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Story: Rural language

Spotting on a sheep station

  • February 1866

    February 1866
  • January 1873

    January 1873
  • May 1873

    May 1873
  • June–December 1873

    June–December 1873
  • September 1874

    September 1874

Spotting was the practice of improving and then freeholding key parts of a sheep run such as waterways, so adjacent areas became valueless to other potential purchasers. Common in the 19th century, it enabled some runholders to acquire vast tracts of land. This map shows spotting on the Levels Station, South Canterbury, between 1866 and 1874.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Noel Crawford, The station years: a history of the Levels, Cannington, and Holme Station. Cave: N. Crawford, 1981, p. 49

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How to cite this page

Dianne Bardsley, Rural language – Settling the land, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/18595/spotting-on-a-sheep-station (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Dianne Bardsley, published 1 March 2009.