Immerse yourself in the History of Kereru Farm Weber
This land, It’s the home of fourth generation farmers - Simon & Trudy Hales and sons Rocky and Alby.
They say home is where the heart is.
And right here, at Kereru Farm, we couldn’t agree more. Because this land has run through the blood of 3 generations before us.
We’re a proud and passionate working sheep & beef farm in rural Tararua, New Zealand.
We live here, we work here, and we grow and source some pretty great things here. And we’re here to share the goodness (and struggles) of this land, with you.
The Hales family have been stewards on this land for over 100 years, right back to Simon’s Great Grandparents, William & Eliza Hales.
William was a fencing contractor the publican at the Herbertville Pub, while his wife Eliza went about buying up parcels of land in the area.
Farming was then passed down to some of their many children, including Simon’s Grandfather James Hales. James passed away suddenly in 1952 and the care of the land was left with his wife and eldest son Peter (Simon’s dad), who was only 12 at the time.
in 1968 Peter and his brother Duncan purchased the adjoining 800ha, they named this land Kereru Farm for the native wood pigeon that packed the densely populated bush.
Peter & Duncan spent years clearing, cultivating and subdividing the land. It is understood, Kereru Farm Weber the first farm to trial sowing of grass seed by helicopter in New Zealand.
In 1978 Peter bought Duncan's share of Kereru and continued to manage his Father's Estate. It wasn't until 1989 that Peter and his wife Margaret purchased the Estate and combined the two blocks into one.
At the same time other members of the Hales family were farming the neighboring block known then as Claudelands, this land was however sold outside of the family in 1996.
Simon, knowing he wanted to also farm the land, returned from shearing in 2007 and began working for his Dad & Mum. He spent three years transitioning into managing the property and in 2010 Simon, Peter and Margaret went into business together and Simon took on full time management of the farm and the families fattening block in Takapau.
In 2014 the neighboring property, Claudelands, was on the market and Simon & Trudy were in a position to purchase the farm and amalgamate the properties.
In 2018 Simon & Trudy purchased Kereru Farm from Peter and Margaret along with their shares of the farming company.
A place where Simon shares what it’s like to live and work on Kereru Farm Weber. Video blogs centred around what we are doing, what we’re trying to achieve, the planning and management of the property and the management of our stock.
