There’s a Centenary being celebrated in our district this month, by the Woolford family at McMiken’s Newstead Orchard.
Margaret Woolford has been digging through mounds of old documentation, and has compiled a brief history and timeline of how it came to be. Her first paragraph reads thus:
“In 1914 William Jeffrey McMiken, at the time a sixteen year old cadet attending the Ruakura Institute of Farm Instruction, was given by his father, John McMiken, ten acres of land from an initial purchase of nineteen acres of bare land on Silverdale Road, then three miles from the centre of Hamilton. “I believe the position is ideal for fruit growing, but the rest is up to you son,” he told his boy. Thus, with the assistance of his father ‘Sunnyside Orchard’ was established with initial plantings of pip and stone fruit, and a small bach and lean-to shed were built. In 1918 a small homestead was constructed, with extensions added for Jeff’s family in 1930. Further neighbouring land purchases occurred in 1925 and 1941, to total twenty-six acres, with four and a half acres of hill slope bordering Hillcrest Road.”
The orchard thrived, although in the early years gate sales were minimal, due to remoteness from central Hamilton, and deliveries were made to Hamilton customers and the railway station for those living further into the district.
But Jeff had four daughters and no sons, and it wasn’t until Peggy married Harold Woolford in 1952 that a potential for carrying on to the next generation was provided, when Jeff invited Harold (at the time a printer) to become an employee and learn to run the orchard.
Hamilton grew around the orchard, and in 1962 20 acres of land was purchased at Newstead, initially planted in ‘modern’ varieties of pip and stonefruit. Harvested fruit was trucked to Silverdale, as well as bulk bins being supplied to the then Apple & Pear Board.
Then came the University, and the Silverdale land was purchased by it in 1981, but with diminishing amounts being leased back for a further decade. In 1991 the orchard all moved to Newstead, with further neighbouring land purchases there of ten acres each in 1971 and 1984. When Jeff died in 1976 the Woolfords bought the business, but retained the business name of W J McMiken & Co.
In 1984 they built a packhouse and began supplying export fruit to ENZA, as well as maintaining their on-site shop, with exporting managed by John and his wife, and Harold and Peggy running the shop. This lasted until the mid-1990s when exporting was no longer sufficiently profitable.
These days the orchard is run by John, who has also diversified into arbour work, and the shop and light orchard work is run by daughters Jean and Margaret. Peggy died in 2012, as have her three sisters, so sadly there are no McMikens around to see this centenary.
Many of those who have worked there over the years are returning for a celebratory lunch on Sunday 24 August, and all customers are invited on Saturday 23rd to come and view the slide show and detailed display which Margaret has compiled.
At 89, Harold is still found in the shop most days, as well as using his grafting skills to rebuild stocks of traditional pipfruit such as Cox’s Orange, Ballarat and Granny Smiths. A lot more planting of summerfruit has been done, and they now also produce pure apple juice which is very popular with those who’ve tried it.
A close family business with a huge band of loyal customers, some of whom make special trips from Auckland to taste McMiken fruits!