Phillip Colebatch, owner of the historic Waipaoa Station property (pictured 20 years ago) said most of the rest of the former sheep and beef farm had already been converted to forestry and the conversion of the last 10% of pasture was the end of that process. Photos / File
Phillip Colebatch, owner of the historic Waipaoa Station property (pictured 20 years ago) said most of the rest of the former sheep and beef farm had already been converted to forestry and the conversion of the last 10% of pasture was the end of that process. Photos / File
The last block of pasture at a “historic and iconic” sheep and beef station near Gisborne will turn into pine forest, disappointing the former owner and a local farming advocate.
The owner of Waipaoa Station, located at Whatatutu about 65km north of Gisborne city, says his decision toplant pine on the remaining pasture came after a series of owners over the years broke up the land and planted it with trees.
Colebatch applied for resource consent last year from Gisborne District Council to plant pine over 1090ha on Waipaoa Station, and the application was granted in November.
The resource consent allows a minimum of 1000 pinus radiata seedlings to be planted per hectare, with 5m to 10m margins alongside waterways in which no planting could occur.
The owner of Waipaoa Station Phillip Colebatch. Photo / Gisborne Herald
“I understand the original large, historic and iconic Waipaoa Station approached 10,000ha in area,” he told the Gisborne Herald.
“Over the last many years, that has been progressively broken up and planted in trees by various owners, so long ago in some cases that trees are already being harvested,” Colebatch said.
Colebatch said the Waipaoa block owned by his company, Te Hau Station, is about 1660ha, of which about a third was already planted in trees for soil stabilisation when his company purchased it.
“The block that Te Hau owns is the rump end of that process, and the 1090ha that we will plant is 10% of that original iconic property,” he said.
“The rest has been in trees for a very long time. We are surrounded by trees on all sides, in some cases stretching for many kilometres,” he said.
“Various local owners over the last many years have concluded that the best use of their land is forestry, and we are the last pastoral farmer in the immediate area to make this decision.”
Colebatch said the staff on Waipaoa had been told their jobs may end in July when the stock on the station had been sold off.
“Not all stock is being sold,” he said. “Staff have been told that their roles will be reviewed in July against what stock we then have available on our other blocks and after stock on the Waipaoa block has either been sold or moved to another of our blocks.
Created in the late 19th century, Waipaoa Station became the home of the Waipaoa Station Farm Cadet Training Trust in 2007. As an established hill country property, it provided the ideal training ground for future farmers.
“Waipaoa Station was ideally sized to provide an excellent base for agricultural training and a real-life learning environment for young farmers,” farm cadet promotional material stated.
“Another iconic station has gone into trees,” he said. “Racking my brains, there’s only a couple of big stations like it left, like Tauwhareparae Farms, and it’s only a matter of time maybe before that goes, too.”
Williams said one had to respect the rights of people to do what they wanted with their properties.
