page_title: Barrhill, New Zealand
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Barrhill, New Zealand / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of John Cathcart Wason circa 1878, Member of Parliament for Coleridge at the time
context_page_description: Barrhill is a lightly populated locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on the Canterbury Plains, on the right bank of the Rakaia River, about 17 kilometres inland from Rakaia. It was founded by Cathcart Wason in the mid-1870s and named by him after his old home Barrhill in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Wason set it up as a model village for the workers of his large sheep farm. The population of the village peaked in the mid-1880s before the general recession initiated a downturn for the village. Wason had expected for the Methven Branch railway to run past Barrhill, but the line was built in 1880 on an alignment many miles away, which caused Barrhill population to decrease.
  Three of the original buildings of Barrhill plus the gatehouse at Wason's homestead were constructed of concrete, and they still exist to this day. One of those buildings, St John's Church, is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category II heritage building, and the gatehouse is a museum that is open on request. Today, few buildings exist in the village, but the formal layout of avenues still exists, giving the setting a charming appearance.
context_section_description: Wason emigrated from Scotland to New Zealand in late 1868. In February 1869 or April 1870 (sources vary), he bought the Lendon sheep run (Run 116) in mid-Canterbury. Lendon was a 20,000 acres (81 km²) run on the south bank of the Rakaia River. The land had first been taken up by John Hall, but had changed ownership several times before Wason bought it, including 1,250 acres (5.1 km²) of freehold land. Wason renamed his property Corwar after his father's lands in Scotland, and the first advertisement placed in newspapers by Wason mentions Corwar in October 1869, hence the April 1870 date appears less likely. Wason set about trying to create an estate village on land bought from the adjacent Lavington run (Run 117). He also bought part of the Hororata Station on the other side of the Rakaia River from John Cordy (Run 67).
  His planting of pine trees and of oaks, walnuts and poplars extended over 600 acres (2.4 km²) and allowed shelter from the prevailing north-west winds to allow sheep farming and the growing of wheat, while water power was used for agricultural machinery. He bought and sold land, and by 1882 Corwar was consolidated as a freehold estate of just over 5,000 acres (20 km²) with a large mansion overlooking the river, complete with gate lodge and gate-keeper.
  On the estate, Wason built a model village called Barrhill, with avenues forming a grid layout and a central market square. Barrhill had 28 sections, including a post office, bakery, school, church, other facilities, and fifteen cottages were built. Wason named the village after his old home in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The post office opened in 1876 and in the same year, construction of the church began, and these buildings mark the beginning of Barrhill.
  However, Wason had expected the Methven Branch railway to be built near Barrhill, but when it was built on a more southerly route along Thompsons Track and what was later to become known as Lauriston, the village began to decline. Dwindling population forced the closure of the school in 1938, although the Church of St John the Evangelist is still in use. Most of the buildings were constructed from pine wood grown on the estate, but the three original concrete buildings remain: church, school and schoolhouse.
  Without the railway, Wason saw his project as doomed, and sold up in 1900. A rural mail service was discussed for the Ashburton District in September 1924 and after the contracts were let in February 1925, the Barrhill post office was closed. The school closed in 1938.
  The Ashburton Branch of New Zealand Historic Places Trust, since renamed to Heritage New Zealand, unveiled an information panel on Anzac Day in 2012 in Barrhill's market square. It was their last project as a branch committee before the pending disestablishment of branch committees through the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill, and they chose Barrhill to relaunch themselves as the Historic Places Mid Canterbury regional society as part of the unveiling of the historic panel.
caption: Cathcart Wason in c. 1878
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