Homebush : landscape development of an historical farm in the foothills of the Canterbury Plains

Abstract

The beginnings of development, accompanied by the fresh experience of a new environment, the struggle for existence, and a greater contact with natural forces, has given way to the apparent uncertainty of adolescence where lack of national identity has hindered the development of a clear, cultural philosophy, evident in the lack of national objectives on which to base future development.

In a country where land-use is predominantly agricultural, the landscape it forms is an expression of a nation's identity, that the wisdom in nature's pattern is too often reduced to the monoculture of pragmatic thought is a reflection of a way of life and a "spottiness" of thought. Functional aspects such as ewe carrying capacity, responses to pasture topdressing and shelter planting are only part of a solution which also requires a realization of the basic "first principles" of landscape and the forms in which they are expressed. The concept of beautification, with its implied rationale of disguise, is an inferior, negative, unsophisticated solution compared to one based on a sensitivity to the inherent design of the landscape which is both scientifically and visually expressed.

It has been stated that the farmer is the country's unpaid landscape architect but as yet there is little advice given to farmers on a subject that does not directly relate to economic productivity. In this report, the missing ingredient of visual appraisal will be considered in addition to the underlying scientific elements of the agricultural landscape so that integration of form and function can be more fully realized in future development.