Waikato AgriBusiness News June 2021

WAIKATO AGRIBUSINESS NEWS June 2021
11
I LOVED THE PROCESS -
DESIGNING IT AND SEEING HOW
IT WAS GOING TO WORK, IT WAS
QUITE A TRICKY UNDERTAKING,
BUT WE FIGURED THINGS OUT AS
WE WENT. I’M REALLY PLEASED
WITH IT.
care and cafe businesses.
The cafe’s name, Front
Paddock, evokes that background,
with Bettley recalling
a time as a youngster when
he would be kicking a rugby
ball around on what was the
farm’s front paddock and the
only one not planted in maize.
Family history, as recollected
by Keir’s parents Zane
and Sheryl, takes the story
back to Hamilton’s early days
when a Bettley who was an
officer in the British army
was allocated rural and town
properties.
The early Bettleys had
two town properties. One was
in Victoria Street and was a
tearoom and a butchers, with
a boarding house upstairs.
The second was a house situated
opposite the courthouse
where Countdown is today.
The rural property was eventually
divided into three.
A great-uncle of Zane’s,
called Jack, had one portion
and ran a butchery on his farm.
It is his former land where
Front Paddock now stands.
Meanwhile, Zane’s grandfather,
Arthur, had a portion that
has now been subdivided. The
third portion was for Jack and
Arthur’s sisters, Maude, Lottie,
Mabel and Nora.
Jack did not marry, and
left half his portion to Zane’s
father, George, and the other
half equally between Zane
and his brothers Craig and
Warren.
The three brothers and
their father formed a company
in the early 1970s and continued
to run a dairy farm of
about 200 acres before changing
to cropping maize in the
late 70s.
Further change came about
20 years ago, when Transit
New Zealand designated part
of the farm for the expressway,
which virtually cut the
farm in half. The government
agency purchased about 110
acres off the company and
eventually sold back about 30
acres. Too small to be used as
a farm, the excess land has
been leased out for potatoes
and pumpkins, and for hay
and grazing.
In continuing development
of the block, about six years
ago Keir Bettley built the
home he and Carty now live
in, on an 8000 square metre
lot. Their trans-Tasman relationship
became a Waikato
one after Carty shifted from
her native Australia, initially
to Auckland and then two
years ago to Hamilton where
she is enjoying the lifestyle.
Two and a half years ago,
Bettley’s Signature Homes
then built a house for his
brother on the second of three
titles on the block of land,
while their parents are currently
building a retirement
home on the remaining title.
Its use has changed markedly,
but the block of land with its
farming history remains solidly
in the Bettley family.
• Front Paddock is open
6.30am-2.30pm weekdays
and 8am-2pm weekends.
The petting zoo is a hit
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Procuta Associates
Urban + Architecture
Contact us 07 839 6521
www.pauaarchitects.co.nz