Still going strong: the cows that captivated the world

They became the global “face” of the Kaikoura quake: the three cows stranded on a small grass island amid the chaos appeared on news bulletins around the world.

Clarence Valley farmer Derrick Millton was busy trying to save his Herefords when phonecalls from BBC, CNN, ABC and other news networks came in wanting to know whether the two adult cattle and calf would survive. Even Prince William, who stayed at the farm during the 2005 British and Irish Lions rugby tour, messaged the Milltons to say: “Your friends in England are thinking of you.”

“The world just seemed to want to know and I realised just how important they were to the whole earthquake story,” Millton recalls a year later.

The cows were part of a mob of 18 that were rescued on the third day.

Yesterday, they were peacefully grazing on a lush top paddock on Millton's farm overlooking the Pacific Ocean where the seabed jumped 2m in the vicious shaking.

The cows have come to mean a lot for Millton.

They've even sparked a bestselling book, born out of a poem penned by Millton's wife, Jane, at 4am the day after the quake, But it's a positive story.

“And in a place where there is so much uncertainty, that's not a bad thing.”

The Millton farm by the Clarence River remains cut off by road from Kaikoura as major work on State Highway 1 continues.

The flew from Kaikoura to nearby Parikawa airstrip on Air Kaikoura, which has made the trip a staggering 2000 times in the past year.

Up to 15 flights a day cater for locals, businesspeople and tourists.