10 May 2026

Shepherd Dreams

Oranga Ahuwhenua. Farm Life.

Writer: ANNA BRANKIN (KĀI TAHU, KĀTI MĀMOE)

photographer: Francine Boer

Victoria Baker knew from a young age that she wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps. Although taking over the family farm wasn’t always on the cards, Victoria and her partner, Gregor Goble, are now continuing her parents’ legacy, shepherding a new generation.

Top image. “Mum and Dad are in the family home where I grew up, and we’re in the staff house, which is a lovely house itself. The main house is tucked away a little bit, while our place is right in the middle of the yard, so we’re close by without being right on top of one another.” Above. “My grandad bought the farm, but not until later in his life, so my dad was the first one to farm it. So it’s not one of those huge multigenerational farms, but it’s still pretty cool to think that there will soon be three generations of our family living there,” says Vic

Victoria, 31, known as Vic, grew up surrounded by the rugged beauty of Murihiku Southland, on the family sheep farm in Blackmount. “I always loved the lifestyle, growing up on the farm with Mum and Dad and my two brothers,” she says, reflecting on a childhood immersed in the farm tasks that have become her life’s work since she and her partner, Gregor, began the process of taking over the 800-hectare farm last year. “There was always a good chance that I’d end up going into farming but it was solidified when I went away to boarding school at twelve years old,” she says. “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy school, but I definitely always wanted to be back on the farm, out of the city. That’s when I started to have all those young shepherd dreams of working in the high country or on big stations over in Australia.”

Those dreams led Vic to study at Telford and Lincoln University, where she earned diplomas in agriculture and farm management. The practical, hands-on education suited her. “I can be a little bit shy so it was good to find myself among a group of really like-minded people, and to be doing something that was a lot more practical than academic, where everyone really wanted to get stuck in and learn about farming.”

Above. Gregor and Vic. “Gregor and I were talking recently and agreed that, reflecting on it, things really did come together at exactly the right time, in terms of Mum and Dad being ready to step back, and me deciding to come home, and then us meeting one another. Obviously you can’t see it at the time, but looking back, it’s ended up perfectly.”

Despite setting her sights on farming as a career, it wasn’t always a given that Vic would be the one to take over the family farm. Her older brother, Charlie, went into plumbing straight out of high school, but her younger brother, Andy, shared her passion for farming and for the land they grew up on. Tragically, he took his own life seven years ago, and in the midst of grieving his loss, Vic realised it would reshape her own life. “Growing up, I had thought it would be Andy who would take over the farm, and that absolutely made sense to me and actually fitted in with the dreams I had,” she says. “It did take me a little while to accept how much everything changed with his death, and to think, ‘Okay, it’s gonna be me.’”

It was a daunting prospect at age twenty-four, but fortunately Vic’s parents, Nicky and Peter Baker, weren’t in a hurry to step back and she had the opportunity to work in a few different farming roles, including a stint in Canada working on two different ranches. But even when she was elsewhere, she was always thinking about coming home. “Whenever I came home for a visit, it was just such a good feeling to get back in the valley,” she says. “I’ve always just really loved the land, surrounded by mountains – it’s just beautiful.”

Above. “We are so lucky to have Mum and Dad here on farm, and Gregor’s parents are only half an hour down the road as well, so we’re going to have so much support – they’re all so keen to help out that if anything we’ll have to be careful not to overuse the privilege,” says Vic.

Above. “Dad has always loved to train his own dogs, so, as a kid, I learned a lot from him. I took a pup to Telford and worked with the dog trainers there, and have just kept picking up tips and tricks here and there from other farmers, especially when I was shepherding. They’re strictly work dogs though.”

Vic’s return home happened naturally around four years ago, when she had finished up a shepherding job in Murihiku Southland and was looking to take a step up in her career with a stock manager role in the North Island. “I was pretty keen on it and was close to accepting the offer, when I realised that Mum and Dad were about to advertise for a stock manager here at home,” she says. “It seemed like my career and their plans were aligning perfectly, and I took it as a sign that it was time to come home and give it a crack.”

Around this time, Vic met her partner Gregor. “He’s another local – his family farm is in the Te Ānau basin and at the time he was a stock manager at a station just out of Te Ānau,” she says. “We met through the Te Ānau Young Farmers Club and ended up moving in similar social circles, so it was very natural when we ended up getting together.” The couple moved in together pretty quickly, into the staff house on Vic’s family farm – although for the first wee while Gregor continued working on his crutching and dog tucker business. Vic and Gregor’s working partnership grew organically, and over time as Vic’s parents stepped back, he progressively took on more responsibility around the farm until the couple were ready to take over altogether.

Above. “Only Angus the Jack Russell is allowed in the house – the rest of them learned pretty quickly not to cross the line from the yard to the house.”

“People often ask if it’s a challenge to live and work in such close quarters with your partner, but we actually get by surprisingly well,” Vic says. “Don’t get me wrong, we definitely have our days, but I think back to when he was running his own business and would be away crutching for a few days at a time. I always missed him and looked forward to him coming home, so now I’m lucky to have him around all the time.”

Continue reading the story in our Ngahuru Autumn Edition 2026.

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