16 Jul 2018

Cheesemaker who fought regulations suffers stroke, dies

12:49 pm on 16 July 2018

Eketahuna is mourning the death of one of its best loved characters.

Biddy making cheese at her Eketahuna factory.

Biddy Fraser-Davies making cheese at her Eketahuna factory. Photo: Supplied

Biddy Fraser-Davies, who was 76, died in Masterton Hospital after suffering a stroke earlier last week.

Biddy was famous for making natural cheese using unpasteurised milk.

She fought a long battle against bureaucratic regulations that were strangling her business, and took her complaints to a parliamentary select committee.

At one point she was spending $20,000 annually on meeting the rules.

She won a limited victory earlier this year when the government agreed to streamline the ability of cheese makers to process the rules.

There will be a special memorial service for her in Eketahuna community hall on Thursday.

Cheese-making will cease at her family business but a model railway operation will continue.

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