Hakataramea is the name of a river, a riding and a township. It is the most inland riding of the Waimate county, and had a population of 323 at the census of March, 1901. The township, which is sometimes called Sandhurst, is on the north bank of the Waitaki river, which is crossed at that point by a combined railway and traffic bridge, divided into sections. The river Hakataramea flows into the Waitaki a short distance from the township. On both sides of the Waitaki there are narrow flats, on which stand the townships of Kurow and Hakataramea, the former on the Otago side, the latter on the Canterbury. Hakataramea possesses a public school, hall, hotel, a smithy, and a store, which has a post office and telephone bureau connecting with Oamaru. There are also a number of private residences occupied by sheepfarmers, whose runs are in the neighbouring mountains. The flag station is the terminus of the Oamaru-Duntroon-Hakataramea branch of the New Zealand railways. It stands 615 feet above sea level, is forty-three miles from Oamaru, and a mile from Kurow, and is served by a daily train. About one mile up the Hakataramea page 1100 river from the township there is a Government experimental salmon hatchery. The Hakataramea district is noted as a happy hunting ground for sportsmen; trout swarm in the river, and Paradise ducks and hares are said to abound in thousands.

Hakataramea Post Office was founded in the early eighties, and has always been conducted at the local store. It is in telephonic communication with Oamaru, and mails are received and despatched daily.

Mr. William Barclay, Postmaster at Hakataramea, was born in 1867, in Oamaru, where he was educated. He learned the trade of a stonemason from his father, and followed his calling for three years in his native district, and for two years in Melbourne. In 1887 he settled at Hakataramea, where, in conjunction with a brother, he founded the firm of J. and W. Barclay, general storekeepers. The style of the firm has since been altered, by the admission of another brother, to Barclay Bros., and the head office of the firm was removed to Kurow in 1896. Mr. Barclay has served as a member of the local school committee. He was married, in 1895, to a daughter of the late Mr. William Ross, of Hakataramea.

The Hakataramea Salmon Experimental Station was founded in November, 1900. The site of this station is on the east bank of the Hakataramea river, about a mile from the township. There are twenty-six acres of land enclosed by fencing, and the buildings and hatchery are surrounded by a high boarded fence. There is a convenient residence and office for the manager and his staff, together with a hatching house, meat house, workshop, chaff house, stable, and sundry sheds. Fifteen ponds have been constructed, nine of which are in concrete. The establishment is maintained by the Government for the purpose of introducing the Atlantic and Pacific coast salmon into New Zealand. Regular shipments are received from America and young fish in various stages of development are to be seen in every pool. The stock in 1903 consisted of 30,000 yearlings, 10,000 eighteen-month smolts, and 10,000 two-year olds. In October, 1902, 10,000 two-year olds, and 9,000 yearlings, were liberated in the Hakataramea river.

Mr. Charles Lake Ayson, Manager of the Hakataramea Experimental Station, was born at Warepa, near Balclutha, in 1882. He was educated at Masterton, and gained his experience in fish culture under his father, Mr. L. F. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries in New Zealand. For a short time Mr. Ayson had charge of the Masterton fish hatcheries, and was appointed to his present position in January, 1902. He is a member of the Waitaki Mounted Rifles.

The Hakataramea Public School dates from about 1889. It is pleasantly situated on a hill overlooking the valley of the Waitaki, with the township in the immediate foreground. The building is of wood and iron, and has one class room and a porch, with accommodation for forty pupils. The number on the roll is thirty-five, and the average attendance for 1902 was thirty. There is a good playground, with shelter sheds, and a five-roomed residence for the teacher in charge.

Mr. William Renton, Headmaster of Hakataramea Public School, is of Scotch extraction, and was born in 1858. He arrived in the colony with his parents in the beginning of 1863, and was brought up in the Clutha district, where he served four years as pupil-teacher in Balclutha public school, and then as assistant teacher for one year. He was then appointed to the charge of Te Houka school, near Balclutha, and, after nearly six years of service in it, he attended the Normal Training College, Dunedin, for one year. On leaving the Training College, he became an officer on the relieving staff under the Otago Education Board, and after two years of that work, was appointed to the charge of Awamoko public school. In 1894 Mr. Renton entered the service of the South Canterbury Education Board, as master of the Pleasant Valley school, near Geraldine, where he remained three years. He was then transferred to Hakataramea Valley, and continued in charge there till June, 1901, when he entered on the duties of his present position.

