Our Whānau, Our Stories

My fascination for cheese making started from a young age when I went on a school trip to the local Dairy Factory in Brightwater, South Island. I remember standing around a vat full of cheddar curds while the cheese maker explained how it was made, giving us all a taste of unsalted curds (which by the way none of us liked, things are always better with some salt).

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) is a time for us to celebrate the Māori culture and language. Read stories from our whānau below on what Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori means to them, and scroll down to listen to some simple phrases you can learn throughout the week.

‘Mānawatia a Matariki – Celebrate Matariki’ – a special time here in Aotearoa New Zealand as we learn more about the Matariki star cluster, reflect on the past and celebrate, feast and be with whānau and friends for what’s to come – wherever they are across the globe.

I grew up in Auckland and I'm someone who is happiest at the beach, in the ocean, on a mountain, fishing and boating on the lake. I think growing up doing so much of that has built a real appreciation of the natural environment and the give and take of how we interact with the environment and how the environment affects us.

I grew up and went to school in Gisborne where I also started my career selling Lotto tickets and hiring out DVDs at Blockbuster video – I loved it!

I was born and bred in Rotorua, but I was also raised in a small town called Murupara for about four years where my dad was a policeman. I was brought up in a Māori household with Māori values at the forefront of everything we did and having a real deep connection to our pā (our village) to where we're from.

I joined Fonterra back in 2017, and over the last five years have enjoyed a rich and diverse experience working with the Middle East and Africa team. Recently, I stepped into the role of People & Culture Director. I’m an introvert by nature, a hard worker by design, and a creative at heart.

I started up my first farm gym over 20 years ago. I had a little girl, three months old, who was diagnosed with leukemia, and she passed away a week before her second birthday. I set up the gym as something to focus on and distract myself, because I had lost the plot.

I’m a sixth-generation dairy farmer, based in Golden Bay. I’m proud of where we’ve come from and what we’re doing. But my journey hasn’t been smooth sailing.

Jacob and I do a lot together. I love to take him out to the river and go white baiting, getting out to the pub and just cruising around together getting up to mischief, the usual father and son antics. We try and do as much as we can, sometimes it’s a challenge but we always find a way around.

I grew up in a little town called Wharekahika, a very small community, I guess about 250 people. So we’re really tight, and everyone knows everyone. My parents owned the local general store, which meant me and my siblings learnt a lot more about the people of our community from behind the counter.

I grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau but I’m originally from Ahipara which is in the Far North of Aotearoa. Summers and school holidays were spent at home in Ahipara, which was great because I got the best of both worlds, city life and country life.

I’m only a newbie to firefighting really, compared to some of the guys that have served us. I’ve been a volunteer firefighter for 10 and a half years now, but I always think I should’ve done it 20 years ago.

140 years ago, today Edendale dairy factory commenced operations, placing the first batch of the cheese on the press at 3pm. The site is still going strong as NZ’s oldest dairy processing site.

It always surprises people that I’m a volunteer firefighter based in Auckland, but I’ve been part of Fire and Emergency New Zealand for 14 years.

I’ve been volunteering for around 14 years - volunteering for me has always been about helping out the community. Things happen in life that you come across and as a bystander you feel sort of helpless and scared, you don’t feel in control.

I grew up on a dairy farm in South Taranaki and have always appreciated the lifestyle associated with farming and being able to work alongside family in an outdoor environment.

I’ve had a bit of an interesting upbringing really; I was born in South East Asia, Brunei. I moved to Singapore and then to New Zealand when I was six.

I grew up in Cambridge and attended St Peter’s School. I was the kaea in the school’s kapa haka ropu for a number of years, however, I did not grow up speaking Māori