Ashburton Courier: October 17, 2019

Page 8, Ashburton’s The Courier, Thursday 17 October 2019
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Barker’s celebrates 50
years in wine and food
Barker’s of Geraldine,
Geraldine’s biggest
employer, is celebrating
50 years in business.
Barker’s was founded
by Anthony Barker and
wife Gillian in 1969.
Their first product was
elderberry wine ­ahuge
hit ­and from there they
diversified into full­scale
fruit­wine production.
Mr Barker was a tinkerer
who converted
unlikely home appliances
into wine­making paraphernalia
and one of his
greatest achievements,
outside wine­making, was
to invent what became
the Kent (Barker) log
fire, royalties from which
helped keep the company
afloat in challenging
times.
One of the hardest
decisions the Barkers
made was to stop making
fruit wines in favour of
creating a fruit ingredients
and bakery fillings
business.
After a steep learning
curve ­ and some lean
years ­they launched Barker’s
blackcurrant and
Barker’s new eatery and boutique
accommodation in central Geraldine.
shifted from being acottage
industry to a New
Zealand food producer
and export business.
The business won the
supreme award at the
South Canterbury ChamberofCommercebusiness
excellence awards in 2009
and 2014 and was winner
of the producer/manufacturer
award atthe Westpac
Canterbury Chamber
of Commerce Business
Champions Awards.
Barkers process alot of
New Zealand produce for
New Zealand provenance
label claims and export
more than 20per cent of
production,mostly to Australia.
It also supplies processed
fruit products in
bulk tolarge bakery and
dairy manufacturers.
It hasgrown11per cent
per annum over the past
25 years and employs
more than 220 staff, making
it a significant
employerinSouthCanterbury.
Anew book, Barkers of
Geraldine: 50Years Preserved,
is MichaelBarker’s
tribute to his father, Anthony
and is the story ofa
heartland New Zealand
business.
Michael Barker has
spent his life atBarkers,
and has been winemaker,
production manager, general
manager, managing
director and isnow chairman
and still has aminority
shareholding.
He is proud the business
is still on the family farm
near Geraldine and has
just finished developing a
central Geraldine site for
the new Barker’s
Foodstore and Eatery.
He also refurbished the
former Anglican vicarage
for boutique accommodation.
Mr Barker is also keen
to further develop ascenic
walkway along the Waihi
River, which runs through
Geraldine.
From the cold, alogfire
Theideafor aclassic Kiwi
invention was born on a
snowy morning on the
shores Lake Heron.
It is aMid Canterbury
twist tothe invention of
the Kent Barker log fire,
royalties from which later
helped major Geraldine
food producer Barker’s
through some lean years.
Michael Barker, inhis
book Barker’s of Geraldine:
50 Years Preserved,
written to mark the company’s
50th birthday, said
his father, Anthony,
invented many utilitarian
things, not least a log
burner.
He said that for years
his father dined out on
how he sold efficient
wood­burning technology
to an international company,
Shell Oil.
The company which
made the log fires was
KentHeating,asubsidiary
of Shell Oil.
MichaelBarkersaid the
story began when Anthony
was 16and took his
fatherand twounclesona
fishing trip to Harrison’s
Bight, Lake Heron, in a
Model T.
The campsite was
exposed tothe northwest
and after aday offishing,
the windgot up,making it
difficult tolight afire.
In the morning there
was afoot of snow on the
ground.
‘‘There was an empty
oil drum lying nearby and
asheet of rusty corrugated
iron. Anthony remembered
an image he had
seen of anArctic woman
with ababy onher back
beside an upside­down
drum that was giving out
unseen heat.
‘‘He cut ahole inthe
drum, rolled the iron into
atube,insertedthe makeshift
chimney, packed wet
sand around it in theleeof
the tent and made afire
with driftwood.
‘‘With some heat, life
became bearableand they
were able tocook ameal
and eventually smoke
their trout,’’ Mr Barker
said.
Mr Barker said his
father became engrossed,
lying down watching the
flames and extracting as
much heat as he could.
‘‘He realised that the
more the fire was locked
in, the hotter it got and the
less unburnt hydrocarbons
escaped up the chimney.’’
Years later, Anthony
resurrected the idea, usinga
12­gallon oil drum on its
side with a clay base, a
hinged door and abuilt­in
window of fire­hardened
glass packed tight with
asbestos packing rope.
The model also had a
push­pull damper in the
chimney.
Hiswife,Gillian, calledin
Puffing Billy.
Many models followed,
and Kent began to make
the units in Auckland in
1978 and, soon after, to
cope with demand, started
making them in a Christchurch
factory. Kent continuedpayingroyaltiesuntil
it sold the business.
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz
Bowen
Timaru
mayor
Restaurateur Nigel Bowen
is Timaru’s new mayor.
He had a commanding
lead (8657) over his nearest
rival, retired businessman
Gordon Handy, who gathered
4943 votes, ahead of
former mayorJanieAnnear
(4049),Shane Wilson(324),
and Kari Mohoao (189).
IncumbentKerry Stevens
(814), aformer principal of
Geraldine High School,
dipped out to newcomer
Gavin Oliver (1288) inthe
Geraldine Ward. Behind
Mr Stevens was former
councillor McGregor Simpson
(274).
Paddy O’Reilly and longtime
councillor Richard
Lyon were successful in the
Pleasant Point­Temuka
Ward, and in the hotly
contested Timaru Ward,
Nigel Bowen topped the
poll with 9151 (but withdrew
for the mayoralty)
leaving Steve Wills (who is
recoveringfromastroke)as
the leading councillor with
7443 votes.
Also in are Sally Parker,
Peter Burt, Barbara Gilchrist,
Allan Booth and Stu
Piddington.
Missing out were longtime
councillor Dave Jack,
lawyer Hugh Perry, former
council finance boss
Michael Boorer, Ronald
Ashburton, Anthony Brien,
Stu Jackson, Joshua Newlove,
Karl Te Raki, and
Jock Anderson.
Elected
Eiffelton farmer and water
expert Ian Mackenzie topped
the pollingfor the Mid
Canterbury constituency
for the Canterbury
Regional Council, with
13,745.
Mr Mackenzie ran a
high­profile campaign and
is aformer national water
spokesman for Federated
Farmers.
Behind him was Selwyn
farmer and incumbent
John Sunckell, who got
11,563 votes.
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