A unique rural property within easy reach of Wellington and offering multiple options is for sale.
Chilly Brook, in the Akatarawa valley, 20 kilometres north of Upper Hutt, represents the legacy of pioneering farm foresters Roger and Daphne Redington.
One of their three sons, Kim, says the family has dedicated resource, time and effort to the property over seven decades, including planting countless trees.
“Roger was born in 1931 and grew up in Khandallah, part of a large family, mainly boys. When Roger was young both parents died, so he was independent from an early age. In his early twenties he went to work as a carpenter at an Akatarawa sawmill that operated in the nearby hills and valleys, and he fell in love with the area, a love that lasted the rest of his life.
“When the mill closed in 1953, along with two of his brothers, Roger purchased it and some nearby land to start his forestry career. He planted pine trees. Access up the hills was on foot and you planted as many trees in a day as you could carry to the site. He subsequently brought out his brothers, then periodically went on to buy adjoining land through the following decades, establishing what is now the present property,” says Kim.
Early on, the housing was basic.
“Dad lived in an army hut he’d put on the property, though one evening when he was visiting neighbours it burnt down. Roger lost everything, including his savings, which he’d kept in a tin. When he tried to cash in the charred remains of the notes, the bank would not accept them.
“Around that time Mum and Dad met. Because of the fire, he was walking around in borrowed clothes that didn’t fit. However, Daphne was so taken with what he was trying to achieve planting trees, she would come up to help carry the seedlings. That was how they started their life together.”
Roger built the Upper Hutt house where Kim and his brothers Clinton and Larry were raised. He also built a bach on the Akatarawa Valley property, where the family spent weekends and holidays, planting and tending trees, and hunting deer, pigs and possums.
In the 1960s, Roger decided to go logging, buying the necessary plant to begin supplying three Lower Hutt mills. He later became a logging consultant and a member of the Institute of Forestry, which included initiating the log export trade from Wellington. For 13 years Roger ran the local farm forestry association branch, and in 2012 the couple’s achievements were honoured with the Husqvarna North Island Farm Forester of the Year award.
In the 1990s, largely using timber milled from trees grown on the property, the family extended the bach into a homestead, which Roger and Daphne lived in during their retirement. Other buildings include a commercial workshop with three phase power, associated farm buildings and a hunting lodge situated on the edge of the Tararua Ranges at 570 metres, giving views out to Kapiti Island.
Roger died in 2017, and now the family has decided to sell the property, engaging Jason Waterman and Gary Brooks of PGG Wrightson Real Estate to offer it to the market. Jason describes it as a stand-out offering. “Comprising 366 hectares, Chilly Brook Farm Forest is split into four titles and presents endless opportunities. Added to its scale and proximity to urban and suburban amenities, it combines a medium-scale forestry operation, native bush and hunting.
Trees are what makes Chilly Brook.
“Around two thirds of the property is in original or regenerating native bush, with podocarp forest including tōtara, rata, rimu and mataī, and a predominance of kāmahi, kānuka and mānuka on the higher ground. An attractive 18-hectare arboretum, extending from the homestead, features exotics including cedar, red cedar, blackwood, Japanese cedar, Lawson cypress, spruce, American redwood and a large eucalypt area.
“While the Redingtons have largely kept hunting on Chilly Brook to themselves or friends, new owners may see commercial opportunities. Bounding the property, the Akatarawa River also has some good trout fishing. Neighbours include Staglands Wildlife Reserve and the Tararua National Park, while the property is well tracked, hosting horse trekkers and mountain bikers, so its recreation potential is only limited by the imagination,” says Jason.
“In the past up to 150 hectares was undeveloped grass. That is now either planted or regenerating, leaving around 12 hectares in pasture. How completely the Redingtons have committed to trees is abundantly evident, and the property’s most compelling feature, providing a new owner with outstanding opportunity,” he says.
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