Laing?s contribution lives on

A trust to honour former Castlepoint Station manager Peter Laing has been set up to help foster interest in farming careers.
THE man who managed Castlepoint Station for nearly 40 years has been honoured with a memorial trust set up in his name.
Peter Laing managed Castlepoint Station from 1954 until his retirement in 1991, earning a reputation over the years as a hardworking, practical man who was also a great visionary in his field.
Now his achievements have been recognised with the establishment of the Peter Laing Memorial Trust that will grant scholarships to Wairarapa people ? or people with strong Wairarapa connections ? who want to work in agriculture.
Mr Laing died last year aged 74 and Masterton Mayor Bob Francis said at his funeral that something should be done to recognise his contribution to Wairarapa farming.
Shortly afterwards Mr Francis got together a group of people including Mr Laing's wife, Nan, and current Castlepoint Station owners Emily and Anders Crofoot to form a trust.
Since then the trust has raised more than $40,000, mostly from local benefactors but also from friends further afield including Emily Crofoot's family in America.
Although the trust is still looking for contributions ? the long-term goal is to leave the capital intact and make all grants from the interest accumulated ? it is now in a position to make its first scholarship grants. These will be advertised shortly and announced in the New Year.
The scholarships, which will be in the region of $1000 to $3000, will be granted to people undertaking practical agricultural skills training such as that on offer at the Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre.
Mr Francis said the focus on practical skills reflected Mr Laing's own personality since he was known for being hands-on as a farmer.
During his time on Castlepoint Station Mr Laing trained a large number of young people who have gone on to become successful farmers in their own right.
He was also a pioneer in new farming practices such as grasses suited for drought-prone eastern high country.
Mr Francis got to know Mr Laing when he served as a councillor for Masterton County Council in the 1980s.
"He was quite clearly a special person," he said. "He was an outstanding farmer and industry people certainly recognise him as someone who was ahead of his time."
Mr Laing was on hand to help Emily and Anders Crofoot when they bought Castlepoint Station in 1998 and he remained friends with the couple until his death.
"I think his greatest strength was building foundations, both with people and the land," Mrs Crofoot said.
"He was wonderful at taking us under his wing and making sure we understood why things had been done the way they were in his era, so we had a strong foundation for the future."
Before he died, Mr Laing recorded many of his memories and what history he knew of Castlepoint Station onto tapes.
These tapes have been transcribed and the trust is now working with the Wairarapa Archives and Ian and Di Grant to publish a book on Castlepoint Station that is due out next year.