Hedges and Shelterbelts on the Canterbury Plains, New Zealand: Transformation of an Antipodean landscape

Abstract

Abstract Hedges and shelterbelts on the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand extend for a combined length of almost 300,000 km (180,000 mi). This network of living fences and windbreaks was initiated in the 1850s when the area was settled as an experiment in English colonization. The colonists juxtaposed images of an antipodean utopia with the reality of a droughty and windy plains. In their attempt to “tame the wilderness,” they introduced a wide array of elements from the outside, combined with those brought from the homeland. Most conspicuous in the landscape are the shelterbelts of Monterey pine and Monterey cypress from California and gorse hedges from Europe. These features combine with the angular fields and sheep pastures to produce a singular patchwork pattern that gives the region much of its distinctive character. This paper focuses on the development and distribution of the hedges and shelterbelts as features of the built landscape. Gorse, important early, lost favor after the turn of the century ...