Barrhill & Corwar

Barrhill and Corwar

My great great uncle, John Cathcart Wason, was born at Corwar, near Barrhill in Ayrshire, Scotland. He emigrated to Canterbury in 1868. He paid £10,000 for the Lendon run of 20,000 acres on the south bank of the Rakaia river (17 km from Rakaia), in central Canterbury, in the South Island. He renamed it Corwar. He grew the first large shelter belts south of the Rakaia, using Pinus radiata. He also planted oaks, walnuts and poplars. By 1884 600 acres of plantings gave shelter from the prevailing NW winds, and wheat could be grown. Wason imported Lincoln sheep breeding stock, exported refrigerated merino mutton, and used the local water race to power agricultural machinery.

I found it interesting that when I visited the area (in March 2017) I saw no sheep: farming has changed markedly in NZ, particularly over the last decade. Many sheep farms have converted to dairy in recent years. I cycled past numerous massive pipes which were irrigating the fields - in mid Canterbury one of these is the Barrhill Chertsey Irrigation Scheme. In 2012 - 13 this scheme pumped up to 8 cubic metres of water per second from the Rakaia into the Rangitata Diversion Race, delivered water by a network of pipes across the plains.

In the mid 1870s Wason established a model village, Barrhill, to accommodate workers from his estate at nearby Corwar.

Wason planted sycamores, birches, poplars, limes and oaks in four outer avenues, each lined with a different type of tree. The avenues form a square, which is bisected by two inner avenues forming a cross. At the intersection of the cross was the village's market square. The village had 15 cottages, and its amenities included a post office, a bakery, a blacksmith, a store and an inn - all built from pine (using the estate's Pinus radiata). There was also a schoolroom, teacher's residence and an Anglican church (built from concrete) - the church was completed in 1877. The aerial photo shows that the pattern of oak trees around the square might represent the three circles of the trinity.

Barrhill’s highest population in the late 19th century was about 50. Wason expected a railway to be built nearby, but it was built further south, and within 10 years the village began to decline. Wason saw his project as doomed, and sold up in 1900. The mansion at Corwar burned down soon afterwards. Because most of the buildings were constructed from pine only three concrete buildings remain today: the school closed in 1938, and is now used as a hall; the teacher's house is now used as a bach; the church is still used for its original purpose. In 2013 the population of Barrhill was 66: some of these people are descendants of the original settlers.

Because Barrhill's public buildings, oaks, poplars and other trees remain, this part of the Canterbury Plains has retained the character Wason originally sought to create. The gate lodge at nearby Corwar now houses the Corwar Lodge Museum. The pictures below show the avenues of trees at Barrhill, the view of the Rakaia from Barrhill, the church of St John the Evangelist in Barrhill, and Corwar Lodge Museum.