Restored bush a tribute to soldier
A section of native bush in Hiwinui has been restored in memory of a man who died at war 100 years ago. Private Alan Greenhow left the small town to fight in World War I, dying in France on August 25, 1918, just a few months before fighting ceased. Now, long-time Hiwinui resident Dave Stewart has restored a section of bush to remember the soldier by. He said the Greenhows were an early pioneering family from the Hiwinui district. They owned several large properties, including the land the native bush is on. Stewart’s grandfather Robert Stewart was good friends with Greenhow and had often talked about him, visiting his grave when he went to France in 1930. Stewart said before Greenhow went to war, he didn’t fancy his chances. ‘‘He said: ‘Rob, I don’t think I will be coming back again’.’’ Greenhow was part of the Canterbury Regiment and was deployed on December 31, 1917, from Wellington. He landed in Scotland and then headed to France. It’s not known exactly where Greenhow died, but he was killed in action and was buried in the Beaulencourt British Cemetery, Ligny-thilloy, in France. Years later, Stewart ended up in possession of his grandfather’s diary and photos and said it taught him more about Greenhow, so he decided to do something to remember him. ‘‘I thought the Greenhow family are gone and forgotten and ‘lest we forget’, but we do forget a bit about WWI.’’ Since he started working on the native bush, Stewart had seen it bloom. ‘‘A lot more native birds have come back. Little stuff is coming back everywhere.’’ He had taken out pine trees and was working on planting more native trees through his section. The land is now protected by Horizons Regional Council and Rangita¯ne and he said they showed good support for the project. This bush is also part of the Stoney Creek Catchment Care, which is developing and establishing wetlands and sediment retention works in the Stoney Creek river bed. When the Greenhows moved to Hiwinui, Stewart said there would have been native bush all around them, but now this small section was all that was left. He was starting to make a difference in that respect, planting thousands of natives trees around Hiwinui.