Fairlight Station History
The internships are based at Fairlight Station, Kingston, Northern Southland. Captain John Howell (1808-1874) from Fairlight, Sussex County, England purchased the original 12,000 ha property near Garston, in Northern Southland from his son-in-law, William Cameron in 1862, and named it Fairlight Station. Subsequently, the Howell family developed the property into one of the first sheep and beef stations in New Zealand. It initially sold produce to gold miners in the Queenstown area. It was later subdivided, with the present station retaining its original name. The two-story iconic Georgian style homestead at Fairlight, originally built by Captain Howell, is today a Heritage New Zealand property occupied by station managers Simon and Lou Wright and family.
Fairlight Station was purchased by Doug and Mari Harpur in 2003 as Fairlight Station Ltd. The Wright family became shareholders in 2016. With additional adjacent land purchases Fairlight Station is now 3,800 ha consisting of 500 ha of arable land and 2000 ha of hill country. Current livestock include 2300 red deer hinds, 120 stags and 2000 weaners, 620 beef cows, 25 bulls and 160 calves, and 3600 cross-bred ewes and 1000 lambing hoggets. The station also has a significant Douglas fir forest.
Fairlight Station Ltd also owns Forest Creek and adjacent Tui Station in the upper Rangitata in Canterbury comprising 4,300 ha running 7500 ewes, 2000 lambing hoggets, 600 fattening cattle and 300 velvet-genetic hinds and 520 velveting stags. The company also has partnership interests in Pahia, a dairy farm in Southland, and Tararua, a sheep/beef/ goat farm in the Hakataramea Valley in Canterbury. Fairlight, ForestCreek/Tui and Tararua are fully integrated for management purposes. The farming operation trades as Fairlight Station LLC
Fairlight Station was purchased by Doug and Mari Harpur in 2003 as Fairlight Station Ltd. The Wright family became shareholders in 2016. With additional adjacent land purchases Fairlight Station is now 3,800 ha consisting of 500 ha of arable land and 2000 ha of hill country. Current livestock include 2300 red deer hinds, 120 stags and 2000 weaners, 620 beef cows, 25 bulls and 160 calves, and 3600 cross-bred ewes and 1000 lambing hoggets. The station also has a significant Douglas fir forest.
Fairlight Station Ltd also owns Forest Creek and adjacent Tui Station in the upper Rangitata in Canterbury comprising 4,300 ha running 7500 ewes, 2000 lambing hoggets, 600 fattening cattle and 300 velvet-genetic hinds and 520 velveting stags. The company also has partnership interests in Pahia, a dairy farm in Southland, and Tararua, a sheep/beef/ goat farm in the Hakataramea Valley in Canterbury. Fairlight, ForestCreek/Tui and Tararua are fully integrated for management purposes. The farming operation trades as Fairlight Station LLC
The Fairlight Foundation
The Fairlight Foundation on-farm training programme has been a vision that the Harpurs and Wrights have had for many years. This concept progressed in 2020 when Laura Koot was employed as the Executive Director and tasked with the role of establishing the programme.
The Fairlight Foundation is now a registered charity. It was established with the purpose of advancing women in the agriculture industry in New Zealand. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees to ensure the integrity of its operations and to uphold the 100 year vision of its founders.
The Foundation recognises that women remain under represented in leadership roles in agriculture. It believes that to succeed in the rural industry today, aspiring rural professionals need well rounded practical expertise supported by formal qualifications.
Internships are the foundation’s signature programme, aiming to enhance career pathways by immersing women for twelve months in working station life so they learn a broad range of practical farming skills, while also completing nationally recognised formal industry and/or academic qualifications with our tertiary training partners.
The Fairlight Foundation is now a registered charity. It was established with the purpose of advancing women in the agriculture industry in New Zealand. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees to ensure the integrity of its operations and to uphold the 100 year vision of its founders.
The Foundation recognises that women remain under represented in leadership roles in agriculture. It believes that to succeed in the rural industry today, aspiring rural professionals need well rounded practical expertise supported by formal qualifications.
Internships are the foundation’s signature programme, aiming to enhance career pathways by immersing women for twelve months in working station life so they learn a broad range of practical farming skills, while also completing nationally recognised formal industry and/or academic qualifications with our tertiary training partners.
