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The Early Canterbury Runs: Containing the First, Second and Third (new) Series

Springfield — (Runs 54 and 106)

Springfield
(Runs 54 and 106)

These runs, each of ten thousand acres, were taken up by John and George Williamson Hall in 1852, but they abandoned them. Joseph Beswick appears to have taken up part of the country again and abandoned it. New licenses were given to William Bailey Bray in August, 1853. Joseph Hill managed Springfield on shares as he did Bray's other run on the Selwyn, under which I have given some account of them. In 1859 Hill bought Bray's interest in both stations.

In 1869, George Gould, who was a leading financial agent of those days, took the station over from Hill and advertised for a manager. The successful candidate was Duncan Cameron, who had formerly been manager of Winchmore. Gould intended to sell Springfield as soon as he could, but Cameron persuaded him to keep it and offered to go into partnership. Gould agreed to this and Cameron put in all his savings, £1700, and so laid the foundation of one of the largest fortunes ever made out of land in Canterbury.

Gould and Cameron made practically the whole run freehold. The original homestead was on the Ashburton, but they moved it to where it is now.

Gould died in 1889 and after his death his executors page 108and Cameron each tendered for the other's half share. The executors tendered £60,000 and Cameron £65,000, so he got the station.

Until 1908 Cameron had about eighteen thousand acres of freehold but he sold five thousand acres of it that year. In February, 1909, the whole station was offered at auction in farms. About a third of it was sold at auction at an average of £19 an acre, and the rest was sold privately during the year. Thomas Dowling, formerly the manager of Lowcliffe, bought the homestead and two thousand acres.

Cameron was one of the first people to solve the water problem on the plains. The very first water races were made by Reed at Westerfield, but Cameron began making them soon afterwards. In the early 'seventies when Cameron began experimenting with them, people thought the water would sink into the ground unless it was carried in pipes. He was able to show the Ashburton County Council that it was not so, and by the end of 1876 he had thirteen miles of water races on Springfield. He also did very well with crops, and on a scale second only to Longbeach. In 1894 he grew five thousand five hundred acres of wheat there, which was said to be a record for any property in Australasia. It was also his boast that he would find work on the station for anyone who asked him for it. He did not of course pay the casuals very big wages, but it was the habit of many swaggers in those days to turn up at Springfield whenever they wanted enough money to buy a suit of clothes or a pair of boots. He always addressed them as 'Jack.' One of them told me he asked for a job and Cameron asked him what he could do. 'Anything,' said the swagger. 'That's grand,' said Cameron, 'I have a clock that wants mending.' 'But I'm not a watchmaker,' said the swagger, Cameron then told him he wanted an extra stacker, but the swagger couldn't stack either. 'Well you're not the clever fellow I thought you were, Jack,' said Cameron, and put him on to fork sheaves.