Tiring trail no match for rustler's route
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Next month marks 155 years since James Mackenzie was caught rustling 1000 sheep in the South Canterbury High Country, giving rise to one of the most colourful legends in our colonial history. Timaru Herald reporter Fleur Cogle and photographer Natasha Martin are spending a week on the trail of our most famous outlaw.
McKenzie's legacy lives on in the rural community where his legend started.
It's 155 years since the Scottish highlander was accused of rustling 1000 sheep from the Rhodes brothers' station at Taiko Flat. Sheep there yesterday eyed us casually as we cycled past.
A memorial and a stand of native trees mark a point near where the sheep were stolen.
There's also a picnic table – the perfect place for two weary cyclists to stop for lunch. We had set out from The Timaru Herald building two hours earlier.
The story still interests Timaru man Dan Moran, who used to own the land where an older memorial sat.
"During my time at Taiko I was happy to welcome tour buses, TV crews, historians, the general public – even (historian) James McNeish – onto the property, given prior notification," he said.
"At night the sheep were put in yards made with sod walls, and although the yards have since been cultivated, it is still possible to see an outline of them."
Further up Taiko Rd we pass a limeworks site which has its own place in the area's rural history.
Canterbury Lime Co has been in Cam Sim's family since his grandfather bought it from the man who started it in 1947.
The rock is quarried to produce lime for the agricultural sector, Mr Sim said.
Outside the limeworks, local Kevin Drummond saw us and pulled up for a chat.
A legacy he thought deserved recognition was the Downland Water Scheme, which was a pre-war Ministry of Works and unemployment project.
The scheme has been supplying water to farmers in the area since the mid 1930s. "It's been a lifesaver around here."
On the subject of McKenzie: "I think he took the rap for two or three others ... (but) I don't know."
It's a sentiment shared by others in the area. Whether McKenzie was guilty or innocent, the act of taking the sheep through untouched countryside has earned him respect.
Retired Cave farmer John Smith: "I have always been an admirer of his. You only have to see the country he went through – he was definitely a legend. If you get round through the Mackenzie Pass, imagine what it was like with no trees, no willows."
And no fences, no tracks, but plenty of spiky matagouri.
Sheep and beef farmer Russell Kelynack took part in a re-enactment of the infamous caper several years ago.
Owners of land tied to the story each drove a mob of sheep across their property, linking up to the next property to re-enact the event.
"I'd like his dog. When you read things about the number of sheep that he was moving ... he would have needed more than one dog," Mr Kelynack said.
Legsore and tired we pulled into Cave, where Sue Mair and Herb Callander at the Cave Store took care of us, introducing us to customers and their neighbour Jeannette Pepping, who kindly offered to put us up for the night.
* The Herald's bikes were provided by Global Adventure Guide in conjunction with Bergamont Bicycles.
- © Fairfax NZ News
