Maurice and Beth Vosper outside Cleavedale homestead. Photo / Steve Edwards
A historic Waikato homestead is now at the centre of a commercial organic dairy milk business.
Cleavedale dates back to 1911 and has been owned by the Vosper family near Matamata since 1919, spanning five generations.
Fourth-generation farmer John Vosper converted to organic production in 2003 and expanded into bottling and public sale of milk under the Jersey Girl brand in 2014.
Now occupied by his uncle and aunt, Maurice and Beth Vosper, the Cleavedale homestead was originally built for John Cranswick, who drew the Hinuera Rd property in the Matamata subdivision ballot of 1904.
Under the conditions of the ballot lease, Cranswick fenced his section and erected a small lean‑to to live in before constructing the main house.
Heritage New Zealand, formerly the Historic Places Trust, describes the homestead as an architecturally representative example of an Edwardian two‑bay villa with exceptional fretwork detailing.
“It has significant social history value for the town of Matamata, as it was built and inhabited by two pioneering families who greatly contributed to the growth and progress of the area.”
The house is an Edwardian, single-storey, two-bay villa with a return verandah that wraps around the front and one side of the building.
Heritage New Zealand says the fretwork detailing is of an exceptional standard, and the balcony balustrades feature a geometric design.
The house has a hipped roof and a combination of single and double-opening sash windows.
It is constructed with tōtara framing, weatherboard cladding and a corrugated iron roof.
The Cranswick family lived at Cleavedale for about five years before building a replica of the house in Matamata.
The farm was subdivided, and in 1919, the land containing the homestead was purchased by Alfred “Cleave” Vosper.
It is assumed that the name “Cleavedale” is derived from Vosper’s middle name. “Cleave” is believed to be the maiden surname of Alfred’s mother.
Cleave Vosper and his brother Fred walked their cows from Taranaki to Matamata and nearby Turanga‑O‑Moana in 1911.
Their father, Peter Vosper, migrated from Cornwall, England, in 1875 and farmed near Waitara.
Cleave and Fred, both born in Cornwall, farmed at Midhurst before moving to Matamata.
Cleave and his wife, Mary, moved from Turanga‑O‑Moana to Hinuera Rd in 1919.
Cleavedale Jersey Stud was registered with the New Zealand Jersey Breeders’ Association in 1936.
Cleave and Mary Vosper retired to Tauranga in 1939, when their son Jack (John Peter Vosper) took over the farm.
This initiated extensive drainage and clearing of a peat swamp at the rear of the property.
Jack later divided the 80‑hectare block into two separate milking units to prevent the spread of mastitis.
The experiment initially involved milking two‑year‑old first-calvers in a separate section of the shed and grazing them in different paddocks from the main herd.
This eventually led to milking sheds being built on each of the adjoining blocks.
Jack sold the Hinuera Rd property, in two titles, to his sons Maurice and Ron.
Maurice and his wife Beth moved into Cleavedale in 1966.
They say the homestead remains largely in its original condition.
Changes include a new kitchen and bathroom, a lounge converted into a bedroom, and a new roof.
“We’ve kept a few old bits and pieces inside,” Beth said.
“There’s a mixture of furnishings.”
On the farm, Maurice said the 1950s saw the purchase of several high‑producing, show‑quality cows.
“Bulls from prominent breeders were bought, and young stock reared, raising herd numbers and productivity, as well as winning prizes and championships in the A&P show ring.”
Under the stewardship of Maurice and Ron, rotary and herringbone milking sheds were built on the adjoining properties.
Maurice said significant re‑fencing and pasture development further increased herd numbers.
The entire Hinuera Rd operation now comes under a family trust (Cleavedale Farms Ltd) overseen by John Vosper, who pioneered Jersey Girl Organics.
The business is also supplied by another leased property near Matamata.
Fifth‑generation farmer Michael Vosper, son of John Vosper and Liz MacKay, is managing director of Jersey Girl Organics.
The family business partnership also includes John’s sister, Mary and his daughter, Laura.
John Vosper said Jersey Girl now milks 460 cows, with the finished product sold in Asia as well as across the North Island.
A joint venture began in China in 2024, with homogenised milk air‑freighted from New Zealand.
Cleavedale cows are milked year‑round, calving in two seasons (spring and autumn) on the respective properties.
“It makes it easier to manage on the home farm [Hinuera Rd] because we have less happening, with fewer calvings and fewer mobs of animals at different ages and stages of lactation,” John said.