The History of the Priest's Sheep

The Fleeces, the Sheep, the Farm and the Family


One of the early decisions that we made when planning how we would proceed
with the creating of the "Whangarei - Our Place" Tapestry was that the weft
yarn would be spun from top quality Northland Romney fleeces.  The big
question was could we source the very specific fleeces we needed in the
Northland area?  Talking with several knowledgeable sheep classers and
farmers, the same name came up - "Priest's Romney stud at Towai" - they are
the people you should talk to.  So we did.
 
Talking with Vivienne and Gordon Priest about our dream of creating a large
community tapestry using Northland fleeces was exciting.  They were so
interested and supportive of the idea.  The fleeces we needed for the
carding and spinning had to be mid range micron, well grown and bright,
clean with a top quality staple of a minimum length ideally of 11.5 cm.  A
big ask, but Vivienne and Gordon were sure that they could source fleeces
with these high specifications from their stud Romney hoggets which they
were due for shearing in a few weeks.
 
So on a sunny winter's day Beverly, Jill and I visited the farm - enjoying
Vivienne and Gordon's warm hospitality.  The stud hoggets were in the wool
shed so we could have a close look at them and indicate the style of fleece
that we were needing for the tapestry.  They were a beautiful, even line of
young sheep and their fleeces were a pleasure to handle.  We were delighted
that we would be able to source the high quality fleeces we needed right
here in the North.  Gordon, Vivienne and Gordon's parents were excited by
the prospect that wool from their sheep would become the weft yarns of this
major tapestry and would be something for future generations of their family
to enjoy.
 
The history of the family's involvement with this land stretches back to
1898.  Barbara Priest (nee Ford) has lived most of her life on the farm and
those early years she recalls as happy and care free - full of laughter and
fun.  Andrew Priest moved north from the Hawkes Bay in the 1950s.  He found
the rugged, blackberry and bracken covered land of the North challenging! It
would require a lot of adjustment to his thinking and farming practices for
him to succeed.  As a boy Andrew had developed a strong affinity with sheep
and he had a passion to work with them and grow good wool - dating back to
having his own lambing beat as an eleven year old growing up in the Hawkes
Bay. The humid, wet climate of Northland has the potential to create health
and fleece problems for sheep and so selecting the best breed for these
conditions was a key to the success of the Priest family's farming. The base
of the original flock was a mob of 150 5 year old Romney brought north from
the Wairarapa in 1955.

Realising the need to breed their own rams, Barbara and Andrew started
recording all the lambs born on the property from 1965 onwards.  This was
the beginning of their top Romney Stud.  By the mid 1960's they had 3,600
breeding ewes and from then the stud went on from strength to strength.

Today, the quality of the stock gives testimony to the selective breeding
programme, excellent stock handling and years of working with the land.
Andrew and Barbara's commitment and dedication in the early years gave
Vivienne and Gordon a great structure to build on.  This team work is still
evident and in practice today.

This attractive farm with its fertile hills and valleys, beautiful areas of
bush and huge variety of native trees - stands as tribute to what families
here in the North have achieved.  We are delighted to have fleeces from this
property to wash, card, spin and dye - to become the vital wefts of the
"Whangarei - Our Place" tapestry

Thank you Gordon, Vivienne, Andrew and Barbara

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