HistoryMoa Flat is a farming area between the Clutha and Pomahaka Rivers 25kms south of Roxburgh. The area has also been known as Ettrick Flat and Bengerburn. Moa Flat Station was established in 1858 by Gerit Alexander Chalmers. Not long after this, 'Big' Clarke, an Australian squatter capitalist, forced a rather suspect mortgagee sale. Clarke sent John Kitching over from Tasmania to manage the property. In the 1870s Kitching formed a syndicate with William Larnach (of Larnach's Castle) to lease the property from Chalmers. The pair imported valuable stock for trade. The Larnach family used the farm house a holiday home with the estate having ponies kept aside for the Larnach children.
