The Gentle Annie Family Story

Ellen came to New Zealand to work as a primary school teacher from Ithaca in Upstate New York in

1974. She took up teaching in South Auckland when she met Phil in his hometown working as a Parks

and Recreation employee for the Auckland City Council. After completing a years teaching, they moved

to the South Island so that Phil could continue his Park Management training at Lincoln College. It was

there they decided their future lay not in city life, but in the countryside, so they headed to

Norther Buller, an area that had fascinated Phil during his years at Lincoln College.

The Gentle Annie property became home in 1976. With its warm microclimate and Phil’s background

knowledge in horticulture, the couple endeavoured (while raising a family of four children)

to make a living from the land and be as self-sufficient as possible.

The horticulture business developed into a 16,000 square foot greenhouse operation growing Winter

Tomatoes and Babaco fruit. In May of 1984, the glasshouses were destroyed by a twister that swept

ashore from the sea.

A need to replace their livelihood became necessary, which coincided with the adjoining dairy farm

coming up for sale. After a couple of interesting years dairy farming, the herd was sold, and their

focus turned toward tourism. With Phil’s background in landscape design and recreation, he developed

a full size 9-hole golf course, many holes of which can still be made out when wandering the property.

The Cowshed was converted into a snack shop for the golf course. After a few years it became

apparent that the golf course was costing too much to maintain, and at the same time, the

Cowshed was becoming a popular restaurant. The turning point came when a violent flash flood

destroyed much of the lower portion of the golf course.

The Cowshed Restaurant was run by the family hosting weddings, functions and daily trade from

1990 – 2000. The holiday accommodation was developed step by step to where it is now able to

accommodate up to around 50 guests. The addition of the camping ground has enabled many others to

enjoy this beautiful place.

From 2001-2018, the Cowshed Cafe was leased to talented people, who have offered a variety of

cuisine during each Summer Season.

For the last 7 years, Jesse and Jessica with a wonderful team have been running the Cowshed Cafe.

Come to Gentle Annie and tell us your story – we’d love to get to know more about you!