Page 93 - NZ Hereford Magazine 2023

photographed – including the East Coast’s Puketiti Station, the
Aspinall family’s Mt Aspiring Station (High Country Legacy),
Seasons of Erewhon and The Legend of Mt White Station in
Canterbury. Add Life on Muzzle to that list too.
Some of author Philip Holden’s books – Stockman Country,
Station Country, Station Life, and A Back Country Journey –
are full of Herefords. He was a skilled hunter, writer and
photographer who wrote his first book after working as a
deer culler for the New Zealand Forest Service. Pack and Rifle
was published in 1977 and immediately became a best seller,
the first of many. By his death in 2005, Philip had created 54
published volumes of work, making him one of New Zealand’s
most prolific and successful writers on the outdoors.

FAMOUS HEREFORDS
Saracen from Okawa Herefords features in this By the Horns
In November 2016, three Herefords gained worldwide media photo print by Amanda King.
attention after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand.
A news crew flying by helicopter to Kaikoura spotted and
filmed two stranded cows and a calf standing on an outcrop
of broken earth where a massive landslide had slumped on
Derrick and Jane Millton’s property Waipapa in the Clarence
Valley, now farmed by the next generation. The story went
global with the BBC, Fox News, CBS, The Guardian, and Al
Jazeera following the cows’ plight.
“Derrick fielded calls from all over the world. Everyone had
seen it before we saw it,” Jane says. “We had no power or phone
for days. Neighbours from across the river knew about the big
landslip first. They could see a huge white scar shining in the full
moon minutes after the earth shook. Then the news crew spotted
the animals and it became a worldwide story. The cows and calf
were saved and went back into the herd – a happy ending.”
Waipapa has traditionally run Herefords – Jane’s father, This By the Horns shot is simply called Headbutt.
David Middleton, was a staunch Hereford supporter. Sire bulls
are bought from the Murray family at the Matariki Hereford
Stud, just across the river.
Jane’s story about the event Moo and Moo and the Little Calf
too was later published by Allen & Unwin with illustrations by
Deborah Hinde.
“As a painter myself, I wish now that I had illustrated the book,
however at the time there was so much else to do! I was keen to
capture the geography of our valley and the characteristics of
the Hereford breed. Deborah did a great job though.
“There was talk someone else was going to write it but I was
determined that this was our story and our cows. I already
had a draft written when Allen & Unwin approached me.
Initially I didn’t think it would ever be published, let alone sell
successfully worldwide.
“I’ve read it in schools, and I’ve had lovely times with my
grandchildren, who were so proud of Granny’s book. The older
ones are a bit over it now,” she adds, laughing.
Jane wrote a sequel, Moo and Moo and Can You Guess Who?
It was a story of the cows giving birth and a new little bull
calf. The cows were due to go to the bull the week after the
earthquake, and miraculously got in calf after the trauma
they’d experienced, Jane says.
The book was a distraction at a tough time.
“After the earthquake we had a huge amount of support
from far and wide with tracks and fencing repairs, water
supply rebuilds, and more. People donated generous packages
of food and we had lovely messages from so many. It made us
very humbled to think so many people cared.” Jane with her world famous book.

Year 2023 HEREFORD MAGAZINE 91