Story: Rural workers

Longbeach was a huge South Canterbury estate of 13,000 hectares, established by Englishman John Grigg in 1854. Much was swampland, which he employed teams of men to drain. By 1882 Longbeach employed 90 men, and ran 28,000 sheep, 2,000 cattle, 400 horses and 3,000 pigs, as well as growing crops. Many of the large estates had lavish homesteads. This one burnt down in 1937.