Tarras is a small farming settlement in

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tributa ...

, in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand. Tarras is located on the slopes above the upper reaches of the Clutha Valley, on State Highway 8. It is the first village reached by travellers heading south through the Lindis Pass, and is close to the junction where travellers from Aoraki / Mount Cook turn west towards Lake Hāwea, Wānaka, and Haast Pass / Tioripatea.

Farming and agriculture

Most farms in the Tarras district run

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

, principally merino farmed for their super-fine wool. Some also raise other sheep breeds and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

. Many farms have converted to beef cattle since the 2010 introduction of large-scale irrigation. Shrek, a hermit Merino sheep, was caught in the hills of Tarras on 15 April 2004, after hiding away in caves for six years. He was shorn live on national television, to produce fleece for men's coats. Shrek was

euthanised Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

on 6 June 2011 on a veterinarian's advice, at the age of 16.

Vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

have been established in the area since 2000. The vineyards grow mainly

pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

and riesling grapes, with some plantings of pinot gris. The Tarras vineyards include Maori Point Vineyard and Swallows Crossing Vineyard. They are formally classified as being in the

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

sub-region of the Central Otago wine region.

Sunny and dry climate

Tarras is one of the driest areas in New Zealand, with annual rainfall of between . The valley around Tarras is the sunniest in Otago, with over 2,100 sunshine hours per year. The valley is hot in summer, with a median average daily temperature over , and cold in winter: the median average daily minimum is then below .

Community

The Anglican and Presbyterian Tarras Church includes kneelers created to celebrate the centennial of New Zealand women's suffrage.''A Tapestry of Tarras: Local Stories Told in Stitches''. Dunedin: omen’s Division of Federated Farmers, Tarras Branch, 1997 Tarras Rural Women publish the community newsletter, ''Tarras Talk''. The Tarras Tearooms is a historic waystation for travellers through the Lindis Pass.

Education

Tarras School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . The school has published a children's books about Shrek the sheep to raise funds for the school and its students. The book was written by school children and edited by teachers and parents.

International airport proposal

In July 2022, an investigative journalist revealed that

Christchurch Airport Christchurch Airport is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 May 1940 and became New Zea ...

had been secretly buying up farmland between highways and next to Tarras, with the intention of creating a new international airport. After the airport company was forced to announce their plans, there was widespread concern within the community and indeed throughout Central Otago about the proposed airport.

External links

Tarras Community Trust

Tarras School

Learning from the Lindis

References

{{Central Otago Populated places in Otago