This site is located 8km South West of Waimate. Heading through the gorge you turn onto Kapua Road and you’ll find an information panel detailing the area of an interesting historic discovery in the 19th century.
The land owner in 1894, Mr T A MacDonald, discovered a large cache of Moa bones while clearing a spring hole for water supply to his farm. The find was reported in the Newspaper and the article caught the eye of Professor Frederick Hutton, then curator of the Canterbury Museum. He paid Mac Donald twenty pounds to excavate the site and also sent a taxidermist, Mr W Sparkes, to oversee the dig.
The resulting dig revealed the largest and most varied collection of moa bones ever obtained from one place. During these excavations up to seven railway wagons of bones were taken away, with estimates that 2.5 million bones were removed. A mixture of bones from 6 Moa species was recovered.
The site of the find was on a plain some 3 miles long by 1 mile wide that sat in the basin of a former lake.  When European settlers first arrived in the area there was still a small pond which was later drained and this is the area where the bones were discovered.
Moa roamed throughout many habitats, ranging from open shrub land and riverine grassland to dense forest and at altitudes from sea level to subalpine. Before Moa became extinct this location was a bountiful feeding area dotted with spring holes connected to ground water supplies.
Many of these springs were covered by vegetation and the most likely scenario is that, over the course of generations, a number of unfortunate moa became bogged in these holes and were unable to lever themselves out. Naturally death followed and as the birds decomposed their bones would fall down the holes. The bones at Kapua have been dated from 1014-714BC.
Looking at the peaceful farm land that lies there today is it incredible to think that it was once the grazing grounds for these amazing birds.
Waimate Museum has more information and photos available including footage of a later 1984 excavation that was carried out.
There is also a fascinating Frank Film called Remembering Moa that details the history of Moa in the area, this can be viewed online if you are interested.
Karen Rolleston

Driving South after Anzac weekend I was touched to see the many small crosses set up near war memorials in our provincial townships. They present such a focal point for our communities to gather at, show our respects for and to remember the names of the many people in our districts who went to fight in wars in distant lands.

South Canterbury is no different from anywhere else in New Zealand in that we have our share of war memorials to commemorate the men and women lost to our communities. By the end of 1918 over 1000 South Cantabrians had been killed. In the following years many others would die as a result of their wounds. Each death sent out deep waves of grief and loss throughout the community.

On the roadside above the township of Cave sits a war memorial, a large basalt rock with a poetic inscription on the front that reads…'So long as the rocks endure and grass grows and water runs will this stone bear witness that through this low pass in the hills, men from the Cave, Cannington and Moutakaika Districts rode and walked on their way to the Great European War 1914-1918.’

This memorial was commissioned by Thomas Burnett MP, owner of Mount Cook Station from 1903 to 1941. It was erected on the site following World War 1. He personally drafted the inscription and his notes still exist along with other memoriabilia relating to the Memorial. Another inscription was later added after the losses in the 2nd World War.

As well as this war memorial Thomas Burnett and the Burnett Valley farms also commissioned the building of Cave’s beautiful St David’s Pioneer Memorial Church in 1930 along with several others to commemorate the achievements of the European settlers and pioneers of the region.

Returning veterans of the war formed the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association (RSA) three days after the first Anzac Day in 1916 to focus on the needs of former soldiers. Locally the South Canterbury RSA was founded in May 1916 and by 1919 RSAs had also been formed at Temuka, Waimate and Geraldine.

How lucky we are to be able to celebrate another peaceful Anzac weekend in our corner of the world.

Lest we forget.

Karen Rolleston

​This old building sits on a corner of the road opposite the Taiko war memorial at the junction of Taiko Hall Rd and Sutherlands Rd.

Following land reform legislation in 1892 the Levels Estate was split into over 200 small farms and sections, the district was named Rosewill Settlement. An influx of families successful in the 1904 ballot meant a school was required to service the area.

A 4.5 acre block, which had been donated by a local farmer, Mr J. Armstrong, was decided to be the ideal location.

The Department of Education used their then standard design for a 1 teacher classroom which was fairly basic but fulfilled the requirements of the day. The local school opened in May 1906 with a role of 22 children headed by Miss Honora Crowley. It continued to run for the next 42 years with the annual roll fluctuating between 12 and 30 pupils, 250 pupils and 13 teachers in total over its 42 years of operation.

The School Board of 5 local residents oversaw the running of the school that provided a curriculum of arithmetic, English, geography, history and domestic skills. Older pupils were harnessed into assisting with school maintenance and as helpers in the classroom.

The building also served as a centre for the community with meetings, services, social, cultural and sporting events being held here. The school grounds boasted a rifle range and tennis court.

