A Tribute to Dr Stan Pardoe, from Whāngārā Farms

Here at Whāngārā Farms, we measure time not only in seasons and stock units but in the people who steady the helm when the weather turns. For us, one of those steadying hands has been Papa (Dr) Stan Pardoe - Manutuke-raised, Te Aute-schooled and kaitiaki who has given decades of service to our whenua and our people. As Stan retires from formal roles with us this year, we offer this dedication in deep gratitude and aroha.

As the representative for Pakarae A & other blocks on our Whāngārā Farms Board, including service as Deputy Chair, he helped shape the early architecture of Whāngārā Farms partnership and held fast to a vision that balanced commercial performance with whakapapa obligations. He brought the calm of experience to the table, the patience to listen, and the courage to make calls that would stand the test of time.

He has always been a builder of knowledge. In 2019 he authored “Pakarae: An Historical Report”. In recent years he has continued this work of remembrance with writing that protects the names and narratives of our communities. These are bridges between generations, crafted by a scholar who understands that prosperity is cultural as much as it is financial.

In 2023, Stan was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi for his contribution to Mātauranga Māori, an honour that fits the quiet teacher we have relied upon for so long. Even beyond the farm gate, he has continued to serve, including lending his steady voice to catchment planning for Waimatā, where the health of land and water sits at the heart of our shared future.

Before governance rooms there was the life that formed him: raised in Manutuke, time at Te Aute, three decades on the handpiece and the land, leadership in rūnanga and settlement mahi, a rhythm of service that has kept him close to both the soil and the people. That texture of lived experience is what he brought to Whāngārā Farms, a farmer’s practicality, an elder’s patience, and a storyteller’s care.

It is hard to sum up a lifetime of contribution, but perhaps this is closest: Stan has always insisted that our farms are classrooms, our headlands are archives, and our board tables are places to honour tīpuna. Because of him, more of our whānau can find themselves in the landscape and more of our decisions begin and end with whakapapa.

He kupu ā mātou, from Whāngārā Farms to Papa Stan

Thank you for carrying Pakarae in your voice and Whāngārā in your stride. Thank you for the decades of early mornings, the measured counsel in tight moments, the gentle corrections when we forgot the old names for familiar places. Thank you for investing in our managers and kaimahi, our committees and our kids, until the next layer of kaitiaki could see themselves clearly in the mirror of this whenua.

Your retirement from formal roles does not end your presence here; it simply changes its shape. The bridge at Pakarae will still hear your stories on the wind. The paddocks will still hold your lessons in their contours. And our teams will keep walking the lines you helped set, regenerative in practice, intergenerational in purpose, grounded in who we are.

From all of us at Whāngārā Farms: tēnā rawa atu koe, Papa Stan.