Open/Close Toolbox
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 New Zealand License
Format: Stories
Linked To
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 New Zealand LicenseThis licence allows you to download this work and share it with others as long as you mention us and link back to us, but you cannot change it in any way or use it commercially.
Dunedin Public Libraries and the Dunedin Lebanese Community Present:
HE PURAPURA MARARA SCATTERED SEEDS
HE PURAPURA MARARA SCATTERED SEEDS
Family story of Malcolm Farry and Lyn Farry
Main details
MALCOLM – Third Son of SABA and BADIEA FARRY.
LYNORE RIDDELL – Third daughter of GEORGE and MAY RIDDELL
Malcolm and Lyn were born and brought up in Southland – Lyn in Fairfax on a farming property and Malcolm in Gore where his parents owned and operated a department store.
Lyn was educated at Fairfax Primary School and Southland College where she was a House Captain, Head Girl prefect and Dux of the College. Lyn was also a promising sportswoman representing Southland in athletics and Western Southland in netball.
Malcolm’s secondary education was at St Kevin’s College, Oamaru where he was a boarding student for 4 years during which time he excelled academically and in the sporting arena. He was a prefect, a member of the school’s first fifteen and a school House Captain. He was also an accomplished athlete and would go on to represent the University of Otago in athletics at Easter Tournament.
Tertiary education saw both Malcolm and Lyn move away from their respective homes, to Dunedin where Malcolm attended The University of Otago, studying Dentistry and Lyn to the Dunedin College of Education studying Primary School Teaching.
It was while they were in Dunedin as students that their worlds collided and that special chemistry was ignited – both recognising in the other similar values of the importance of family, a love of sport and the arts and a developing sense of social justice.
On completion of their studies, Malcolm and Lyn went their separate ways to pursue their respective careers but always staying in touch by letter or phone. Some eight years later it became obvious that they should take the next step in their relationship and in April 1968, announced their engagement. This was followed eight months later with their wedding on January 11th 1969 at St Patrick’s Basilica, Oamaru.
Following their marriage the happy couple left for an extended holiday to Hawaii, California and Mexico. This trip was also to fulfil a commitment Lyn had with the NZ Wool Board after having won the NZ Top Model contest held in April of the previous year. Her prize was an all expenses paid trip to the West Coast of America to promote NZ wool. She made appearances at up-market Los Angeles retail stores, a carpet trade show in San Francisco and appeared as an invited guest on a San Francisco TV talk show. The knowledge gained while growing up on a sheep and dairy farm in western Southland being of immense help.
On returning from overseas they settled back in Dunedin -Malcolm resuming work in his newly set up Dental practice and Lyn spending time settling into the role of homemaker and as a support person to Malcolm in his practice and to also take a assistant management role in a family business . This was made all the more pressing as Malcolm’s father had passed away in June 1968 and his mother continued, with family support, to run and operate the Farrys Motel business.
In November of 1969 their first child – a daughter – Yasmin, was born – and so life was to change for the newlyweds and priorities and social life took on another dimension. Yasmin’s birth was followed 21 months later by the arrival of twins – Gareth and Victoria. Again 21 months later, a son Damon was born and so the family outgrew their cosy apartment in High Street and a shift to St Clair was made. 16 months later Sasha arrived on the scene so for a short period of time there were five children under the age of five. Quite a handful.
Needing a larger home to accommodate a growing family, Malcolm and Lyn moved to Andersons Bay where the family lived for a further 10 years and in this time added 3 additional children to their family - Lukas, Alysha and Samara.
Again squeezed for space with a growing family – a move was made to Forbury Road, St Clair in 1984 and it is in this home that Lyn and Malcolm have lived until the present day – some 33 years.
During the years the children were growing up, life in the Farry household was pretty much centred on the day to day activities of the eight children as they progressed through Kindergarten, primary and secondary schools.
Always one for seeing where change could be made, Malcolm became involved in the integration process of the two existing Catholic High Schools – Moreau College girl’s school and St Paul’s High School for boys.
This was a process which took considerable skill and time as the physical and the human realities of merging the two schools were worked through. The working committee was chaired by Malcolm assisted by a very able group who would later form the core of the first Management Board of Governors of the new co-ed Kavanagh College – the Management Board later becoming the College Board of Trustees. Malcolm was to stay on as Board Chair for a further 15 years.
Always supporting one another and working collaboratively, Lyn assisted in the Kavanagh College set- up by designing the new co-ed school uniform which still exists today and with a core of enthusiastic parents set about putting in place the programme for school netball. Later she would chair the College’s sports committee and was instrumental in bringing new sports to the curriculum thus offering a more diverse range of sporting codes to students.
