Nowadays, grandson Rob Auld builds on the capacity of this remarkable piece of land in Western Southland, about an hour north-west of Invercargill, or as he describes it "one of the best parts of New Zealand."
Harvest time at Auld Farm Distillery. Photo / Supplied
Rob and his wife Toni operate Auld Farm Distillery, one of the few seed-to-sip, grain-to-glass distilleries in the world.
They grow their own grain on-farm which is used in their single malt whisky and their "Curious" range of spirits.
Being connected was vital when running a busy farm and an equally busy distillery. Until recently, various internet providers had been unable to provide a service that met the needs of farm, family and business.
"Simple tasks of banking and emails were difficult" said Rob.
"Now we are able to do all that, plus video conferencing, streaming media ... being connected through NetSpeed broadband has enabled us to run two businesses in a rural area with no limitations of connection reliability or speed. It's fantastic"
The Auld family used the internet for everything, from work and relaxation, to learning and communicating with family said Rob.
"[We use it for] online business meetings through to kids watching movies online."
No broadband connection would have practical and financial impacts for the distillery, due to its relatively isolated location said Rob.
Listen to Jamie Mackay's interview with Heather from NetSpeed on The Country below:
"For us, no rural broadband connection would mean having to have an office in town, splitting continuity of the team within the businesses and adding extra expense."
"We run Auld Distillery's online media and website all from the farm".
With a NetSpeed broadband connection, Rob Auld gets to live and work in what is commonly known as "The Heart of Western Southland" paving the way for generations to come.
Auld Farm Distillery's website said it embodied "The Spirit of Explorers" and catered to those "who want to discover what lies off the edge of the map. The ones who ignore the boundaries"
