THE MAKING OF BRANCEPETH

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 984, 26 November 1910, Page 15

THE MAKING OF BRANCEPETH

PIONEERING IN THE'FIFTIES.

REMINISCENCES. OF OLD DAYS M A V V: -GREAT SHEEP BTATSOI.

S@IE ----GONTRASTS.

'A typical piece of work .in the pioneering of the Wairarapa was the .'founding- of "what afterwards became tie great sheep station; of Brahcepeth. 'Nearly V sixty years ago '• four young .men. set .out from their home, in tho "Htrtt. Valley. to. explore the country (between-the Wairarapa and the East Coast'. /Just previously -'tie. Native' fend Purchase Commissioner of the Say,- Mr. foonald M'Lean. (afterwards' Bir~Kinaid),'.'had' Bought 'a large' block of land from the Maoris in this locality. Neither he nor any other . European fead seen tie land, and it was to this area that -the four youthful pioneers, Messrs. Richmond, William, George, and Hugh Beetham, directed their attention. They penetrated through the eolitudes of the bush to the- Valley of the Waiauioru, and here they were fortunate enough to find in theheart of the forest a block of about 10,000 acres of dear country,■ covered with 'native grassj , ; fem; ■ ..'and; patches or ; shrub, which; their > father, . Mr. -/William Seetham, promptly took up on. lease from. ithe Crown, and settled upon in 'November) 1856. Later on the freehold was purchased, and the holding increased in size. As in tho case of other properties in the Wairarapa, it was tho poorer, open country which was first taken up, and'tho best land. developed iast owing to the expense : of clearing '•way the timber. , ■''..'■

some .750 ■ merino ewes, were driven up the'', coast, -and in from ■ Whare-. ama. For some years also provisions were obtained from Cnstlcpoint, and taken in .on pack-bullocks. The wool at this time was taken, out to the Wairarapa every .year by paok-,' bullock, on a saddle invented \>y-Mr. ; W- Beetham, and, carried by' a rough track across the ranges to a point near Mr. W. Buchanan's homestead .at T Tupurupuru, Gladstone.,-..lEacJi; bullock carried an average of. threo hundred-weight; of wool, and it was an arduous. business indeed to get- tho clip through the bush and on the -dray -road in the Wairarapa.Thenco it was hauled on bullock drays t<j Featherston by horse drays across tho.Rimutaka ranges,: and to Wellington. To-day, after the labours of half a century, it is a different Brancopcth that the visitor looks upon; The bush has gone, the sawmills that ..were once scattered about the estate have cut out, leaving as fine hill pastures as are to bo found anywhere'in New Zealand. Many are the changes that tho years have seen. Brancepeth is now but an hour away f rota Masterton by' motorcar, and it, is possible to sit within a few yards of that remote- and isolated whare of the pioneering days, and talk over, tho wires with points as remote as Wellington, Napier, and oven Auckland. The Wainuioru, "the river of red paint," to whose . head-waters;., the

The first homestead that Brancepeth inewwas a toi-toi whare, but before long the brothers erected for themselves a permanent dwelling. This second homestead still stands to-day,- a few yards to the west of Mr. Hugh Boetham's fine residence shown in tho photograph on this page. It is a substantial littlo one-roomed whare of totara, measuring about ten by twenty feet,- and it noiv does duty as a toolshed. The timber was felled and sawn by the Messrs. Beetham themselves, and on the walls can still be seen the somewhat erratic saw-marks of the amateur builders of 1857. . 'As a denso belt of forest-clad ranges lay between the homestead on tho Waifiuiorn and Masterton. tho first stock,

Maoris of old made difficult pilgrimago for the rod ochro with which they daubed ■ themselves and their pa posts, winds to-day past a. fine country homo surrounded'by trim pardons and'lawns that sweep away beneath tho shado of elms and oaks which obviously wore not planted yesterday. In the plantations on the hillsides near by are small forests of English trees, and beautiful indeed does Branccpeth look on a fine morning at this time of tho year. The roses add their touch of splendour to tho gardens, tho willows by tho riven are in their new summer's dress, and clear against the blue tho poplars soar up, their foliage rippling and glinting in tho breeze. It is a placo of pleasant memories for those who visit it. Some littlo distance away, to tho south of Mr. Beetham's residence, k

the slieariiis shod. . This is a building as bi;; as'a fair-sized city factory, ami it presents a busy scene when the shearing plant is in full operation. A Wolselcy lnachine-shoarins "outfit is installed, ami there are stands for twelve shearers, the power for the plant being obtained from a six horse-power gas engine. When the shod was visited last week a big batch of the famous Braucepeth lambs were being shorn, and all was lifo and animation. Twelve perspiring shearers were running up their tallies as rapidly as their, skill enabled them, lads were hero and there and everywhere picking up the fleeces as they were shorn, and carrying them.to ivherb the, ■ wool-classers and their assistants quickly graded and .' sorted them. On the floor above the wool bales wore .'sown' up, : and branded ; as

