Business North October 2021

36 | Kawerau: Putauaki Trust REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT True custodians in Putauaki Trust Richard Loader Putauaki Trust CEO John O’Brien. “Our purpose is to preserve and enhance our whenua, tangata and our taonga for the benefit of current and future generations.” D i g g e r H i r e , C u l t i v a t i o n , P u m i c e , M e t a l , G e n e r a l C a r t a g e a n d E f f l u e n t I n j e c t i o n Designer Decorator Two A������������ D����� � P��j��� M��������� � P��p���y M��������� ���� D����� & ���� Ev������� ������� � �������� ������� �� ������� Proud to be the architectural designers for Putauaki Trust at Kawerau 6 Richardson Street, Whakatane 07 308 5151 | info@dd2.co.nz | www.dd2.co.nz to page 38 A s custodians of 1200 hectares in Kawerau, the Putauaki Trust prefers to maintain a low profile and quietly go about the business of its whānau — caring for its shareholders, their descendants and the community around them. Trust CEO John O’Brien says if the Trust has been successful over the forty years that it has been operating it has been because it has remained true to its values. He says it is a focus on the land and the people. “We take our obligations around guardi- anship and the preservation and protection of our land very seriously and we know that we’re just custodians for the future genera- tions. Our purpose is to preserve and enhance our whenua, tangata and our taonga for the benefit of current and future generations.” When the world seems to be turning upside down with pandemics, climate change and uncertainty there is a comfort in knowing the simple values remain important. The Putauaki Trust’s main corpus land encompasses 1200 hectares in Kawerau, opposite the pulp and paper mills and on the other side of the highway. The land itself has a lot of shareholders who descend and whakapapa to a hapu in the small township of Te Teko called Te Pahipoto, from the Ngati Awa iwi. Since 1981 the Trusts successive board members have grown the asset value for the benefit of shareholders, by making astute commercial decisions and seeking a better economic return from the land. Harvesting Maize & Grass Silage, Baling/Balage/Hay, Cultivation, Direct Drilling, Fertiliser Spreading & Spraying, Horticulture, Mowing, Aeration Call Michael 027 538 6782 Proud to support Putauaki Trust