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Robert Park managed Winchmore for his brother-in-law, George Hart. At times he also carried out surveying contracts, particularly during the summer months. He had been in New Zealand since 1840 on the surveying staff of the New Zealand Company and had mapped the Hawke’s Bay area. As part of his local work he laid out the township of Ashburton later in this same year (1864).

Edward Chapman had been a Justice of the Peace since about 1862, the first one appointed in the Ashburton district. He was elected chairman of the present board but—apparently because of ill health—resigned in July.

In the light of later practice it might appear that these members had been chosen in order to represent as many separate areas as possible. Twenty years later, members of boards apportioned responsibility for the various parts of each district among them selves, supervising contracts and often arranging with nearby farmers to repair roads, if they did not do the work themselves. But at this time little roadmaking was done and that was of the simplest description. When Chapman resigned from the board therefore, he was replaced by W. S. Peter, who lived, like Cox and Moorhouse, in the western corner of the district.

The board met monthly at Anthony Thompson’s accommodation house, which was the most convenient place. It was situated some twelve miles up the river from Turton’s, at the ford of Thompson’s Track, the old bullock road from the upper Ashburton to Christchurch. During its first year the board was apportioned £1900 from provincial revenue but needed only a part of that sum. One necessary road was made cheaply. Daniel Pye obtained the contract for clearing a road line through Alford Forest and making ‘good and efficient bridges’ over all streams and swamps. He received the timber as payment. Another contract was a reminder of the extent of the district, that for a road at Maori Lakes on the Clent Hills run.

The board acted as local agent for the provincial authorities, kept a watchful eye on the surveyors who laid out the main roads and was quick to protest when inconvenient changes were made from the lines already selected by constant use. It also built the first pound and appointed William Turton as the keeper.

A constant theme running through the first three years of the board’s history was the securing of an approach to the new upper Rangitata ferry. When Cracroft Wilson bought some of the