Lyn too was very active on school Boards of Trustees and was the inaugural chair of St Bernadettes School Board following the introduction of ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’. She was also heavily involved for a number of years in school netball - coaching and umpiring. For a time she was a selector/coach for Otago teams.
All eight children were good students and all have attended the University of Otago amassing between them a number of degrees in a variety of disciplines. As a matter of record this family of eight graduates hold the record for the most graduates in any one family and the most degrees for one family from the same University in NZ. The University of Otago. Interestingly however no offspring followed either Mum or Dad in pursuing a career in Teaching or Dentistry.
On completion of their studies six family members moved to other centres to pursue opportunities for their chosen careers – second son Damon lives in Tokyo where he is a translator of Japanese to English language for a number of large international corporations. He is well settled in Tokyo and is married to Yuki, a Japanese citizen. They have one child a son – Rumi, who at the time of writing is – 9 months old.
Alysha and Lukas live in Sydney where they are both married – Alysha to an ex Dunedin boy, graphic designer, Nick Blair. They have a two month old son – Sonny.
Alysha is Director of Marketing for publishing company Penguin/Random House and is taking a year out to be a Mum.
Lukas is married to Esta Lau and the couple are expecting their first child in October. Lukas is a Composer/Designer in his own advertising Agency – ‘Otis’. Esta is a TV production manager.
Victoria, Gareth and Yasmin live in Auckland – Yasmin and partner Glenn Heenan have an eight year old son- Asa. Yasmin has her own Event Management Company and Glenn specializes in Professional Art Installations and is self employed.
Victoria is married To Jeremy Sutton a self employed Barrister and they have three young children – Noah - 9, Isla – 6, and Jude – 3. Victoria has recently re-joined the workforce on a part time basis having been appointed to a position as Lecturer in the Department of Social Practice at Auckland Unitec.
Eldest son Gareth is a freelance music and event producer who until recently had spent five years in a similar role for the British Council. In this role, with frequent work visits to Scotland, he was able to learn more about the culture of the Scottish side of his heritage. A learning experience he thoroughly enjoyed.
Sasha daughter number three, is married to a Dunedin boy, Regan Bennett. They have one son – Ezra who is now six. She works at home on-line for an educational publishing company based in Auckland. Regan is the South Island Manager of the NZ Brush Company.
The baby of the family, Samara, currently lives in Dunedin and is a Payroll/Office Manager for a major Dunedin department store.
When the family left home to make their own way in the world Malcolm and Lyn continued with a busy life and pursued other interests and challenges.
Wishing to try and make a difference at the local body level, Malcolm served two terms on the Dunedin City Council. On stepping down from that position he became fully involved in community pursuits. He chaired the fundraising committee which was set up to enable the Orokonui Ecosanctuary to be established. His next challenge, a role he was asked by the DCC to do, was to come up with a plan to improve the viability of the existing rugby ground, Carisbrook. After rigorous feasibility studies were carried out it became obvious that any significant improvements would be major and costly and the finished result would still not achieve a satisfactory outcome.
Malcolm subsequently floated his vision of a roofed multi-use stadium at the University end of the city. He gathered a group of enthusiastic and competent people around him and thus begun the six year journey to the roofed Forsyth Barr Stadium we have today - opened and handed over to the city on 1 August 2011. This was a blood sweat and tears project and one which at the time divided the city. Today however Dunedin people look with pride on this, their multi-use roofed stadium – the only one of its kind in the world. Under cover and growing natural grass on the pitch.
In the Queen’s New Year’s Honours of 2013 Malcolm received a CNZM for his outstanding contribution to the community spanning a lifetime of service.
Malcolm is taking things a little easier these days but is still working full time in property, business consultancy and with Lyn, is a part owner of a fine art gallery. The couple do however spend more time now visiting their growing family of grandchildren.
Malcolm’s faith has always been foremost in everything he does and he maintains a close interest in church affairs. He currently chairs the Board of the recently launched national Catholic Tertiary Institute based in Wellington. He is also a member of the Mercy Hospital Board and a Trustee of the Foundation of the Catholic Newspaper – Tui Motu.
Lyn too stepped aside from school activities when Samara left secondary school for University and has put her energies into community affairs being a member of Zonta, an international women’s service organisation whose aim is to raise the status of women locally and internationally. She is also involved with the Sophie Elliott Foundation, is a member of the Dunedin School of Art Advisory Board, and is currently assisting Autism Otago to source funding for therapists.
Despite their busy lives – the motto of Family First always has been and still remains, paramount.
