Events In History
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19 April 1893State buys Cheviot EstateIn the 1890s the Liberal government, and especially Minister of Lands John McKenzie, was determined to ‘burst up’ large landholdings for settlement by prospective small farmers, who were among its key supporters. The first property purchased under this policy was the 34,300-ha Cheviot Estate in North Canterbury. Read more...
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Small rural service township 115 km north-east of Christchurch and 14 km south of Parnassus. The township began in the late 19th century after the subdivision of the 33,600-hectare Cheviot Hills run. Owned by William ‘Ready Money’ Robinson, it was one of Canterbury’s largest 19th-century properties. In 1892–93 the government purchased it and subdivided it into small farms – a landmark event in the breaking up of large estates. In the Cheviot Hills Domain are the foundations of Robinson’s Mansion House, which burned down in 1936.
