26/07/2021
Congratulations to my Uncle Phil Cotter and his lovely wife Colleen on their recent attendance to the NZ Century Farm and Station Awards recently in Lawrence, Otago. My grandfather took the bold move to purchase “Parinui” as a then 21-year-old in 1919. As kids growing up in the BOP we had many return visits and spent countless hours eeling in the Mangahao River on the banks opposite poplar Reserve, where our boys now spend weekends camping with mates. The farm has been lovingly cared for throughout this time, with wetlands retired and planted in natives and the river well fenced to exclude stock.
Reading through the histories of the other farming families included in the book, the theme has all been remarkably the same. A story of ambition and risk-taking, of staggeringly hard work and hardship, of innovation and resilience and of community and family working together to get a foothold, to grow their business, or fight to simply hold onto a part of what they once had.
I can’t help but feel immensely proud of our colonial past at a time when cancel culture would have it swept under the mat. You can view history through different lenses, but I for one will be forever grateful for the generations of Kiwi farmers who have sacrificed much to hew a world-leading agricultural industry from a raw natural landscape in a relatively short space of time, helping to provide all New Zealanders, from all backgrounds, the standard of living we currently enjoy.
