Paul Williams has become the third member of his family to serve Angus New Zealand and he’s ready to do his bit.  

Turihaua Station in Gisborne has been in the Williams family since 1897 and Turihaua Stud is the oldest Angus stud in New Zealand and Australia, having been managed by five generations of the Williams family on the same property for over 100 years.  

Paul and his wife Sarah are the stud’s current custodians, running it under Turihaua Station Ltd, independently from the family group. 

Paul, the youngest of three siblings, is well aware of the contribution that family members have made to the association and the Angus breed over successive  generations.  

“I guess it’s part of our DNA as a family, with the history we’ve got and the way we’ve built our herd and our business,” he says.  

“Equally, we want to be in it for the right reason, seeing the betterment of the breed, and we’re happy to put our time forward in order to do that – and contribute where we can.”  

Paul says he and Sarah are “running on our own steam” with land and livestock after the conclusion of a lengthy succession process. Paul had an initial look at Angus New Zealand governance after being invited to sit in on a couple of board meetings over the past 2 years. He also completed a governance course run by independent director, Kendall Langston. “That really inspired me to probably take the next step in my governance career.”  

He says it felt like the right time to put his name forward, especially with a few things now settled, such as the farm succession. ‘When I commit to things I like to commit 100 per cent and I want to make sure I can do that with my role.”  

Paul joined the Angus New Zealand Wairarapa ward tour recently and there’s a lot of positivity in the breed, he says. “I’m really excited actually to have an opportunity to represent the membership, take the breed forward and help to complete the long-term vision set out by the board a year or two ago.”