Every mother reaches a point in her life when her children are becoming less reliant and more independent. Farmer Anna Rowley is no exception.
Mrs Rowley married into farming and has been in the area for about 20 years.
Before that she studied a teaching degree at Lincoln and soon after left to live in a kibbutz in Israel, which was anything but the done thing at the time.
"I was looking for a completely new experience, a different way of life, a different social structure."
Mrs Rowley worked on a dairy farm there, milking and calf rearing - things she had never really done while living and growing up in New Zealand, although she is from a Canterbury sheep and beef farm.
"Everyone works, they have a lot of business enterprises, rural-based was the original concept. Pure communist really.
"I wanted a culture shock really and yes I got it. I made some good friends in a fascinating part of the world and I [had] a lot going on there."
While she enjoyed the experience, the lifestyle was not maintainable and she missed some of the customs back home.
"It made me appreciate that New Zealand has a very short history and it was an interesting experience but I wouldn’t be able to live there permanently.
"There is a natural hierarchy - even if you try make everything equal, there is still going to be a natural hierarchy."
After living abroad, she came home and met her future partner, Doughal. The couple had their first child when she was 28 years old. Since then, she has helped on the farm. Mr Rowley is the son of Tom Rowley, who formerly owned Lake Hāwea Station.
The couple now farm 80 hectares and 200 cattle.
Having reached the age of 47, Mrs Rowley has turned back to something deeply ingrained - her musical talent.
"When I was at school I really enjoyed learning new instruments. I would switch and start learning a new one every couple of years."
Her first instrument was the piano when she was 10, and she moved through the guitar, saxophone and oboe - a wind instrument similar to the clarinet.
"That’s when it started to stir up my musical instinct, learning to play pieces, really enjoying and connecting to the music and discovering what good music is."
She has gone through parts of her life where she didn’t have the time to pick them up, such as busy stages during motherhood. But she has reconnected recently by releasing an album on Spotify in 2021 - Radiate, and again this year, The Landing.
"I missed the actual playing on the piano and fiddling around, it is a fun hobby for me. I always have been a song writer. I started when I was 15, I really enjoy that process of creating a song ... That moment of when sounds evolves into a song, it’s captivating, satisfying and quite mysterious."
Mrs Rowley has not played much live music through her life, and only recently had a gig with her sister and niece in Christchurch. She is bringing her talent home and playing in Wānaka this month.
She said her acoustic folk-like sound was inspired predominantly by nature and the behaviour of people.
"A lot of the inspiration comes from nature. There are a lot of good metaphors in nature for describing different situations in life and people.
"I think I have always been a bit of a searcher, all artists looking to try and understand the world."
She has recently taken up a new job gardening at Aspiring Village in Wānaka and hopes to release another album in time, now that her children are of high school age, and more independent.
"It is a stage in life that I have found myself with more time and looking for a purpose and new project. Now that my children don’t need me so much. I have indulged myself in parenting and glad I have music to pour my energy into.
"To have done music for so long, I am becoming curious about songs that you listen to and really connect with and they move you in some way."
What’s on
What: Anna Rowley and the Lanksters
Where: Rhyme and Reason
When: August 16, 7pm, $10
