Eyrewell Forest


Eyrewell Forest is a small rural area in the Waimakariri District, New Zealand.

Etymology

During the 1920s, kānuka was replaced with plantation forestry. The name "Eyre" used for many geographic features in the wider area refers to Edward John Eyre who was Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster Province from 1848 to 1853. Eyrewell was named by an early settler, Marmaduke Dixon, when he found much-needed groundwater on his property. With about half of the area in exotic pines, the "Forest" part of the name derived.

History

Due to Canterbury's lack of native forest, in the early 1900s the government planted exotic forests throughout North Canterbury, including Eyrewell Forest. On 1 August 1975, however, most of the forest was blown over by strong north-westerly winds. The area's Pinus radiata plantation is the only place on earth where the critically endangered Eyrewell ground beetle can be found. As of January 2019, the plantation has been almost entirely cleared by local iwi Ngāi Tahu, with the intention of converting it into intensive dairy farms. Despite protests by Department of Conservation, it is thought that the rare Eyrewell ground beetle has become extinct as a result. There is also considerable concern over the large environmental impact this will have in the area, considering its proximity to the Waimakariri River and the area's dry conditions.

Climate

The average temperature in summer is 16.2 °C, and in winter is 5.9 °C.
MonthNormal temperature
January16.8 °C
February16.3 °C
March14.6 °C
April11.6 °C
May8.3 °C
June5.8 °C
July5.3 °C
August6.5 °C
September8.9 °C
October11.2 °C
November13.3 °C
December15.5 °C