Hayes Engineering Works and Homestead

Marvel at the workshop and homestead of Ernest and Hannah Hayes, 19th-century pioneers whose resourcefulness, skill and determination define the spirit of 'Kiwi ingenuity'.

Marvel at the workshop and homestead of Ernest and Hannah Hayes, 19th-century pioneers whose resourcefulness, skill and determination define the spirit of 'Kiwi ingenuity'. A popular rest stop on the Otago Central Rail Trail, Hayes Engineering Works and Homestead is the legacy of English immigrants Ernest and Hannah Hayes, who settled in Central Otago after their arrival in 1882. Though he worked initially as a millwright at local flour mills, Ernest’s enterprise began when he started inventing tools to simplify work on his 150-acre farm near Oturehua. From rabbit bait cutters to windmills, Hayes’ labour-saving inventions quickly spread around the country and overseas. Perhaps most well known tool is his refinement of J Reid's fencing wire strainer, perfected in 1924, and is still used around the world today.