Judy as cook. She quickly upskilled to provide the menus required for the Sieff’s lunches and dinners each weekend when Lord and Lady Sieff returned from London. All week they had the place to themselves as they prepared for their weekend responsibilities. It was well-paid work and a rich experience for the Kiwi couple. Today they live in a comfortable home just outside town, providing hospitality to paying guests, while Gavin has a successful career as a watercolour artist, frame maker and art tutor.
How things have changed Today, our farming population is much smaller. Attitudes to farm inheritance have changed – it is no longer viable to split the farm between the kids as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age. Farms are big business; they have become huge corporate landholdings as family farms are sold up and land usage changes from sheep and beef to forestry and dairying. In the examples I looked at, not one of the farms had passed to the children of the farmers in today’s economic reality. However, there is little sadness or sentimentality in the hearts of these couples, most spoke of the relief of
“Attitudes to farm inheritance have changed – it is no longer viable to split the farm between the kids as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age.”
Jonathan Dasent selling up and retiring debt free, while they still had the energy to enjoy life. They had moved on. Besides, there was not much point in planning for succession when none of the kids was interested in taking on a life of farming when education will provide them with options for a gentler, wealthier lifestyle. The kids had, after all, watched their parents as they struggled to survive the ups and downs of farming, the effects of serious weather events and economic hardship, and they had little taste for repeating it themselves.
See us
for you
r
F in-stor REE e trial t oday.
Designed to:
Improve leg circulation Reduce swollen feet & ankles Alleviate tired & aching legs
UNICHEM HUGHES AND SMYTH Cnr. Heretaunga & Market Streets Hastings Ph: 878 8208 hughes.and.smyth@xtra.co.nz
UNICHEM TARADALE 288 Gloucester Street, Taradale Ph: 844 2673 unichem@taradalepharmacy.co.nz
UNICHEM MAREWA 126-128 Kennedy Road, Napier Ph: 843 9629 marewa.pharmacy@hdl.net.nz
UNICHEM JEFF WHITTAKER 10 Napier Road, Havelock North Ph: 877 7848 accounts.whittaker@airnet.net.nz
UNICHEM GAHAGANS 131 Emerson Street Napier Ph: 835 8525 gahagans.pharmacy@hdl.net.nz
n see As TV $ on
399
Bee in the know ~ nov/ dec 2013
Jonathan Dasent Jonathan now lives in Havelock North, having sold his farm at the age of 56. The farm in Mangatahi near Maraekakaho had been in the family since 1906. It had been split a few times; a son had died in the War; droughts had taken their toll; neighbouring land was bought and added to the landholding and then split up again as Jonathan and his brother took over their shares of the family farm. Horses were a huge part of Jonathan’s life. He learned to ride as a small child and had an extraordinary affinity with them inherited from his father who was also a skilled horseman. Polo was his recreation of choice, but a fall broke his pelvis at age 46 and he no longer rides. The skills learnt from a lifetime of farming have led him into carpentry. He makes and sells his wares and I first came across his wooden horse swings at the Strawberry Patch when my grandchildren clamoured for a ride. As we talked we sat in his ‘Morris’ chairs and settle, his version of the arts and crafts style furniture so favoured in the early 20th century.
The Mitchells of Eland Station The Mitchells kept the family houses at Eland Station when they sold last year and still live there. The farm is now a forestry block owned by an overseas investor. The Mitchell brothers, Dennis and Kevin, married two sisters, Lesley and Rae, and have worked in partnership since they took over the farm in their 20s. They are each other’s best friends and their six children are like siblings. There have never been any arguments and it is an extraordinarily successful family and business relationship. The Mitchells (all in their 50s) sold up knowing that none of the kids wanted to take over the farm, and while they had the energy to make the most of this decade of their lives and fully participate with grandchildren. Travel, sport and community work are high on their list of retirement activities. Kevin is a life member of Federated Farmers and recently stood for election as a regional councillor. He will continue his lifelong involvement in supporting the rural community.
45