Not only was it the worst snowstorm to hit Southland in more than 30 years, it was also the starting point of the Robinson family business of plastic lamb covers, Robinson Raincoats.
This business has now seen Mrs Robinson named as one of six businesses in the running for the Making it in Rural section of the Rural Women New Zealand Enterprising Rural Women Awards 2014 and one of 17 businesses vying for the title of overall supreme winner.
Plastic lamb covers had been manufactured in New Zealand since 1975 and were formerly known as Lamdry Covers.
Every year the Robinsons would buy their lambing supplies and over the years they accumulated a significant supply of the covers.
In early August 2010, when they went to buy their usual supply, they discovered the business had gone into recess and the other brands were not being produced.
Then the snow came.
On September 18, 2010, when the Robinsons were in the busy period of lambing, the snow started and on September 21 Mrs Robinson was searching through the workshop to find the lamb covers.
Mrs Robinson's husband, Brent, and her sons were using the covers as quickly as she could find them. Then, on one roll, she found a cellphone number.
Taking a chance, she rang the number and discovered the man at the end of the phone still had the machine but was also too busy to make any more covers.
''So I asked him if he would sell the machine ... my new-found friend not only agreed to sell me the lot but he was coming down to Invercargill on business ... [and would] bring it down,'' Mrs Robinson said.
The machine arrived at the Robinson's Glenham farm two days later and was unloaded at 8pm. After half an hour of training, the Robinson family were on their own.
By the next day, the lamb covers were being delivered to desperate Southland sheep farmers throughout southern Southland free of charge and with a note.
''This was a wonderful morale boost for those sheep farmers,'' Mrs Robinson said.
Now Mrs Robinson's son (high school pupil) Jeffrey makes the covers and she handles the rest of the business, including orders and supplies, marketing, distribution, packaging and invoicing.
''It has been a thrill for us as a family to meet farmers from all around New Zealand that have read about, talked about and used our product,'' Mrs Robinson said.
Mrs Robinson is joined by Riversdale entrant Hammond Davidson Ltd and Glenorchy business Easyhike Limited.
Hammond Davidson Ltd is a chartered accountancy in Riversdale, owned by Kylie Davidson and Emma Hammond, who started the business in 2011.
The pair are one of three businesses in the Help, I Need Somebody section of the awards.
Easyhike Limited is a car relocation business owned by Bobbie (Roberta) Mulgrew that mainly runs cars from one end of the Routeburn track to the other for walkers on the track.
It is one of five businesses in the Stay, Play Rural section. Mrs Robinson said she was honoured to be taking part in the awards and thanked RWNZ for the opportunity.