The first winner

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32998, 18 August 1972, Page 19

The first winner

Canterbury had the distinction of having the first Skellerup Young Farmer of the Year. He was Mr G. N. (Garry) Frazer, of West Eyreton. Since then the honour has gone to Mr A. R. (Allen) Anderson, of the Waitotara Valley, Wanganui, and Mr Philip Bell, of Clevedon.

Garry Frazer, who is very well known in young farmer circles in Canterbury, has just recently also been selected to represent Canterbury and Westland in the outstanding young man of the year contest. Aged 29 years, Garry currently farms 632 acres at West Eyreton. He was bom at Harewood where his father was a market gardener and after attending Rangiora High School he went home to work for his father, who was then farming at Horrelville, and it was while working for his father that he started farming on his own account about eight years and a half-ago when he took up 376 acres of leasehold land which he is still farming. Mr Frazer joined the Cust-West Eyreton Young Farmers’ Club when he was only aged 15 years and has held the offices of chairman, secretary and treasurer in the club. He has also been chairman of the North Canterbury district committee of the movement and was chairman of the Canterbury council in 197071.

For four years he was on the Dominion executive

and last year was convener of the activities committee and for three years representative of the Dominion executive on the National Safety Association. He is at present junior vice-chairman and treasurer

of the Cust-Wlest Eyreton branch of Federated Farmers and some time ago he represented the North Canterbury district committee of the Yoiang Farmers’ Clubs on th<A executive of North Canterbury Federated Farmers.

His wife, formerly Janet Leech, has also taken an active part in Country Girls’ Club affairs. Bom in Rangiora and a farmer’s daughter, she has been chairman of the Ohoka Country Girls’ club and chairman of the North Canterbury district of the movement and also South Island vice-president of the New Zealand Federation of Country Girls’ Clubs.