The man who led a powerful family charity
Early in 1960 a 22-year-old farm worker, a recent graduate of Massey Agricultural College, was toiling on a 5385 acre block of land near Taupō when he was approached by a tall, regal figure, the possessor of the most distinctive voice of his generation. "I'm Keith Holyoake", announced the co-owner of the property, "who are you?"
It is more likely than not that the young man gave the then leader of the opposition a modest reply. Cecil Vickery Bryant, known as 'Vick', was never one to toot his own horn. Modesty and humility were virtues favoured in his family and were to the forefront of his character. However, that same family was equally strong in other Christian values, generosity in particular. The Bryant name was one which resonated in the Waikato.
Vick's great-grandfather, John Vickery Bryant, had expressed his philanthropic impulses through the Salvation Army. Vick's grandfather, Daniel Vickery Bryant, an immensely successful farmer and businessman, divided his fortune in two at the age of 39 and devoted the rest of his days to managing these funds for charity and good deeds, work that preceded the trust that bore his name and was continued through it. Vick's father, Cecil Daniel Bryant, followed his own father's example, making his way as a farmer and soldier yet also finding time for family charitable endeavours, serving the DV Bryant Trust and its predecessors.
A successful Te Kūiti farmer in his own right, known for hard work, skill, hospitality and a broad, inclusive and infectious sense of humour, Vick continued the Bryant tradition of public service. Succeeding his father as a trustee of the DV Bryant Trust, he devoted 28 years to the organisation. For a decade, from 1989 to 1999, he served as its chairman, negotiating challenging times and on occasion opposing points of view with equanimity and the odd well placed joke.
Whatever the esteemed company around the table - high clergy, lawyers and accountants - he more than held his own with the professionals, making a significant contribution to the well being of the underprivileged and needy in the Waikato as well as helping to develop new initiatives in health, education and the arts.
Cecil Vickery Bryant was born 25 November 1938 in Hamilton, the second of the four children of Cecil Daniel Bryant and Isabella Jane Bryant (nee Mcnaughton). His siblings, all boys, were born between 1933 and 1950.
In Vick's youth, weeks were spent on the family farm in Tauwhare, weekends at the expansive River Road bungalow purchased a year after his birth. It was a devoutly Christian family, with regular worship and all significant milestones celebrated at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church.
Having completed the first portion of his primary education elsewhere, Vick was enrolled at Southwell School in 1947, attending until 1952, following an atypical third form year. A naturally gifted athlete with notable hand-eye coordination, he assumed his place in Southwell's First XI and First XV and also excelled in tennis, running and the then compulsory sport of boxing.
The balance of Vick's secondary education was enjoyed in Wellington, at the Presbyterian boys' school Scots College, 1953-1956, where he again found selection in the First XI and First XV.
Farming was an obvious career choice, the basis of both the Bryant fortune and its philanthropy. Besides the examples set by his father and elder brother John, Vick received direct encouragement from his esteemed paternal grandfather. Appraised of his grandson's ambitions, DV
Bryant took to driving him around rural properties and stock sales, asking pointed questions like "what pays best, one fat lamb or two small ones?"
In 1957, Vick worked on John's farm, an isolated property near Waitomo Coves, adjusting to life without mains electricity. The following year saw him complete his compulsory military training in Papakura.
Vick enrolled at Massey Agricultural College in 1959, completing a diploma in sheep farming that saw him return home to Tauwhare for its practical requirements. It was during this time that he met Judy Sinclair, a student studying to be a radiographer, at a Hamilton party. The attraction was almost instant.
In 1960 Vick found work on a large farm in Kinloch, the pride and joy of a future New Zealand Prime Minister. Marrying Judy on 6 July, 1960, at St Aidan's Church, Hamilton, his return to the Taupō property with wife in hand meant life in the former crib of Keith Holyoake became a tight squeeze. Kiwi Keith again arrived unannounced one day, declaring himself to the new Mrs Bryant with the same expression that had surprised her husband earlier in the year.
