42 MAMMALIA 



About the same time the remaining three were shipped for Canterbury, 

 but as one only arrived it was forwarded to Wellington to join the 

 other two. For some months these animals were kept in a stable 

 close to "Noah's Ark," Lambton quay, and subsequently Mr C. R. 

 Carter (then M.P. for Wairarapa) arranged to have them conveyed 

 to Wairarapa. Owing to there being no trains in those days, the 

 animals were placed in the crate in which they came from England, 

 and were carted over the Rimutaka Ranges to the Taratahi Plains, 

 where they were handed to Mr J. Robieson. This gentleman, being 

 an Englishman, took a special interest in the animals, and kept them 

 for some considerable time. Early in the year 1863 he liberated the 

 deer on the Taratahi Plains, and for some time they were constant 

 visitors to the farmers, accepting all kinds of food. Later, however, 

 they crossed the Ruamahanga River, and took up their abode on the 

 Maungaraki Ranges, where they rapidly increased. Mr Hardcastle 

 reported in 1906: 



The Wairarapa Forest is "probably the best stocked red deer ground 

 on the globe. On Te Awaite run bordering on the East Coast, the deer may 

 now be seen in bunches of up to a hundred head. At the beginning of 

 last year it was estimated that there were fully 10,000 head on the station. 

 According to information given in The Field of September i5th, 1906, the 

 Windsor Park herd" (from which the original stock came), "has been re- 

 plenished from English, Scottish, German and probably Danish stock. The 

 result has produced in the Wairarapa herd, stags that are remarkable for 

 their massive antlers, some of which are of the German type, and others 

 again more resembling the Scottish form. The antlers do not grow to 

 great length, but some are very wide in spread, and there is a great propor- 

 tion of Imperials, the most number of points recorded being 22. The stags 



mature their antlers early A number of heads have been shot on Te 



Awaite station, showing the abnormal development of the back tines on 

 one antler, such as is seen to be the case of the great Warnham Park stags 

 in England, and is probably due to the highly favourable conditions of 

 climate, food and shelter." 



From these ranges some of the finest heads in New Zealand have been 

 secured. There is no doubt whatever that the exceptionally rich lime- 

 stone formation and the English grasses were responsible for the 

 large growth of horn. 



(d) In 1871 the Otago Society imported 15 red deer, some of 

 which were sent to the care of Mr Rich of Bushy Park, Palmerston, 

 while seven were liberated on the Morven Hills run east of Lake 

 Hawea. Those at Bushy Park spread over into the Horse Range, but 

 they did not succeed, and no definite explanation of the failure has 

 been given. Probably the country was not high and wild enough; 

 on one side they were encroaching all the time on well-stocked sheep 

 country, and on the other on old-settled farm land, besides which 



