• Published date: 12 April 2023
• Publication title: West Coast Farming Times, The

Some time in 1895, Fred Williams married Julia Sullivan strengthening family ties. Now two Williams boys had married two Sullivan girls. Fred and Julia had nine children, with three of their five daughters becoming nuns, such was the strength of their Catholicism

As the families and the size of the Cook Flat farms increased, so too did the local cattle's reputation. Showing foresight, pedigree Hereford and Shorthorn cattle were brought in, their progeny bringing high prices at the Addington sales.

Being so far from markets, they were determined to produce good cattle.

Once ready for market, the mobs were driven along a bush track to Gillespies, up the coast to Okarito, inland to The Forks, along a rough inland route to the Arahura saleyards. It wasn't until 1911 that track access was possible, with the road and bridged rivers opened in 1930.

Fox Glacier, as Weheka was renamed in the 1940s, was becoming a popular tourist destination. Mick Williams, a...