2 km from Otaki Township following SH1 south, turn onto Otaki Gorge road. Follow Otaki Gorge road for 13 km to the Shields Flat Historic Reserve carpark.
Do not climb on the walls or remove any of the stones from this area or the walls.
Sheep continue to use the paddocks, leave them alone if visiting the walls.
Shields flat stone walls were built by relief workers during the depression of the 1930s.
Stones washed down the Otaki river that scattered the area were used, these were of various sizes and appear to have smaller stones in the centre and larger stones as the outer shell. This construction method has been used in both the wall and pen-like structures that make up this complex.
The complex gives an insight into early settlement, farming, depression labour tasks and the location of communities within the gorge.
| Whakatū/Nelson Visitor Centre | |
|---|---|
| Phone | +64 3 546 9339 |
| nelsonvc@doc.govt.nz | |
| Address | Millers Acre/Taha o te Awa 1/37 Halifax Street Nelson 7010 |
| Hours | Visitor centre hours and services |