Bill Thomas is proud to say he is the fifth generation to farm the Longbeach Estate, near Ashburton, but he also recognises the responsibilities saying that carries.
Mr Thomas is the great-great-grandson of the man who has been described as the father of the Canterbury frozen meat industry, John Grigg.
About 200 descendants of John Grigg will gather at the estate at Labour Weekend to mark 150 years since he purchased the first freehold of 2000 acres of swamp land known as Longbeach.
He made that first purchase in 1864 in partnership with his brother-in-law Thomas Russell and by 1871 he had acquired 32,000 acres between the Ashburton and Hinds Rivers.
The only person to feature on a statue in Ashburton, John Grigg stands in the town centre among raupo plants, one foot resting on a field tile.
It is a significant symbol for his lasting memorial is that the ''impenetrable swamp'' was drained to become fertile, high-producing land.
Tiles were manufactured at Longbeach and laid across the land. Many remain in working order today but present owners, Bill and Penny Thomas, find it ironic that they now have to irrigate the land.
About 1300 hectares remain in family control. These days it is not so far from its original use. Arable crops are still grown, along with potatoes, dairy cows are wintered, beef cattle finished, breeding ewes run and cows milked on a 265ha dairy unit.
John Grigg was one of the conveners of the meeting called to consider the formation of the Canterbury Frozen Meat and Produce Company in 1881 and was the first chairman, a position he held until 1899. Most of the main original farm buildings still stand where they have always stood. In one corner of the garden stands the restored sod hut, reputedly built in 1860. The family church has survived and is still in use. The cook shop has been fully restored with a commercial kitchen installed. It is used as a function centre.
Celebrations include registration and a get-together on Saturday morning, followed by a picnic lunch. People will have the chance to look around the farm in the afternoon, while games have been organised for the children attending.
A dinner will be held in Ashburton on Saturday night and on Sunday a church service will be held at Longbeach, using the original chapel and a marquee.
The celebrations will close with the unveiling of a plaque on the statue of John Grigg.
Mr Thomas has updated the book John Grigg of Longbeach by P.G. Stevens, adding 16 pages.
He said it was an attempt to bridge the gap in information from when the book was written to the present. It aimed to get a very brief understanding of the progress made and to record the male descendants of John Grigg who have farmed and managed Longbeach Estate. ''It is a matter of great pride to us and testament to John Grigg that Longbeach, and a lot of the infrastructure he put in place, is still here and operational today,'' Mr Thomas said.
By Maureen Bishop