Basil and Gwyneth take a 'holiday of a lifetime' in Wales
Basil Ward, who farms on the Valley Road just out of Raetihi, supplies the smallest quota of milk for town supply. It is partly for this reason and the fact that the tanker from Palmerston North would have to add an additional 20 kilometres to its trip collecting milk, that Basil Ward's contract, which expires at the end of August 1985, has not been renewed. Mr Ward remains unconcerned about this development as he has been in the fortunate situation for many years of having a farming operation which is already diversified. His great grandfather, and grandfather, both named Thomas, were two of the earliest settlers in Raetihi and it was they who cleared the land in ihe Valley Road where their descendants still farm today. The family's involvement in the dairy industry began
with a few cows, milked by hand. The milk was delivered by horse and cart to the Raetihi Dairy Factorj where it was separated and the skim milk was taker back to the farm to feed the calves and pigs. Basil's father, Albert Henry Ward, continued the tradition and in the early '30s he and his brother were milking 30 cows by hand on their father's farm. They received 6Vi& a pound for the butterfat, which resulted in a very low income when the money was divided three ways.
The brothers were pioneers of bottled milk saies in the Raetihi area. In 1938 they built a small shed as a cooler house and set up a 2 x/i horse power steam boiler for heating water in order to meet Health Department requirements. An old kauri churn, formerly used for making butter, was given to them and used for sterilizing the bottles with steam. Raw milk was sterilized, cooled and bottled in the early morning, then put into the brothers' van for delivery.
It became more difficult for the Ward brothers to deliver their milk as it left them little time to cultivate their crops and care for their dairy herd. It was then that they hired Mr Ron Jones to help with
deliveries and it was he who went on to run the Raetihi Milk Company in the town itself. Basil Ward, who was born in 1934, attained a Diploma in Agriculture at Massey University in the early '50s, then took over farming on the Valley Road across the road from his brother Selwyn. Basil was at the receiving end of some very valuable advice from his father who warned him it would be unwise to remain solely in the dairy industry telling him that diversification was the 'name of the game'. Today, he milks 40 cows all year round and has 500 sheep on his 270 acre property.
In addition, he leases some of his land to son Llewelyn, 23, for market gardening. "I've been milking cows all my life so I am not too disappointed at finishing although it has become a way of life for me." "I intend to alter the yards to suit the sheep, so I don't think I'll have time to miss milking seven days a week, twice a day." Basil with his Welsh born wife, Gwyneth, left the country this week to visit his wife's homeland for a three month 'trip of a lifetime'. His son will see to the milking during that time and it is he who will end his family's contribution to the dairy industry in Raetihi.
This is the third in a series of feature articles by MaryAnne Gill about the men and women on the Waimarino 's dairy farms, who are being "phased out" as a result of the closure of the Raetihi milk station. After the station closes at the end of June, Waiouru, Ohakune and Raetihi milk will be supplied from Palmerston North. National Park milk will be supplied from Taumarunui. The remaining Waimarino dairy farmers will have their milk collected bya tanker from Palmerston North after June.
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Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 1, 28 May 1985, Page 28
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667Basil and Gwyneth take a 'holiday of a lifetime' in Wales Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 1, 28 May 1985, Page 28
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