The Riddiford family has been a prominent part of New Zealand’s history since Daniel Riddiford arrived in 1840 and established Orongorongo Station.
Daniel and Harriet Riddiford
Daniel Riddiford (c1814 – 20 March 1875), born in Yorkshire England, became involved in the Wakefield colonisation schemes through his stepfather, G.S. Evans. In September 1839, he was appointed emigration agent for the New Zealand Company’s first settlement, with an annual salary of £200. His responsibilities included assisting arriving immigrants, especially women, children, and the sick, and organising temporary accommodation. Before leaving England, Riddiford also established an agency business with Captain E. Daniell to represent overseas land purchasers.
Riddiford and his wife, Harriet (née Stone), arrived in Wellington in March 1840 aboard the Adelaide, accompanied by Evans and Daniell. They immediately began their duties. During his first five years in New Zealand, Daniel acquired six sections in Thorndon and began farming in the Lower Hutt area. Māori in Thorndon told him about a piece of land they owned just outside the harbour called Ōrongorongo. In 1845, Daniel began leasing 2,800 hectares of this land for £12 a year. He, Harriet, and their five children travelled to Orongorongo by canoe, arriving in complete wilderness. Daniel constructed a pit-sawn tōtara hut and cleared 160 hectares of river flats for grazing sheep.
Despite the challenging conditions, Harriet had five more children during their time in Orongorongo. The original hut was expanded into a six-room house to accommodate their growing family. For each birth, Harriet made the perilous journey by Māori war canoe through the unpredictable waters of Cook Strait, around Baring Head, and into Wellington Harbour to access medical care and civilisation.
The land between the Wainuiomata and Mukamuka Rivers offered limited flat grazing, prompting Daniel to secure a larger lease in 1848–49, the 30,000-acre Te Awaiti Block on the East Coast. At this station, the homestead garden was the only cultivated area amid the rugged terrain.
Harriet, often left alone with the children while Daniel was away, developed strong ties with the local Māori community. Over the ten years they spent in Orongorongo, only one other European woman visited Harriet. However, they did have one notable guest, Governor Grey, who arrived during a storm on a trip between Wellington and Wairarapa. Unable to reach the house before nightfall, he slept under a flax bush a few hundred metres away and joined the family for breakfast the next morning.
Harriet grew increasingly concerned about her daughters’ prospects of finding husbands if they remained in such isolation. The 1855 earthquake ultimately gave her the impetus to leave Orongorongo and seek a more settled life elsewhere.
The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake raised the coastline by approximately five feet, destroyed the homestead, and rendered Orongorongo Station uninhabitable. Following the disaster, Daniel Riddiford was away at Te Awaiti, leaving Harriet to manage the evacuation with their ten children. They departed Orongorongo Station by Māori canoe, taking as many possessions as could fit, and travelled through Cook Strait via the Heads to their new home, ‘Woburn,’ in the Hutt Valley. Despite relocating, Daniel successfully defended his Orongorongo lease from a competing claim by C.E. Luxford in 1858–59.
Daniel Riddiford passed away in 1875, leaving the family estate to his eldest son, Edward.
Edward Riddiford
Edward Joshua Riddiford (7 August 1842 – 2 May 1911), was born in the Hutt Valley in 1842, Edward was one of ten children. As a young man, he was sent to live with his paternal grandmother, Harriet Evans, in Melbourne, Australia, where he attended Scotch College. At the age of 18 or 19, Edward spent six months droving cattle from Queensland to Victoria.
Upon returning to New Zealand, Edward ventured to the Otago goldfields. During his time there, he received a letter from his mother urging him to abandon “vain speculations” and return home immediately: “I am not satisfied with Te Awaiti. There is much to be done to put it in proper training, and I consider, dear Edward, you are the person who ought to do it.” Responding to her appeal, Edward was appointed manager of Te Awaiti in 1862.
The station presented immense challenges. The land, with its dense bush and steep hills overlooking an exposed coastal strip, was scarcely farmed. Te Awaiti’s only employees at the time were two Highland shepherds. Edward had little guidance and “very little money to make both ends meet.” Over the years, the land was gradually developed, though profits remained modest in the early stages.
Edward’s responsibilities grew over time. He was later tasked with managing the Orongorongo property, where he demonstrated his skill and foresight by establishing the Romney stud flock in 1869. This endeavour eventually brought wealth and recognition to the station. Following his father’s death in 1875, Edward inherited the Orongorongo, Te Awaiti, and Woburn estates.
In 1861, while still leasing the rugged Orongorongo hills from their Māori owners, Edward secured the freehold of the river flats. Recognising the limitations of the marginal land at Orongorongo Station, he turned his attention to the Wairarapa. Inspired by the successes of early settlers such as Barton and Mathews, who had identified the potential of the fertile land in the region, Edward forged relationships with local Māori and successfully negotiated the acquisition of a vast coastal block. This land included Tora, Te Awaiti, Glendu, and Glenburn, extending miles inland and transforming into highly productive farmland.
