used the tops around Mount Luxmore for summer grazing. James McKerrow surveyed Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri in Settlement and services were rudimentary until tourism opportunities prompted the development of Te Anau and Manapouri in the early 1890s. Infrastructure and services Fiordland has retained its sense of wildness essentially because its infrastructure remains so limited. Early initiatives envisaged a different future. In the 1860s Sir James Hector proposed a route to Martins Bay through the Greenstone and Hollyford Valleys a plan that proved impracticable. In 1867 James Macandrew persuaded the Otago Provincial Government to look at Martins Bay as a port and in 1870 an attempt was made to establish a settlement at Jamestown on the north-eastern shore of Lake McKerrow. The dangerous bar, irregular supply steamers and the failure of authorities to complete a bridle track to the settlement resulted in the community s eventual collapse. Stories of exploration abound, many driven by the incentive to find passable routes from east to west or more grazing opportunities. Quintin Mackinnon laid public claim to the discovery of the Mackinnon Pass which provided foot access to Milford in 1888 and became the first Milford Track guide. March

184 The discovery of the Homer Saddle in 1889 opened the opportunity for a vehicle route to Milford, although work did not start from the Te Anau end until 1929 and the tunnel was not pierced until 1940 (soon after which World War 2 stopped further work). It was finally opened to private vehicles in The making of the Milford Road is a story in its own right. Despite the lack of roads, there was still a postal service to Milford which required abseiling skills down a fixed rope. Lake Te Anau was particularly important as an alternative means of transport both for produce and people. Industries In 1842 Captain Anglem was among those who mined bowenite from Hupokeka/Anita Bay and further north. Preservation Inlet was a source of valuable minerals. In 1851 the survey ship Acheron noted coal seams that were better quality than any found so far in New Zealand. The Preservation Inlet Coal Mining Company was an unsuccessful initiative in the 1860s, disadvantaged by isolation, rough seas and the discovery of extensive coalfields at Nightcaps and Kaitangata. Marble was mined from Carswell Sound; silver, copper and lead from Isthmus Sound, and mica from Mt Elwood. In 1885 Puysegur Point s assistant lighthouse keeper found payable quantities of alluvial gold on Coal Island. News spread and by 1890 over 70 miners were working claims on the island. The discovery of gold-bearing reefs led to the development of several mines including the rich Morning Star mine. At its height at the end of the 19 th century, the goldfield had a population of supported by the townships of Cromarty and Te Oneroa. In 1903, however, only 15 men were left quartz mining in the area. Tourism is a Fiordland success story that has been sustained since the first tourists walked the Milford Track in The early contributions made by Brod (who carried tourists across Lake Te Anau in the steamer Te Uira; Quintin Mackinnon who guided and fed the first tramping parties and Donald and Elizabeth Sutherland who welcomed visitors to their guest house at the City of Milford bring humour and character to the story. Manapouri, Te Anau and the Road to the Lakes all developed on the back of tourism. Present day popularity of the Doubtful Sound trip is similarly rooted in a long history of early initiative. March

185 The Kepler Track near Te Anau is one of the many popular walking tracks and venue for the Kepler Challenge The first red deer were liberated on the shores of Lake Manapouri in Little did anyone guess that those deer would become the object of a lucrative industry first for commercial hunters and later, in the 1980s, to pioneer live recovery by helicopters to stock the emergence of New Zealand deer farming. Industry and national parks are a contradiction in terms. However, the existence of the massive hydro-electric power station at West Arm, Manapouri has been part of the landscape since construction work started in the early 1960s. Today 412 huge power pylons begin their long march from West Arm across the Southland Plains to the NZ aluminium smelter at Tiwai. Small hydro schemes operate at Deep Cove and Milford Sound. During construction of the Homer Tunnel power was generated from a hydro scheme in the upper Hollyford River. The concrete foundations remain. The fishing industry which has been long associated with the Fiordland coast highlights the fact that national park protection ends at the tidal edge. The Fiordland Lobster Company is one of New Zealand s largest live crayfishing facilities. In recent years, a combined initiative driven by commercial fishermen has established a Guardians of Fiordland Fisheries and a Marine Conservation Strategy. Personalities and events The largest known landslide on earth happened some 12,000 to 13,000 years ago in the Borland area when a 9 km segment of the Hunter Mountains collapsed. It created a dam about 800 metres high, trapping Green Lake and Island Lake behind it. The rediscovery of takahe in the Murchison Mountains by Dr Geoffrey Orbell in 1948 was also huge event since the bird had been thought extinct for over 50 years. March