How times have changed since Edna Horsnell was a land girl.
Mrs Horsnell (84) recalled working on her parents' farm at Morven in South Canterbury, mostly doing tractor work.
"We never had any cabs in those days and you had to swing on a handle to get it started. There were no hydraulics in those days."
Her work as a land girl during World War 2 was acknowledged recently when she was presented with a New Zealand Commemorative Veterans Badge and Certificate of Appreciation by Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean.
After leaving school in 1942, Mrs Horsnell (nee Hayman), the eldest of eight children, worked for the railways before returning home to work for her father as a land girl.
When she joined the Women's Land Army, she continued to work on the family farm, where she stayed before moving "two miles up the road" when she married a farmer in 1948.
It was her parents, Norman and Betty Hayman, who built Waimate's famous white horse on the hill above the town in the 1960s.
The monument at Centrewood Park was built from 1220 concrete slabs as a tribute to the work done by Clydesdale horses in the district.
What was ironic was that Mr Hayman did not like horses. "He couldn't get a tractor soon enough when they came on the market," she said.
Mrs Horsnell, who always loved the outdoors, has lived in Waimate since 1982 and has been very active in the community, including serving 60 years with the Women's Institute at Morven.
It was the third presentation Mrs Dean had made to former land girls and it was a "real privilege" to recognise the contributions of women in the wars.
"We are very used to recognising men and women who went offshore and served their country. These are ones that stayed behind and served their country; that's a pretty awesome thing to do," she said.
It was a "wonderful occasion", not only for the recipient but also their family.
During the war, women stepped out of the milking sheds and kitchens and led the way for other women to follow and that was "pretty significant".