Resilience shines through at Owāhanga Station
Isolation is something they’re used to at Owāhanga Station, but since Cyclone Gabrielle, people on the farm have been working on improving their resilience.
When the cyclone hit a year ago, the sheep and beef farm at the southeast corner of Tararua was one of many in the district pounded by the storm that hit the east coast of the North Island.
Owāhanga Station, operated by the Aohanga Incorporation, is 7700 hectares of farmland that stretches 22 kilometres along the coast from the Aohanga River in Tararua, south to the Mataikona River in Wairarapa.
After the cyclone, access and communications were cut off and farmland damaged by multiple slips. There are still signs of damage on hillsides and roads a year on.
About 7.5km of fencelines and many of their farm tracks were knocked out, including the main track from the northern end of the farm to the southern end, making it hard to check on animal welfare.
A bridge across the Mataikona River, an access point at the farm’s southern end, was destroyed by a log washed down the river. Now they must use their neighbour’s property if they want to get out that way. One of the roads out to the Tararua coast was closed for six months after the road through Marainanga Gorge was washed out, which had a big effect on the community.
There are two marae at the farm and the gorge closure meant an extra 45-minute trip for kaumatua to visit.
Demetrius Potangaroa is the chairperson of Aohanga Incorporation, but with the station looking to appoint a new manager, he is also helping on the farm. “A lot of the problems we have are with all fencing, slips and erosions, track dropouts, a dropout on our main road as well.”
Potangaroa said the isolation made life harder, but otherwise their staff had got on with fixing things and their usual farming work.
“The resilience of rural farmers, eh. That must have been happening everywhere, they just carried on.”
He was full of praise for roading contractors and the Tararua District Council for repairing roads, particularly the road to the station after a section was washed out.
But he said the roads in the area still weren’t perfect and could cause problems.
For a couple of months, they had to move stock through the farm to the main road because stock trucks, as well as fuel tankers, couldn’t get in.
All the river fencing “got a hiding” and they had replaced about a third of what needed repairing. Somehow they didn’t lose any stock.
Since the cyclone, they have dropped their stock numbers from 20,000 sheep to about 14,000 to go with their 760 cattle.
They have planted about 500 trees around tracks and on hillsides, but “another 500 wouldn’t go amiss”.
Potangaroa wanted to plant more to protect the main road out, but said there was greater need in other areas.
The main access track through the farm, destroyed in the storm, has been replaced four times. The hillside was moving for months afterwards because of the sodden land. Most tracks had been repaired now.
All their communications were cut in the cyclone and the power was off for a couple of weeks afterwards, but the council delivered fuel for generators.
The remnants of the bridge at the southern end of the farm were only removed from the river this month.
Replacing it was on the cards, but the incorporation would discuss it with engineers and look at other alternatives.
Along with getting the farm back to normal, they were thinking about becoming more resilient.
“Looking towards the future is still all about sustainability for us,” Potangaroa said.
“There’s a few obstacles we need to cross before we get there. A lot of its repair work on station and that’s not cheap. And just being able to provide the safety for the animal welfare side of things. Those challenges are things that need to be addressed in the immediate future.”
But he said they were working on getting things done.
Paul Peeti is the farm’s kaitiaki (guardian) and has been working there for 47 years. He said they were OK on the farm after the cyclone because they had generators, but there had been lots of work to do since.
“We’ve probably got 1000 jobs to do, but can only do one at a time and just other jobs creep up behind you. We’re heading in the right direction, that’s the main thing.”
They were advertising to fill the roles. Federated Farmers Tararua co-president Sally Dryland said people’s lives were marked by highs and lows, so it was important for farmers affected by the cyclone not to beat themselves up over things.
She encouraged people to counter the negativity by focusing on positive things and what made them and the community happy. “Whether it’s dog trials or horse sports, embrace those things, rather than staying on the farm and worrying about the fenceline that’s still not fixed.”