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.
This year three families received awards marking 150 years on the same land.
Among them were the Dalziels, of Lawrence, whose forebear Christopher had landed at Port Chalmers — via a circuitous route — from Shetland in 1861.
A fifth generation of Dalziels now farms the land.
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.
"We welcome the direct foreign investment of all those visiting from the North Island tonight," he said.
He said the awards acknowledged farming families who had "done it tough, and done it well".
"We had a social at the Tuapeka Vintage Club on Friday night, and our awards ceremony tonight. It’s a huge effort from the whole of the community that’s months in the planning, and what you see here is a credit to all those who have contributed through volunteering time, goods, skills and sponsorship."
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.
