History – A hard row to hoe

By Lyn Johnston, Albertland Museum

In 1883 Richard Cutforth wrote to a friend in Wharehine describing the backbreaking work he was doing to bring new land into pasture. “I am now working land the second year. I have decided to adopt the following course in laying down grass, namely, get off the stones and break up during the winter months. Cross-plough early in Spring then work out the fern root and twitch (our land is covered with fern and twitch), burn all this and plough in maize. This gives 3 ploughings and a lot of bone to the acre.

“Early next Spring plough maize stubble and, if dry enough, work the land again then plough in oats, potatoes or peas or anything that will come off about Xmas, then give the land 2 more ploughings and a little working and get the grass in early, about March. This seems a lot of work but then this land is level and light and were it not for the stones, we could manage an acre a day nicely. I am very much behind this Spring having had a lot of trouble with stones.

“I have an acre of oats, ¾ acre potatoes and 1¼ acres of peas. I had 3 acres in maize last year, also about 8 acres of new land getting ready for maize. I only finished clearing a week since and am now hard on cross-ploughing, but it will be nearly the end of November before I finish planting.”

Richard Cutforth came to New Zealand as an Albertlander aboard Hanover at the age of 22. His marriage to Emily Pettet, in 1863, was the first wedding in Port Albert. Richard’s first farm there proved disappointing so he went to Auckland to work as a butcher but returned after mangling his hand in the sausage machine. When he recovered the family moved to Papatoetoe where he worked on a farm for a couple of years before again returning to Port Albert.

In 1872, Richard bought a Wharehine property and the family moved there. They were very sociable – Emily played the piano and Richard was a fine singer. He was also Chairman of the Wharehine Highway Board for some years. In 1881, the Cutforth family (by then there were seven children) moved to Ruatangata, near Whangarei. On the journey their wagon tipped over, breaking Richard’s arm in two places. Letters describe how difficult this made his first year on the new property. It was very wet and he had no outbuildings to work in. One neighbor commented that there had been so much rain perhaps they should hold a regatta.

Richard and Emily, like so many other pioneers, worked extremely hard on their land while raising a large family and Richard became involved in several Whangarei local bodies. In July 1913 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Emily passed away in 1920 and Richard in 1926. Cutforth descendants still live in the Whangarei area.
Sources : ‘Richard and Emily Cutforth in New Zealand (Cutforth Family), Cutforth private correspondence

Exhibition: Now showing in the Marsh Gallery, Albertland Heritage Centre, Trucking Along Through the Years, a photographic exhibition of trucks from the district, 1920 to 1960.