A Tauranga couple are planning to gift to the nation their extensive dry stock and forestry farm they have spent 54 years developing, because they can't bear the thought of it being cut up for lifestyle blocks or housing.

David and Cloie Blackley want to be sure the 180 ha Summerhill Farm in the Papamoa Hills remains a green belt on the city fringes in perpetuity.

'Our daughters all have their own businesses and when we pass on they would have little option but to sell the land and none of us want that to happen,” says David.
The unconventional and extremely generous gift is typical of the Blackley family, who for many years has opened parts of Summerhill to the public for tramping, horse riding, BMX and mountain biking. It is also home to the Summerhill A1 Academy youth leadership programme and Hands on Farming Scheme, which aim to give young people life skills and introduce them to farming as a career option.
Central to many of the activities on the farm is the Mongolian ger David built. The round structure is based on the ‘tents' used by nomads but has a permanent raised central fireplace, and is used to hold meetings and workshops.
Under the gift arrangements the property, which recently featured on TV One's ‘Country Calendar', will continue as a working farm, grazing sheep and cattle and growing a range of exotic timber trees.
David and Cloie will retain a portion of land on which their home sits and continue to enjoy the extensive views of Tauranga, Papamoa and the ocean out to Mayor Island which captivated David when he first saw the farm in 1959.
After making a flying visit to view the property in his Auster Alpine aircraft, David returned to Wairoa to tell Cloie he had purchased the 460 acre farm with 'the house is worth a match”, the land run being down but the views were stunning.
'I could see she wasn't that excited about going to live in a revolting house on a broken down farm,” says David. But 54 years on the couple are still enjoying the views from the home they built at Summerhill – and the property has increased in size and is far from run-down.
Today roughly half is in forestry and the rest is used to raise Romney sheep and Angus cattle. The Blackley's vision is that Summerhill, which is bordered by the Papamoa Hills Regional Park, will continue to be a recreational and farm education resource for the Bay of Plenty.
David and Cloie and their daughters derive much pleasure from the land they have spent so many decades farming and developing; and they want others who wouldn't normally have that opportunity to be able to enjoy the outdoors too.