Finally, in 1905, the partnership, of Williams and Beetham was dissolved. Tlio olrl station—to which there had been milled a soparato block at Aiincdalo, towards Castlepoint—was subdivided and cut up into various blocks which wove apportioned to various members of the Bcethnm and Williams families. One or two of ihese have since been sold,, and the others are now being worked as independent properties. The block with the original homestead of Brancepeth, however, is retained by Mr. H. "H. Beetham, while Tβ Parae,- where tlio 'old shearing 'shed and slieepyards were, is included in Mr. Guy Williams's portion of tlio station. •■ Mr. Williams has put up a new residened at' To Parae, aiid also Mr. Erl T. ."Williams, whose homestead lies to the north, while that of Mr. H. G. Williams.is on the.face of the Maungaraki.to -the south.; while at Brancepeth Messrs. ' Beetham' havo erected the fino shearing ' shed and yards described above. ■At Kourarau, Ltlie south-western portion 'of the old

station, Mr.'• W. H. Beetham'has lately erected a now homestead, to which reference, appears elsewhere. Many other, cha'nges havo also-been made.

It is interesting to noto with reference to the pioneering Work done at Brancepctlr Jhat it is thero that the. surface-sowing of English rrasscs was first carried.out on any large .scalo in the Wairarapa;.- At To Aute, tho I'ato Archdeacon Williams did "tho first surface-sowing in Hawke's Bay, and to

they were gradually filled.' Altogether about 35 hands were in tho building. In tho drafting' yards outside more men were busily engaged in drafting out tho ewes and lambs'. Tho lamb's iwere of: an. excellent stamp, and remarkably well forward. They wero by :Southdown, rams out of Romney-crpss ; cwes, ,a, blend of blood th'at has been found to give easily.tho best results at. Brancepoth, where fat' lambs for London have been bred on a large scalo ever since the early days of the frozen. meat'trade. ■ ' "' V:. : Between the ■ shearing; shed and the house are the' men's' whare, „ a' long roomy-lookiug building, the men's din-ing-room, and. tho.cook-house. Brancepeth has long had the.name of doingwell by its men, and many arc the men who have worked on tho atation. In .days gone .by, when, the rabbits threatened.the country, as much as £5000 a year was spent regularly on rabbit destruction for several years, and one year. tho fisure even mounted, up to £7000. All sorts and.conditions of men were put on rabbiting, and ,brokendown lawyers, medical men, and whatnot rubbed shoulders with out-of-work navvies as they made common cause against ' tho shecpowners' enemy. Mossrs. ■ Williams and Beetham made up their minds when the rabbit invasion came, that," let it cost what, it might, . they would never allow tho rabbits to. reduce their clip. They' succeeded, but it was only after a long and stubborn. fight, and the expenditure of many thousands of pounds. ■ Other settlers in the district

were less fortunate, and in some cases wero brought faco to faco with ruin. Before tho days of tho rabbit, the curse of tho country was the wild dogs' ,with which it was infested. These gavegroat trouble, as in many other parts of tho Wairarapa, attackins the sheep and-reducing down almost to zero the increase in tiie flock. Many years pass,ed before tho dog nuisance wns finally ended. v About eight or nine years after they took up the property, tho ' Messrs. Bcetham entered into a' partnership witli their brother-in-law, Mr. T. C. Williams, of Auckland. Some twenty years' later another change took place in tho control of tho station, Mr. George Beetham relinquishing! 1 is interests and departing for Inland,., which he has einco made 'tome.

