The Country 11/05/26: Eddie Fitzgerald talks to Jamie Mackay

The Chair of the Century Farm and Station Awards, coming up in Lawrence on Saturday night, previews a wonderful event celebrating 100 or more years of farm ownership by one family. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Lawrence is where it's all going to be happening on
Saturday evening, the New Zealand Century Farm and Station Awards.
I'm lucky enough to be going along and have a
very personal connection with these awards because our family farm
was recognized awarded in twenty eleven for one hundred years
of ownership under one family. Now that's what it's all about.

(00:23):
If your family has owned your farm for one hundred
years or more, you can be recognized at this wonderful event.
An actual fact, on Saturday night, we've got thirty six
farms being recognized. The chair of the event, Eddie Fitzgerald,
is joining us and Eddie, amongst those thirty six farms,
we have got twelve who will celebrate one hundred and

(00:44):
fifty years. Good afternoon, you'll be looking forward to you'll
be licking your chops ahead of Saturday night.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes, no, we are, Jamie. It's going to be quite
a special occasion for the families that are going to
be attending, and also the families also attend to meet
and greet on the Friday evening as well, so for
them it'll be quite significant milestone and also to recognize
their four beers for the effort that they've put in

(01:10):
to nurture the land that they now farm the present generation.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
I think one of the great things about this Century
Farm and Station Awards is that someone in the family,
if they haven't already done it, has to do significant
research and it's a great way of preserving your family
farm's history. I know in our case, my brother, my
late brother, unfortunately Don was an a historian, so it
was no trouble to him to put together the information.

(01:36):
But when you read through the booklet and I've got
rid in the hot little hand, now there's so many
great stories from the pioneering days.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, I think, Jamie, is that when a family member
decides to research the history for the land that they've
been tenure on for one hundred plus more years, is
that they actually find out a lot of interesting information
about their four bears when they were farming the land.
And they do, in a lot of cases unearth a
lot of historical information which is quite special to the

(02:07):
previous generations that were farming that land.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
As I said, twelve of the thirty six farms will
celebrate one hundred and fifty years of ownership will be
recognized for that One of them are the Matthews O'Callaghan
family from Northland. Their farm has been in their famili's
ownership for one hundred and eighty seven years, going back
to eighteen thirty nine.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, yes, that is very very significant because the treaties
the three d y Tenu were signed in eighteen forty,
but we already had settlement on the land going back
to the early eighteen hundreds. And for those families there
now to be recognized for that tenure of their land,
I think that's quite special and it's quite significant that

(02:54):
New Zealand as a country has matured since those early
eighteen hundreds.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
This because your twentieth anniversary of this wonderful event.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
It is this is the twentieth twentieth anniversary event wise,
yes that is. We thought it was twenty first, but
it is the twentieth anniversary this next weekend of the
event starting from two five.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Well, and there was a bit of a glitch, wasn't that?
As there was with many things around the country with COVID.
I think you missed a year, but was it the
following year? And I think Rowena, my former offsider here
was MCing and I think you had to do two
in one year to try and catch up. And as
you say, thirty six this year, this is the most
farms that have been recognized in one single sitting. Am

(03:40):
I right in saying that, no.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
There's actually from memory there was actually thirty eight that
there was very significant this thirty six. This attendees at
this event show is that every family that has applied
to you for their parts this year, every family that
have applied are all going to be present or have
a presence of even one member of the family will

(04:04):
be present at the awards. And I think that that's
actually quite special. On the other aspect is I don't
think they've never had that happen before. We've always had
several families that have not been able to make it.
We've made a point of especially my ten years chair,
to go and present them personally to the families that
couldn't be there.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Fantastic it's a great turnout is election. Yeah, there'll be
a great turnout of politicians. Of course, your local bloke
Mark Patterson, New Zealand first ag guy, he's a true
blue local. He'll be there. Ingrid Larry, the local MP's there.
James Meager, Minister of the South Island will be presenting
the plarques. But of interest as Miles Anderson, the White
tacki MP his farm or his family's farm is going

(04:45):
to be recognized.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yes, and I never be there. They're special for their family,
especially with the high profile that they do have. And
they may comment about the times of the mid eighties
to the late eighties, as you know Jamie which worked
with terrible times and he said that left an indelible

(05:09):
march memory wise for Miles of the tenure of the
land coming through and the stories of hardship they you
know in some ways in those mid to late eighties,
like many farming families as you will realize. And no,
it was a difficult time for them all.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, well at the nineteen eighties some of us went
through it. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, Eddie,
looking forward to catching up with you on Saturday night,
of course. Lawrence Gabriel's Gully Gold was discovered way back
in eighteen sixty one. At one stage the population of
Lawrence exceeded Dunedin. A million ounces of gold were transported

(05:49):
by wagon and horse drawn coach, eventually making Duneda, New
Zealand's pre eminent colonial city. Some would say it still is.
And if that's not enough, the local school teacher in Lawrence,
John J. Woods, composed music or the composed the music
for the national anthem. Hey are lots of other interesting
trivia about Lawrence. It's a magnificent little town in South Otago. Eddie.

(06:13):
I look forward to your company on Saturday night.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Very good, Thank you, James by now