Speaker Biography - Christine Fernyhough

Christine has been a teacher, business woman and educator - co-founding, with Alan Duff, the hugely successful ‘Books in Homes' programme and then the Gifted Kids Programme. Following the death of her husband John Fernyhough in 2002, she purchased the historic and breathtakingly beautiful Castle Hill Station, near Porters Pass in Canterbury.

Castle Hill is a difficult farm to run - rainfall 1100 mm, altitude from 700 - 1300 m with a short growing season from late October until early December. Castle Hill is a ten thousand acre high country farm running 7,000 su - Merino sheep, Angus and Hereford cows and Red deer. Christine and her husband John have a finishing block at Sheffield. This farm - Glenrowan - runs Perendale sheep, finishes some stock from Castle Hill and operates as a dairy grazing unit.

Christine speaks up for the high country community: the misconceptions held by those who live in the city about farming and farmers, the fact that changes to the Correspondence School system make it difficult for isolated rural families to educate their children these days, land tenure review, the loss of production off and the issues of pest and weed control within the Department of Conservation's vast estate, the question of public access, how to manage Merino with the loss of the ‘tops' and the debates around irrigation and conversion to dairying debates.

In 2007 Christine wrote with Louise Callan The Road to Castle Hill: A High Country Love Story.  This title was Bookseller's Choice for 2008 and has sold over 30,000 copies. In 2009 she wrote Ben and Mark, Boys of the High Country - aiming to bring a greater understanding for city kids of life in the country.

In 1999 Christine was awarded a Queen's Honour ONZM for services to education and the community.