Hamish Murray says part of the motivation to appear on Country Calendar was to allow people to see what life is like on a high country station.
But it’s not the first time Bluff Station, which is situated in Clarence, Canterbury, has appeared on the long-running series. Hamish’s father Richard was last on the series in 1981 with Bluff Station. Not that Hamish can recall.
“I wasn’t born at that stage,” he laughs.
FMG Media/Supplied
Hamish Murray and Jess Murray at Bluff Station.
Hamish initially didn’t intend to take over the 13,000-hectare property – so vast it takes several hours to drive from end to end. But after studying economics at Cambridge in the UK, he realized Bluff Station was where he wanted to be.
“I remember sitting on the train going down to a job interview in London after I’d graduated, and I remember thinking, ‘Why would I want to do a job in London for the next five years, trying to do something that I don ‘t really enjoy when I can go home and do what I really love?’. So that was a real turning point for me.”
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Hamish and his wife Jess farm merino sheep, Hereford Angus cattle and also have about 800 beehives on Bluff Station. Much of the merino wool is sold to clothing company Icebreaker. They have a long-standing contract with the company and have been supplying them with merino for more than 20 years.
Hamish says the mix of livestock and honey works well.
In a dry, drought-type year, the beekeeping operation helps support the business as they collect more honey in hot weather.
“Our best honey years are often our driest and then our best stock years, when we’ve got plenty of grass, are often our worst honey years.”
Because of its size and its isolated location, the permanent staff, who work on the property, live on Bluff Station.
“The staff that are here give a huge amount of their time and energy to the place and we hope that in time that they take a little bit away with them too. Because the valley is pretty special.”
Country Calendar, TVNZ 1, Sundays