NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Ground Zero: Picture-perfect postcard of rural NZ blown apart by Monday's mammoth quake

Kurt Bayer
By Kurt Bayer
South Island Head of News·NZ Herald·
18 Nov, 2016 04:57 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Alex Boissard, owner of Sherwood Station, is getting help to get his farm back up and running following the earthquakes

Deep up the valley, a cool breeze carries birdsong. Bees hum between spring blossom and endless beech forest.

With the rolling green hills, freshly snow-dusted mountains beyond, and occasional lamb bleat, Sherwood Rd could be perfect postcard of rural New Zealand.

But venture up a gravel driveway or bounce down a muddy farm-track and a different version of reality soon emerges.

Behind towering pines, a century-old mansion crouches half-collapsed.

Farmhouses have shed their bricks, exposing cladding and interior walls. Crumpled chimneys have blown out windows. Glass shards shimmer in the bright sun.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

This is Ground Zero. It just so happens that Monday's mammoth magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck deep in the North Canterbury countryside and not beneath a major metropolis.

Kara Lynn stands on her deck, walkie-talkie in hand, and shakes her head. She reckons a new fault line runs about 40-metres from her back door - in a north-west to south-east direction.

The ferocity of the ground-shaking has sheared a large lump of land 20m eastwards and created a deep gully. The whole landscape has moved.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"You could hear the sound. It was a roar ... like the earth was opening up," the mother-of-three said.

Lynn, an Amberley refugee from the deadly 2011 quake, knew the names of the two existing fault lines that run through her remote 2500-acre property north of Waiau, which is only accessed by fording a flood-prone river.

One is the Lottery River Fault and the other, the Hope Fault which she says runs from Hanmer Springs to Seddon.

"I'm yet to name this one," she says pointing down into a cavernous gorge which opened up on Monday, swallowing large beech trees. Two old cars left rusting in a paddock even took a slide down a new cliffside.

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

Earthquake intervenes in historic return

18 Nov 04:00 PM
New Zealand

More buildings evacuated in Wellington

18 Nov 01:54 AM
New Zealand

Quake's lessons can't be ignored

18 Nov 03:17 AM
New Zealand

Red sticker closes legendary NZ pub

18 Nov 04:34 AM

Still, she thinks they've been lucky. They lost a 30-litre water tank, and it's put them weeks behind their farm work, but their house appears unscathed. They're off grid and still have electricity.

They're better off than many others.

Back across the river, farmer Alex Boissard has lost two houses, "completely destroyed".
But the farm goes on. Calves still need castrating, the sheep still need tailing.

To the rescue is a network of Federated Farmers members.

Cheviot farmers Daniel Maxwell and Scott McFadden "dodged a bullet" in the quakes, they said.

They arrived at Boissard's property today to help castrate the calves.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Other young farmers from Invercargill are next door helping out, while an army of others are across the Waiau region helping to get the crucial jobs done so the landowners and farmers can deal with insurers and EQC.

"The show must go on," Maxwell says.

"A huge amount of experienced people are putting their names forward to help stock handling. We just want to help however we can."

Fellow farm helper Scott McFadden added: "I know that the emphasis is on Kaikoura but these guys down the end of a road like this should not be forgotten about."

It's certainly appreciated help.

Boissard's property has damaged fences, water pipes, a woolshed and grain silo.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I can't thank them enough," he said.

"Waiau has taken a severe battering but what's happening today is a prime example to show that we're going to be okay."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Costco limits cheap butter purchases to 30 blocks, still sells out

23 May 01:00 AM
New Zealand|crimeUpdated

'Do the right thing': Mother's plea for justice in son's stabbing

23 May 12:57 AM
New Zealand

'Very uncomfortable': Cops called after man approaches teen on beach to take photos

23 May 12:37 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Costco limits cheap butter purchases to 30 blocks, still sells out

Costco limits cheap butter purchases to 30 blocks, still sells out

23 May 01:00 AM

The American grocery giant is selling 1kg Kirkland Signature butter for $9.99.

'Do the right thing': Mother's plea for justice in son's stabbing

'Do the right thing': Mother's plea for justice in son's stabbing

23 May 12:57 AM
'Very uncomfortable': Cops called after man approaches teen on beach to take photos

'Very uncomfortable': Cops called after man approaches teen on beach to take photos

23 May 12:37 AM
'Survival mode': Driver brandishes knife in road-rage incident

'Survival mode': Driver brandishes knife in road-rage incident

23 May 12:22 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP