NZ Dairy Autumn 2021

14 | nz dairy Early scrub clearing a baptism of fire Tangley Park directors, Anna, Terry, Maureen and Dennis Allison Richard Loader F rom generation to generation, the stories of our farming past hammer and grind the legends of our heritage, crafting the backbone of a nation. Dennis Allison tells the story about what fire did in a day to manuka scrub carpeting his grandfather’s farm and surrounding land, that would have taken slasher, grubber and axe years to achieve through blood, sweat and tears in the early part of last century. Starting with manuka cuttings being burnt, the fire quickly spread to neighbouring properties. “Local landowners had just built a wooden bridge across the Waihou River and great panic ensued with everyone rushing to the scene with wet sacks to stop the bridge from burning down.” The bridge was saved but a lot of the uncut scrub burned to ground level and the locals just scattered grass seed amongst it all. Job done. During the melee, Dennis’s grandfather’s pock- et watch was lost only to be found many years later when ploughing the land. While no longer telling the time, it does tell the legend of the fire that cleared the scrub and nearly destroyed a valuable bridge that now forms State Highway 26. The Allison’s farming journey in the Waikato started when Edward Allison drew 694 acres in the Mangawhero Land Ballot in 1907, under a lease to buy agreement. The area became known as Taihoa during the land settlements when the authorities didn’t know what to call the district, and said they would have to ‘taihoa’ for a while. The name stuck. Edward’s allocation of 694 acres was very poor land and consisted of 306 acres in Taihoa and 388 acres a distance away in the Kaimai. Wet swampy land, covered in scrub, the Taihoa block was deemed good for stock nine months of the year, while the Te Hanga block in the Kaimai was used to support stock all year round. In the winter, stock was taken off Taihoa and put up Te Hanga, on the Matamata side of the Kaimai range, from the very top of the range to about a third of the way down. Dennis says his grandfather had to drive cattle with a horse and wagon from Taihoa right through Hinuera and up over the Kaimai, because there was no bridge on the Tauranga Road. “The journey would have been about ten miles of dusty roads. My grandmother knew when my grandfather was coming because she could see the trail of dust from the wagon. They used to bring a lot of totara posts back cut out of the bush for fencing in the Taihoa block.” When Edward died in 1924, and his wife in ill health, the Taihoa farm was leased for seven CENTURY FARM » Allison family years. Around this time the Kaimai block was sold. Dennis’ father Ernest suffered partial paralysis through the polio epidemic and the 306-acre Taihoa block was deemed too much for him to handle. It was broken up leaving him with 164 acres, which he purchased in 1932, employing share- milkers. “When I left school I spent three years on the family farm and a year in Australia before marry- ing Maureen in 1968,” says Dennis. “We returned to the farm as low order share- milker and employed a little bit of labour when we first got married but decided once we bought the farm ourselves we would do it between the two of us.” Three sons and a daughter, Barry, Stephen, Terry and Jane all became useful on the farm, given jobs to do as they got older. Dennis and Maureen bought the Taihoa block in 1974 and over time, purchased and sold other land including farms along Davidson’s Road across the Waihou River that runs through their property. With Stephen farming the original Taihoa farm, brother Terry farmed the Davidson Road proper- ties, and a decision had to be made as to whether to continue in that vein or farm the land as one by bridging the river. “Before we put the bridge over the river I decided it would be a good idea to have a family meeting with all the children including Barry and Jane and decide what everybody really wanted to do.“ As a result Stephen decided to take equity from the company and do his own thing, buying a house and block of land a stones throw away. The best decision we made, in terms of succes- sion and family relationships, was to have that meeting.” A bridge spanning the Waihou River was built in 2006, joining the land into one farm and Terry now farms the whole block as one farm, milk- ing 450 cows.” Dennis and Maureen have now ‘retired’ to Whangamata where they look after an 80’hectare run-off for the farm’s youngstock. “People think all Maureen and I do is fish, kayak and have moonlit walks along the beach – but we don’t, we are a bit busier than that.” www.milknwaterservices.co.nz Water Trenching E uent Milk 10 Waharoa Road West, Matamata P: 07 888 4405 E: sales@milknwaterservices.co.nz We have got you covered 24/7 For after hours service & support call 07 888 4405