This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. During the 1870s and 1880s John Grigg established at Longbeach a 'model farm' of international significance. The water wheel powered the flour mill on the station. At its height in the early 1880s Longbeach covered thirty-two thousand acres and supported a small village for its many workers and then families. In 1882 Grigg was forced to sell much of the holding to payoff his financial backer and the property was reduced to sixteen thousand acres. After the sale the property was managed by his eldest son, who employed a peak labour force of 350 to achieve new heights of productivity in grain and meat through the 1890s. Longbeach continued to be a major force in Canterbury agriculture long after John Grigg's death but it was solely through his efforts that the property signified its status in the technology of breaking-in and farming difficult land. The water wheel is part of a complex of historic buildings at Longbeach Station. The Station homestead has been classified "B".
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
271
Date Entered
6th June 1990
Date of Effect
6th June 1990
City/District Council
Ashburton District
Region
Canterbury Region
Legal description
Lot 7 DP 8730 (RT 568319), Canterbury Land District