Wetland convenant reflects changes

It's a far cry from just a few decades ago when drainage was seen as the way forward for such country, visitors to a QE11 National Trust event in the region heard earlier this month.

"Twenty-five or 30 years ago farmers were encouraged to drain swamps," QE11 regional representative Miles Giller told the crowd gathered at Mandy and Dugald Rutherford's Double Tops property, Harwarden.

"Now they're encouraged to restore and protect wetlands."

A 7.5ha flax wetland has just been covenanted on the 2700ha property, a valuable addition to QEll National Trust's register, says Giller.

The covenant was set in motion by the former owners of Double Tops, Harry and Virginia Pawsey, who recently sold half the property and leased the rest to the Rutherfords, who own the neighbouring station, Melrose.

Virginia Pawsey says as the economic pressure has come on to farm more intensively, the flax in turn was coming under pressure from cattle. "They really chew into it. Once they get a taste for it, they really like it. So we realised we had to protect it."

But while they could keep cattle out of the flax while they owned the property, the Pawsey's feared what would happen further down the track.

"We were worried when we were selling that someone would destroy it, so we decided to covenant the land."

The covenant protects the land in perpetuity.

"It was a great relief when we sold to Dugald and Mandy because they feel the same way as us."

Dugald Rutherford's family has owned neighbouring Melrose since 1902. His grandfather spoke of weka and laughing owls, but they're long gone.

"The changes in the last 100 years have been pretty significant," he told the field day.

And there used to be far more flax on the farm.

"I can remember the flax cutters working here and supplying the local mill."

But protecting the environment is nothing new in the Rutherford's farming philosophy – they won the supreme Balance Farm Environment Award for Canterbury in 2010 – and they were happy to covenant the wetland as they planned the purchase.

"For 35 years we've been fencing off areas of flax. We haven't covenanted any but if I was selling the farm I would,"

The wetland on Double Tops – named Kit Pawsey Wetland after the Pawsey's son who was killed at Cave Creek – contains flaxes, cabbage trees, native sedges and herbs.

Pawsey says they didn't realise just how diverse the species were until the QE11 Trust sent experts to have a look.

"I thought there might be 30 species in there but they spent an afternoon and found more than 100."