Image by Mari Hill Harpur Photography
Fairlight Station is located in Northern Southland, just a 45min drive south of Queenstown. We are part of a very close-knit rural community and are fortunate to have some of the best spots for hunting, fishing and hiking right on our doorstep.
We are surrounded by some of the biggest sheep and beef stations in the South Island so there are plenty of like-minded rural professionals to meet and connect with.
We are surrounded by some of the biggest sheep and beef stations in the South Island so there are plenty of like-minded rural professionals to meet and connect with.
Media ARTICLES
Women Forge Farming Futures Together
Otago Daily Times
14th December 2021
Passion for Farming, Women's Empowerment
Farmers Weekly
25th September 2020
Women's Farm Training Winner
Otago Daily Times
19th August 2020
New Venture to Train Women in Agriculture
Farmers Weekly
13 August 2020
Otago Daily Times
14th December 2021
Passion for Farming, Women's Empowerment
Farmers Weekly
25th September 2020
Women's Farm Training Winner
Otago Daily Times
19th August 2020
New Venture to Train Women in Agriculture
Farmers Weekly
13 August 2020
The Board
Doug Harpur, Trustee |
Doug and Mari Harpur are majority shareholders of Fairlight Station Ltd and LLC. Doug is chairman of North Oaks Investments LLC, a private personal holding company owned by members of the Harpur family that manages a group of approximately 50 companies including forestry, farming, land development and associated industries, with operations in Alberta and Quebec, Canada, and Oregon and Minnesota, USA. While based in the Northern Hemisphere, Doug has NZ parentage and has NZ citizenship. He spends a significant amount of time in this country. Fairlight Station was purchased in the late 1990s, signaling a significant diversification from northern hemisphere operations into Douglas fir forestry and livestock farming in New Zealand. Doug has a passion for achieving top performance in his farming and forestry enterprises, and has invested heavily in establishing Fairlight Station Ltd, and LLC as among the larger and highest performing mixed sheep/cattle/deer farming operations in NZ. Doug places high value on knowledge and evidence-based farming and forestry. Establishing the Fairlight Foundation complements similar ventures in Canada and the USA aimed at fostering opportunities for young, often professional people, in a range of largely ecological contexts.
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Peter Wilson, chairperson |
Our Chairperson, Peter Wilson BVSc, PhD, is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Veterinary Science, Massey University. Peter has had a distinguished veterinary career, starting as a rural general practitioner. After completing postgraduate studies, he entered an academic clinical, teaching, research and consulting career, both here and internationally. His career focus has been on holistic approaches to animal health and production, specialising in deer but integrating with sheep and cattle. He has an extensive local and international research and academic publication record in diseases, disease prevention, epidemiology, reproduction, nutrition, welfare and animal remedies. This background, combined with his on-farm clinical practice and consulting experience, provides him with a deep understanding of livestock production systems and the need for a professional, skilled and knowledgeable agriculture sector workforce. He is a director of Fairlight Station Ltd and LLC.
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simon wright, trustee |
Born and bred into farming, Simon grew up on his parents’ farm which was a government ballot farm in the Te Anau Basin. Simon was educated at Waitaki Boys High and then attended Flock House, a farm training facility in the Rangitikei District. Shepherding jobs followed, working on Stations in Marlborough and the Upper Clutha before returning to Te Anau to go share farming with his parents and then into a farming partnership with his brother near Manapouri. In 1997 Simon and his wife Lou took up a Farm Managers position on a merino property at Tarras. In 2003 Simon, Lou and their 3 children moved to Fairlight Station where Simon took on the position of General Manager for the farming businesses. They are now shareholders of Fairlight Station and Simon is the Managing Director.
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laura KOOT, executive director |
Laura grew up on a sheep and deer farm in Northern Southland and after completing a Bachelor of Science and Masters in Business Administration at Otago University, she started her career as an analyst for the corporate finance division at Deloitte in Wellington. Laura then spent 6 more years in various roles and industries within the corporate world, both in NZ and overseas, until she moved back to Southland in 2016 to set up Real Country, her own agritourism business. Laura is an entrepreneur, an advocate for the rural industry, is passionate about building confident, capable and practical women, and through her social media, community involvement, speaking engagements and ladies-only farm skill workshops, she continues to mentor and inspire others to pursue their own passions.
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