05 February 2025 101 year old alum looks back on a lifetime of connection to the land

Over a cup of tea from her home in Kaikōura, she shares with Shepherdess her memories of a long life well-lived.

Although the war years weren’t without their difficulties – Jill remembers petrol shortages, and her mother fretting when she wasn’t able to travel to Christchurch when Jill was in hospital – they also brought opportunities for young women. In 1941, with so many men otherwise occupied with the war effort, the Canterbury Agricultural College at Lincoln offered a six week course in farm instruction for women.

The twenty-two women who participated – Jill among them – became known as the Land Girls. They learned everything from managing and feeding animals, milking cows, driving tractors and other farm machinery and harvesting crops.

Read the full story in Shepherdess here>>>

You can also see more about the Land Girls time at Lincoln on our Living Heritage site, including pictures of Jill aged just 18, here>>>

Image credit: Nancy Zhao