In 1859 James Gillespie Gordon purchased Clifton Station at Cape Kidnappers and six generations of Gordons have been farming the land ever since. By the 1870s, impressive homesteads were being built throughout Hawke's Bay where pastoralists maintained an enviable lifestyle. The picturesque Clifton Station homestead can be clearly seen from the beach at Clifton today.
Neighbouring Summerlee Station was established in 1923 when Colonel William Neilson purchased 5,000 acres from the Gordon family. Summerlee was named after the Neilson family steel business in Glasgow where a museum is dedicated to Beaumont 'Hot Pot' Neilson who invented the blast furnance.
Historic Summerlee Station homestead has been converted into exclusive visitor accommodation, use the following link for more details Summerlee Homestead