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