12 April 2016
LYNORE RIDDELL – Third daughter of GEORGE and MAY RIDDELL
Malcolm and Lyn were born and brought up in Southland – Lyn in Fairfax on a farming property and Malcolm in Gore where his parents owned and operated a department store.
Lyn was educated at Fairfax Primary School and Southland College where she was a House Captain, Head Girl prefect and Dux of the College. Lyn was also a promising sportswoman representing Southland in athletics and Western Southland in netball.
Malcolm’s secondary education was at St Kevin’s College, Oamaru where he was a boarding student for 4 years during which time he excelled academically and in the sporting arena. He was a prefect, a member of the school’s first fifteen and a school House Captain. He was also an accomplished athlete and would go on to represent the University of Otago in athletics at Easter Tournament.
Tertiary education saw both Malcolm and Lyn move away from their respective homes, to Dunedin where Malcolm attended The University of Otago, studying Dentistry and Lyn to the Dunedin College of Education studying Primary School Teaching.
It was while they were in Dunedin as students that their worlds collided and that special chemistry was ignited – both recognising in the other similar values of the importance of family, a love of sport and the arts and a developing sense of social justice.
On completion of their studies, Malcolm and Lyn went their separate ways to pursue their respective careers but always staying in touch by letter or phone. Some eight years later it became obvious that they should take the next step in their relationship and in April 1968, announced their engagement. This was followed eight months later with their wedding on January 11th 1969 at St Patrick’s Basilica, Oamaru.
Following their marriage the happy couple left for an extended holiday to Hawaii, California and Mexico. This trip was also to fulfil a commitment Lyn had with the NZ Wool Board after having won the NZ Top Model contest held in April of the previous year. Her prize was an all expenses paid trip to the West Coast of America to promote NZ wool. She made appearances at up-market Los Angeles retail stores, a carpet trade show in San Francisco and appeared as an invited guest on a San Francisco TV talk show. The knowledge gained while growing up on a sheep and dairy farm in western Southland being of immense help.
On returning from overseas they settled back in Dunedin -Malcolm resuming work in his newly set up Dental practice and Lyn spending time settling into the role of homemaker and as a support person to Malcolm in his practice and to also take a assistant management role in a family business . This was made all the more pressing as Malcolm’s father had passed away in June 1968 and his mother continued, with family support, to run and operate the Farrys Motel business.
In November of 1969 their first child – a daughter – Yasmin, was born – and so life was to change for the newlyweds and priorities and social life took on another dimension. Yasmin’s birth was followed 21 months later by the arrival of twins – Gareth and Victoria. Again 21 months later, a son Damon was born and so the family outgrew their cosy apartment in High Street and a shift to St Clair was made. 16 months later Sasha arrived on the scene so for a short period of time there were five children under the age of five. Quite a handful.
Needing a larger home to accommodate a growing family, Malcolm and Lyn moved to Andersons Bay where the family lived for a further 10 years and in this time added 3 additional children to their family - Lukas, Alysha and Samara.
Again squeezed for space with a growing family – a move was made to Forbury Road, St Clair in 1984 and it is in this home that Lyn and Malcolm have lived until the present day – some 33 years.
During the years the children were growing up, life in the Farry household was pretty much centred on the day to day activities of the eight children as they progressed through Kindergarten, primary and secondary schools.
Always one for seeing where change could be made, Malcolm became involved in the integration process of the two existing Catholic High Schools – Moreau College girl’s school and St Paul’s High School for boys.
This was a process which took considerable skill and time as the physical and the human realities of merging the two schools were worked through. The working committee was chaired by Malcolm assisted by a very able group who would later form the core of the first Management Board of Governors of the new co-ed Kavanagh College – the Management Board later becoming the College Board of Trustees. Malcolm was to stay on as Board Chair for a further 15 years.
Always supporting one another and working collaboratively, Lyn assisted in the Kavanagh College set- up by designing the new co-ed school uniform which still exists today and with a core of enthusiastic parents set about putting in place the programme for school netball. Later she would chair the College’s sports committee and was instrumental in bringing new sports to the curriculum thus offering a more diverse range of sporting codes to students.
Lyn too was very active on school Boards of Trustees and was the inaugural chair of St Bernadettes School Board following the introduction of ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’. She was also heavily involved for a number of years in school netball - coaching and umpiring. For a time she was a selector/coach for Otago teams.
All eight children were good students and all have attended the University of Otago amassing between them a number of degrees in a variety of disciplines. As a matter of record this family of eight graduates hold the record for the most graduates in any one family and the most degrees for one family from the same University in NZ. The University of Otago. Interestingly however no offspring followed either Mum or Dad in pursuing a career in Teaching or Dentistry.
