Peel Forest Park Scenic Reserve

The Peel Forest Park is a 773ha forest preserve in the Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand. It is located near the Rangitata River and is in the foothills of the Southern Alps. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation.EtymologyThe forest was named by Francis Jollie, who settled in the area in late 1853. Jollie had named the forest after Sir Robert Peel, the British Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who had died in 1850, the year that Canterbury was founded. The adjacent mountain and the nearby community of Peel Forest also took Peel's name.Flora and faunaThe Peel Forest is the remnant of a large Podocarpaceae forest. The three major tree types are the kahikatea (white pine), tōtara and matai (black pine). Logging reduced the forest to its current size. For his lengthy botanical study of Mount Peel, Harry Allan was awarded a Doctor of Science in 1923.