Farming, recording and protecting South Canterbury’s history
1896–1989
At Blue Cliffs Station, near St Andrews, Airini Elizabeth Woodhouse learned work that was rarely expected of girls from her generation. She helped with mustering and stock work, learned to class wool from her father and developed the farming knowledge she later used to manage the property.
Airini was born Airini Elizabeth Rhodes in Dunedin on 8 November 1896. Her father was Robert Heaton Rhodes of Blue Cliffs and her mother was Jessy Bidwill. Airini grew up at Blue Cliffs, was educated mainly by governesses and spent 1913 as a weekly boarder at Craighead Diocesan School in Timaru.
She married Philip Randal Woodhouse in 1921. Although trustees required a male manager for Blue Cliffs, Airini remained an active participant in the station’s operation. She classed its wool, bred Red Poll cattle and became one of the first women in New Zealand approved to judge stock at an agricultural show. During the Second World War, while Randal was serving elsewhere, she managed Blue Cliffs herself.
In 1969, the New Zealand Wool Handling Committee registered Airini as an owner-classer. This made her the first woman in New Zealand granted the right to apply the official Kiwi brand to wool she had classed.
Airini also spent decades researching and writing. Her books recorded the histories of Blue Cliffs, Otaio, the Rhodes and Bidwill families, rural life and women’s experiences. She served on the South Canterbury Historical Society committee, chaired the South Canterbury Centennial History Committee from 1954 to 1960 and led the regional committee of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust from 1959 to 1975.
During the late 1950s, it was reported that Airini and Randal also campaigned for the preservation of Māori rock drawings in South Canterbury, working with museum specialists.
Airini received the Queen’s Service Medal in 1981 and died in 1989. Her impact can still be seen in the farming records she helped establish, the histories she wrote and the heritage organisations she sustained.
Read the existing WuHoo story: Airini Woodhouse The Countrywoman Who Shaped South Canterbury’s Story
Sources
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Airini Elizabeth and Philip Randal Woodhouse
Supports her identity, childhood at Blue Cliffs, education, farming, cattle judging, wartime management, writing, committee work, owner-classer registration and QSM.
Aoraki Heritage Collection: Airini Woodhouse
Confirms her alternative name, Blue Cliffs connection and work as a farmer, volunteer and historian.