The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Trespassers frustrate Middlemarch farmer

Otago Daily Times
29 May, 2018 05:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Old Dunstan Road near Deep Stream at Rocklands Station. Photo: Gerard O'Brien

The Old Dunstan Road near Deep Stream at Rocklands Station. Photo: Gerard O'Brien

A Middlemarch farmer says he is sick of being left to clean up after people who use the Old Dunstan Road to trespass on his land.

Rocklands Station manager Mathew Middlemass said he was frustrated nothing was being done to stop people digging up his paddocks with 4WDs and motorcycles, or driving through his fences, which meant stock escaped.

Mr Middlemass said he had contacted both the Dunedin City Council and police but felt like he was not being listened to.

''Say I drove my 4WD over a sportsground in town and made a mess there. I'm sure I'd be locked up straight away, so what's the difference between here and there?''

From next Tuesday, the road will be closed to all traffic between Sutton Stream (19km from State Highway 87) and the junction with Patearoa-Paerau Rd, until September 30.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But the closure would not stop the damage, he said.

''They keep coming and the road's not closed all the way and they get up to where it is closed and they can't go any further and then go off-course and decide to make a mess on the station.

''It's just very, very frustrating.''

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Poachers also used the road and Mr Middlemass said on one occasion he caught a group on his property rustling cattle in the dark.

He wanted more monitoring of the road by police and wanted the council to extend the closure further along the road.

Before she retired last week, Senior Constable Helen Fincham-Putter, of Middlemarch, said police were aware of the issues on the road but could only react when something was reported to them.

It was up to the council to manage the road, but its isolation made it difficult, she said.

Council transport delivery manager Josh von Pein said the issues highlighted by Mr Middlemass had been raised by the Strath Taieri Community Board, which has also asked the council to extend the closure closer to Middlemarch.

The council would consult the community about options for next winter and put up extra signs if needed, Mr von Pein said.

The closure of the road was timed to fit between the annual Brass Monkey rally in Oturehua and the start of the fishing season, so it was unlikely to start earlier in the year, he said.

tim.miller@odt.co.nz

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

Premium
The Country

Written warning for council employee over dead possum in drinking water reservoir

08 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
The Country

Hastings quarry buys neighbouring vineyard for $3m to expand operation

08 Jul 06:00 PM
The Country

The Country: Cameron Bagrie on tomorrow's OCR call

08 Jul 01:50 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Premium
Written warning for council employee over dead possum in drinking water reservoir

Written warning for council employee over dead possum in drinking water reservoir

08 Jul 06:00 PM

A member of the public notified NZ's water authority after the council staffer didn't.

Premium
Hastings quarry buys neighbouring vineyard for $3m to expand operation

Hastings quarry buys neighbouring vineyard for $3m to expand operation

08 Jul 06:00 PM
The Country: Cameron Bagrie on tomorrow's OCR call

The Country: Cameron Bagrie on tomorrow's OCR call

08 Jul 01:50 AM
South Island braces for more wild weather, third time in three weeks

South Island braces for more wild weather, third time in three weeks

08 Jul 01:43 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP