The town welcomed 36 families to the 20th annual Century Farms event, to mark their contribution to the country’s economy and culture over 100 years or more of continuous land stewardship.
New Zealand Century Farm and Station Awards chairman Eddie Fitzgerald said the hard work and resilience of those attending had been instrumental in the milestone being achieved.
"All the families here tonight are an acknowledgement of the spirit and hard work of their forebears. Their resilience and ability to overcome obstacles has allowed them to extend that legacy for future generations."
He said the awards continued to grow in strength and significance for the rural community.
"We have, I believe, five MPs here tonight, including guest speaker and presenter James Meager. That simply reflects the growing profile of the event, which has now seen about 700 families receive 100- or 150-year awards."
MPs Mark Patterson, Ingrid Leary and Damien O’Connor also attended and fellow MP Miles Anderson, of Southburn, in South Canterbury, attended as a member of a recipient family.
Among local recipients this year was the Robertson family of Glenkenich, West Otago.
Scots-born David Robertson arrived in Glenkenich via Taieri in 1875, and bought 64ha of 4m-high snow tussock land.
He married Elizabeth McEwan in 1877, the couple raising nine children together, and farming Romney sheep and oats.
The farm became well-known for sheep breeding, in particular under fourth-generation descendant Murray Robertson, who established the Leedsvale Romney Stud.
Son Antony took over management of the farm in the early 2000s, although Mr Robertson said he had still remained active.
Since that time, the farm had grown and diversified,
which was key to survival and longevity in farming, he believed.
The longest-standing family attending the ceremony this year were the Matthews-O’Callaghans, of Aurere, Northland.
Missionary Joseph Matthews had acquired land at Aurere in 1839, a year before the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.
One hundred and eighty-seven years later, descendant Winston Matthews said farming was all about stewardship and guardianship: "It’s sometimes a tough gig, but you just keep going".
