Flock Hill station is located in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's South Island high country, in the

Waimakariri River The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean. ...

basin, 75 minutes drive from

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on State Highway 73 which is now commonly known as ''The Great Alpine Highway'' between Castle Hill Station and

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near Lake Pearson.

History

Flock Hill Station was originally farmed as part of the original Craigiburn run. This was a huge expanse of land that extended from Broken River to Lake Pearson and from the

to the

Craigieburn Range The Craigieburn Range forms part of the Southern Alps in New Zealand's South Island. The range is located on the south banks of the Waimakariri River, south of Arthur's Pass and west of State Highway 73. The Craigieburn locality is adjacent to t ...

. It was in 1857 that Craigiburn was first taken by Joseph Hawdon who had come out from Australia where he made his fortune. When the West Coast Road was opened in 1865, Hawdon realized an opportunity and established a Hotel below the station at the bend in the road halfway down from Lake Pearson. There are no remains of the Hotel today. Hawdon sold Craigieburn in 1867 to the Campbell brothers who went their separate ways by 1872, and the property was then managed by Reginald Foster of Avoca Station. Thomas Whillians Bruce from Cora Lynn had a hand in the run until 1881 when it was then taken over by Loan and Mercantile Company followed by Jones and Stronach and then sold again in 1906 to Frederik Savill. It wasn't until 1917 when the lease came up for review that the run was divided into three. James Milliken IV 880-1947took up two of the blocks and named the run "Flock Hill". Milliken derived the name from the scattered limestone rocks near Cave Stream which many believe to look like flocks of stone sheep. At the time of purchase James Milliken also owned the adjoining station "Castle Hill" but disposed of this in 1919 to Mr W. B. Clarkson so he could concentrate on developing his new holding. Flock Hill Station is owned by the University of Canterbury and leased. Flock Hill Station is managed by Richard and Anna Hill and continues to be a working station stocking half-bred sheep and cattle.

Geography

River boundaries contain this retreat at Broken River to the South and 16 km of upper

frontage in the East as well as 2 km of frontage bordering the scenic Lake Pearson. Flock Hill shares its only fenced northern boundary with Craigieburn station, while the western boundary is Craigieburn State Forest and a cluster of club skifields including Broken River, Craigieburn, Mount Cheeseman and Porter Heights. At its lowest point, the station is 500 metres above sea level, rising to 2000 metres at Mount Constitution. This wilderness expanse includes seven alpine rivers and streams meandering for 66 km through the landscape, that are reportedly some of the best fishing waters. The

TranzAlpine The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train journeys for the scenery through which it passes ...

railway (known as one of the seven most scenic train journeys in the world) winds for over 25 km through the property up Broken River and along Slovens Stream.

In popular culture

Flock Hill was the setting for the climactic final battle between Aslan's forces and the powerful army of the

White Witch Jadis is the main antagonist of ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (1950) and ''The Magician's Nephew'' (1955) in C. S. Lewis's series, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. She is commonly referred to as the White Witch in ''The Lion, the Witch and ...

, led by the fierce minotaur,

General Otmin This is a list of characters in the series of fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis called ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. See also a list of portrayals. A *Ahoshta: a 60-year-old Tarkaan of Calormen who later becomes the Grand Vizier, chief adviser to ...

, ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe(2005)''. The grass-scapes became the land called

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...

and the distant peaks of the Torlesse Range provided a dramatic backdrop for the

's palace. Flock Hill was the site for the Alpine Unity

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

's festivals in 2002 and 2003.

World Class Luxury

The property also hosts a world-class luxury lodge, including the FLOCKHILL Homestead which has received many awards and accolades.

External links

Flock Hill Website

References

* Cronshaw, Tim. "Juggling act: 18,000ha", ''The Press'', Christchurch, Friday 20 February 2009. {{Coord, 43, 7, 48.58, S, 171, 46, 20.37, E, display=title High Country stations Geography of Canterbury, New Zealand