An old telephone pole stands as testimony to a historic form of communication in the Ashburton Gorge.
Hakatere Heritage Committee recovered the humble post from the depths of the picturesque high country, recently installing it, and adding a plaque, at Hakatere Corner.
Member David Howden said the pole was the last post in what had been the Pukewaro telephone line, which stretched from Mayfield to Lake Heron Station.
At 62km long, it had been one of New Zealand’s longest private telephone lines.
The Pukewaro line was established in 1918, by Pukewaro Telephone Company formed and funded by the area’s landholders.
It served 10 households.
‘‘The line relieved the family’s isolation of living in this once remote sheep grazing landscape,’’ Howden said.
‘‘This was a party line, so anyone using this had no privacy,’’ he said.
Party lines were overhead wiring systems extending into outlying areas, which inadvertently had the feature of subscribers being able to listen in to each other’s conversations.
The line was run to an exchange in the area, where a telephonist put calls through.
The Pukawaro exchange was at the nearby Mt Somers village, at the residence of Thomas Wiltshire Hix and wife Emily, who were the telephonists.
Howden was pleased to see the pole installed, commemorating an important part of the Hakatere Corner’s history.
It had been the idea of fellow member Peter Austin.
The site already features one of Mid Canterbury’s oldest buildings, a former shepherds’ quarters for Hakatere Station built of cob and stone, as well as other notable buildings.
Meanwhile, Hakatere Corner has recently become a Tohu Whenua heritage visitor programme site.
The visitor programme is a partnership between Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and Department of Conservation with support from Manatu Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Te Puni Ko kiri.
Named O tu wharekai Hakatere Heritage, the corner is one of 11 Tohu Whenua sites reaching from Kaikoura to Timaru, showcasing heritage visitor experiences in Canterbury.
Department of Conservation Geraldine-based operations manager Tony Preston said a launch event late last year represented a coming together of different groups to bring the stories from mana whenua tu puna to life and as well as the rich history of high-country pastoral farming in the 19th century.
“When I first came in here, I could see the high-country story told here in the buildings, but there was no presence for Ngai Tahu and Arowhenua. We want to bring those stories to life and take visitors on a journey,’’ Preston said in a statement.
‘‘I’m so stoked at how this event has brought everyone together and when we put in a bid to have it recognised in the Tohu Whenua programme, that was my aim, to come together and create a meaningful shared history.’’
Visitors can scan a QR code on a wooden post at each site, and access resources to learn about the history connected to each place.
