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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
The Taieri Plain
The Taieri Plain , the best known agricultural district of Otago, is situated a few miles south of Dunedin. It was selected as the scene of settlement by some of the pioneers who came out by the ships “Philip Laing” and “John Wickliffe.” The plain was originally a succession of swamps, and when the Teieri river was in flood, the whole area, from Saddle Hill on the east to the Maungatua Ranges on the west, and as far south as the Waihola, was covered with water; but the energy and intelligence of the settlers have transformed the whole region into a most productive, well protected agricultural district. At first, before the era of roads, the settlers had to skirt round the edges of the swamps, and get along otherwise as best they could, but now the whole plain is intersected with well-formed shingle and metal roads. Drainage and river boards were constituted; the former to assist settlers in the reclamation of their lands, the latter to preserve their properties from destruction by floods; and the results have been most beneficial and successful. In local topography the plain is known as East, North and West Taieri. The first-named division includes the townships and sub-districts known as Wingatui, Mosgiel, Riccarton, Otokaia and Henley; the latter of Outram, Woodside, Maungatua, and Berwick. Wonderful crops have been reaped on the Taieri Plain, and many settlers have obtained from eighty to ninety bushels of wheat to the acre, and up to 120 bushels of oats per acre have been obtained in many cases; of barley sixty bushels, and of mangolds forty to seventy tons per acre; in turnips, a field of from thirty to forty tons per acre is a very frequent occurrence. As a whole, the plain gives an average yield of forty-five bushels of wheat and sixty of oats to the acre, whilst the surrounding uplands give an average yield of twenty bushels of oats and thirty of wheat. Cyclists and equestrians may travel for many miles in almost any direction on the best of roads; northward to Thompson's Springs and westward through Wylie's Crossing, Outram, Woodside, Maungatua, and Berwick; and eastward through Riccarton, Allanton, Otokaia, Henley, and Waihola. At Henley and Waihola there are steam pleasure launches, and in the season game abounds.