Dorothy – 2/7/99
So you are planning to drive south from Christchurch. If time is an issue
of course you will follow State Highway 1 and join the busy flow of traffic
on the main route. In clear weather you will see the foothills of the Southern Alps in the distance on your right.
Why not try the alternative of travelling on Highway 72, the Scenic Inland
Route which takes you along at the foot of those hills and through some
interesting inland townships.
Recently we travelled this way and took a leisurely trip to Geraldine. We
enjoyed the views as we drove along beside the foothills and decided to
look at the villages and some interesting old country churches along the
way.
Building churches in country districts was of great importance to the Canterbury pioneers. As the majority of the settlers were from England most
of the churches along Highway 72 are Anglican churches. Entries in the
visitors’ books show that these historic buildings attract visitors from
near and far.
First stop Hororata We left Christchurch on the main road to the West Coast – State Highway 73.
About five minutes beyond West Melton where the main road veers to the right we carried straight on and headed for Hororata. One New Zealand guide book says that there is little at Hororata but a fine stone church.
There is certainly a fine church, but we were hungry, so we looked first
for the domain.
The sign posting was inadequate so we had to get directions from the friendly storekeeper. The church and domain are not well signposted. Hororata is a small spread-out village. If you turn left at the marked
intersection you will miss two of the most interesting features. By turning right and driving north a short distance you find on your right the
domain and further along on the left St John’s church.
In the pleasant domain we ate our lunch under beautiful English trees and
wished we had children with us to enjoy the pleasant children’s playground.
St John’s Church
 |
| St John’s Church, Hororata |
This is an imposing stone building surrounded by an old graveyard. Sir
John Hall, a local landholder who had earlier been Prime Minister of New
Zealand, had it built in 1910 in memory of his wife. She had expressed a
wish for the district to have a church which was dignified and worthy of
its sacred purpose. The architect, Cyril Mountfort, the son of Benjamin
Mountfort who designed many of Christchurch’s finest early buildings, certainly designed a church which fits this description with its high roof
and beautiful square tower.
The stone church replaced an older building built in the 1870s. We walked
through the lych-gate and spent some time in the graveyard noting graves
dating from the 1880s to the present day. As is so often evident in old
cemeteries the number of graves of children highlighted the toll that sickness took on families in the last century.
To the Rakaia Gorge via Glenroy We headed south along the road through Glenroy. If you want to stay at a
magnificent old home you can turn left at Glenroy and stay at Gunyah.
Further on the road crosses the Rakaia River at the entrance to the Rakaia
Gorge.
For more information look at www.voyager.co.nz/~mmhhh Around the bridge area are places to picnic and toilets and fresh water. Beside the bridge you will see the signpost for the Rakaia walkway.
Methven – a short detour south Some five kilometres past the Gorge we took a detour to visit the pleasant
country town of Methven, now a busy tourist resort serving the Mt Hutt skiers in the winter and offering a variety of attractions for visitors in
the summer.
All Saints’ Church, Methven
 |
| All Saints’ Church, Methven |
We visited All Saints’ Church there because of its unusual history. The
original building was erected in 1880, but the builders did not allow for
the strength of the nor’west wind and in May 1884 it was completely destroyed by a gale force nor’wester.
A church had been built at Sherwood Downs, twenty one kilometres away. The
township there had not developed as expected so instead of building a new
church it was decided that the church should be moved from Sherwood Downs
to Methven. This was no easy assignment. The church weighed around 60
tons. It was jacked off its foundations, lifted on to a large transporter
with six wheels and pulled by two traction engines. Great difficulties lay
ahead, partly because of the nor’west winds which blew at gale force for
two weeks, partly because of problems with telegraph wires, and partly because they had to take the heavy weight across bridges that were not designed for such loads. After seven weeks the church reached its new site
and was reconditioned and made ready for its opening in November 1884. When we visited it late in 1998 the foundations were laid for an extension
to the building.
Awa Awa picnic ground and reserve Following the signposts we drove along Highway 77 which took us back to
Highway 72. As you travel from Methven on Highway 77, note the Greengables Deer Farm, Dinner, Bed and Breakfast
four kilometres before you rejoin Highway 72. If you continue straight ahead across Highway 72 you will be on McLennans Bush Road. A short distance along on the right is the Mt Hutt Skifield access road. If you continue straight ahead you come to the
Awa Awa Reserve and picnic ground – an ideal stopping place for a break and
a short walk.
Back to Highway 72 – next stop Mt Somers Driving south our next stop was the village of Mount Somers at the foot of
the mountain. There is a country store, pleasant motel, camping ground,
hotel, lily farm, historic walk and domain. There is plenty to do here and
you may well decide to break your journey. You can choose among a variety
of places to stay – motel, farmstays and the camping ground with cabins.
St Aidan’s Church If you turn right as you enter the village and drive up the hill you can
visit St Aidan’s Church. Some interesting features of the church are the
memorial windows and the wooden buttresses to strengthen it against the
north-west winds so that it did not suffer the fate of the early church in
Methven, not far away.
The little Sunday School room is being developed as a museum. To view the
exhibits you need to get the key from the local store.
The church was built in 1900 when Mt Somers was a thriving community with a
quarry producing limestone, building stone and coal, a saddlery, a railway
station, a post office and a wool scour. It owed its prosperity largely
to Alfred Peache who owned and farmed the Mount Somers Station from 1875
and also developed the local industries.
Mt Somers is now a quiet village and has no vicar. The parish is served by
a team of lay people under the scheme for total ministry.
Mt Somers Historic Trail
 |
| Quarryman’s cottage built of limestone |
This begins 3 km along the Erewhon Road. The site of the Buxton Lime Kiln,
built in 1888, is the first on the trail, followed by the Vincent Lime Quarry where quarrying began in 1820. You can visit the restored quarryman’s cottage and view relics of the early quarrying.
Next on the trail is the Woolshed reserve. Coal Miners Flat there is a
good picnic area. To visit a replica coal mine you can walk up the Jig
Road, originally a hand-built jig line used to transport coal from the Blackburn Mine to the railway wagons below.
>From the picnic ground there is a choice of tracks of varied steepness,
five of them taking under an hour. They provide views of the country side
and the vegetation of the area and relics of the coal mining industry.
Mt Somers Museum To visit here phone 03 303 9827.
Two day tramp for the energetic Should you wish to spend longer in the area there is a two-day 17 km Mount
Somers Subalpine Walkway crossing the northern face of the mountain. A hut
is available for public use for a night’s stay on the tramp.
Dunhampton Lily Fields
 |
| Lilies in flower at Dunhampton Lily Fields |
Gardening enthusiasts in particular won’t want to miss a visit to the beautiful lily garden of Wendy and David Millichamp, open from November to
the end of January.
If you visit when the lilies you want are not in flower they provide an
excellent catalogue and you can order your bulbs. We placed a sizable order and received them recently beautifully packed and labelled with an
instruction sheet for planting and manuring the bulbs.
On to Geraldine Drive on south and beyond Mayfield note the turnoff on the right to Ruapuna. If you are travelling on October 18/19 you may wish to stop here
and take part in the Ruapuna Garden Symposium.
The views of the hills, little villages and possible picnic places invited
us to stop but the day was far spent when we headed south on the last stretch of the journey, so we carried straight on for the last stretch of
easy travelling to Geraldine.
More about Geraldine in a later article.
