Farmer Burr with Te Puna Kindergarten pupil Hannah Pomfrett, 4. Photo / George Novak
Farmer Burr with Te Puna Kindergarten pupil Hannah Pomfrett, 4. Photo / George Novak
The children at Te Puna kindergarten rush out to greet Gordon "Farmer" Burr with a cuddle as he strolls through the gate for his daily visit.
"I learn so much from them every day," the 89-year-old tells the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
Burr has been bridging the generational gapfor years in the Te Puna area with acts of kindness. He is a highly-respected local and a cornerstone of the community.
He was born in 1930 and raised on a farm in Rotorua before his father bought land in Te Puna in 1942 for 27 pounds an acre.
Burr, at 12 years old, saddled up his horse, with some dogs in tow and made the day-ride across the Mangorewa Gorge to his new home.
As the family settled into the undeveloped area, he and his siblings would ride their horse to school every day.
Such treks were common at the time, as World War II raged and petrol was in short supply.
At the age of 21, Burr married his wife Avis and the pair bought a farm down the road. Four children later and the dairy farming family were staples of the Te Puna community.
Burr's do-it-yourself philosophy has been the driving force behind many projects in the area.
One day after milking in the 1970s, Burr was having a beer with the local store owner and hatched a plan to start a pub in Te Puna. Five years later, the doors to a community tavern opened.
This Kiwi ingenuity filtered into other aspects of his life.
Burr built his home from the pinewood off his land and created a successful dairy farm and orchard from the ground up.
The couple's generosity also flourished.
An avid fisherman, Burr would take fresh fish to the Waipuna Hospice for the patients. His wife Avis, known for her exceptional cooking, would also regularly cook for the hospice too.
Farmer Burr and the Te Puna kindergarten. Photo / George Novak
When the local Scout group was struggling for a place to meet, Burr raised his hand for the new hall to be built on his land free of charge.
A few years later, a group of parents approached Burr to see if they could convert the hall into a local kindergarten. He and Avis were thrilled.
The kindy quickly became popular and head teacher Paula Osborn made sure the children to meet their friendly neighbours.
Burr opened his land entirely to the kindergarten and became known by the children as "Farmer Burr".
Two to three times a week for almost a decade, children would make the walk up to the farm.
The farm was the perfect environment for the tots to learn with 110 fruit trees, a small stream, a herd of sheep and space to explore.
The children raised lambs, feeding them every day, before eventually getting them shorn and having local yarn makers make their wool which was then knitted into jerseys for the children's' dolls.
Over the years, the kids climbed and picked fruit trees and harvested their own kumara and potatoes on Farmer Burr's land.
The drawcard of this was that they also got to eat all the lovely fruit and veg they had helped grow.
Farmer Burr getting cuddles from Pippa Staple, 4 (left), and Hannah Pomfrett, 4. Photo / George Novak
Burr let the children play in the sprinkler and nearby stream on a hot day and gave them magic carpet rides on the back of his ride-on lawnmower.
"Kids do what kids do, and I love seeing it," he says.
When the kindergarten was being renovated, Burr allowed them to set up a marquee on his property for a term.
Osborn said the children were blessed to have Farmer Burr who had "gifted them so much knowledge".
She said the relationship had also taught the children about giving and taking.
Devastatingly, Burr lost his wife five and a half years ago and the kindergarten got right behind him, taking him cooked meals every day for an entire term.
The children also regularly helped load up his wheelbarrow of firewood and take it to his front door.
As his wife Avis was a keen florist and adored the children, a vibrant flower garden was set up on the farm, where the children learn about insects and plants.
Burr said it always got him emotional when he would be in the supermarket and hear a child yell "Farmer Burr".
At 89 years old, Burr still visits the kindergarten every day and is always greeted with cuddles from the children.
Osborn said it was crucial for the children to also learn about the "intergenerational gap" and that Farmer Burr would walk slower and sometimes have trouble hearing them.
She said there was one young girl at the kindergarten who wore hearing aids like Farmer Burr and that always made her feel special that he struggled to hear too.
Burr, whose good deeds this week starred on TV1's Good Sorts, says he wouldn't change anything for the world.
