Wayne Semenoff has been remembered as someone always ready to offer a helping hand to his community.
The daughter of well-known Northland farmer Wayne Semenoff hopes her father’s legacy is that of someone always willing to help his community.
Semenoff died in a quad-bike accident on his farm in Broadwood on November 6.
Now, daughter Catherine Semenoff-Murray is ready to share more about who her father was and the great impact he had.
Semenoff-Murray said when the fatal accident occurred, her father was taking his quad up a track he’d driven “three times a day for 45 years”.
He had planned to shift some cows so he could head down to Pawarenga for a tangi that afternoon.
“It was a genuine farm accident on his own property involving a quad bike,” she said.
The community had rallied around Semenoff’s family - wife Gay, two daughters Catherine and Anita, and his five grandchildren - in the wake of his death.
Semenoff-Murray hadn’t realised how much of an impact her father had until his funeral last week.
The little town of Broadwood turned into a motorway that day, she joked.
At 76, Semenoff was fit, healthy, and despite being retired, still running his farm and working casually in farm sales.
Semenoff-Murray said her father helped everybody get ahead
“He just loved being with people I think and talking to people.
“He only ever wanted to help other people, and I think for a lot of people it didn’t matter who you were or where you came from, he was able to have a conversation with you.”
Semenoff was born in Auckland in 1949. He spent his young years living on his family’s copra plantation in Savausavu, Fiji.
When he was five, his family returned to New Zealand and settled in Broadwood.
He worked in Kaitāia as the manager of the Bay of Islands Trading Company and part-time at the Mangamuka Pub.
During this time, he met wife, Gay. The pair married in 1972 after Gay completed her teacher’s training in Auckland.
The pair had been married 53 years at the time of Semenoff’s death.
Semenoff-Murray was born while her father managed five branches of the Bay of Islands Trading Company while they lived in Moerewa.
In 1980, the family began the purchase of their Broadwood property.
The sections were bought one at a time.
Semenoff started his farming career that year and Gay began teaching at Broadwood School.
![Wayne Semenoff [back left] pictured with his family including five grandchildren and two daughters Catherine [left] and Anita [middle].](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/5EGJEU26FZDZRM6T2XPAL6U5HI.jpg?auth=3a817c9bf75306d9da1958dc66b8f8d028b3d0bd1dde85a405a3853f49899d66&width=16&height=12&quality=70&focal=399%2C237&smart=false)
Semenoff bought 23 Angus weaner heifers for $21 each and helped out on his parents’ farm over the hill before working as a stock agent at Wrightsons.
“He had a really good knowledge of livestock and cattle prices and a quiet way of going around making farm deals for people,” Catherine said.
Her parents started developing their Charolais stud in 1984, which continued right up until his death.
Charolais are a breed of cattle with large and broad bodies known for high-quality beef, rapid growth and good temperament.
The pair joined the Charolais society, and Semenoff served as its president for nine years. He remained on the council until his death.
The couple had travelled to attend World Charolais Congress events in Canada, Hungary, the British Isles and Australia while growing and improving their herd.
The family were working hard to keep the Charolais stud farm operational in Semenoff’s absence.
Semenoff-Murray said the arrival of sister Anita saw Semenoff become the “ultimate multi-tasking man” - farming, stock agenting and parenting.
He also juggled 18 years as as treasurer for the Broadwood Area School Board of Trustees, and was an active member of the A&P committee.He was the committee’s president for a number of years as well as A&P’s grounds and pavilion custodian.
Despite all this, Semenoff still found time to join the Broadwood Saleyards committee.
“I think to replace him in the community is going to be huge,” Semenoff-Murray said.
She called her father’s commitment to the Broadwood community “tireless”.
“Dad was very much a helper,” she said.
“His question to you when he got out of the car was ‘Hi, how are you, do you need a hand?’.”
Semenoff had been active his whole life and recently beaten Catherine at badminton and table tennis.
In his younger years, he had played rugby for Moerewa, Broadwood, Hokianga and Pirates.
“If you wanted a rugby game, he was the one that met you down there and had everything ready for you,” Catherine said.
Semenoff leaves behind Gay, his two children and five grandchildren.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.