
The awards were established by local man Russell Brown and friends in 2005 to honour families who had farmed the same land for 100 years or more.

Among them were the Dalziels, of Lawrence, whose forebear Christopher had landed at Port Chalmers — via a circuitous route — from Shetland in 1861.
From there he had joined the Lawrence Gold Rush, and saved sufficient capital through his mining exploits to buy 100 acres (40.5ha) in nearby Tuapeka West in 1874.

They were among 22 families from across the country receiving the awards this year, meaning a smaller-than-usual crowd of about 220 attended the awards at Simpson Park on Saturday night.
Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan introduced the guest of honour, Minister for the South Island James Meager.

"This celebrates everything that’s good about being a Kiwi and living off the land. It’s something special," he said.
In a humorous response, Mr Meager said he was pleased to see many North Islanders among those present.

He said the awards acknowledged farming families who had "done it tough, and done it well".
Awards chairman Eddie Fitzgerald said, despite the smaller numbers, no less effort had gone into organisation.

He said next year’s event was likely to be bigger, as several applications had already been received.
Applications close at the end of November.