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Excellent for Cows Sheds, Orchards, the Bach, etc Full household wastewater systems also available: www.swwsnz.co.nz compostingtoilet.co.nz Anita Grant • 027 462 1339 Complete agricultural and commercial helicopter service Ralph HELICOPTERS LTD Schultz Agricultural & Forestry spraying • Orchard & Crop spraying Bulk & Bagged Fertiliser application • Li ing • Charter Contact us: Ralph: Ph. 09 431 8590 Ben: Ph. 09 431 8125 / Cell. 027 692 1188 Northland - Trade services & equipment directory ON FARM » Penny Smart and Hal Harding / Trade Services Driving Vacancies Available Spraying & Mulching Sue Russell Owning and operating a historic family farm is a privilege for husband-and-wife Hal Harding and Penny Smart, who tend to their various responsibilities overseeing the running of the farm, on the northern edges of the Kaipara Harbour, not far from Dargaville. The 470ha (320ha effective) dairy farm, home to 650 kiwi-cross cows is managed along biological lines, where the emphasis is to continually assess and improve soil health. The couple know that the best soil, supported to evolve, as nature intended,underpins the quality of crop grown on it. This in turn provides grazing animals, in this case the dairy herd, with the best possible nutrition to support the production of high-quality protein for human consumption. A programme of native tree planting as part of the Integrated Kaipara Harbour management Group started on the farm in 2012 which saw approximately 1,000 native trees planted on an annual basis. In 2020 8000 manuka trees were planted and in 2021 10,000 eucalypt trees were planted in cut over pine blocks. In 2023 as part of the Kaipara Moana Remediation project, a further staggering 47,000 native trees and plants were planted including the start of a wetland restoration project. Sprinkled over the property are about 400 poplars providing shade for the dairy cows. “We hold a deep connection to this land going back now five generations and for us to be custodians at this time seeing all these plantings happening and the restoration of unique wetlands that are situated within the farm is very rewarding. Each generation has marked Aoroa Farms with their stamp to improve the farm, leaving the land in a better situation to hand on to the next generation,” Hal and Penny explain. The history of the Harding Family, chronicled by Lesley Harding and titled ‘The Aoroa Story’, makes for fascinating reading spanning a period of time that extends back to two years after the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi when the first Harding clan arrived in Wellington from England in 1842 on the ship “Birman”. John and Emma Harding in time produced 13 children, establishing a pattern of large families that is a distinct characteristic of the Harding family over several subsequent generations. John and Emma bought three blocks of land in Kaipara including the Aoroa Block from Kaipara Maori in 1877, where the chronicle displays a copy of a notice in the Evening Star newspaper of October 4. The notice outlines a dispute over the distribution of the sale money. Several chiefs of Te Uri o Hau and Ngati Whatua were involved in the sale of the land to John. At that time, the land A ‘deep connection’ to the land encompassed an area of some 14,000 acres (5665ha) stretching from the Northern Wairoa River to Ripiro beach and from Aratapu to Mt Wesley. Early income streams came in the form of selling the meat of wild cattle grazing on the land and from Kauri gum sale royalties. Dairy farming was introduced in 1902 with beef and dairy shorthorns introduced from the Waikato. Back in those days, unlike the size and scale of modern dairy operations, several sharemilkers situated on different parts of the farm took care of supplying whole milk to a new local dairy factory Alfred had a part in establishing. In subsequent years John and son Alfred had 2000 Romney Marsh sheep sent to the farm on foot from the original New Zealand family farm in Waipukura; a journey taking 50 days. Land quality was enhanced with the digging of ‘Notorious Drain’ to channel water through the farm. Land was ploughed, enabling grass, swedes, turnips, mangel wurzel and oats grown for feed. This was the grand era of draught horses, bred on the farm, used to operate ploughing machinery and pull loads of Kauri gum and milk. Alfred was considered a leading farmer in the Northern Wairoa and responsible for greatly improving the quality of stock by purchasing new genetics from other farms as far as Australia and Britain. Alfred married Margaret Astley in 1893 and went on to become a Member of the House of Representatives from 1902-1905. He passed away in 1946 while Margaret, very much involved in community organisations of the era, passed away in 1962. Alfred and Margaret had 8 children. While Alfred was away at Parliament, most of the time Margaret stayed at home running the farm and looking after the growing family. Over the period of the two World Wars, two of the eight siblings were listed as casualties and did not return home. The home Penny and Hal Harding live in today was built for Alfred and Margaret to live in. The Category 2 Listed kauri and totara constructed Victorian villa cost £800 to build; home to the generations of Harding’s that followed. Margaret was a founding member of the Northland Plunket Society and also helped raise money for the war effort. Through the period of the World Wars one son, Ernest, slowly took over running the Aoroa Block Farm. By this stage some of the land had been sold. Ernest married Nora Dargaville and they had four children. They lived in a house Ernest built for his family next to the Aoroa homestead. In 1965 Ernest and son Keith formed a company called EA & KD Harding Ltd. Most of the gum hill country and coastal strip had been sold, leaving the main farm activities centred around two sharemilking blocks either side of the beef and sheep block in the centre. Keith married Margaret Gould in May 1953, moving into the Harding homestead. They had seven children. Both continued with public/ community service. Margaret was an integral part of Save the Children in the Kaipara area and as a couple they received the Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship Medallion. Skip forward to the 1980’s and the next generation of the Harding clan were looking after various activities on Aoroa Block farm. The farm was formally divided between the sons in 1996, when Hal and Penny moved into the homestead. In 2007, they made the decision to make the full switch to dairy. On reading the family chronicle, a pattern of service in the community becomes evident. Each generation found a way to contribute to the development of the Kaipara/Northern Wairoa area; a commitment carried on by Penny and Hal to this day. Their three children, Anna, Mathew and Astley, two wonderful in-laws, Lina and Tommy will undoubtedly mark their own stamp in time on the historic Aoroa Block. A staggering 47,000 native trees and plants were planted.
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