In 1947, the Hawke’s Bay provincial executive of Federated Farmers wanted nodding thistle declared a noxious weed. Photo / Unsplash / Stephen H.
Kem Ormond takes a look at the world of farming back in the day.
Thistles were everywhere back in the day, whether Californian, nodding, or variegated.
The only method available to combat it was grubbing or mowing.
Farmers were pulling their hair out to control the infestation, which robbed them of their precious pasture.
Experimenting with hormone spray on the nodding thistle had started to happen, both with liquid and dust.
Hawke’s Bay was one area where the variegated thistle thrived and, if left unchecked, would become one of the worst pasture pests that the region had.
Present on Waimarama block
Steps taken for control
Need for united action
Daily Telegraph (Napier), May 19, 1933
As is the case elsewhere in Hawke’s Bay, variegated thistle— a growth which, if allowed to spread unchecked, is likely to become one of the worst pasture pests that we have in Hawke’s Bay—is present in a comparatively strong infestation on parts of the Waimarama country.
On the properties on the Waimarama Settlement Block and on some of the properties outside, definite action has been taken by some of the settlers in the direction of grubbing the thistle before it came to seed head, but there are unfortunately, properties upon which the thistle has apparently been allowed to flourish untouched.
Cases such as this are, unfortunately, only too plentiful around those parts of Hawke’s Bay where the thistle is constituting itself a nuisance and the pity of the whole matter is that by failing to take steps to grub out the thistle on his property, a farmer is not only helping to choke his own pastures still further in the following season, but is also nullifying the good work of his neighbours, who have grubbed the thistle.
The excess of windy weather, which has been experienced in Hawke’s Bay this season, will assist the spreading of the seed from areas which have not been grubbed and given favourable seasonal conditions for the thistle, we may expect to see a further spread of infestation next season.
The farmers who, fully alive to the dangers of allowing the weed to spread, have taken all steps to keep it in control, are to be congratulated and it is only unfortunate that their efforts in the direction of control of the weed are being hampered by lack of similar action on the part of others.
We have an excellent illustration in the Te Aute area of the manner in which variegated thistle can establish itself and spread in the course of a few seasons if left uncontrolled and in view of this, the need for unified action on the part of farmers in infested districts, to stamp out the weed, is more than ever apparent.
Hawke’s Bay spread
Gisborne Herald, January 20, 1947
(P.A.) Hastings, Jan. 20.
Alarm at the spread of nodding thistle in parts of the province was expressed at a meeting of the Hawke’s Bay provincial executive of Federated Farmers of New Zealand yesterday.
It was agreed to approach the Hawke’s Bay County Council in an effort to have this thistle declared a noxious weed.
The fields instructor of the Department of Agriculture, Mr R. P. Hill, wrote that the only practical method of control was by digging out.
The department was carrying out control tests on a number of thistles and weeds.
Liquid sprays and hormone dusts were used in tests, and nodding thistle was included.
Te Awamutu Courier, February 5, 1947
Farmers were not well informed about the best methods of controlling Californian Thistle, which was a bad infection in crops, said Mr W. C. Colee, at a meeting of the Canterbury Agricultural College Board of Governors.
There were a number of farmers who would appreciate advice on the best method of control, he said.
The Ellesmere district was becoming badly infested, said Mr W. O. Rennie, and the thistle was hard to eradicate.
The college had been fighting the thistle for 10 years, said the director (Professor E. R. Hudson), but it had been a losing struggle.
The Californian thistle had increased.
There appeared to be no universal method or elimination of this thistle, he added.
Upper Waipaoa
Neighbours troubles
Request to commissioner
Gisborne Herald, February 18, 1948
The gradual increase in the acreage of the upper Waipaoa Valley conquered by the variegated thistle was commented upon by Mr. G. M. Newman at yesterday’s meeting of the P.B. Catchment Board as a potential menace to conservation.
Mr. Newman said the thistle had a very extensive hold on country administered by the East Coast Commissioner, and neighbouring farmers’ lands were menaced by the vagrant seed carried by the wind from the commissioners’ properties.
“If this goes on, in 10 years there will be 100,000 acres devoted to thistle. The thistle will kill out the pasture, and leave the surface exposed to erosion,” said Mr. Newman.
“There is good labour available in the Waipaoa Valley, and this board should call upon the commissioner to make an adequate effort to subdue the thistle.
Mr. H. J. F. Tombleson seconded the proposal.
“Country Going to Dogs”
There was a marvellous scope of country going to the dogs, he stated.
The chairman, Mr. J. R. Hair, stated that the Waikohu County Council was the controlling authority for noxious weeds.
However, it was timely that this question should be raised, and he thought that the Soil Conservation council would be interested in the matter from the point of view of erosion.
Mr. Newman moved that the East Coast Commissioner be written to, drawing his attention to the spread of variegated thistle on properties under his control, and expressing concern as to the conservation aspect of the problem; and that the matter also be brought to the attention of the Soil Conservation Council.
Mr. Tombleson seconded the motion.
The difficulty of control of the thistle was discussed by Mr. R. Graham, who said that the problem was beyond the financial capacity of the average hill-country farmer.
It was suggested that if the problem was beyond the control of the individual farmer, some form of State subsidy should be made available.
The board further decided to recommend the fields division of the Department of Agriculture to conduct experiments in this district on the control of thistle by hormone sprays.
- Source: Papers Past
Conservation groups are frustrated by ongoing kiwi deaths in the area.