High country birthplace of Hamilton jet up for sale
A stunning high country farm that once belonged to farming and engineering legend Sir Bill Hamilton is seeking a new shepherd.
Irishman Creek Station, the birthplace of the Hamilton jet engine – which allows boats to skim across shallow water – has come on the market.
Comprised of pristine Mackenzie country tussock and farmland bordering Lake Pukaki, with views of Aoraki-Mt Cook, the
8642 hectare farm is more than 100 years old. The property even includes the original homestead.
‘‘Being there, it feels like you are seriously in the heart of the Mackenzie country, with big, big mountainscapes, teal blue water, wildlife and huge, huge skies,’’ says Harcourts estate agent Sheryl Alty, who is handling the sale.
‘‘It’s part of the international night sky reserve; it’s an absolutely stunning landscape.’’
The station runs about 8000 merino sheep, 3300 red deer and
600 Angus cattle. Self-sustaining, the station produces its own stock and feed. About 400ha are fully irrigated.
There are a number of buildings on the property, besides the original homestead, and Sir Bill’s original Hamilton workshop, where the legendary Hamilton Jet engine was developed.
The station is wrapped in waterways, crossing or close by the property. There’s its namesake, Irishman Creek, the Tekapo Canal, Lake Tekapo, the Tekapo River, Fork Stream and stunning Lake Pukaki, a reflecting pool for Aoraki-Mt Cook on clear days.
There’s also scope to expand the property’s tourism potential,
as the family has opened the shearers’ accommodation to short holiday lets, and given farm tours.
‘‘One of the big drawcards for more-domestic tourism has been the Hamilton Jet house, and items that are part of a private collection and the history around Sir Bill.
‘‘The engineering feats that happened on that property [make it] pretty iconic to New Zealand on an international level.’’
The family has hosted events highlighting that history, and it does draw a tourist crowd.
But the heart of the property is farming, and Alty says the number of cattle and sheep on the farm could be doubled if necessary.
Bought by Hamilton in 1921, the station is a traditional beef cattle and sheep farm, with deer coming a little later.
But during WWII, and into the 50s and 60s, it was place of engineering innovation and experimentation, too.
According to Hamilotonjet. com, Hamilton’s workshop at the station ‘‘became an important machining and engineering training facility during the Second World War’’.
‘‘Here Sir William taught many unskilled men to do highprecision work, with the workshop producing munitions as well as earthmoving equipment.’’
The jet engine came about, according to a short film about jet boating made in the 1960s, because Hamilton wanted to be able to ‘‘power around the shallows of the Mackenzie Country’s braided rivers’’.
Hamilton jets are still in use today, on scenic/adventure jet boats, such as the Huka Falls Jet
and Sumner surf rescue jet boat.
His contribution to AotearoaNZ’s engineering history, and the history of the Mackenzie Country is such that in January, 2020, a statue of Hamilton was planned.
‘‘What makes this farm quite unique is that the majority of the land – 6051ha – is freehold,’’ says Alty.
‘‘In comparison to many of the other stations around that area and other ones that are on the market currently, where a large majority is Crown-owned land and a small portion is freehold, that makes the property really stand out.’’
The other 2000ha are leased from the Crown.
Harcourts won’t comment on any price expectations at this stage, however, the median price per hectare of farm land was $27,317 in December, 2020, according to Internest.co.nz.