Kekerengu
Station
History
Kekerengu was named in the late 1820s from the Ngati Ira chief - named "Kekerangu".
In the 1850s Kekerengu was no more than marsh valley and fern and bush covered
hills.
Not until Joseph Tetley decided to settle here and start clearing the
valley did the river start to flow,
and a dream was born.
By the 1860s, his holdings extended to some 94,000 acres.
"This year we will export more wool than anyone
else in the Marlborough province."
- was written in one of his many letters back home.
The cobs were built in the early 1860s, and two are still standing,
- the former Kekerengu Station Men's Quarters and
the former Kekerengu Station Dining Room/Bunkhouse, which could sleep up to 36 shearers.
By 1886 wool price fell. Tetley was in financial trouble and, owing 66,000 Pounds,
he fled the country for Uruguay.
The Kekerengu Station was sold and was ultimately split into smaller holdings.
By 1911 even the name “Kekerengu” on a land holding had vanished.