HistoryThe children of Thomas and Jan Telford of Otanomomo had no heirs. Four of their children never married, and while their son William married Nettie Hay, the couple never had any children. William and Nettie took over the family farm in 1927. When William died in 1947, he left the farm to the government for the purpose of breeding Romney sheep and Hereford cattle with the remainder of his money to be spent on medical research. The government refused to accept the property under these conditions which left its future uncertain. At the time, the South Otago Agricultural Committee was looking to establish a farm training institute. The group approached William’s sisters Miss Doris and Miss Jane Telford to suggest the land be used as an agricultural training facility and so the pair offered the property to the government for the purpose of establishing a farm institute. Again, the government refused.
By this point, the South Otago Agricultural Committee decided to take matters into their own hands. They rallied the South Otago community and wider farming sector to raise funds and provide support for the establishment of a farm training institute based at the Telford property. Several large contributors included the Dunedin City Council, Freezing Companies throughout NZ, and local farmers.
The Telford sister’s solicitor, Mr Norman Allan, took legal action to alter the will of William Telford and the sisters offered the land, stock, and plant to the Committee on the condition they receive the small amount of £3,000 annually for the remainder of their lives.
The Telford Farm Training Institute took over the Telford family farm in April 1964. Since then, the Institute has continued to provide agricultural education for those looking to enter the farming industry. In 1990 the Institute became a Polytechnic, and in 2011 merged with Lincoln University. As of 2019, Telford is a campus of the Southern Institute of Technology.
