Field day a chance for Wi Pere Trust to shine

Wi Pere Trust general manager Wayne Hall, telling visitors about the trust’s orchard operations. Picture by alphapix.nz

The field day run by the Wi Pere Trust at Waipaoa on Thursday drew a crowd of around 250 as they showcased themselves as finalists in the Ahuwhenua Trophy for excellence in Māori Horticulture award.

The trust is one of three finalists in the prestigious competition.

As part of the competition each finalist stages an open field day at their respective orchards to give judges and members of the public the chance to come to see the property and hear about the organisation.

Guests were welcomed at Tangihanga Orchard, Wi Pere Trust’s blueberry, citrus and apple orchard, where they heard from members of the Wi Pere board and staff about the operation.

This orchard was badly damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle and as part of the presentation guests were shown a video of it.

Visitors were then taken to Wi Pere Trust’s Toroa Orchard, where general manager Wayne Hall, orchard manager Eddie Collins, and environmental adviser Lachie Grant made presentations.

There they were able to see persimmons being harvested.

Mr Hall said he was “ecstatic” about the turnout to the field day. The good weather on the day enabled them to showcase their operation.

“People were amazed to see how well Wi Pere Trust had recovered from Cyclone Gabrielle in the past two months. We showed them photographs of what it was like, compared to how it is today, which was revealing to many people.

“The other benefit of the field day was that it was an opportunity to tell people about the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition and how this has contributed to the growth of Māori agribusiness,” he said.

Nukuhia Hadfield, chair of the Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee, told the gathering that Wi Pere Trust had done a great job as a finalist in the competition, despite suffering extensive damage from Cyclone Gabrielle.

“It was not only the impact on the orchard, but also the logistical issues that Wi Pere Trust faced with damaged roads and bridges in the district, and the need to care for our staff.”

Mrs Hadfield said this had been an exceptionally bad year for the primary sector with a series of adverse weather events which had damaged farms and orchards and seriously disrupted people’s lives.

“However, Wi Pere Trust and the other two finalists MIL – Whiritoa Orchards and Ngāi Tukairangi Trust, are a real credit to the outstanding legacy of Ahuwhenua, showing great resilience and determination while being under enormous pressure”.

The final field day will be held at the Ngāi Tukairangi Trust property in Hastings on Thursday May 18, with the ultimate winner announced at the awards dinner on Friday June 9 at the Mercury Baypark Arena, Tauranga.

Wi Pere Trust Horticulture consists of 79ha of permanent fruit crops. This area is made up of 26ha of gold kiwifruit (11ha of which is organic), 4ha of persimmons, 15ha of citrus, 4ha of blueberries and 20ha of Rockit apples and 10ha of Tarzi apples. Three separate orchards combine to make up the diverse horticultural operation: Toroa orchard at Waerenga-a-Hika, Tangihanga orchard at Waituhi and Manutuke orchard at Manutuke.