Shiralee Dairy
Date of birth
1988
Place of birth
Biography
Ko Thomas Barnett tōku pāpā
Nō Ngāti Raukawa
Ko Mariana Rota tōku māmā
Nō Ngāti Whakāue
Ko Mary Edwardson tōku kuia
Nō Whakatōhea
Ko Connie Beets ahau
Ki te taha ki tōku hoa rangatira
Ko Bill Bougen tōna koroua
Nō Manutuke
Ko Rene Bougen tōnoa māmā
Ko Albert Beets tōna pāpā
Nō Motū
Ko Ken Beets tōku hoa rangatira
Connie was born in Rotorua Hospital October 1948, her parents were Thomas and Mariana Barnett nee Rota. She travelled every day by bus to attend Waiohau School before she and her family moved to Kiorenui Village, just out of Murupara town. There she attended Murupara School, then Rangitahi College until leaving school. At 17 she moved to Rotorua where she started work at the telephone exchange before moving to Auckland in 1968 where she worked at a shoe company for about seven years and had her first child. In 1976 she met Ken Beets who was working for the Rescue Fire Service at Hamilton Airport. He was good mates with her Uncle Ken. They married on the 15 July 1977 and later that year had their daughter Irene. Soon after they moved to Gisborne and in less than a year their son Daniel arrived. Ken found work at the Gisborne Rescue Fire Service at the Airport working there until redundancy. On May 13, 1988 he and Connie bought the Shiralee Dairy in the Kaiti Mall and have owned and operated it for the past twenty-six and a half years. The selling of their dairy in November of this year marked the end of an era for them and a lot of their regular customers. The new owners have now taken over. Ken and Connie have met some lovely people through the shop and sadly have seen a lot depart this world as well. Over the years they have formed some long lasting friendships and before retiring were serving the grandchildren of their first generation of customers. For almost three years they ran the "Good Manners" award for children from Kaiti and swear they had the most well-mannered children in Gisborne coming to their shop. The winning child would receive a free chocolate dip ice-cream at the end of the week. If Ken and Connie knew a child's birth date they were sure to receive a free ice-cream. This great couple have many stories to tell about people they have met, including the unofficial mayor of Kaiti, Hemara Donnelly who, they say, spends more time mowing the concrete than the lawn. They tell of how Meng and Richard Foon were great landlords to them. three of their workers have stayed on at the shop. One of them being Tracy McDonald who is the longest staff member to date, starting when she was only 14. The Kaiti Mall has changed a lot over the years, there was a huge field on the other side of the Fish n chip shop, and then slowly buildings started popping up all around. An alleyway between the TAB and the Fish n chip shop was for the people living behind the mall, but as time went by the it was considered unsafe and removed. However, Ken and Connie allowed people to come in by the back door so they didn't have to walk all the way around, especially the older folk. Ken used to deliver goods to their customers who were unable to get to the shop. They say they have been lucky in their time as shopkeepers with only a few serious incidents in the shop.What they will miss the most is the people and the friends they made, including those who came through the back door, such as sales reps and delivery people. They have enjoyed their time as shopkeepers but now it is time for someone else to take over. They plan on spending their retirement with their children and especially their grandchildren and having a well-earned rest. In closing they wish Maninder, Paul and Sati all the best and thank all their loyal customers and everyone who helped make their business such a success.
accessed 22/09/2022 from: https://issuu.com/issu-trial-etp/docs/dec2014/13
Nō Ngāti Raukawa
Ko Mariana Rota tōku māmā
Nō Ngāti Whakāue
Ko Mary Edwardson tōku kuia
Nō Whakatōhea
Ko Connie Beets ahau
Ki te taha ki tōku hoa rangatira
Ko Bill Bougen tōna koroua
Nō Manutuke
Ko Rene Bougen tōnoa māmā
Ko Albert Beets tōna pāpā
Nō Motū
Ko Ken Beets tōku hoa rangatira
Connie was born in Rotorua Hospital October 1948, her parents were Thomas and Mariana Barnett nee Rota. She travelled every day by bus to attend Waiohau School before she and her family moved to Kiorenui Village, just out of Murupara town. There she attended Murupara School, then Rangitahi College until leaving school. At 17 she moved to Rotorua where she started work at the telephone exchange before moving to Auckland in 1968 where she worked at a shoe company for about seven years and had her first child. In 1976 she met Ken Beets who was working for the Rescue Fire Service at Hamilton Airport. He was good mates with her Uncle Ken. They married on the 15 July 1977 and later that year had their daughter Irene. Soon after they moved to Gisborne and in less than a year their son Daniel arrived. Ken found work at the Gisborne Rescue Fire Service at the Airport working there until redundancy. On May 13, 1988 he and Connie bought the Shiralee Dairy in the Kaiti Mall and have owned and operated it for the past twenty-six and a half years. The selling of their dairy in November of this year marked the end of an era for them and a lot of their regular customers. The new owners have now taken over. Ken and Connie have met some lovely people through the shop and sadly have seen a lot depart this world as well. Over the years they have formed some long lasting friendships and before retiring were serving the grandchildren of their first generation of customers. For almost three years they ran the "Good Manners" award for children from Kaiti and swear they had the most well-mannered children in Gisborne coming to their shop. The winning child would receive a free chocolate dip ice-cream at the end of the week. If Ken and Connie knew a child's birth date they were sure to receive a free ice-cream. This great couple have many stories to tell about people they have met, including the unofficial mayor of Kaiti, Hemara Donnelly who, they say, spends more time mowing the concrete than the lawn. They tell of how Meng and Richard Foon were great landlords to them. three of their workers have stayed on at the shop. One of them being Tracy McDonald who is the longest staff member to date, starting when she was only 14. The Kaiti Mall has changed a lot over the years, there was a huge field on the other side of the Fish n chip shop, and then slowly buildings started popping up all around. An alleyway between the TAB and the Fish n chip shop was for the people living behind the mall, but as time went by the it was considered unsafe and removed. However, Ken and Connie allowed people to come in by the back door so they didn't have to walk all the way around, especially the older folk. Ken used to deliver goods to their customers who were unable to get to the shop. They say they have been lucky in their time as shopkeepers with only a few serious incidents in the shop.What they will miss the most is the people and the friends they made, including those who came through the back door, such as sales reps and delivery people. They have enjoyed their time as shopkeepers but now it is time for someone else to take over. They plan on spending their retirement with their children and especially their grandchildren and having a well-earned rest. In closing they wish Maninder, Paul and Sati all the best and thank all their loyal customers and everyone who helped make their business such a success.
accessed 22/09/2022 from: https://issuu.com/issu-trial-etp/docs/dec2014/13
