Humans first settled in New Zealand ~800 years ago and arrived in a landscape where natural disturbances were driven by volcanoes and earthquakes. Following Māori settlement, New Zealand’s landscape was heavily deforested, while European arrival saw further degradation of the landscape and freshwater ecosystems. Today, freshwater ecosystems in New Zealand are threatened by myriad of stress, while still being of high cultural and environmental importance. In the Canterbury high country on the South Island, dense forest was converted to tussock grassland, which still remains. This region has numerous lakes, created by the retreat of glaciers at the end of the last ice age. The lakes in the region are considered to be pristine, by visitors and locals alike. It is through the study of lake sediments, palaeolimnology, that ‘reference’ conditions and the effects of human disturbances upon lake systems, can be identified. Palaeolimnological methods using diatoms (single-celled algae) species and their relative abundance, were counted at high resolution in sediment cores from five lakes (Heron, Pearson, Emma, Emily and Clearwater) in a similar regional setting. From these records in combination with pollen data, we were able to reconstruct past lake ecology, and their respective responses to successive landscape transformations. Preliminary results suggest a differential response between the lakes, such as the increasing abundance of planktonic diatom species, despite the similar timing of deforestation and agricultural events. Currently, one species (Discostella stelligera) is of particular interest and its potential as an indicator for Māori landscape disturbance is being explored. This study will also contribute to understanding how lakes can differ in their response to landscape clearance, while being in a similar geographical setting.