Story: Farm fencing

Building a sod wall

Building a sod wall

If there was no access to timber, ditch and bank fences were the most popular form of fencing before the introduction of wire. Here, at Birdling Brook in Canterbury, the soil has been cut into blocks to build a sod wall. Where the soil was more friable and did not form sods, it was heaped into a bank, and the ditch was made much deeper. In some cases a ditch was dug on each side of the bank.

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How to cite this page:

Robert Peden, 'Farm fencing - Early fencing methods', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/15289/building-a-sod-wall (accessed 29 April 2024)

Story by Robert Peden, published 24 Nov 2008