On completion of their studies six family members moved to other centres to pursue opportunities for their chosen careers – second son Damon lives in Tokyo where he is a translator of Japanese to English language for a number of large international corporations. He is well settled in Tokyo and is married to Yuki, a Japanese citizen. They have one child a son – Rumi, who at the time of writing is – 9 months old.
Alysha and Lukas live in Sydney where they are both married – Alysha to an ex Dunedin boy, graphic designer, Nick Blair. They have a two month old son – Sonny.
Alysha is Director of Marketing for publishing company Penguin/Random House and is taking a year out to be a Mum.
Lukas is married to Esta Lau and the couple are expecting their first child in October. Lukas is a Composer/Designer in his own advertising Agency – ‘Otis’. Esta is a TV production manager.
Victoria, Gareth and Yasmin live in Auckland – Yasmin and partner Glenn Heenan have an eight year old son- Asa. Yasmin has her own Event Management Company and Glenn specializes in Professional Art Installations and is self employed.
Victoria is married To Jeremy Sutton a self employed Barrister and they have three young children – Noah - 9, Isla – 6, and Jude – 3. Victoria has recently re-joined the workforce on a part time basis having been appointed to a position as Lecturer in the Department of Social Practice at Auckland Unitec.
Eldest son Gareth is a freelance music and event producer who until recently had spent five years in a similar role for the British Council. In this role, with frequent work visits to Scotland, he was able to learn more about the culture of the Scottish side of his heritage. A learning experience he thoroughly enjoyed.
Sasha daughter number three, is married to a Dunedin boy, Regan Bennett. They have one son – Ezra who is now six. She works at home on-line for an educational publishing company based in Auckland. Regan is the South Island Manager of the NZ Brush Company.
The baby of the family, Samara, currently lives in Dunedin and is a Payroll/Office Manager for a major Dunedin department store.
When the family left home to make their own way in the world Malcolm and Lyn continued with a busy life and pursued other interests and challenges.
Wishing to try and make a difference at the local body level, Malcolm served two terms on the Dunedin City Council. On stepping down from that position he became fully involved in community pursuits. He chaired the fundraising committee which was set up to enable the Orokonui Ecosanctuary to be established. His next challenge, a role he was asked by the DCC to do, was to come up with a plan to improve the viability of the existing rugby ground, Carisbrook. After rigorous feasibility studies were carried out it became obvious that any significant improvements would be major and costly and the finished result would still not achieve a satisfactory outcome.
Malcolm subsequently floated his vision of a roofed multi-use stadium at the University end of the city. He gathered a group of enthusiastic and competent people around him and thus begun the six year journey to the roofed Forsyth Barr Stadium we have today - opened and handed over to the city on 1 August 2011. This was a blood sweat and tears project and one which at the time divided the city. Today however Dunedin people look with pride on this, their multi-use roofed stadium – the only one of its kind in the world. Under cover and growing natural grass on the pitch.
In the Queen’s New Year’s Honours of 2013 Malcolm received a CNZM for his outstanding contribution to the community spanning a lifetime of service.
Malcolm is taking things a little easier these days but is still working full time in property, business consultancy and with Lyn, is a part owner of a fine art gallery. The couple do however spend more time now visiting their growing family of grandchildren.
Malcolm’s faith has always been foremost in everything he does and he maintains a close interest in church affairs. He currently chairs the Board of the recently launched national Catholic Tertiary Institute based in Wellington. He is also a member of the Mercy Hospital Board and a Trustee of the Foundation of the Catholic Newspaper – Tui Motu.
Lyn too stepped aside from school activities when Samara left secondary school for University and has put her energies into community affairs being a member of Zonta, an international women’s service organisation whose aim is to raise the status of women locally and internationally. She is also involved with the Sophie Elliott Foundation, is a member of the Dunedin School of Art Advisory Board, and is currently assisting Autism Otago to source funding for therapists.
Despite their busy lives – the motto of Family First always has been and still remains, paramount.
12 April 2016
Family
Relates to
PeopleLyn Farry (nee Riddell)Malcolm FarryFamilyFarry familyGroupCedars of LebanonSubjectCedars of Lebanon
Malcolm FarryFamilyFarry familyGroupCedars of LebanonSubjectCedars of LebanonContributors
ContributorLyn Farry
loading google map....
Dunedin Public Libraries (21st Apr 2016). Family story of Malcolm Farry and Lyn Farry. In Website Dunedin Public Libraries. Retrieved 15th Dec 2024 02:20, from https://dunedin.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/200012