Whanau Trust grows into big player

Senior orchards manager for Ngai Tukairangi Trust, Richard Pentreath, on its Korokipo Rd kiwifruit block at Omahu, Hastings. Photo / Duncan Brown

A small Bay of Plenty-based whanau trust is getting on with the business of growing kiwifruit in Hawke's Bay.

Ngai Tukairangi Trust is, according to board of trustees chairman Ratahi Cross, a collective descended from an ancestor named Tukairangi.

"We are a quiet little family that gets on with business."

Mr Cross heads the trust which this year spent more than $40 million buying 62ha of some of the best kiwifruit operations in Hawke's Bay. This was the most expensive land purchase on a dollar-per-hectare basis in New Zealand.

The orchards were owned by the Ericksen family in Korokipo Rd, Moteo Pa Rd and Swamp Rd. The Ericksens were pioneers in the industry in Hawke's Bay and won many awards for their production.

Mr Cross said the family received better offers than theirs but they wanted to sell the orchard to a buyer who shared their values.

The trust, based in Tauranga, has about 600 beneficiaries, a word Mr Cross refuses to use because he considers it "loaded".

"I refer to them as owners because no matter how small their shareholding, that's what they are."

The trust established kiwifruit orchards on tribal lands on the Matapihi Peninsula near Tauranga 35 years ago, almost in the infancy of the industry in New Zealand. It now owns 130ha of orchards in Hawke's Bay and Bay of Plenty and is the top-producing grower in the country.

"Our orchards have a production value of 2million trays. Those results are down to our owners and our staff, some of whom who have been with us since the beginning."

Mr Cross said the orchards were all replaced with the latest gold varieties after the PSA outbreak of two years ago.

The Hawke's Bay operation, Ngai Tukairangi o Heretaunga, is managed by Richard Pentreath who loves his new job. "Ngai Tukairangi really look after their staff."

As well as looking after the Hawke's Bay end, Mr Pentreath also has a small family block in Links Rd.

The new buys are not up to full production yet and he and his staff of six expect that to happen by next year.

The trust is also working on a programme to employ local Maori as permanent staff on the orchards by liaising with a labour contractor.

The trust has at its heart the betterment of its owners. Mr Cross said they receive a dividend of 40 per cent of the annual profit. The Matapihi community also receives an annual grant but the main aim of the board is education.

Up to $80,000 a year is given in education grants each year. Most of them are university level but polytechnic and trade training is also provided for. Some students could receive $10,000 towards their studies.

"We have a lot of doctors in our families," Mr Cross said.

There are sporting and cultural grants available and the recipients don't have to live in New Zealand. Applications have come from hapu members in the UK, the US and even Jamaica.

Mr Cross says the owners decide what they want the money to cover and the board of seven makes it happen.