Mahan, photo.
Mr. W. Renton.

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Hakataramea, is a small building of wood with an iron roof, and stands on part of a section of one acre of land. The building, which cost £200, has accommodation for sixty worshippers. The Roman Catholic church also owns a section of three acres in another part of the district. Monthly services are held by the clergy resident in Waimate.

Terminus Hotel, (Alfred William Simmons, proprietor), Hakataramea. This hotel was established in 1884. It is a two-storey wood and iron building with a balcony, and has sixteen rooms available for the public. There are eleven bedrooms, three sitting rooms, a large dining room with seats for thirty guests, and a billiard room, which contains a three-quarter table by Alcock. At the back of the building there are stables, with four stalls and two loose boxes. There is also a leasehold paddock of forty-eight acres attached to the hotel. The district has many attractions for sportsmen and tourists.

Mr. Alfred William Simmons, Proprietor of the Terminus Hotel, was born in London, in 1870. He accompanied his parents to Port Chalmers in the ship “Margaret Galbraith,” which arrived in 1874; was educated at the Normal School, Dunedin, and brought up to the drapery trade, which he followed for eight years. He acquired the Terminus Hotel on the 17th of March, 1902. As a volunteer, Mr. Simmons served two years in the Dunedin Navals, and as a Freemason, he is attached to Lodge Oamaru Kilwinning, New Zealand Constitution. Mr. Simmons was married, in 1900, to a daughter of Mr. Alexander Allen, of Dunedin.

Barclay Brothers (John, William, and Hugh Barclay), General Storekeepers, Hakataramea; head office, Kurow. The premises occupied by the firm consist of a wood and from building, with a double-fronted shop, and stand on half an acre of freehold land. Stabling accommodation is provided on a section of two acres not far away from the store, and there is also a commodious residence for the resident partner. The firm dates from 1887, and is further referred to in the Otago volume of this work, under Kurow.

Delargy, Henry, Sheepfarmer, “Fettercairn,” Hakataramea. “Fettercairn” consists of 6000 acres held under the Crown as a grazing run, on which 3000 halfbred sheep are depastured. Mr. Delargy resides in the township. He was born at Kumara, Westland, in 1880, and accompanied his parents to the Hakataramea district at the age of three years. His school days were spent in Kurow, and at St. Patrick's College, Wellington. Mr. Delargy was brought up to sheepfarming by his father, and has been in business on his own account since 1899. He is a member of the Hakataramea school committee and also acts as secretary. Mr. Delargy is also secretary of the Hakataramea cemetery and racecourse trusts. He has taken a keen interest in sporting matters, and is treasurer of the Kurow Jockey Club.

Hakataramea Downs, Hakataramea. This station, formerly the property of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, is now owned by the New Zealand and Australian Land Company. It comprises 27,000 acres of freehold, in addition to leasehold, and the flock consists of Merino and Border Leicester sheep. The estate has 100 miles of fencing, of which seven miles are rabbit-proof. About 3000 acres have been cultivated, and a large area has been surface-sown. The homestead is situated 1900 feet page 1101 above sea level; it is substantially built of stone and iron, and overlooks the Hakataramea Valley. The woolshed and the quarters for the shearers and men are all that could be wished for. There is a small hospital containing four beds, and there, in the event of sickness, patients are isolated if it is deemed advisable, and are carefully attended. The buildings are well-sheltered from the fierce 'nor-westers by a plantation of well-selected trees.

Mr. E. James, formerly manager of the Hakataramea Downs station, was born in South Australia in 1849, and was educated at Christ's College, Christchurch. In his early years he followed a pastoral life; he joined the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company's service in 1879 and was appointed manager of Hakataramea Downs in 1887. Under his care and keen observation the sheep on the property were greatly improved in various ways. Mr. James was married, in 1886, to Miss Scouller.

