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Women of Beef

Nukuhia Hadfield: Mangaroa Station Co-Owner and Chair of the Ahuwhenua Trophy

A Ruakituri Valley sheep and beef farmer whose station won Maori farming's top prize and who now helps run the competition.

Who Is Nukuhia Hadfield?

Nukuhia Hadfield co-owns Mangaroa Station in the Ruakituri Valley, about an hour's drive north-west of Wairoa on the East Coast of the North Island, with her husband, Barton Hadfield. The couple won the 2015 Ahuwhenua Trophy BNZ Maori Excellence in Farming award, and since July 2021 she has chaired the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee. This profile uses a Te Puni Kokiri feature and the trophy's own history page, and covers only her public professional record. It is marked thin because few personal details are published.

Mangaroa Station

Mangaroa Station covers 1,506 hectares, of which 1,250 hectares are effective, and its highest point is 620 metres. At the time of the 2015 competition its stock included 6,200 Romney Perendale ewes, 2,000 replacement ewe lambs, 70 rams, 500 Angus breeding cows and 400 heifers. That makes it a sheep and beef property in which Angus cattle run alongside a large ewe flock, a common pairing on New Zealand hill country.

Winning the 2015 Ahuwhenua Trophy

Mangaroa was chosen from three finalists, and the government feature names the other two as Paua Station, owned by Paerengarenga Incorporation at Te Kao in the Far North, and Maranga Station, owned by Marty and Janice Charteris at Tiniroto, south-west of Gisborne. The awards dinner was held in Whanganui and attended by about 650 guests, in the 82nd year of the competition. Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell called the competition a training ground for future custodians of Maori agricultural assets.

What the Ahuwhenua Trophy Is

The Ahuwhenua Trophy was inaugurated in 1933 by Sir Apirana Ngata and Governor General Lord Bledisloe to encourage skill and proficiency in Maori farming. Ngata saw retaining and improving the remaining Maori land as critical, after forced sales and limited access to development capital had decimated it. The first competition, open to dairy farmers in the Waiariki district, was won by William Swinton of Raukokore. Entry widened in 1934, and in 1954 the competition split into two awards. As the trophy history page records, the original competitions ended in 1990 as interest waned.

In 2003 Gina Rudland, Wayne Walden and John Acland relaunched the awards, and from 2005 sheep and beef and dairy competitions alternated years. A young Maori farmers and growers award began in 2012, and horticulture joined in 2020.

Chairing the Management Committee

Hadfield has chaired the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee since July 2021. The committee manages and supervises the competition for its trustees, who are the Minister for Maori Development, the Minister of Agriculture and the Secretary for Maori Development. The role links a working farmer who has won the award to the organization that recognizes the next group of finalists.

What Made It Work

The record points to a station run as a business and a couple recognized for it in a national competition. The points below reflect what the sources document.

They do not include financial results.

  • The Hadfields run a sizable sheep and beef block, with 1,250 effective hectares on a 1,506-hectare station.
  • They combine Romney Perendale ewes with 500 Angus breeding cows, spreading risk across two livestock lines.
  • They were chosen as 2015 winners over two other finalist stations.
  • Hadfield took the knowledge from the winning farm into governance as committee chair from 2021.
  • A fair limit on the record: farm finances, debt and succession plans are not covered by the sources.

Learn More

For more on New Zealand sheep and beef farming, see the ranching section of farm.FM, and a farm.FM story about Maori farming and beef.

Timeline

  1. 1933Ahuwhenua Trophy inaugurated by Sir Apirana Ngata and Lord Bledisloe
  2. 1954Competition splits into two awards
  3. 1990Last of the original competitions held
  4. 2003Awards relaunched by Gina Rudland, Wayne Walden and John Acland
  5. 2015Nukuhia and Barton Hadfield win the Ahuwhenua Trophy for Mangaroa Station
  6. 2021Nukuhia Hadfield becomes chair of the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee in July

Frequently asked questions

Who is Nukuhia Hadfield?

Nukuhia Hadfield co-owns Mangaroa Station in the Ruakituri Valley, Hawke's Bay, and has chaired the Ahuwhenua Trophy Management Committee since July 2021.

What is the Ahuwhenua Trophy?

It is a competition recognizing excellence in Maori farming, inaugurated in 1933 by Sir Apirana Ngata and Lord Bledisloe, and now covering sheep and beef, dairy and horticulture.

How big is Mangaroa Station?

Mangaroa Station covers 1,506 hectares, of which 1,250 are effective, according to the 2015 awards coverage. Its highest point is 620 metres.

When did Mangaroa Station win the Ahuwhenua Trophy?

Nukuhia and Barton Hadfield won the Ahuwhenua Trophy BNZ Maori Excellence in Farming award in 2015, chosen from three finalists.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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