Edward Riddiford was a physically imposing figure, known for his remarkable strength and commanding personality. These traits, along with his deep respect for and close bonds with the local Māori community, earned him admiration and the nickname “King.” Fluent in te reo Māori, Edward frequently interacted with the Māori population at Te Awaiti and Orongorongo, as he had done since childhood. He spoke to them in their language, employed them, shod their horses, and bartered domestic goods, foodstuffs, and clothing for crops and wild pork. He played cards and drank with the men. Although Edward married and had children, his relationship with his wife was strained, and he spent little time with her. Over time, he formed a lasting partnership with a Māori woman, with whom he had a son. Edward’s influence among the Māori community, allowed him to negotiate favourable terms for acquiring Māori land either for leasehold or freehold on favourable terms.
Edward managed the Riddiford family’s interests until his death in 1911, at which point the estate passed to his son, Eric Riddiford.
Eric Riddiford
Eric Leslie Riddiford (7 December 1884 – 20 October 1951) was born on in Fern Grove, Lower Hutt. Eric purchased the leased land from the Crown after the Native Land Court failed to identify the Māori owners, thereby solidifying one of the longest-standing family associations with any New Zealand station. Eric farmed the land until his death in 1952.
On his property, Eric constructed an impressive 1,020-square-metre residence, which was expanded and modified over the years. Among its many charms was an intricately carved fireplace, commissioned by Eric Riddiford after being inspired by the carvings at the Grand Hotel in Rotorua. He hired the same craftsman to create the stunning feature, which remains a standout piece of the home’s character. The house featured eight bedrooms, a ballroom, and a formal dining room. A distinctive tall, circular section of the building originally served as a conservatory before being converted into an upper-level office. The veranda offered sweeping views of Cook Strait and the Kaikōura Ranges and was a favourite spot for the family to watch ships go by.
After Eric’s death, the farm was sold to Jim Hussey and Dan McEwan., alongside their partners Kevin Clarke, San Panchal, and Gino Appierdo, ending the Riddiford family’s longstanding connection to the property. However, this separation proved temporary. Eleven years later, the family legacy was restored when Mr Earle Riddiford, the current owner, reacquired the farm, ensuring the Riddiford name remained an integral part of New Zealand’s farming heritage.
Earle Riddiford
Harold Earle Riddiford – known as Earle (13 October 1921 – 26 June 1989) was a successful lawyer based in Wellington. When the opportunity arose to purchase the 3,650-hectare farm, he seized it as a chance to bring the land back into the family and take on the challenge of revitalising it. He was a cousin of MP Dan Riddiford, whose family had established and managed Orongorongo Station since 1846.
While continuing his legal career in Wellington, Earle employed a team to manage the property, including a farm manager, four shepherds, a gardener, a tractor driver, and a cowman. The family resided in a flat in Wellington during the weekdays but devoted every spare moment to life on the farm, reconnecting with their rural roots.
During the 1970s, Earle took advantage of government funding provided by the Muldoon administration to develop the rugged hill country on his farm. He carried out large-scale burn-offs in the hills, enlisting the army’s pyrotechnics team to assist as part of their training exercises.
Earle expanded the farm by acquiring the neighbouring Pencarrow Station, adding 1,200 hectares and extending the property down to Wellington Harbour. He also found an additional source of income by selling coastal boulders for use in construction projects, such as protective works on the Wellington Motorway and Upper Hutt’s River Road.
Despite his passion for farming, Earle was a famous mountaineer. He was a member of the 1951 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition, which played a crucial role in preparing the way for Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent in 1953. During the 1950s, he took part in three Himalayan expeditions: the first New Zealand expedition to the Garhwal Himalaya in 1951, the 1951 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition, and the ill-fated 1952 British Cho Oyu expedition.
With the pressures of running the operation took a heavy toll on his health. After suffering eight heart attacks, Earle decided to sell the farm in 1986.
Dan Riddiford
Daniel Johnston Riddiford (11 March 1914 – 26 October 1974), commonly known as Dan Riddiford, was born in Featherston, New Zealand. A member of the prominent Riddiford family, he was not directly associated with Wainuiomata but belonged to the wider Riddiford lineage. Like many in his family, he had a significant impact and certainly deserves recognition.
As a cousin of Earle Riddiford, the mountaineer and later owner of Orongorongo Station in Wainuiomata, Dan Riddiford was a New Zealand National Party politician who entered Parliament in 1960, winning the Wellington Central seat by defeating Labour’s Frank Kitts. He served as Minister of Justice (1969–1972) and Attorney-General (1971–1972) under Prime Minister Keith Holyoake. His tenure in government included overseeing key legal and judicial reforms.
Before his political career, Dan worked as a farmer in the Wairarapa region on family-owned land from 1932 to 1937. During World War II, he served as an officer in the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery. Captured in Italy in 1941, he became a prisoner of war, later escaping in 1943. For his courage and service, he was awarded the Military Cross.
Although he was related to the Riddiford family of Wainuiomata, Dan primarily resided in Wellington, where he focused on law and politics.
Dan Riddiford passed away on 26 October 1974 in Wellington, New Zealand.
Credits
Special thanks to Carl Smith for some information in this article.
Special thanks to TeAra for some information in this article.
