Fenton Wilson (1978-1981)

He farms a 235ha sheep and beef property with his wife Sue and is Chairman of the Wairoa Community Development Trust. He is also a director for HB tourism, OSPRI NZ ltd and a trustee for Predator free NZ.

“Lindisfarne is a good base to build the rest of your life from. Classmates from the 4 years I was at Lindisfarne now basically run Hawke's Bay – these connections and the old boy network has been hugely helpful with a range of day jobs.

I found Boarding challenging. My brother and I were called the bus kids as my parents were rarely there to watch us in sport or pick us up on weekends as they both worked to pay the un-subsidised fees. Good mates were made in this time though with weekends at other families homes. Boarding also forces you to become resilient and self-sufficient.

At school I learnt to respect your elders and work hard. Merv Monk was a hell of a role model and had a great influence on my time at school and beyond. Rowing was a cool sport I enjoyed in my last two years. The team was paramount but individually you needed to perform – there is no hiding in the 8....

I left Lindisfarne for Smedley station training farm and went shepherding/contract mustering from there. I have had a range of roles but have generally been self employed as a contractor or business owner most of my life. In latter years I have been attracted to governance roles and that is a large chunk of my life currently. I also have a range of volunteer roles and enjoy every day in the Bay.

Governance is a natural progression from voluntary roles in community groups/school trustee involvement etc. I enjoy the challenge of taking someone else’s business and growing success via board involvement. Chairing the HB Regional Council for 6 years was a privilege. Everyday has some facet of success that is worth celebrating. Positivity is a choice.

I’ve been married for 25 years to Sue Wilson (nee Gordon) and together we have three children: Alice (living in London), Jonty (old boy, Smedley graduate and shepherd on Mt Nicholas station Queenstown) and Penny (Iona College). One of my proudest moments was watching two of my kids graduate from Otago University and Smedley respectively.

To the boys at school today: enjoy every moment, play hard but fair and savour the memories. You are about to enter the real world of hard work, responsibility and more importantly consequence. Those that understand and manage consequence the best will be our future leaders.”