John and Moira Kilbride.
“Whenever I’m travelling and I go through immigration with my passport, for example, it always amazes me how few people actually pick up on what my birthday is.
“And that’s even after looking at it and writing it down,” Cambridge’s John Kilbride says.
“That said, I am continually surprised by how many friends remember on the day and contact me with birthday wishes every four years.”
Cambridge’s John Kilbride is 80 today, thanks to his 20th leap day birthday. Photo: Jeremy Smith
As birthdays go, John’s is already special enough – though he reckons this year’s will be even more memorable.
Today, John is among New Zealand’s roughly 3500 estimated leapers – people born on February 29 – celebrating their first official birthday in four years.
He is turning 80, thanks to his 20th “real” birthday.
Statistics New Zealand says seven people in every 10,000 have a February 29 birthday.
John was born on February 29, 1944, in Te Aroha. He moved to Cambridge in 1960 and has been a dairy farmer all his life. He and wife Moira are looking forward to their 58th wedding anniversary in July.
The Kilbride family has planned an 80s-themed costume party on Saturday for family and friends to help John celebrate today’s milestone.
Family including John and Moira’s six children – Dave, Sonia, Louise, Paddy, Jo and James -14 grandchildren, wider family members from as far abroad as Australia and close friends will attend.
John, for one, reckons he’s got his ‘costume’ sorted.
For context, John explains the Catholic faith has been “foundational” to he and Moira’s life together since they married at Cambridge’s St Peter’s Catholic Church in 1966.
When Pope John Paul II visited New Zealand in November 1986, Cambridge’s John Kilbride was photographed with him while wearing a particular grey suit – the same suit he plans to wear at his 80th 80s-themed birthday party this weekend. Photo: Supplied
Those roots saw John helping facilitate an aspect of Pope John Paul II’s November 1986 visit to New Zealand.
John was photographed meeting the Pope in a particular grey suit – the same one he plans to wear at his party this weekend.
It might be a bit of a stretch to say John is coy about his February 29 birthday.
Though, he does concede he often simply replies “…the last day of February…” when people ask him about it.
Since arriving in Cambridge, John has “milked cows” on Marychurch Rd for more than 30 years, and played rugby for Hautapu Sports for nearly a decade.
His playing days on the field at halfback gave rise to the moniker ‘Killer’ – an amalgamation of his surname and his approach to playing the game.
He is still heavily involved at the club, and is one of its two current patrons.
Farming wise too, Moira said John is still “Mr Fix It man” on the roughly 80ha Te Miro dairy farm where they have lived since 2001.
John is a man known for navigating life with a youthful spirit, so what’s his secret?
“A big part of that is probably our wonderful grandchildren – connecting with them on their wavelength helps keep me young,” John says.
“It’s also how you relate to people.”
John and Moira Kilbride pictured ahead of John’s 80th birthday party on Saturday. Jeremy Smith
