How did you get from there to eventually owning your own farm one day?

Well, I got to 16 at secondary school in Auckland, had a bit of an interview with the headmaster, which didn't go very well for either of us, and I made a decision to pull the pin.

I went, actually my first job was six months with Dow Giddies in Auckland, worked for Stockton Station agents there and enjoyed that because I used to do quite a lot of music, guitar playing and singing, and that tied in pretty well in the city.

I could sing in the coffee bars and things.

But initially, after about six months, I decided city life wasn't for me and I pulled the pin on Dalgety's and I went down and I worked for my cousin, Graham Trower, which was Uncle Ted's son, on his dairy farm.

And I just had three months there.

They were fantastic.

Dad, before we talk about your time in Te Akao on the farm, can you tell us about that period of life that you had in the UK?