North Canterbury News: September 16, 2021

The annual clip ... Wool being loaded out of the Island Hills Woolshed to be carted out by horse and cart.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Gales hit historic woolshed
The IslandHills Woolshed, which
was damaged when atree crashed
on to the roofduring the recent
nor’westgales, was built in 1912
priortoWWI.
It was built for GRMcRae soon
afterIsland Hills, west of
Culverden, was split offfrom The
GlensofTekoa.
It was builtofheart rimu, railed
to the Balmoralsiding, and carted
to Island Hillsbyhorse and cart.
The heart rimu is still as sound
todayasthe day it was milled,says
Ed Shand, father of Dan who now
runs Island Hills with his wife
Mandy.
Mr Shand says the timberistoo
hard for the borer beetles to have
caused any damageover thepast
110 years.
But the savage gales of late,
whichtoppled ablue gum on to the
shed, has taken atoll.
The shed was built on concrete
piles that stand 60 to 90 cm above
groundlevel, makingitdifficult to
clean the manure out from under
the gratings, he says.
The shearing board and partof
the woolroom are sarkedwith half
inch timberthat stops
condensation and in recent years
the floor has beenstrengthened
with achip board covering.
‘‘The roofand wallswere
covered with crown corrugated
iron that was heavily coated with
galvanising, helpingtokeep the
shed sound.
‘‘There is one weatherboard wall
along the front,’’saysMrShand.
The internalpens hold up to 380
full­woolled sheep,and are split
into five large pens, as wellas
three catching pens that served six
blade shearers, now days three
machine shearers.
The wooltableatone end of the
board,along with bins, are in aline
acrossone side of the wool room.
The old handcranked Sandow
press usedtobeinthe middle of
the room,while the wool bales
were stacked up threehigh,two
deep afterthey were weighed and
recorded.
The first electricitywas
connected to the generatorinthe
1950s.Itserved for lighting and
boiling hotwater, as well as atwopersonKiwi
crutching plant that
sat at the far endofthe shearing
board for many years.
Dan and Mandy are confident
the damage caused by the huge
blue gum crashing on to the
woolshed roof, and outsidesheep
yards,can be repaired.
NEWS
The North Canterbury News, September 16, 2021
5
Floods, Covid
cost council
The May31floodevent
and the recentCovid­19
lockdownhave left the
WaimakaririDistrict
Councilwithmore than $3
millioninunplanned
costs.
In areport to lastweek’s
councilmeetingheld on
Zoom, utilities and
roading manager Gerard
Cleary said therecent
floodevent led to a$2.8
millionrepairbill.
The bulkofthe flood
repair bill is from roading
repairs, at an estimated
$2.6million, while other
costs are for damage to
greenspaces and property.
The councilis
continuing to look at cost
recovery fromWaka
Kotahi NZTA and other
sources, and expects the
costtothe council to
reduce to around $1.2
million, ‘‘soit’s not going
to cost the district too
much’’,Mayor Dan Gordon
says.
Meanwhile the
lockdown has costthe
council between $200,000
and $300,000 in unplanned
expenses and lost income,
Mr Gordonsays.
‘‘It’s acost we don’t
budget for.Wedon’t have
an exactfigureyet, but last
year’slockdown costus
around $800,000.’’
Councillors endorsed
thedraft District Planin a
closed session and hope to
release it for public
consultation later in the
month, Mr Gordonsays.
Areportseeking council
approval for public
consultation on the
proposedWaimakariri
District Walking and
Cycling NetworkPlan was
withdrawnafter the
council was unsuccessful
in its NZTAfunding
application.
The proposal had set out
aprogramme for building
$4.7 millionworth of cycle
wayand walkway
infrastructure in the
district overthe next
decade.
Staffwill now consider
theoptions, including
whether thecouncil can
fund the project itself,the
implications of
proceeding with halfthe
funds or puttingthe
project on hold,Mr
Gordon says.
‘‘There hasbeen alot of
work done leadingup to
that reportsoit’sashame
to not proceed withit at
this stage, but we were
warnedthat therewere
funding challenges for
NZTA.’’
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waimakariri.govt.nz/letstalk
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