Fundraising events including dances, card evenings and working bees helped to keep the building and grounds in good condition.

Eventually the costs of running these small sole charge schools became prohibitive and this coincided with improvements in roading and transport services so in 1948 the school closed and amalgamated with the Pleasant Point District High School as did many other small local country schools.

This did not mean the end for the building which became the Community Hall and in 1957 it was legally gazetted as a Hall site. After ongoing modifications and renovations it is still locally managed and serves as a social centre for the Taiko community.

Most of this information came from the information board on the roadside outside the gates of the hall, this was unveiled in a small ceremony on the 8th December 2020, an event attended by around 60 local people including some past pupils.

Karen Rolleston

In 1964 the property, Otiritiri, owned by Mr K Burns and situated at the end of Pages Road became available for sale. He was keen to see the property remain whole and not be broken up into smaller sections.

The original large brick two-storied Homestead and cottage were set upon 35 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens on the outskirts of Timaru.  Mr Burns was an enthusiastic and expert gardener who opened his property yearly to the public to visit and enjoy during daffodil season.

The existing Gleniti Golf course sat across the road and was then a 12 hole course, the club were keen to increase their grounds to allow for a full 18 holes.

The idea of buying the property was discussed at a special meeting, called for by Les Darling. And a purchase price of 18,000 pounds was approved. Mr Burns offered to leave in some money at a very low rate and the deal was sealed on October 8th 1964.

Much fundraising was done with raffles and debentures.  Daffodil bulbs at the Pages Road boundary were lifted and sold at a good profit and the trees along the north face were also sold off to be milled at a later date.

The Homestead was ideal as a clubhouse and did not require a great deal of alteration.

The kitchen, toilets and bar were upgraded. The maid’s staircase was removed from where the Ladies Room is now situated.

After golf, the balcony was a favourite place to sit as it was shaded by trees and I understand an upstairs lounge was considered but did not proceed, as the stairs, after a few beers were consumed, were considered hazardous.

Then the main entrance was via Pages Road, past the cottage, through the poplars to the house however this was considered too expensive to maintain so access was opened up from the side road, Oakwood Road. This is where the current carpark is today located on the site of the old Orchard.

Opening Day arrived- May 23 rd 1965, Gray Cup Day. This was when the first official match and opening were held on the new 18 hole course with Mr M Holden, then president, in charge.

I am sure Mr Burns would be delighted to see his old home and grounds, long after he sold it, still intact, well used and appreciated by another generation of golf playing Timaruvians,

Karen Rolleston

The Timaru Herald began life in Sam Williams’ kitchen in a small cottage on lower George St on June 11th, 1864.  A once weekly edition for the settlers when our then mostly unsettled and only partially developed district was just getting started. This was only a temporary arrangement and the press and cases of type were soon transferred to a building in another part of George St.
Over the course of its history it has moved location several times, spending its longest period, some 99 years, in Sophia Street. Eventually the Herald ran out of space and a new building was needed.
Situated on Bank Street you can see the interesting modern building that became the 6th home for the Timaru Herald.
The brief given to the building designer was that it had to complement the city library while also adding depth and distinctive shape to a conventional existing structure. It was the biggest commercial contract Barrie Walsh Design Ltd had undertaken in the then 7 years he had been in business in Timaru.
The existing structure, the site of a former sock and clothing factory, was a fairly standard two storey, gable ended rectangular building and the designer had to work within the constrictions of the walls, heights and internal fittings. Mr Walsh worked in close consultation with structural engineer, Mr Ralph Littler, and numerous engineering design features were embodied into the distinctive façade they created.
Mr Walsh said that the basic idea for the exterior design came quickly enough but took some time to refine. Originally the tower structures were to be a solid pour of concrete but this method was ruled out and, with the assistance of other local contractors, precast concrete panels were lifted into position by crane on pre-assembled steel frames.
The new $1 million dollar building was opened by PM Rob Muldoon. The Timaru Herald printed a souvenir supplement to celebrate the opening of the new premises on 30th March 1984.
How times have changed in the newspaper business. When the new building was completed it contained floors full of spacious offices for editorial and managerial staff, graphics art and advertising departments, camera suites, fax transmission room, typesetter’s room and a visual display area as well as board room, foyer, lift large circular stairwell, canteen and staff bathrooms. By the late 80s the Herald had two printing presses producing several newspapers for the whole of the South Island. A far cry from its humble beginnings in Sam Williams’s cottage.
However, 28 years after moving into the Bank St building the rapidly changing world of newspaper production meant that the site was far too big and so the Herald was on the move again, to its current leased site on Sophia St.

Karen Rolleston