A picnic in a paddock with a Hollywood star and 140 special guests has benefited Dunstan Hospital.

The event at Sir Sam Neill’s Two Paddocks vineyard was a celebration of wine and good food for all of its wine club members, but also turned into a fundraiser as well.

The Two Paddocks Posh Picnic raised $35,300 and Sir Sam matched it dollar for dollar.

He personally presented Dunstan Hospital chief executive Hayley Anderson with the $70,600 donation yesterday.

“This is something close to my heart, particularly as they have been very good to me here recently when I needed some pastoral care.”

The Two Paddocks Posh Picnic in Earnscleugh with 140 guests from its wine club. 

Sir Sam said he was aware staff in the health sector were overworked and underfunded, “and that’s why we are doing our little bit to help.”

“And I want this to be a reminder to the wider community about how important this place is.”  

He said Dunstan Hospital services were vital and central to the community, and the work was challenging and onerous, also exacerbated by an increasingly aging population.

“People not only get old but come here to get old,” he said of the Central Otago district, “and I count myself as one of them.”

Sir Sam was diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma - a form of blood cancer - in 2022, and underwent chemotherapy treatment after his cancer diagnosis.  

When asked how his health was he said “remission was a wonderful thing.”

People enjoying the posh picnic who came from as far away as The United States and Singapore to be involved. PHOTO: Anda Bulgakova from BrandStories 

The 77-year-old has been in many leading roles in both dramas and blockbuster movies and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1991 for his services as an actor.

At the 2007 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM).

When knighthoods were returned to the New Zealand royal honours system in 2009, those with DCNZM or higher honours were given the option of converting them into knighthoods. 

Sir Sam chose not to, saying at the time the title of Sir was "just far too grand, by far,” according to Wikipedia.

However, in June 2022, he accepted redesignation as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Hayley said she was incredibly grateful for the donation to the hospital, and an announcement would be made about where it would be used, in due course.

“Health is tough and good news doesn’t come along every day, so when it does and to this extent, this gift is a significant one.”

She said Dunstan Hospital was an incredible place, and reiterated Sir Sam’s sentiment “we don’t realise how important our health and services are until we need them.”

The hospital had a significant range of services that many people were not always aware of, and 85 per cent of people were able to be treated onsite at Clyde.

“We are facing significant financial headwinds and they will continue, and every day we’re thinking about how can we deliver more, fund more, and how can the community can support us.”

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