Farming leader ‘saved’ Rob Muldoon
farmer, business leader b March 25, 1929 d November 27, 2022
When a teenage Allan Wright left Christ’s College in Canterbury in 1946 a teacher noted on his report that he ‘‘struggled to apply himself and wouldn’t amount to much’’.
Whether the young Wright took those words to heart is unknown, but he carved out a career in farming, sport and public life that would be the envy of most.
On leaving school, he went straight back to getting his hands dirty on the land of the family farm at Hillview in Sheffield, central Canterbury, beneath Mt Torlesse. The farm had been in the Wright family for 130 years and, after the untimely death of their father from illness when Allan and his twin brother Geoff were 8, trustees had taken over its running.
But the brothers, later joined by younger brother Ness, toiled long and hard and Allan showed an aptitude for the life working the mixed and arable cropping soil, and beyond the farm gate.
In 1949, he joined the Sheffield Young Farmers’ Club, and served as the national president of Young Farmers’ Clubs in 1958. In 1973, he won the A.C. Cameron Royal Agricultural Society gold medal for excellence in farming.
His ascent in farming administration continued. Active in the North Canterbury branch of Federated Farmers, he served as chairperson of the meat and wool section from 1967-71, and president between 1971 and 1974.
He moved up to national level, being senior vice-chairperson of the meat and wool section of Federated Farmers from 1971-72, junior vice-president in 1973, senior vice-president from 1974-76, and president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand from 1977-81.
When he assumed the presidency, farming in New Zealand was in the spotlight. The traditional market of Britain drying up with its entry to the European Economic Community (EEC). Wright had to work alongside government officials in attempting to open new markets while minimising the impact of the United Kingdom weaning itself off Kiwi meat.
Wright was at the helm when there was the ‘‘gumboot’’ takeover of overseas fertiliser company Kempthorne Prosser (KP) by Kiwi corporate raiders Ron Brierley and Bruce Judge, high-flying businessmen from the era. But it turned into a success story with the farmers cooperative Ravensdown being created.
Wright also found himself at the centre of the Otago/Southland lamb strike in 1978 when meatworkers withdrew their labour. It led to ‘‘Bloody Friday’’ when two Southland farmers drove several hundred starving stock during a drought to the centre of Invercargill and slaughtered them to underline their plight. Wright’s son Stu said his father was under a lot of pressure at the time and was due down south to speak the following day.
When Wright was taking a mindclearing walk along the Wellington waterfront the day beforehand, he ran into then Federation of Labour chief Tom Skinner. He explained his predicament and Skinner suggested they visit oftenfeared Prime Minister Rob Muldoon. The meeting produced a resolution and Wright had a settlement of sorts.
Known for his consensus style and compromise, Wright never just kept the company of National Party ministers, as many might have expected from a farmer. ‘‘Dad believed you needed to talk with people on both sides of the House to see all the issues,’’ Stu said.
After leaving the presidency, Wright was knighted in 1982, for services to agriculture, and a tale surfaced that he received the honour only because he had saved Muldoon’s life.
Wright, who was on good terms with National’s agriculture minister Duncan MacIntyre, was sharing a whiskey with Muldoon at Parliament when the prime minister began choking. ‘‘For God’s sake slap him on the back,’’ MacIntyre is reported to have told Wright, who duly pounded the PM’s back. Muldoon spluttered and then carried on talking.
Sport, especially cricket, was a great passion for Wright and he was a highly capable all-rounder, becoming the first player to post 1000 runs and 100 wickets for the North Canterbury Association.
He took great pride in captaining the North Canterbury (later Canterbury Country) team in 1967 that successfully challenged for the Hawke Cup, symbol of minor association cricket supremacy, from Manawatū in Palmerston North. He was a dedicated servant to Canterbury Country, holding most roles, and was still the organisation’s patron when he died.
He became the South Island Minors representative on the New Zealand Cricket Council in 1968 and served on the board until 1990, becoming president in 1993 and being accorded life membership.
He managed the Black Caps for a number of series, including the plum assignment of the tour to England in 1983, which provided a fond memory when the Black Caps first beat England at the sport’s spiritual home. One of the team was especially well-known to Wright – opening batsman John Wright was the son of his twin brother Geoff.
The quick-witted Jeremy Coney dubbed the manager ‘‘Sue Ellen’’, after his recent knighthood – a takeoff of JR Ewing’s wife from the popular television series Dallas.
Back then, test matches were played at a more genteel pace, with a rest day on Sundays. Wright liked nothing more than when international teams like England and Australia played in Christchurch. He would host them on the rest day as they enjoyed such activities as fishing and jet boating.
‘‘All the big names came out to our place, the Lillees, Thomsons, Marshs, Chappells, Bothams, Boycotts, Lambs, Gowers, the lot,’’ son Stu recalled.
Wright was also to the fore in the development of the Waimakariri Gorge Golf Club, helping to create the course, and served in almost every position, including treasurer for 15 years, secretary for 18 as well as president in 1982-83.
Education was another field where Wright thrived. He was appointed a government representative on the Lincoln College Council in 1973, and became chair of the council in 1986.
When Lincoln gained full autonomy as a university at the beginning of 1990, Wright became the inaugural chancellor, serving until 1994. He had pushed back against a proposed amalgamation with Canterbury University in 1988.
His term as chairperson and chancellor was characterised by significant roll growth and an increasing diversity in courses offered at Lincoln, with a consensus leadership style. He was highly respected by many of the professors at the university, given his direct involvement with farming but also the business world. He received an honorary doctorate in economics from the university in 1997.
Wright was a director of several companies including Southpower, Alliance Textiles, New Zealand Rail, the Rural Bank and FMG Insurance.
Charity work was also a forte. He devoted 10 years to working for the Cancer Society and he chaired the Cathedral Square visitor centre development in 1995, which was sadly lost in the 2011-12 earthquakes. He also helped oversee the strengthening work of the Canterbury Museum after the quakes.
A man of his community, Wright was reluctant to leave his homestead for care in the Summerset retirement village with wife June. They were married just two months shy of 70 years.
His body was taken on a final trip around the farm on the back of a ute on the day of his service, before being taken for burial in the family burial plot at Waddington. Fittingly, the celebration of his life was held at The Larches on Wrights Rd, where it all began.
He is survived by five children, Quentin, Janne, Stuart, Adie and James, and their families. – By Geoff Longley
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