DESCRIPTION: About 1860 the government purchased large tracts of Maori land in Hawkes Bay for sale to European settlers. Areas which the Maori declined to sell were leased from them. Tutira was one such run. It was first leased in 1873 and the following years saw several short-lived and unsuccessful attempts to farm the property. In 1882 the lease was sold to W. Cuningham Smith who purchased on behalf of William Herbert Guthrie-Smith (1861-1940) and Arthur M'Tier Cuningham who were both minors. Their partnership lasted about three years when Guthrie-Smith began a twenty year partnership with Thomas J Stuart. When Guthrie-Smith took up the lease of the property a small cottage was in place at Piraunui Flat at the southern end of Lake Waikopiro. Guthrie-Smith and Cuningham built a homestead at Otutepiriao Flat on the west shore of Lake Tutira in 1883. Near its site was the easiest access route between Napier and Wairoa and construction of a road began in 1890. The original horse track thus became a main highway and to get away from this the partners took possession of the manager's house sited on a hillside west of Otutepiriao, the present Tutira Station Homestead. The site of this combined an unobstructed view with privacy from the road. The station at one time occupied 64,000 acres of land but when the lease expired in 1936 Guthrie-Smith was able to freehold only 2000 acres which included the homestead. In addition to his life as a farmer Guthrie-Smith became known as a naturalist and author. He has been described as 'not a scientist but an imaginative observer with scientific leanings'. As his books 'Birds of Water, Wood and Waste', first published in 1910 and 'Mutton Birds and Other Birds', 1914, began to sell, he was able to devote more time to his writing. His best known and most detailed study is 'Tutira: The Story of a New Zealand Sheep Station', first published 1921. He then went on to write 'Bird Life on Island and Shore', 1925, and 'Sorrows and Joys of a New Zealand Naturalist', 1936. A member of the Royal Society of New Zealand he was elected a fellow in 1924. Following Guthrie-Smith's death in 1940 and in accordance with his wishes, Tutira station was transferred to the Guthrie-Smith Trust in 1942. Today the Trust employs a manager to run the station. Parties of school children visit it regularly using a school camp known as the Guthrie-Smith Outdoor Education Centre.