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Beverly Forrester has bred brown, black and white sheep to produce clothing without using dye.
When former Warkworth resident Beverley Forrester’s husband died, she was faced with a choice – run their North Canterbury farm on her own or throw in the towel.
She took on the challenge and has since become world renowned for her un-dyed woollen yarn and garments produced from colour-bred sheep, reared on her farm in the Hurunui District.
She has written about her journey in the book The Farm at Black Hills: Farming alone in the hills of Northern Canterbury.
She says the book traces her journey between two rural townships.
“It’s about the history of Warkworth and Canterbury, intertwined with the history of the different sheep breeds which I use to make my yarn,” she says.
“It’s also about living in a rural area and what happens when you have to take over a farm. There’s a lot to learn, but you’ve got to have a bit of get-up-and-go and a glass-half-full attitude.”
Beverley grew up on the family farm on Woodcocks Road, owned by her parents Ona and Mansel Price, which she still runs with her sister Noelene Quedley. She attended Warkworth Primary and Mahurangi College, but left to become an occupational therapist.
The job took her south where she met her husband Jim, who had a sheep farm in North Canterbury.
When Jim died 18 years ago, Beverley took over the farm and later started producing her own fashion label, Beverley Riverina, named after her grandmother Riverina.
“Some things in life are irreversible. You’ve just got to get on and do and adapt to your environment,” Beverley says.
“I come from generations of farmers and I’ve kept a close connection with people in Mahurangi, so always had friends and my parents who I could ring for advice.”
Beverly runs about 400 naturally coloured sheep – a mixture of corriedale, romney, polwarth and merino.
The sheep are reared as naturally as possible, drenched with a solution of garlic, vinegar and tea tree oil, rather than chemicals.
“I always believed that if you have a garment that is natural and chemical-free then it’s better for you.”
She has six people kitting the wool into custom garments, including her sister Noelene and herself. She has another clothing line, Black Hills, providing wool with the patterns for people to knit their own garments.
The garments have featured on the catwalk at New Zealand Fashion Week and have been presented to Princess Anne, while Black Hills is sold in the UK, US and Canada.
She is still a member of the Rural Women NZ Kourawhero group and hosted a talk about the book at Kourawhero Hall last month. All of the proceeds from the book go to the Kourawhero group.
“I’m up and down about every six weeks, to keep an eye on the farm and keep in touch with friends and family.”
