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 personal and professional skills to help advance their careers and develop confidence in their abilities and self.
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 agricultural qualificatons and taking part in personal and professional workshops run by specialist providers.
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 personal and professional skills to help advance their careers and develop confidence in their abilities and self.
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 agricultural qualificatons and taking part in personal and professional workshops run by specialist providers.
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 and Mari Harpur, Trustees |
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. Mari was born into an agricultural based family in the Midwestern United States and grew up on a pig farm. Today they manage 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. They spend a significant amount of time in this country. Fairlight Station was purchased by Doug and Mari in the early 2,000s. This acquisition signalled a significant diversification from northern hemisphere operations into Douglas fir forestry and livestock farming in New Zealand. They have a passion for achieving top performance in their farming and forestry enterprises, and have 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 and Mari place high value on knowledge and evidence-based farming and forestry. Establishing the Fairlight Foundation complements similar ventures in Canada 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 and Louise wright, trustees |
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.
Louise grew up in rural Canterbury on a small lifestyle block. She moved south to Queenstown where she was employed in the tourism industry. Louise moved to Te Anau where Simon was farming in 1993 and worked for a Scenic Flight Seeing business. In 1997 Simon and Louise moved to Tarras in Central Otago to take up a Manager’s role on a Merino property. This is where they had their 3 children, Sam, Holly and Sophie. In 2003 they moved south to Fairlight. The Station has many visitors which Louise and Simon host. As the Station has grown and developed Louise has become more involved with the administration, H&S and environmental compliance on the station. Simon and Louise are now shareholders of Fairlight Station and Simon is the Managing Director and Farm Manager. |
alison broad, trustee |
Alison Broad MNZM, QSM, has deep connections to Southland, forged over seven generations in the south. Alison grew up in Invercargill, then studied at Otago University, completing a BA, PGDA, and later a Master of Arts with Distinction in Education. In the 1980s Alison was appointed as the founding CEO of Southland REAP. In this role Alison played a key part in the emergence then growth of the Southland Women in Agriculture (WAg) network, with a focus on rural women’s learning. WAg provided opportunities to develop women’s skills, confidence and leadership, while acknowledging and enhancing their contributions to agriculture and to rural communities. Following her 16 years with REAP, Alison has been self-employed, involved in a diversity of projects and sectors.
Alison considers herself privileged to have filled a number of significant governance roles, including trustee and chair of Community Trust of Southland, member of NZ’s UNESCO National Commission, Executive Chair of the Women’s Self Defence Network Wahine Toa, Chair of the SIT board, and (currently) Chair of the Southland Art Foundation and Deputy Chair of the Southland Conservation Board. Alison continues to have a passion for empowering women through learning. |
mandy bell, TRUSTEE |
Dr Amanda Bell is a successful entrepreneur with a veterinary, farming, information systems, and agribusiness background. She has extensive skills and experience in working with industries, businesses and communities to deliver visions into action. With 30 years’ experience she is known for leading and delivering solutions to complex challenges, particularly in communities and in the primary sector.
Mandy farms at Criffel Station, Wānaka and has a degree in Veterinary Science. She is a director of businesses in the pharmaceutical and farming industries. Recent roles have included Chairman of Deer Industry NZ and a cofounder and chairman of WAI Wanaka (a community trust focused on enabling healthy water, ecosystems and community wellbeing). |
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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