Century Farms – Goldfields money kickstarts dynasty

Goldfields money kickstarts dynasty

Five generations call Golden Bay farm home.

In 1855, William Calverley Riley purchased 150 acres of bushclad land in remote Murderers Bay (later named Golden Bay), using money he had earned while digging on the Australian goldfields. The coastal farm is located between the Aorere River and the Ruataniwha Inlet, near Collingwood. It was the fourth owner of the land, William’s nephew, William David Scrimgeour and his wife, Annie who carried out the bulk of the bush clearing work and turned the land into pasture. They named the farm Riverslea. William and Annie built up a 40 cow dairy herd, preferring the smaller Jersey breed in the heavy ground. Annie churned butter 20lbs at a time,

| Norm Scrimgeour outside the milking shed, circa mid-1910s.

and William rowed across the river to barter it for supplies at the nearest store. Later the farm supplied milk to William’s father’s cheese factory and then to the Collingwood Dairy Factory. In the early 1950s, granddaughter Fay and her husband, Norm Riley took over the running of Riverslea from Fay’s parents, Norm and Leila Scrimgeour. This was a time of major development on the farm, with stop banks built, farm lanes added,

| Trevor Kerr, Norm Riley and Ian Kerr in 1997. | Norm Scrimgeour working with his beloved horses.

| Aerial photograph of Riverslea farm.

paddocks drained and fenced, hay sheds built, and a herringbone cow shed constructed, which is still in use today. In 1962, Ian and Aileen Kerr came to work on the farm. This was the start of a long friendship and business partnership, with Ian and Aileen becoming sharemilkers in 1977. Along the way, part of the original 150 acres was sold and more land has been added. These days, the traditional 146 hectare dairy farm still runs a Jersey herd. Riverslea is owned by fifth generation descendant, Raewyn and her husband, Warwick Henry and is farmed by second generation sharemilker, Trevor Kerr and his wife, Diane.