A patriotic Peter Farmer may have made his greatest mark on Tauranga by convincing the local council to erect the New Zealand flag above one of the city’s main gateways.
It took him four years to get the 6x3-metre flag installed on a 27m flagpole on the Takitimu Dr-Elizabeth St roundabout, but it has since become a local landmark. “I’ve got strong feelings about the importance of national pride,” he said at the time.
Farmer and his family have also made a strong impression in the automobile industry. Their business, Farmer Motor Group, owns and operates the biggest new and used car dealership in the Bay of Plenty.
After operating in Tauranga since 1991, the business crossed the harbour to Mount Maunganui 17 years ago. The $13 million American-styled Farmer Autovillage added a state-of-the-art 21-bay workshop, children’s play area, carwash and commercial café.
It now occupies more than a hectare on Hewletts Rd, the busiest road in Tauranga. It sells nine brands in separate showrooms on the same site and accounts for up to half of new car sales in Tauranga and more than 2000 new and used car sales annually. It is the biggest single-site new vehicle operation in New Zealand.
Peter Farmer continues to be a director of the company, although his son Michael is now managing director. They share ownership of the family firm, along with their respective wives.
Born in Wellington, Peter started as an executive cadet with Todd Corporation. He became closely involved in the car business when he moved to Auckland as marketing manager for Todd’s Nissan operations in New Zealand. After a year he formed a joint venture with Sir Colin Giltrap to create Manukau City dealerships for Toyota, Nissan and Mazda.
He moved to Tauranga at the start of the 1990s and established the well-known Bay Nissan and Bay Prestige dealerships in Cameron Rd. He pioneered all-weekend trading in Tauranga and puts his success down to a commitment to customer service.
“We tell our salesmen to sell themselves first. Fundamentally they are there to earn the customer’s trust. Then sell the business. Then get to the product. Listen to what the customer wants and not what you think you’d like to sell them. The answer to every question should always be ‘yes’,” he has been reported as saying.
As well as the flagpole, Farmer has contributed plenty to Tauranga. He is a founder and life member of the Western Bay of Plenty’s economic development agency, Priority One; a founder and trustee of endowment fund Acorn Foundation and Compass Community Trust that runs the Historic Village; board member of Waipuna Hospice; and trustee of Riding for the Disabled.
He served on the first board for the Bay of Plenty branch of the Institute of Directors and was a director of the Motor Trade Association.
He was also chairman of BayVenues, the council-controlled organisation that operates 24 venues in Tauranga including Baypark Arena Stadium, Baywave aquatic centre, Mount Hot Pools and indoor sports facilities.
When Farmer takes a break, he and his wife head to Kinloch on the shores of Lake Taupo where they have an architecturally designed, two-level home. They recently sold a 5.5ha avocado orchard and Farmer enjoys his classic 1973 Chrysler Valiant 360 V8 and 12-cylinder Bentley. But nowadays he drives around in an all-electric Nissan Leaf.