Branccpeth, it is stated, belongs the honour of being first' in the field in the Wdirarapa. ■ ' The station was also among the first to realise tho possibilities' - of the fat lamb trade, - and although it is uncertain'whether Messrs. Williams and Beetham introduced the Southdown into the Wairarapa; there can bo no doubt that they woro.early-in.'.the, field

with this breed, which has sinco proved so popular for lamb-raising. They wero certainly the first to raise Downcross lambs on any scale, liranccpoth has also carried a noted stud iloclc of Southdowiis for many years.. This was established -in, 1887, and on tho dissolution of tlio old partnership, in 1005 a portion was transferred to Mr. T. C. Williams! the balance being retained by Messrs. Beetham. In tho Lincoln days tho station also ran a famous Lincoln stud flocls, but this was finally given up a few years aeo.

old Baanccpeth. estate, and. lies along ths hills behind'Gladstone'. , 'A. fairly level road runs out from Mastorton across the and Taueru Rivers-to Mr. W. C. Buchanan's property at Tupurupnru. Thence follows a steep climb up into the ranges, tho road winding in and. out along the side of a gully far dowm at tlie bottom of which flows tho Kourarau Stream. The hillsides hero .aro. a. sight, to gladden tho heart of a sheep-farmer. Feed is

Passing the sawmill on the left, the road runs up on a rise, skirting along not 'far. from a block, of totara bush. The next building reached is ono which it is intended' eventually to use as a residence- for Mr. .Beetham: Beyond again lies a storehouse, and not far way is a ]on 2 and roomy men's whare, with accommodation for. thirty-two men. . This is a substantial and wellbuilt structure, and is divided up with the cook's quarters, kitchen, and din-

ing-rooms in' ono wing, a. large sittingroom at the other end,' and varioussized, rooms, each with accommodation for from , one to five men throughout the remainder of the building. ';.

everywhere in , and plentiful shelter for stock is afforded by tho' bits of. bush which runs along tho stream, arid, here- and there up' the hillside. Looking backward from' the hilltop a magnificent panorama stretches out. Tho plains, intersected by winding rivers and streams, and dotted over with plantations and homesteads are seen reaching away north

The shearing shed and drafting yards stand further up the hill, and are of considerable size. In tho shed is s machine-shearing plant with stands for eight.shearers. This-was operated/for tho first time last' year," when, tho power was derived from a portable engino. This year electricity will bo used. In 'the" northern wing of, the shed is tho wool-sorting and packing-room. Close by outside-is tho dip into which twelve sheep at a time are dropped from a pen 'with a collapsible- bottom. Tho din is of the circular basin type, and, after tho sheep havo been in for ' their full minute, they aro allowed to make their way out up a race leading to tho drying pens. ■

and south and far across to where they melt into llio blue of tho Tararua ranges. Near, tho summit a private road branches olf to tho right, and runs for a mile and a half to the new Koiirarau homestead. The first object to eatcli the pyo is a sawmill and powcr-houso recently erected by Jfr. Bcetliam. From this stretches a long row of posts and wires up to the homestead, and on to tho shearing shed. Koiirarau homestead is new, and tho whole of tho buildings were erected onlj last- year.

On the clay of last week when the writer. visited Kourarau tho. electric current was turned on for-tho. first time. The power is obtained from the stream, somo distance below the shear-, ing shed, and the water :is brought from a dam' along a water-race to a penstock from which seyentcou chains of steel piping run down to the" powerhouse, giving a head of 70 feet. In the power-house is a Pelton wheel, developing about 20 horse-power with a full flow of water. This is coupled •directly on to'.the sawiriilling: plant; and also to a dynamo in an adjoining room. Owing to a delay in tho arrival of the electric plant ordered from England, a dynamo and motor of smaller power have- been temporarily, installed to see tho shearing through. Tho whole of

tlio buildings aro to be lighted by electricity, and qnco tlio machinery is in working trim lighting up will simply bo n.matter of turning on-the water and letting tlio dynamo run all night. .Mr. Bcctham-proposes to use tlio power for various purposes' about tho place. The sawmill has been erected not for tho purpose of cutting up what remains of tlio 'live bush, but for sawing tho dead logs of totara scattered over the land. Several lengths of these, between three- ami four feet in diameter, were run-through the saws at the time the visit was made, and sonio excellent boards and scantlings were sawn. Stockyards and various buildings and sheds have still to bo erected at Kourarau, j and the timber required will all bo sawn on ■ tho spot. Incidentally, oF course, tho pastures will bo cleared of tho logs, which have cumbered 'them