Head for heights in north Canterbury

By ANNE GIBSON property editor

The Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias and her husband, former Fletcher Challenge chief executive Hugh Fletcher, have acquired a major stake in a beautiful piece of alpine New Zealand, Lakes Station in north Canterbury.

The 8000ha sheep and beef station in the Southern Alps has lakes, native bush and birds, rivers, wild deer, rainbow and brown trout, salmon, mountains and three landing strips.

The aptly named station has five lakes on it - the well-known Lake Sumner, plus Loch Katrine, Lakes Mason, Sheppard and Taylor - all reminders of its glacial history. The station has an annual rainfall of between 150 and 200cm.

The property runs 800 head of cattle and 12,000 sheep - Herefords, Perindales and Corriedales.

But it is also a major recreational area, drawing shooters, hunters, climbers and fishers to its bounty. There is public access to most of the lakes for fishing and boating.

Salmon spawn in the Hurunui River and the Crawford Range dominates the landscape. Its highest point is Terrible Knob, 1724m, and some peaks are so high that their southern faces can have snow on them all year round.

Lakes Station is north of Christchurch and south of Hanmer Springs, near the Lake Sumner Forest Park. The turnoff from the main highway is at Waipara, where the road winds up to Hawarden, then into the lakes country. The station homestead is a 50km drive on unsealed roads west from Hawarden. It converted from generator power to the mains just seven years ago.

Fletcher and Dame Sian plan to build their own house there during the next two years. Describing himself as semi-retired and his wife as "a workaholic," Fletcher said he would pursue horse-riding interests at the property.

However, Dame Sian's position as Chief Justice will limit the amount of time the couple can spend on the station.

A large stand of virgin native forest, 1500ha of native red beech on the banks of the Hurunui River, is yet another of the station's attributes. Inhabitants include wild deer, kiwi and an abundance of bird life. Hunters are drawn by the wild pigs and deer in the native bush.

The manager and owner of the other quarter share of the property is Ted Phipps, who has been on the station for the past 23 years. He employs two men to help him.

Seven years ago Phipps planted about 20,000 Oregon pine trees on the property, between the homestead and the Hurunui River. He estimates they will mature in another 30 years.

The homestead, situated between Lake Taylor and Lake Sheppard, is about 70 years old.

Fletcher and Elias bought the three-quarters share in the station three months ago.

The property's ratable value was cited at $1.4 million (as at September, 1998), by Quotable Value.

The farm was originally owned by the Macfarlane family, who moved there in the 1920s. The station was passed down to four daughters, who in turn passed it on to their children.

Phipps bought his part share 17 years ago, after working as manager. Fletcher and Dame Sian bought theirs from descendants of the Macfarlane family. Phipps heard Fletcher expressing an interest in buying into a large rural property in an interview with Brian Edwards on National Radio's former Top O' the Morning Saturday show.

"I rang him and asked if he'd be interested in coming in as a partner with me."

Fletcher then visited the property with his father, Sir James Fletcher, and one of his two sons, Ned, and the transaction went through on May 1.

And how big is Lakes Station, exactly? At first Phipps puts it at around 4000ha; a day later it's closer to 8000ha.

Phipps, a man of few words, explains: "It's like this: 5283ha are leasehold to Land Information New Zealand, which used to be the Lands and Survey Department. Then there's an extra 1703 that's freehold."

So the station is near to 7000ha? "Well, that'd be right if you didn't take in the thousand hectares down on Hurunui River flat."

Should that be taken into account as well? Phipps isn't too worried either way: "Call it seven or eight thousand, then you'd be about right."