Beaconsfield (Otipua), which as a settlement was established in 1879, is six miles from Timaru, on the road leading to Upper Pareora. The township is about the centre of the original Otipua estate, which comprised about 30,000 acres of land. This property, after being bought by the Government, was subdivided and thrown open for settlement, and some freehold land, owned by Mr G. G. Russell, was also disposed of in township sections. Beaconsfield has had a post office, named Otipua, for about twenty years. There are also blacksmiths' and carpenters' shops, and a pretty little ivy-covered church overlooks the settlement. The children of the district attend the Pareora public school, about two miles distant.

The Post Office At Otipua , which serves the Beaconsfield district, was established in 1882. It is conducted at the store of Mr. C. Chivers, where mails are received and despatched daily. There is also a telephone bureau.

Mr. Charles Chivers, Postmaster at Otipua Post Office, Beaconsfield, was born in Frome, Somersetshire, England, in 1836, and learned the trade of a cabinetmaker. He came to Lyttelton in the ship “Zealandia” in 1859, and has resided in the Timaru district since 1865. Mr. Chivers has been identified with the Beaconsfield district for a number of years, and has served on the public school committee. He was married in 1859, to a daughter of the late Mr. J. Collins of Frome, Somersetshire, and has two sons and five daughters.

The Parish Of Beaconsfield And Kingsdown, which was constituted in page 1028 January, 1902, extends from Salisbury road on the north to the Pareora river on the south and west, to the sea on the east, and extends back to the hills. There is a church at Beaconsfield, and one is to be erected at Kingsdown, Mr. King, the former proprietor of the estate, having presented a suitable site. St. Mark's Church at Beaconsfield (Otipua), is very prettily situated on a rise in the village. Six acres of land were presented to the church by Mr. G. G. Russell, and three acres are used for the church site. The building, which was erected in 1896, is of atone, and is very picturesque with its ivy-grown walls. There is seating accommodation for over 100 persons, and a Sunday school, with fifteen scholars and three teachers, meets regularly in the building.

The Rev. Thomas Farlie, Vicar of Beaconsfield and Kingsdown, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1854. He came to Auckland by the ship “Lady Jocelyn,” in 1874, and was for seven years stationed at Temuka before his appointment to Beacona-field in January, 1902. Mr. Farlie has 410 acres of land at St. Andrews, where he resides. He was married, in 1882, to the eldest daughter of the late Mr. W. I. Taylor, of Tamaki. This lady died in 1886, leaving two sons and one daughter. In 1891 Mr. Farlie married a daughter of Mr. F. L. Webster, of New Plymouth, and has two daughters by this union.

Hutton, Robert, Blacksmith, Otipua. Mr. Hutton was the first colonist to settle in Beaconsfield. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1849, and was brought up by his father to the trade of a blacksmith and shipwright. He came to Port Chalmers in 1873 in the ship “Cartsburn.” For four years he resided in Dunedin, where for some time he was engaged in business for himself. He then settled at Beaconsfield, where he built his house and workshop, started as a blacksmith, and has ever since been successful in business. Mr. Hutton has been a member of the Order of Oddfellows, and was a member of the Beaconsfield school committee for many years. In 1873, he married Miss Marian Craig, of Ayrshire, and they have seven sons and three daughters. The eldest son is engaged in his father's business.

Mr. R. Hutton.

Otipua Homestead.