A NEW LEASE OF LIFE for a heritage orchard

Marshlands, in north-east Christchurch, has come a long way since the first Government-sponsored export fruit left here bound for England in 1899. Originally a swamp, the land was drained during the 1870s to reveal rich, fertile soil perfect for agriculture. The area’s fruit growing future was assured.

But when the development of ethylene gas storage technology reduced the northern hemisphere’s reliance on New Zealand’s off-season fruit supply, apple prices crashed and the pip fruit industry in Canterbury ceased to be economically viable. Many orchards simply disappeared.

But the legacy has not been forgotten. A strip of land on Marshlands Road next to the Kaputone Creek, formerly part of Sunlea Orchard, was