Fun Fact #2

Is it Whiskey? Or is it Whisky? At Dolamore Park and in the Reserve some DOC signs say Whisky Creek Trail, yet others say Whiskey Creek Trail. On the NZ Topo Map, it is the Whiskey Creek Trail (though the actual Creek is spelt Whisky Creek). It really depends on the country of origin. Japanese, Canadian or Scottish Whiskey is Whisky but Irish and American Whisky is Whiskey. Just what Gore Whiskey is may be more aligned to who the majority of settlers were in Otago/Southland in the 1800s; Scottish, so therefore Whisky. I have spelt it Whiskey in our name for the Whiskey Creek Challenge not because I'm not Scottish but because I didn't actually think about it!! 😁

Not that I actually drink Whiskey but I imagine anyone who does, after a few wouldn't be able to spell either Whiskey or Whisky anyway. I think in Gore it was actually spelt Hokonui Moonshine. But that's a story for another day. 🤪

Fun Fact # 3

The Whiskey Creek Trail runs along part of an old waterrace constructed in the late 1880s by a William Plenderleith Dickson. The dam was just above the current waterfall and part of the dam and much of the water race can still be seen in the bush. The water race ran for about 3 km around the contour of the hill (another track to run on!) to a gully above his property. The water was going to be used to sluice part of his land in search for gold but the waterrace was breached and water flooded onto his neighbour, Samuel Fletcher's property before it reached his. Fletcher sued him for damages and came out of the deal better off than the would-be gold seeker. So these hills have more history to them than just Whiskey, which is also a story for another day!

Fun Fact # 4

The first teacher of Croydon Siding School (up Croydon Bush Road) from 1896-1900 was Robert N Fraser. He recalled a man that his father knew fairly well who distilled 2 five gallon kegs of whisky near a stream up in the bush. Word of his doings got abroad and he stopped operations. The casks were buried for 18 months before being unearthed. The whisky when sampled, was of good quality and the maker quickly disposed of it by sale. From this incident the old hands named the stream ‘Whisky Creek’.

Fun Fact # 5

The production of Whiskey in the Hokonui Hills was a deep rooted part of the district’s history. From the early days of settlement only licensed premises could sell alcohol and then with ‘Prohibition’ in 1902 until 1957 within the Mataura District (including Gore), no one could sell alcohol.  Locals headed to the hills to set up stills to produce Whiskey for themselves or for illegal sale. The locally produced whiskey became known as ‘Hokonui Moonshine’ and was the centre of many a game of cat and mouse between the local constabulary and customs officers and the distillers attempting to avoid detection.  

Fun Fact #6

From the first European settlement in the area there were a number of large sheep runs. George Bell purchased the Croydon Run in 1869 which was next to the John Chubbin’s ‘Reaby Run’. In 1875 George started up the Croydon Sawmill which was in the area just east of Pope Road. This begun the Croydon Bush Settlement in the area between Nicholson Road and Croydon Bush Road. The Croydon Bush School opened in 1883 on the corner of Lady Charlton and Reaby Road and the Croydon Hall on the other side of Lady Charlton Road opened in 1913. The school roll peaked at 72 in 1910 with numbers dwindling through the 1930s and 40s. The school closed in 1949 and the hall in 1951. Now there is very little evidence of a once thriving settlement.

Fun Fact # 7

Gold and Whiskey were not the only things associated with the Hokonui Hills. In fact the first valuable resource was timber. The first saw mill was set up in 1875 and produced timber for the local Croydon Bush Settlement and for Gore, smaller trees were used for firewood as a fuel source until coal began to replace wood for heating and cooking. All the lower bush was cleared though the bigger trees further round above Dolamore Park were left untouched due to the difficulties of getting the trees out of the bush. The road to Gore at times made carting the timber to Gore very difficult. It was also fortunate that one of the local councilors of Gore, who would become mayor, Mr Dugald Popplewell, took an avid interest in protecting what bush he could in the Hokonui Hills before it was all gone and in 1893 the first 320 acres was put into a reserve.

Fun Fact # 8

In 1904 the Government at the request of the Gore Council agreed to add another 110 acres to the Reserve along the southern boundary. Because of Mr Dugald Popplewell’s initiative, the formation of this Reserve was established and also set in motion the further development of the Reserve and over the years more land was added.  One of the tracks off the Whiskey Creek trail is aptly named Popplewells in recognition of his efforts, without it, there would have likely been no reserve today. In 1940 an area of 203 acres along the Waimumu Stream was acquired also by the Council. In 1947 a substantial bequest was given to the then Gore Borough Council by Mr J H Dolamore and his wife Amelia and this was used to develop the  Croydon Domain which is now named in recognition of the Dolamores, Dolamore Park.

Fun Fact # 9

The total Reserve which ranged from west of Dolamore Park to the eastern side of East Peak was administered by the Gore Borough Council (approximately 969ha). However with rising costs the Council decided to transfer ownership of the Reserve to the NZ Government (874ha) which was finalised in 1982, with the Council retaining ownership and management of the 95ha at Dolamore Park and below the Whiskey Creek Trail around to Domain Road. The Department of Conservation (DOC) now administers the rest of the Reserve, now called the Croydon Bush Scenic Reserve (map on right).

Fun Fact # 10

Parts of the Croydon Bush Reserve, particularly above Dolamore Park, including part of the Whiskey Creek Trail was never milled for timber and is one of the few places in Southland that is representative of what much of the forests would have been like in times before human habitation. It is described as a podocarp forest with a mixture of some magnificent kahikatea, matai, rimu, miro and totora along with southern rata which looks awesome in full flower over summer, Kamahi and Pokaka. There is no natural Beech. Along the Whiskey Creek Trail where the old waterrace used to run the area was logged in the late 1800s but has been regenerating since then. Large spreading Fushia make archways over the trail. The lower part of the Whiskey Creek Trail from Domain Road is later regenerating bush with a predominance of manuka, coprosma, pittosporum and broadleaf, then exotic and native plantings (Beech) as the trail makes it way back to Dolamore Park. There are a total of 240 native species within the Reserve.

Fun Fact # 11

Overtime there has been a number of plantings around Dolamore Park to make it what it is today. There is a collection of conifers named after Ian Gilchrist who was the Park’s Superintendent for a number of years and had a keen interest in conifers, starting plantings in 1962. Rhododendron Dell contains around 600 rhododendrons. There is a collection of various exotic ornamental trees planted in 1990 to mark 150 years of the signing of the treaty of Waitangi and dedicated as the Bert Newman Arboretum. Bert was an avid gardener and had a significant role in the plantings. There are other plantings of pines, Macrocarpa, Tasmanian Blackwoods, Douglas Fir and some native beech. In 1999 the Council constructed 3 other tracks within Dolamore Park as part of the Hilary Commission ‘Kiwi Walks’ promotion – Fantail Ridge, Sequoia and Ian Gilchrist Arboretum Walking Tracks. These tracks provide easy walking though both exotic and regenerating native forest, and offer magnificent views of Southland.