Glenn Webber, MPI with Lester White, Chair of Onenui Station
There was a great turnout of people this week to a field day at the farm of The Proprietors of Tawapata South, Onenui Station located at the tip of the Māhia Peninsula in northern Hawke’s Bay.
Onenui Station consists of 3,476ha of whenua,1,700ha of which is effective farmland and 836ha under a Ngā Whenua Rāhui kawenata. It’s a sheep and beef farming unit wintering 15,000 stock units, including 6,000 breeding ewes, 600 breeding cows, replacements, and trade cattle. The farm finishes 75% of its sheep and 36% of its cattle, with the remainder sold store. The station comprises 350ha of productive flats, with the balance classified as North Island steep hard hill country.
The Proprietors of Tawapata South, Onenui Station is one of two finalists in the prestigious Ahuwhenua Trophy competition for sheep and beef. The competition was inaugurated in 1933 by Sir Apirana Ngata and the Governor General at the time, Lord Bledisloe. The objective is to encourage Māori farmers to improve their land and their overall farming performance with an emphasis on sustainability. On a three year rotational basis, the Trophy is competed for by Māori farmers and growers in the sheep and beef, dairy and horticultural sectors. This year the competition is for sheep and beef.
Guests were welcomed on to the farm, and then they heard a series of presentations from the Committee and staff. They were told about the history of the whenua, and then the big feature of the day was going out on the farm tour of the amazing property on side by side vehicles and farm bikes. The weather was perfect, and guests saw breathtaking views of the steep hill country, the stock run on the farm, the coast and of course the Rocket Lab launch pad at the tip of the peninsular.
The Chair of the Proprietors Tawapata South, Lester White says he was blown away by the way the day unfolded. He says he knew it was going to be a big day but on reflection he says that was “understatement”. “I am so grateful for the way in which things have turned out. We have had our whānau here, people from other farms and our community, the support of the Ahuwhenua team and even our finalist competitors who came down from Northland to be here with us,” he says.
Lester White says the field day has confirmed that what the Incorporation are doing is ok, in particular relating to what they have achieved so far in terms of protecting the whenua. Lester White says as kaitiaki they have been able to develop the farm production and still maintain their value and concern for the whenua, looking after it for future generations.
A guest speaker on the day was the Deputy Director-General Māori Partnerships and Investment at MPI, Glenn Webber who says it was a privilege to come and see what the team at Tawapata South have done. He recalled a comment to the effect that the vision of Sir Apirana Ngata was to set in place a friendly competition.
“One of the things I really loved was the openness of Tawapata South as they shared with their fellow finalists and the rest of the Māori farming community the challenges they have faced, and the success and progress they have made and their enthusiasm for what they are doing. The day has provided us with an opportunity to see the many different perspectives that are happening here on Tawapata South, ranging from farming to Rocket Lab and conservation activities,” he says. Glenn Webber says they gave everyone a really broad view of what is happening on the property, and that it was a special occasion for him as he has whakapapa back to Māhia. He says he feels really proud of the work so many people have done to make Onenui Station what it is today.
Nukuhia Hadfield, Chair the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee, says the Proprietors of Tawapata South put on an excellent field day and those attending the day were given a great view of this beautiful farm. She says many of the farms in the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition for sheep and beef are in remote places where the average person seldom goes.
“But it’s in these isolated places that much of the beef and lamb that is exported is produced and the field days are a great way of highlighting this. It’s good to see the amazing achievements of people who work in remote and often difficult conditions do,” she says.
“When you get around 350 people on side by sides and quad bikes it really shows that people are interested and prepared to organise themselves to come out and see what is going on out here at Onenui Station. They were interested not only in the environmental work that has been done on Waikawa Island off the tip of Māhia Peninsular, but also in seeing what is probably the only working farm in the world that has a rocket launching pad on it,” she says.
She says the team at Onenui Station did an excellent job is organising the day. She says this year they and the other finalist Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust from Northland are both role models for agriculture in Aotearoa.
The eventual winner of the competition will be announced at the awards dinner held on Friday 6 June 2025 at Fly Palmy Arena, in Papaioea, Palmerston North.
View the The Proprietors of Tawapata South, Onenui Station profile
Media please note:
For further information contact Peter Burke, 021 2242184 - peterj@true-to-ireland.com. For ‘free for editorial use’ photos of competition go to https://rb.gy/6f1bwy and contact John Cowpland from Alphapix for download access on info@alphapix.co.nz.
Our thanks to our valued Ahuwhenua Trophy sponsors:
Platinum: Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry for Primary Industries
Gold: Te Tumu Paeroa, BNZ, NZ Mãori Tourism and Beef + Lamb New Zealand
Silver: Ballance Agri-Nutrients and PGG Wrightson
Bronze: BDO, Affco, FMG, Massey University, AgResearch and MBIE
Other: FarmIQ and Kono Wines
A big thanks also to sponsors of the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award:
Kaitautoko Tuatahi: Te Tumu Paeroa
Kaitautoko Taketake: Primary ITO, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and Te Puni Kōkiri