Mr. E. James.

McKenzie, Donald, Sheepfarmer, Hakataramea. Mr McKenzie was born in Ross-shire, Scotland, in 1851, and was brought up as a shepherd. He came to Port Chalmers in the ship “Hydaspes” in 1872, and settled in the Hakataramea district, where he was shepherd at Station Peak for the first few years. For twenty years he served the well known firm of Robert Campbell and Sons, Limited, and was head shepherd for most of the time. For the last ten years Mr. McKenzie has worked a grazing run of 3000 acres, on which he keeps 1500 sheep. He has resided in the Hakataramea township since 1891, on a freehold of two and a quarter acres, where he has a convenient house surrounded with a pleasant garden. Mr. McKenzie has been for many years chairman of the local school committee, is chairman of the Hakataramea hall trust, and a trustee of the local cemetery and racecourse. He is also a prominent member of the committee of the Gaelic Society, and of the Waitaki Collie Dog Club. Mr. McKenzie was married, in 1881, to a daughter of the late Mr. Kenneth Macdonald, of Ross-shire, Scotland, and has six sons and one daughter.

Mr. and Mrs D. McKenzie.

Station Peak (Robert Campbell and Sons, Limited, proprietors), Hakataramea. This property consists of about 40,000 acres of freehold, and 6,700 acres of leasehold land. It extends along the north bank of the Waitaki river for about ten miles up to its junction with the Hakataramea, along the eastern bank of which it extends for thirty miles. About 30,000 halfbred sheep, and from four to five hundred head of cattle are depastured on the estate, and sufficient grain and turnips are grown for feeding purposes. The station buildings and offices are situated on the Waitaki river bank, about five miles below Hakataramea. Three miles further down the river there is a large woolshed, and the station's wool-scouring is also done at that point. There are four out-stations on the estate, and two woolsheds.

Mr. Edward Harris, General Manager of Station Peak, and Inspector of Otekaike, Burwood, Buscott, Galloway and Benmore stations, has been with the company since 1901, prior to which he had, for five years, managed Mount Parker estate. Mr. Harris is a son of Archdeacon Harris, and was born in Christchurch in 1870, and was educated partly in New Zealand and partly in England. He has always followed a pastoral life, has had experience on several stations, and has exhibited stock at various shows. Mr. Harris was married, in 1902, to a daughter of Mr. William Campbell, chairman of Messrs Robert Campbell and Sons, Limited.

“Windsor Downs, ” Hakataramea. This is the property of Mr. Alexander McCaw, and was originally part of the Hakataramea run. It was bought by Mr. McCaw in 1895, and contains 1500 acres. The land is devoted chiefly to the rearing and fattening of lambs for the export trade, and for this purpose Mr. McCaw uses crossbred ewes and Border Leicester rams. Like other settlers in his part of the colony, Mr. McCaw finds it necessary to renew his artificial pastures pretty regularly, and in this process he has raised good crops of grain. The improvements consist of a good dwelling-house and the necessary outbuildings, which are sheltered by a well-grown plantation of ornamental and hardwood trees. The property is divided into ten paddocks.

Mr. William Ogilvy Ross, sometime of Hakatarames, was well known in the district as proprietor of the Ferry Hotel. He was born in Dundee, Scotland, on the 12th of August, 1836, and was teamed to engineering. In 1858 he came out to Lyttelton, by the ship “Cameo,” and for some time worked as a blacksmith in Christchurch, and afterwards drove, a bullock team on the Waitaki river. Mr. Ross had a blacksmithing business et Kurow for several years, before he crossed the river to the Hakataramea side, and erected the Ferry Hotel, which he conducted, in conjunction with a smithy, up to the time of his death in September, 1881. Mr. Ross was married, in 1863, to a daughter of the late Mr. William Forde, of the North of Ireland, and had two daughters and two sons, of whom one son has died. Mrs Ross survives her husband.

Mrs. W. O. Ross.

The late Mr. W. O. Ross.