History will be fun at Tarras party

08-09-2010 | Gerard Hall

Friendships will be rekindled, fun will be had and no doubt a few stories will be told when more than 350 people gather over Labour Weekend to celebrate Tarras.

The occasion is the Tarras District and School Reunion, a three-day event celebrating the centenary of the subdivision of Morven Hills station and the 125th Jubilee of the Tarras Primary School.

Organisers say it is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the settlers who made Tarras what it is today and the present day community who are shaping its future.

While tourism and viticulture plus olive and peony growing continue to attract new residents, many of the families have lived in the district for generations, adding to the district's strong sense of community spirit.

It is this sense of togetherness that reunion organisers Rebecca Chapman-Cohen and Sarah Perriam (herself a newcomer) say makes the celebrations something to look forward to.

The local school is the glue that holds most communities together. Add in a golf club, vibrant church communities, a rural women's group and a young farmers club plus a fair share of characters and, yes, Tarras resonates loudly.

With its distinctive landscape Tarras, the northern gateway to Central Otago, Queenstown and Lake Wanaka, has quickly evolved from a rural backwater to an internationally renowned destination.

Known for world class merino wools, Tarras is also home to celebrated wines.

It is not until you stop and have a look around the district that its attractions become clear. As well as a strong retail presence in the village, including great wines and coffee, the district is steeped in history.

A key part of that history is pioneer John McLean.

After crossing the Lindis Pass in 1858 in his search for grazing land, the Scotsman soon secured the grazing rights for Runs 235, 236, 237 and 238, naming the area Morven Hills.

Encompassing around 352,000 acres, the four runs making up the station stretched from the Cromwell Gorge to beyond the summit of the Lindis Pass and from the shores of Lake Hawea to the western flanks of the Dunstan Mountains.

After a succession of owners, Morven Hills was eventually broken up by the government of the day, resulting in the first of the subdivided pastoral leases balloted in 1910.

At the time, Morven Hills was one of Central Otago's "big five" pastoral runs, the others being Moutere, Galloway, Earnscleugh and Kawarau Stations.

The Labour weekend commemorations have already attracted more than 350 registrations from as far afield as Britain. As many as four generations of some families will be attending.

While their bedtimes will no doubt be earlier than some of the adults who walk into their classrooms it is clear the 15 Tarras school children are very excited about the weekend festivities.

As well as welcoming visitors to their school and showing off their work they will present several items during the festivities, including a haka.

Long-standing school principal Noelene Pullar says a large part of this year's curriculum at the two-teacher school has been centred on Tarras.

"The children have been involved in studying aspects of the district including its past, the current environment and taking a futuristic look at what the district might look like in the years to come."

The fact the school has two full-time teachers is an example of the commitment of the district. Funds raised by the Friends of Tarras School pay for the second teacher. To receive Ministry of Education funding for two teachers the school would need a roll of 26.

Pullar, along with Jeanette Emmerson of Forest Range and Nine Mile Station's Spin Lucas, is writing a recent history of the school and surrounding district which will be released during the weekend's events.

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