Page 67 - 2020 NZ Hereford Magazine

damage. The ground gets cold and then the animals bruise the in the 1970s, then another when Bolger was Prime Minister.
ground every time they put a foot down. It just goes black. But He says technology aside, there have been massive changes in
it’s a lovely climate really. Raetihi in the middle of summer, most the industry through the family’s three generations of stud breeders.
years, is standout on its own for staying a lovely green colour. “Bulls back in the 40s and 50s were so small. That’s a two-
We get about 60 inches (1524mm) of rain a year.” year-old bull with a tall man,” he says, pointing to one of the
Wandering around the farm, Kelly reminisces about the cold photos in the family album. Now, I think we’re at the right size
winters spent helping his father on the farm. for New Zealand conditions.”
“Right from little tackers we used to feed out little square In those days it was easier to import the actual bull, he says.
bales of hay from the back of the tractor. It would be snowing “We used to bring the live animal in, now it’s just the semen.
or freezing and we might be feeding the bulls some carrots… so That goes the other way too, we also sell semen through my
we’d be eating a carrot while we were throwing them out,” he sister’s Hereford stud in Victoria.”
says, laughing. Kelly remembers leading his first bull.
“How we used to do things in those days are absolutely “I used to be so scared but my sisters were worse,” he says,
primitive to how we do it today. You couldn’t run a place on your laughing.
own, like I do, without a modern tractor and a feed-out machine. “Right from little kids we were around bulls and just learnt
You just couldn’t do it.” to be brave. We did it because we had to. The photographer
Kelly reminisces about his memories of their stud’s early sales. would tell Dad it would get in more papers if it was a kid holding
There was a visit by a young Jim Bolger when he was a new MP the bull. Dad used to say we made the bull look bigger too.”

PREVIOUS PAGE: Kelly O’Neill has farmed Herefords in Raetihi all
his life.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE, TOP RIGHT: Kelly O’Neill with one of his
sisters, Sue Smorti from Halcombe, with Champion Okahu Sonny Bill in
2014; Local MP Jim Bolger, who went on to be Prime Minister, opening
an early Okahu Herefords sale; An early Okahu bull sale; Pat O’Neill,
centre, with two long-time clients Noel Valentine, left, and Pete Valentine
at the 2007 Okahu sale; This Whanganui Chronicle newspaper cutting
in the O’Neill family scrapbook shows a young, small Kelly holding a big
bull… his Dad’s plan to make the bulls look bigger.

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