Business Rural Spring 2021

50 | High country farm has quite the vista Mt Nicholas Station rises from 304 metres above sea level to an altitude of 2,133 metres. Richard Loader Culled heifers are sold to repeat buyers. One of New Zealand’s most historic family-run stations, Mt Nicholas was bought by the Butson family in 1976. In 2014 Phil McMurray was working as head shepherd at Argyle Station in northern Southland. He had been there since 2007, essentially starting at a grass roots level, gaining skills and knowledge MEAT & WOOL » Mt Nicholas Station and working his way into the senior role. When the opportunity arose to move to Mt Nicho- las Station, sensing the time was right for change, Phil and his then partner and now wife Latisha took the plunge and have never ever looked back. “At the time the farm was being run by the But- son’s daughter Kate and her husband Jack Cocks,” says Phil. “I took the role of head shepherd and Latisha was station cook. My role evolved into stock manager and more recently, Latisha and I took a shareholding in the business with Jack and Kate.” In addition to the farming enterprise, Mt Nicholas Station also operates a small tourism business, which Latisha helps with, alongside looking after the couple’s two children Fletcher, 3, and Charlie, 2. “We do a few events like corporate lunches and weddings, either in the farm’s historic woolshed or marquees. We also provide accommodation for groups coming to stay, like cyclists doing the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail.” » Livestock cartage » Bulk cartage » Fertiliser spreading » General transport » Rubbish removal Operating from branches in Te Anau, Mossburn, Lumsden, Queenstown, Cromwell and Invercargill, we have the resources to assist our customers with: Queenstown 121 Gorge Road Ph: 03 441 3620 Invercargill 3 Victoria Street Ph: 03 214 4959 Cromwell 147 McNulty Road Ph: 03 445 0824 Lumsden 4 Pluto Street Ph: 03 249 7050 Mossburn 16 Devon Street Ph: 03 248 4030 Te Anau 52 Caswell Road Ph: 03 249 7050 O n the western shores of Lake Wakatipu, Mt Nicholas Station would have to be one of New Zealand’s most spectacular high country farms. Encompassing 40,000 hectares, Nicholas embraces twelve kilometres of lakefront, then stretches 30 kilometres to the back boundary. Towering mountains, alpine hideaways, glistening lakes, expansive tussock plains, beautiful river val- leys and native forests; even the worst of days is a good day at Mount Nicholas. Rising from 304 metres above sea level to an altitude of 2,133 metres, the station is a pretty climatic sort of a place that can be harsh, with long cold winters and summers that are equally long, hot and dry. A forty-minute boat trip will take you to the shores of Queenstown, or you can travel an hour and a half overland to Te Anau, which is the nearest town. Whatever option is chosen, peaceful seclusion is at the heart of life at Mt Nicholas Station. Peaceful exclusion, except of course for the company of 29,000 merino sheep, which includes the 12,000 wethers that are more ideally suited to the harsh conditions. Nicholas’ core function is the production of fine wool, averaging 18.1 micron with most wool mar- keted through the NZ Merino Wool Company. The station is also home to 2,300 hereford cattle of which 900 cows are calved. Steers are taken through two winters, before going to the local freez- ing works, averaging 330 kilograms on the hook. • to page 51 Breeders of Merino Horned, Polled and Half Bred Rams , Proud to be supplying Mt Nicholas with quality merino genetics Enquiries Welcome John 03 448 7806 www.matangistation.com . .