Gold Under The Manuka: Mangaorapa Station: A Farming Story Like No Other

Gold Under the Manuka An illustrated history of Mangaorapa Station in Porangahau, Hawke's Bay.  Spanning several generations, the innovative Mouat family were all about hard work and determination to succeed. In the 1940s the station was a large unbroken block, covered in native manuka and kanuka and thought to be unproductive land. The Mouat family purchased it after the sale of their successful transport company.  But Billy Mouat and his sons Don and Max saw something that no one else could see. They worked tirelessly for years on the property, transforming it into a progressive agricultural enterprise, encompassing 7000 acres. The development revolutionised many farming practices in NZ and employed 40 staff at its height.  It became one of the country's most productive cropping, sheep and cattle-breeding operations specialising in quality export meat and wool, and eventually wine.