Two-year-old Ambro knows where to stand to help the photographer. Photo / Judith Lacy
Two-year-old Ambro knows where to stand to help the photographer. Photo / Judith Lacy
Step inside Jeff and Marilyn Hansen's house near Palmerston North and your head will soon be swivelling like a stag admiring his antlers.
There are deer photos and objects here and there - even an illuminated clock. Most striking is a photo of Sir Peter, one of the first breedingstags they bought who was of Danish red deer breeding.
Jeff named him in honour of his grandfather Sir Peter Hansen, who was knighted by the Danish king in the 1950s for his work helping Danes settle in New Zealand.
At the back door there is a rack of antlers, much like a parent might collect their child's baby teeth.
The property has been in the Hansen family since the late 1800s when Peter settled there. Peter Hansen had been in the Royal Danish Guard before coming to New Zealand.
Jeff happily describes himself as a deer nutter and over the years people often referred to him as the old stag. So they decided to call their property on the corner of Hansens Line and Te Arakura Rd Old Stag Deer Park.
Old Stag Deer Park owner Jeff Hansen and his deer take no notice of Snoopy's dilemma. Photo / Judith Lacy
The property is probably best known for the plane with its nose in the ground. It is a Grumman Cheetah that used to fly out of Taonui. When it was first installed, some passersby thought it had crashed so the Hansens added a teeth-clenching Snoopy in flying gear to provide some context.
Jeff's initial idea was to have a Russian fighter on one mound and an anti-aircraft gun made from pipes facing it on the other, but the plane was priced out of his reach. He had already got the mounds made, though, telling the female digger operator he wanted "a B cup and a C cup and a bit of cleavage in between".
Jeff considers himself off centre - he didn't want a plane just sitting in a paddock.
"He comes up with these strange ideas and then he goes and does it," Marilyn says.
This macrocarpa and horseshoe creation displays red deer Ollie's antlers when he was 7. Photo / Judith Lacy
Jeff grew up on the farm next to his grandfather. The first thing Jeff did when he bought the farm was put deer on it. The Hansens started their mob in 1992 by bringing in pregnant hinds.
Jeff used to hunt deer and he would court Marilyn one weekend and go hunting the next.
But he got such a love for deer he started hunting them with his camera. Jeff loves the majesty of the antlers and says he doesn't farm for money but for pleasure.
His seven stags are all in full antler and will eat out of his hand. He doesn't remove the antlers to harvest the velvet, instead allowing them to fall off naturally once a year.
When the antlers have finished growing, the stag will rub the velvet off indicating they are ready for mating. "He who has the best antlers gets the most girls," Jeff says.
At the peak of the season, they have about 80 deer including about 25 hinds. Most of their herd is red deer, but they also have Danish white, sambar, fallow (the smallest breed of deer in New Zealand), and elk (wapiti) - the biggest deer in the country.
The couple soon got passionate about growing bigger and better antlers and developed expertise in genetics.
Jeff says New Zealand holds every world record for red deer antlers. He held one himself for the widest spiker (one-year-old) at 42.5 inches.
Jeff considers himself tree conscious and plants at least 10 a year, with much effort going into protecting them from snacking deer.
A macrocarpa tree planted about 115 years ago by Peter was getting to the stage where it might topple. When Jeff was cutting it up for firewood, he noticed the beautiful grain and thought he needed to do something with the rings.
Big Mac with his impressive belt was born, as was the nearby snail that turned out to be his favourite sculpture.
The buzzard tree is a nod to Jeff Hansen's fascination with the birds of prey. Photo / Judith Lacy
There were a lot of rings left over so he decided to make a 10m-high buzzard tree. When he was visiting Tanzania, Jeff become fascinated with the birds of prey. They were so graceful in the air, but on the ground were ugly and ungainly.
Marilyn does the required painting to complete Jeff's creations such as the buzzard atop the tree. "I get a little bit of a play with his things."