DV Bryant had determined that each of his grandchildren would receive 3000 pounds on the occasion of their 23rd birthday. Vick and Judy used this sum to help purchase a 500-acre farm on Gadsby Road, Te Kūiti, taking possession in February 1961.
Judy and Vick were to have three children: Jennie, Mark and Emma.
Farming sheep and beef cattle, Vick initially did all the work himself. Though not unduly tall, he was supremely fit and muscular, his physical strength equalled only by a well developed work ethic. Judy, whom he patiently tutored in the finer details of farm labouring, helped out whenever the duties of motherhood would allow. Younger brother Andrew Bryant, who could be seen on occasion in the shearing shed during school vacations, was in awe of his sibling's endurance, saying "Vick could shear all day".
One particular farming innovation employed by Vick and Judy involved the selected breeding of Romney sheep, increasing both the size and the standard of their flock. They played an active part in the New Zealand Romney Development Group.
Stalwarts of the Te Kūiti farming community, Vick and Judy became known for their hospitality and capacity to easily mix with all strata of society. Vick continued to play club tennis to a high standard and later built a tennis court on the farm.
Vick resisted involvement in the DV Bryant Trust whilst his father continued his own association. In 1972, with Cecil's sudden death at sea, he was persuaded to become a trustee. Thus began the monthly drive to Hamilton for meetings. Perhaps a little self-conscious within a body prone to co-opting clerics and professional experts, as well as wider family members, some of whom had been involved in the organisation or its predecessors for decades, he soon found his feet. One strength was an ability to speak concisely and to a point both around a meeting table and in public. Another was a natural sense of humour, ideal for easing tension.
Early in his tenure Vick was given the task of assessing the educational options available to farm cadets. This was part of a wider initiative in which the trust was seeking to make proactive contributions to education.
In October of 1989, Don Arcus, Vick's uncle, stood down as chairman of the trust. In A Stockman's Gift, the official history of the organisation, Rosalind Mcclean states that "being of a modest disposition, Vick was reluctant to take on the chair at first". Mcclean notes that if "arm twisting" was required at the time, "other board members appreciated his steady leadership, quiet authority, modesty and ability to 'make a joke at the right time'".
One issue of relevance during Vick's chairmanship involved the trust's traditional insistence on confidentiality when it gave welfare grants. Vick was said to "dislike...any public vaunting of the Bryant family". Unfortunately, the wider charity culture was changing and other trustees felt flexibility on the matter was now a necessity. A major contribution to the University of Waikato's new Academy of Performing Arts was openly reported in the media, as was a sum donated to the combined church services' venture, Te Ara Hou. By 1993, the trust agreed to naming rights for the Bryant Education Centre at the Waikato Hospital, a facility in support of postgraduate clinical and professional education.
In 1998, Vick and Judy sold their Te Kūiti farm and began enjoying semi-retirement at Plummer's Point in Tauranga. Planting Olive trees, along with son Mark who owned a kiwifruit orchard at Katikati, they began pressing olives and selling olive oil.
After Vick's resignation from the trust in 2000, he and Judy travelled extensively, including repeated cycling tours of France, wider trips to Europe and to India, Vietnam and Alaska. A long time classical music enthusiast, retirement also afforded the opportunity to enjoy both concerts and live musical theatre.
Vick remained fit and healthy and strong for his age. A bike accident in April, 2021 unfortunately compromised an earlier hip replacement. Later in the year he suffered a stroke, requiring the use of an electric wheelchair thereafter. Judy proved a loving and competent caregiver, ensuring he could live out the balance of his days in the relative comfort of home.
A social mainstay of the wider Bryant family, particularly after the death of his father, Vick's hospitality began with kinfolk and extended to the entire community. Renowned for his natural charisma and innate fairness, in both his farming career and his philanthropic work he commanded the respect of all who knew him.
Cecil Vickery Bryant died September 10 2023 at his Tauranga home, following a stroke. He is survived by Judy, his wife of 63 years, his children Jennie, Mark and Emma, son-in-law Steve and six grandchildren.