Category: Rabbits
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Gallery: farming in the Cardrona Valley
After the early gold rush years, farming was the key economic activity in the valley, and there are still many high country farms in the Cardrona Valley today. Below is a selection of photos depicting life on the farm for Cardrona people.
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Jack Scurr’s warning to farmers: we could be defeated by rabbits
Cardrona farmer J.R. (“Jack”) Scurr (1300ha Spotts Creek Station) had a lifetime’s experience of rabbits. He had to spend two years clearing his farm of them when he bought it – as it had been decimated by the thriving rabbit population. Jack was asked to present a paper about rabbits to an audience of farmers…
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The early farming years, and rabbits: 1911 – 1949
The second economic stage was a mixture of small, uneconomic farms with farmers supplementing their farm income with a mixture of gold mining and the sale of rabbit skins. Twenty-eight men joined the army during the First World War, having a big impact on the valley’s economy. The effect of the Great War on Cardrona…
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An interview with George Scurr
George Scurr shares his memories of life in the Cardrona Valley – from his school days working on the farm right through to working as an adult maintaining the Crown Range once he was no longer farming.
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An interview with Jean Anderson
Jean Anderson shares her memories of her childhood and early years in the Cardrona Valley. She talks about helping out on the farm, memories of Cardrona village, making butter and her passion for horses.
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A little history of “Waiorau” – one of Cardrona’s long standing farms
In the late 1800’s early settlers to New Zealand purchased large areas of land which were later divided into ‘stations’ – large farming properties. After the 1st World War a number of these large ‘stations’ were divided into ‘runs’ and offered by ballot to returned servicemen. In 1924 Robert (Bob) Joseph Lee purchased one of…