NZ - Hakataramea

For me, a highlight of the trip was staying at Hakataramea for 3 nights.

Hakataramea Downs is the farm where my father grew-up, and although none of the the family farm here any more, my parents still own the old farm-house and some of the old farm buildings which they use as a holiday house. The oldest part of the house was built around 1860, but the part you can see here was built in 1878.

Family group in front of the 'old stone house' - Rika's mum, Hannah, Rika, Dad and Mum.


The house is surrounded by a plantation of magnificent old trees, some dating back to this period. Looking north across the lawn from the old stone house.


Hakataramea is usually warm and dry in summer. It was warm enough to eat evening meals outside on a picnic table.


This is Mum with Hannah under the pine tree at the front of the old house.


Our family connection with this land does back to 1893 when my fathers maternal grandfather, Walter Hogg, was employed here as a shepherd. He eventually became head shepherd, got married to Janet Dawson McClymont Hannah in 1901, and in 1907 leased another farm further up the valley.



In 1925 my fathers paternal grandfather, 'Willy' Smith, sold his farm near Staveley and bought Hakataramea Downs. The family of 4 sons and 2 daughters lived in the stone house for a year until they could move into a new wooden they built a few hundred meters away.

Hannah and Rika's mum in front of the house.


Rika's mum with Hannah. The photo is looking north from the side of the old stone house.


Looking east from the same spot, across the lawn. This used to be the vegetable garden.


In 1937 Willy's youngest son Duncan married Walter Hogg's daughter Mary. They had a family of 6 children starting with my father. Duncan farmed at Haka Downs for the rest of his life, initially in partnership with his brothers, and his sons farmed here until 2000. During this time the old stone house was mainly used to house temporary accommodation for seasonal workers like shearing gangs.


Looking north again, this time from the back of the old stone house.


My parents keep about a dozen sheep to keep the grass down. They are quite tame and will come to my mother to be fed when she calls out "sheep!". In these shots you can see some of the original farm buildings, also dating back from the 1860s.


My mother calling the sheep to be fed. She gives them 'sheep nuts', which seem to be the ovine equivalent of Ferrero Rocher. The building in this video is the old 'cook-shop' which has a large kitchen including a bread-oven and a dining room for feeding large group of workers.


Looking south from the house to the old cook-shop. The land across the road is part of the farm, which is now farming deer rather than sheep. The horse is a pet of the family who are farming here now.


The same view looking south at dawn.




Looking east to the 'cottage' which was built in 1888. My grand-parents lived here from 1937-1957 and my father grew-up here as a child. The farm was not connected to mains electricity until 1957 so the cottage used to get its electricity from a small windmill called a 'wind charger' that was fixed to the top of one of the pine trees. Looking further up the road you can see the wool-shed where sheep were shorn for wool, and the Hunter Hills.


Another view looking east towards the wool-shed and the Hunter Hills. The hills are up to 1,500 m high.


This is the house that 'Willy' (my great-grandfather) built in 1926. My grand-parents lived here from 1957 and some of my earliest memories are of visiting them here in the early 1970s.


Apart from the plantation of trees around the house, the valley seems very open and empty. One of my favorite views is looking east and north from the edge of the trees to the Hunter Hills and up the valley. The air here is very dry and clear so the light is often very intense. The forms of the hills with changing shadows and colors can be very attractive.


This is a panorama from the same spot. Looking north up the valley, then east to the Hunter Hills then south to the trees around the old stone house. You can see how dry the area is. Although the valley seems empty, you can still see a lot of wildlife like herons, hawks, magpies, rabbits, and lizards.


Another panorama taken by the river from a few hundred meters up the valley. Looking north up-river then west, south down-river, and eventually north-east to the hills. This is a pretty small river for such a large valley.


Another group of farm-buildings is the old stables complex. This was an important part of the farming operation in the early days since horses were the main source of power and transport. Even after mechanization horses were used for traveling around the farm and mustering sheep until the 1950s (?).

The entrance to the stables looking west. The horses lived in the right side of the large building and the saddles were kept in the room on the left.


This is the stables complex from the south. A few years ago some of the roof of the sheds on the left partly blew-off. Then the weather got in and the stone walls began to gradually collapse. Last year Dad spent a lot of time and effort re-building the stone walls and the roof of the blacksmiths shop. Now it looks as good as it did 60 years ago!


The stables, looking south from the trees. This corner is the old black-smiths shop where they had a forge and made horse-shoes and other things from iron. You can see the stone-wall that Dad repaired and the 'new' iron where rebuilt the roof.


A panorama of the stables, looking west, north, east then south-west down the valley. Because the air is so dry, the buildings have remained pretty much as they were the day they stopped being used. In the north corner of the yard is an old wooden cart that has had a tree grow up through its wheels.


Every few decades the Hakataramea valley experiences a massive storm and some of the old trees get blown down. So Dad spends a lot of time chopping up these fallen trees for firewood, and also planting new ones. Here are some of the trees my father planted near the stables about 20 years ago.



Relaxing on the lawn with Hannah.