HISTORY - THE LAND
Rakaia Terrace Station was named after the terraces on the north side of the Rakaia River. Originally the name referred to the block of 20,000 acres taken up in 1851 by Mark Stoddart, the father of the well-known painter, Margaret Stoddart. John Hall bought the lease from Stoddart in 1853. Soon after, until 1862, he sub-let the property to Henry Phillips of Rockwood and Thomas Potts, later to be recognised as a pioneer conservationist and the original owner of Ohinetahi.
In 1862 Hall bought the lease to the adjoining 10,000 acres, The Selwyn Station. This eastern block had been taken up by Thomas Sanderson and George Brayshaw in 1851 and sold to the Studholme brothers in 1853. They also had The Point station at Windwhistle.
John used the small Studholme house as his home when at Hororata but used the name Rakaia Terrace Station to refer to the whole 30,000 acres which were farmed as one property. Freeholding the land was the most important step in anchoring Hall and his family to Rakaia Terrace Station. His goal was to purchase the whole property. He secured his first sections in 1863 and by 1878 had bought nearly all the run.
Faced with increasing land tax payments and legislation which disadvantaged owners of large properties, Hall sold most of his land prior to his death in 1907. His eldest son, Wilfred, retained the 3,400 acres he had been running as a separate farm named Farfield where he later built his home called Gunyah. The youngest son, Godfrey, remained in the homestead and farmed the other retained land of 2,600 acres. The property on which the homestead stands has since then been called Terrace Station.
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History -The Land The Homestead Farm Buildings The People of Terrace Station
In 1862 Hall bought the lease to the adjoining 10,000 acres, The Selwyn Station. This eastern block had been taken up by Thomas Sanderson and George Brayshaw in 1851 and sold to the Studholme brothers in 1853. They also had The Point station at Windwhistle.
John used the small Studholme house as his home when at Hororata but used the name Rakaia Terrace Station to refer to the whole 30,000 acres which were farmed as one property. Freeholding the land was the most important step in anchoring Hall and his family to Rakaia Terrace Station. His goal was to purchase the whole property. He secured his first sections in 1863 and by 1878 had bought nearly all the run.
Faced with increasing land tax payments and legislation which disadvantaged owners of large properties, Hall sold most of his land prior to his death in 1907. His eldest son, Wilfred, retained the 3,400 acres he had been running as a separate farm named Farfield where he later built his home called Gunyah. The youngest son, Godfrey, remained in the homestead and farmed the other retained land of 2,600 acres. The property on which the homestead stands has since then been called Terrace Station.
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History -The Land The Homestead Farm Buildings The People of Terrace Station
