The 400ha Pikiroa Organic Farm in Owairaka Valley, near Te Awamutu, has been part of the Bayley family for more than a century.
The highest point on Pikiroa Organic Farm looks across the Pūniu River to Te Kawa, Mt Kakepuku and Mt Pirongia stacked behind each other. Photo: Jesse Wood
Russell Bayley is the fourth generation of the family to manage and care for the land, following on from George, Orme and father Chris.
Anzac weekend saw the delayed celebration of 100 years of Pikiroa.
The Bayley and Lethbridge families came together for a reunion – continuing a relationship started in 1898.
Named Pikiroa in about 1923, the farm is just a jigsaw piece of the mega block that was once known as Hiwihau.
At its height, the property was 2800ha around Bayley and Lethbridge Road.
The area of the original Hiwihau block. Pikiroa is circled in blue. Photo: Supplied
The original farm was in both the Waipā and Ōtorohanga districts, on each side of the Pūniu River.
Surrounding farms named Rawhiti-roa and Hiwihau that were once part of the large acreage.
Little is known of the origin of the name Pikiroa, but it translates to the long climb.
Orme was held in high esteem. Some family members suggest iwi member Martha Teao may have named Pikiroa as she did Rawhiti-roa.
Although the celebration was about 100 years of the Pikiroa block, the story goes back much further.
This line of the Bayley family has been in New Zealand for about 139 years. In 1886, George Bayley arrived in New Zealand from Edinburgh, Scotland. He joined his brother Willie and started learning about farming in New Zealand.
Two years later, their father sent them £2500 each. This helped them purchase 1770ha of land in Kohinui, between Kumeroa and Pahiatua. The duo developed the land, clearing bush to sow grass and run sheep. A decade later the property was sold to John Perry Lethbridge.
An aerial shot of Pikiroa and the old homestead. Photo: Supplied
The two families’ longstanding relationship began.
George bought a property called Tuscan Hills in nearby Mākuri Valley, with the intention to subdivide and sell.
He stayed longer than planned and married John’s daughter, Helen Lethbridge, in 1901. Orme was born the following year.
In 1906, George sold Tuscan Hills to the Lethbridges and moved south to Wellington.
Here, he formed the Taupō Timber Company, investing £18,000 with little return.
Within two years they had moved to Hawke’s Bay, and purchased 8000 acres at Otamauri, an area near the Taihape Rd. After seven years, George’s financial status was on the rise again after the sale of a large part of the farm.
George kept the homestead and 400ha of land, as well as paying his father-in-law £9300 for the shares of a large block of land in Owairaka Valley.
This block Hiwihau, included Pikiroa and other leased land. Part-owner and manager of the property was George’s brother-in-law Norman Lethbridge.
Norman was shipped to Europe during WWI, so George moved to take over the management of the property until his partner’s return in 1918.
But five years later, the pair decided to dissolve their partnership.
The old Pikiroa homestead. Photo: Supplied
With different methods and ideas about farm management, the livestock was divided, a boundary fence built, and Pikiroa Estate was born.
The Bayleys returned to Otamauri in 1924 and left Pikiroa under the management of E.L. Hibbard for the next 11 years. George died in 1928 at age 62, leaving Orme responsible for both the family and the estate.
Orme had married Audrey Hobbs, a nurse aid at Cooks Hospital in Gisborne. The pair went on to have four children – Chris, Mike, Ronny and Gae.
Upon Hibbard’s departure, Orme sold the remaining 400ha of Otamauri to the government and moved to run Pikiroa.
In the 1950s, the Bayleys sold part of the farm to the Stevensons and donated another part to the Wellingtons as a rehab block. This left Pikiroa at 1000 acres, which it still is today.
Orme ran about 4000 sheep and 400 beef cattle on the farm.
Chris took over the farm management in 1964 and was joined by son Russell in 1995. By then, the sheep numbers were down to about 1000, and beef and maize was more of a focus.
After Russell’s experiences with conventional farming, it was decided in 1998 that the farm should be converted to an organic dry stock farm with Bio Gro. Pikiroa was then converted to a dairy farm in 2006.
Russell has continued to diversify, opening to the public, offering accommodation with the complimentary opportunity to see the cows being milked, growing and selling organic produce and opening an Organic Food Shop, selling beef and lamb.
Te Awamutu-based Chris and the rest of the clan are never far away if help is needed.
The family reunion on Anzac weekend was a success, thanks to the organisation of Mike’s son Giles Bayley.
Stories were shared, questions were asked, facts were checked and a new Pikiroa entrance way was unveiled.
The brick structure has “Pikiroa EST 1923” on the front and plaques in memory of past generations on the reverse.
“It’s a great way to know who has been here before us as we continue to add to our history. We’re celebrating the past to make sure of the farm and family’s continuation,” Giles said.
“I believe family history is like the All Blacks. You’re representing what’s gone before you. You’re a guardian of the history, creating something for future generations.
“If we don’t know what’s gone before us, then how can we know who we are?”
The Bayley and Lethbridge families gather for a reunion and a late 100 year celebration of Pikiroa. Photo: Jesse Wood
