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The Early Canterbury Runs: Containing the First, Second and Third (new) Series

Washbourn's Station — (Run 122. It afterwards became Run 132, Class II)

Washbourn's Station
(Run 122. It afterwards became Run 132, Class II)

In the early days this had no name and was known as Washbourn's Station, but the homestead and remaining freehold, about nine hundred acres, have been named the Bungalow in later years. The run was originally of over five thousand acres. It lay on the south side of the Selwyn above Harman and Davie's.

It was taken up in 1853 by Henry John Washbourn, a Gloucester man. His wife had died in England and he came to Canterbury by the Sir George Seymour with a family of young children. He bought a fifty acre section from the Canterbury Association before he left England, and when he got here he selected it on the west side of Hagley Park between the old Plough Inn and the present Addington Workshops. He took the two hundred and fifty acre pre-emptive right, to which this section entitled him, on the pastoral run on the Selwyn.

Washbourn lived on his Riccarton farm and his son managed the station for him. The country on his run was mostly flax-covered dry swamp in those days, rideable but with very boggy creeks. The whole leasehold had been bought up before 1878. In the early days it was worked as a cattle station. Washbourn died in 1898 or 1899 and left the property in trust for his grandchildren to whom it still belongs. So this is another original station which has never changed hands. I think most of the family now spell their name Washbourne but the original owner, and, I am told, his forefathers, spelt it without the e.