A Quick Study

I’ve only recently moved back to New Zealand, and I’m still in the reconnection process. I’m Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, and we’ve just realised my grandfather on my mum’s side is Ngāti Maru, which is pretty cool. At the moment, we’re living in Ngātea, so it feels like we’ve moved here for a reason.

I lived in Australia for twenty years. My husband, Quinn, and I came back in 2019 to get married, so that’s what started our move back home. Quinn is pretty much the same as I – he’s Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi. Our grandparents were friends back in the day, so it just had to happen that he and I met.

My upbringing was in Brisbane, so I’m a city slicker. Quinn and I moved to Perth and had our first three babies – Payton, now 7, Rain, 6, and Roman, 5. Quinn grew up on a farm, but before we moved to New Zealand he said, “I am not going farming. No way.” But, because of Covid, we thought of the stability that comes with farming and that’s why we started. We moved onto a farm in Whakatāne with Sam and Kate Moore, and they were the biggest role models for us. That was in July 2020, and it was the first farm I set foot on. I’m the first farmer in my family.

Sam and Kate taught us everything we know today. They introduced me to the Diploma of Agribusiness. Kate did it herself five years back, so that’s how I started my journey. Before studying, I was a full-time mum. We made the decision I would stay home with the kids in those early years. But when we came over, we thought it was a good opportunity for us to work together with farming. It’s not just my thing, not just Quinn’s – it’s our whole family’s.

As a stay-at-home mum, it was very challenging to adapt to being a part-time student in an industry I was very new in. Although it was uncomfortable, it’s those situations where you get the opportunity to grow, and that’s something I was never afraid of. I was so determined to get it done, because I want to be an inspiration for not only my babies, but also for my whānau and, most importantly, for myself.

During the first half of the diploma, I lived in Edgecumbe, out of Whakatāne, so I had to travel all the way to Rotorua to do it. Then they changed the structure and put it all on online, which has been great. But it was definitely a big struggle. I always left things to the last minute, which was not ideal. But we had a lot of family around, so they were able to take care of the kids and my husband always helped me.

I was actually pregnant during my last module with my youngest, Quinn, now 1, so that was such a stressful time. I gave birth a month before my large farm report was due. There were times when I was like, “I can’t do this. I can’t.” But my husband was just like, “Stuff those tears back up and get it done. You didn’t go do all that hard work for nothing.” And I did it. I was so proud about it. My mum has been the biggest support. She follows me wherever we go, which is really nice. She followed us to Perth, and then she followed us back home. She’s helped us a lot, especially when I had to drive an hour to class – she would come and watch the babies.

Our babies are legends. They have travelled a lot with us, especially with my husband’s career, which was at a peak at the time I was studying. He had just won the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award. So that and studying and also having our kids and their schooling was a bit of a juggle. But throughout, they have been massive legends. I look at them now and I’m like, “You guys are so cool.” They go everywhere with us, and they adapt quite easily to our schedules.

Now we’re realising it’s time to settle down a bit and put our energy towards them. Our goals change every year, but originally the plan was to move back home and work for our iwi, work on the land that is ours, and really be able to grow those around us and our own communities. Hopefully, we’ll be able to own our own bit of grass in the future and build a sustainable home for our whānau as well. Wherever we go, I will take everything I have learnt with me and continue to support my husband. He’s the hard-working, outdoor farmer and I’m doing all the business side of things, so we are really able to work well together.