Thursday, March 28, 2024

FROM THE RIDGE: Charming, humble man knew how to have fun

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We have just had a very sad and sombre day here in Hawke’s Bay. More than 1000 people gathered last Wednesday at the Hawke’s Bay A&P showgrounds to farewell Renata Apatu.
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Ren died as a result of a helicopter accident on his beloved Ngamatea Station, halfway along the Napier-Taihape Road or Gentle Annie as we call it.

Ren’s parents, Terry and Margaret, were friends of my own parents and were great people themselves and well respected in their time.

Ren was 10 years younger than me so our paths didn’t cross until the early 2000s when he took over running that huge farm on behalf of his fellow owners and siblings Kate and Nathan.

The only interest we had in common was farming and despite Ren being one of the biggest farmers in the country running 28,000ha and me being one of the smaller ones, the issues are always the same – the weather, the prices, the outside threats and the opportunities.

One of the last times we chatted we’d both got a coffee at the same time just before Nes sold her business at the Waipukurau railway station. I asked Nes why Ren got called Ren when served but I was always dude.

“Because he’s cooler than you,” she said with a smile, much to his delight. W

We sat in the sun sipping coffee on the bench and talked farming.

And he was cool. And a whole lot of other things.

He was charming, humble and knew how to have fun. He was a great hunter and the walls at his service were decorated with trophies and many of the stories were from hunting and fishing expeditions. 

But on the gentler side he was a keen photographer and we saw many of his wonderful photos.

He had that lovely ability to be able to relate to all types of people and show them all respect. That’s real class.

Phillipa Wright who is a friend we have in common and is the wool buyer for both of us told the story at his farewell of how he made the effort to call in to her business and meet all the people there, learn their names and find out just what it was they did.

Next thing Ren, in his capacity as the chairman of the New Zealand Campaign for Wool Trust, and Phillipa fly to the United Kingdom for a wool conference in Scotland and he’s rubbing shoulders quite comfortably with Prince Charles among other notables.

He had a great passion for wool inherited from his mother Margaret and was really getting into his stride in looking at ways to restore this wonderful natural fibre to a status it deserves.

The great loss of this tragedy with Ren, I believe, is that he had gained a confidence and exuded a mana and presence that would have seen him become an industry leader without any doubt. We are thin in the leadership department so to lose his potential now is a terrible shame.

But of course, the greatest loss is carried by his family.

Ren’s wife Sally, also a local from Waipukurau, bravely spoke at his farewell. She told the delightful story that early in their relationship he told her his mother thought he should marry her. 

“I love your mother but it’s your decision” she answered. 

And then she waited a month thinking she’d blown it before he made a romantic proposal.

Sally, Angus, Olivia and Greta will miss Ren terribly but, as we saw at his funeral, have the support of many good family and friends to help get through this terrible ordeal.

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