Rangitane

Wairau River – ancient and modern engineering

envirohistorynz6 Comments

Plan of lagoons and channels dug by Maori at the mouth of the Wairau River, drawn by J.L. D'Arcey Irvine. Alexander Turnbull Library, MapColl 832.2gmtb [pre-1840] Acc. 120
Plan of lagoons and channels dug by Maori at the mouth of the Wairau River, published by W. L. Skinner in 1912. Alexander Turnbull Library, MapColl 832.2gmtb [pre-1840] Acc. 120
In 1963, a major engineering feat was completed on the Wairau River, in the Marlborough district: the Wairau diversion.  The diversion created two Wairau Rivers, one following its original course, which meanders south-east into a network of lagoons, before reaching Cloudy Bay at Wairau Bar. The “new Wairau River” was a channel that connected the river through a cut eastwards to the sea. Continue reading →

Landscape of juxtaposition: view from a graveyard

envirohistorynzLeave a comment

Graveyard and windmillsYesterday, we ventured out on a photography expedition for my near-complete book exploring the environmental history of the Manawatu. (See: A racy title is one thing, but what’s the book actually about?) Many adventures awaited us, including an amorous kunekune pig and his similarly friendly ostrich companion, residents of a historic farm at Karere.

At Ashhurst, I was unable to resist this landscape – a poignant juxtaposition between old and new. Continue reading →

Discovering our own “sacred groves”

envirohistorynzLeave a comment
Karaka grove
The karaka grove at Mokomoko. Photo by C. Knight

When I lived in Japan, I took great pleasure from visiting Shinto shrines. Though I am not a religious person, there was something very spiritual and calming about these places. They were a place of solace and quietude. Shrines were sometimes only very small and simple affairs – often hidden in an unexpected corner of a bustling urban landscape. Continue reading →

Horse anyone? – Exploring the upper limits of the Manawatu

envirohistorynz2 Comments
Apiti horse
It was actually the Apiti shack, rather than the horse, for sale. Judging from the state of both the shack and this sign itself, it had been for sale for quite a while. (The horse proved very congenial, so would not have made a bad purchase in itself). Photo: C. Knight

I know Apiti as the small settlement located at the upper limit of the Ahuaturanga (or Upper Manawatu) block, purchased from its Rangitane owners by the government in 1864.

While I had read about it, until today, I had never been to Apiti [click here to view location]. Continue reading →

Cameron Blockhouse: a strategic view of the landscape

envirohistorynz1 Comment
Cameron Blockhouse
Cameron Blockhouse, overlooking the valley to the north. Photo: C. Knight

Anyone with even a passing interest in Maori history will have recognised the ability of Maori to select sites in the landscape that afforded them both a defensive and strategic advantage over any advancing enemy tribes. Often sites were at the top of cliffs, with sweeping views over plains and down river valleys, frequently bordered on at least one side by a river, which acted as a natural moat. Within the Manawatu, for example, the Rangitane pa sites Otangaki (Ashhurst) and Te Motu o Poutoa (Anzac Park) were examples of sites that took advantage of such geographical features. Continue reading →

Ashhurst wetland: the restoration of the wetland that wasn’t

envirohistorynz4 Comments
Wetlands below Ashhurst Domain, on a site that was once the course of the Pohangina River
Wetlands below Ashhurst Domain, on a site that was once the course of the Pohangina River

Though we often hear about wetland restoration projects, the Ashhurst wetland, on the river flats below the Ashhurst Domain [click here to view location] is not a case of “restoration” in the normal sense. Continue reading →

Rainbow over Linton, Manawatu

envirohistorynzLeave a comment

Driving back from the Manawatu today, we were lucky enough to encounter our second rainbow of the day. This one was particularly spectacular, set against the dusky blue-grey of the Tararua Ranges, and the dark rain cloud-filled sky. This one “ended” among a cluster of regenerating indigenous trees (possibly totara) on fields on the Manawatu River terraces just south of the Linton Army Camp turn-off [click here to view location]. Continue reading →