Prior to the trust's creation in 1970, the land was largely occupied by different whānau who farmed the block maintaining a subsistence living growing a range of fruit and vegetables for the local community.
Te Kaha 15 B Hineora Orchard was a worthy winner of the trophy, chairman of the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee Kingi Smiler said.
The trustees had shown great vision, persistence and resilience to establish their operation and had achieved impressive results, Smiler said.
Māori were significant players in the horticultural sector and "we must recognise their contribution to the New Zealand economy," Smiler said.
The two other finalists were Otama Marere in Paengaroa near the Bay of Plenty town of Te Puke, who grow a mixture of Green, SunGold and organic kiwifruit as well as avocados, and Ngāi Tukairangi Trust which is very large kiwifruit operation with one of its orchards based at Matapihi, just a few kilometres from the centre of Tauranga city.
Smiler said the standards of all the finalists were among the best in the New Zealand horticultural sector, and that was something that must make their whānau feel proud of their efforts.
"All three finalists have helped set a benchmark for future entrants in this competition which will be hard to eclipse. What makes it more impressive is the fact that they done this in one of the most difficult times in the history of the country when uncertainty is a way of life"
"I am proud, Māori should be proud and the whole country should acknowledge their efforts."
The event was attended by 750 people, including the Minister for Māori Development Jackson, and Minister for Agriculture O'Connor, along with other politicians and dignitaries, agribusiness leaders and whānau.
Listen to Rowena Duncum interview Kingi Smiler on The Country below:
About Te Kaha 15B, Hineora Orchard
The whenua falls within the tribal rohe of Te Whānau-a-Apanui, and more specifically, is associated with Te Whānau a Te Ehutu hapū.
A citrus orchard was established later, however, given the small land area, this also failed to provide a sustainable economic return for its owners.
By 1998 the trustees recognised that they were asset rich but lacked sufficient capital to develop their land.
Fortunately, at the same time, a group of Eastern Bay of Plenty orchardists were seeking opportunities for development of the (then) new Gold variety of kiwifruit and were prepared to enter into 50/50 joint ventures with trusts, effectively providing capital investment to the value of the land contributed for development by landowners.
The Hineora Orchard operation began in 1999 and was the last of six blocks to join the innovative joint venture development with decisions made, and profits shared, on a 50/50 basis with investors for a period of 20 years.
Originally intended to end in 2021, the joint venture has managed the current orchard operation through the highs of the returns from the original Gold variety, to the lows of the Psa vine disease which devastated large parts of the kiwifruit industry.
The land, and its orchard operation, is now due to be returned to 100 per cent ownership by the trust in 2023.
As a result of this 20-year journey, the trustees, who have each served more than 15 years on the trust, now jointly manage an 8.13-hectare orchard operation of G3 SunGold kiwifruit, producing just over 133,000 trays annually. They work closely with their contracted Orchard Manager, and local cool-storage company OPAC.
Along with the other five joint venture blocks, they have formed a subsidiary spray company, Te Kaha Gold Sprayers who employ locals to work on OPAC orchards in the area.
Significant investment from the six blocks has enabled the company to extend its operations across the Te Kaha and Omaio areas, and they now employ over 20 staff, many of whom are whānau.
The trust was also influential in the establishment of Te Whānau-a-Apanui Fruitgrowers Incorporated – a charitable community education outreach group, responsible for upskilling 60 local workers to level 4 qualifications in Horticulture as well as supporting locals to build to Diploma level courses.
While the trust does not have any historic sites on its land, it continues to have a strong commitment to sustainability and offers annual kaumatua grants to shareholders as well as tangi, health, education, sporting, culture and travel grants.
