Thomas Samuel Kitchener (TSK) White

Interviewer: Janice Templeton

Abstracter: Lynne Grove

Date of interview: 31 May 2006

TRACK 1

00:00 Interview identification

00:24 THOMAS (TSK) SAMUEL KITCHENER WHITE born in 1917 in RIVERTON.

00:40 Grew up on a farm near bridge at ERMEDALE.

00:44 Schooling. Ermedale School until 10 years old, then moved to RIVERTON, Bridge Farm near Aparima bridge and attended the CONVENT with Fr ?F and Fr ?McGiven. Parents married at St Colomba’s Church. Left school aged 14, then ‘straight onto the shovel’ working for father CONTRACTING from GUMMIES BUSH.

3:00 ROADBUILDING. Father (TOM WHITE senior) had started contracting, building roads around Ermedale with horse-and-dray, in partnership with ?SHERIDANS. Horses pulled a grader. Describes.

4:50 Personal story. Boil on hand while shovelling gravel onto the dray. Cared for by Mrs ?CONLON. Describes.

6:40 After World War Two, bought house near Gummies Bush Hall. Married VIOLET EADE (age 20) during final leave from War (age 24). Describes. ‘If I kicked the bucket, at least the government would look after her’. TOMMY born ‘nine months later’ while TSK overseas.

8:20 Returning from War on train, saw untidy people wearing ‘civvies’ not uniform. A few days rest and then back to work at TIHAKA, ‘cockies’ wanted gravel roads. Shared whitebait with war friends. Describes.

10:30 Mechanisation of contracting business. Had Ford V8 truck 1934, one of the first in Riverton. MacDOWALL also had a V8 for carting timber. Bought additional 1938 new model with profits, better brakes and ‘cut three yards of gravel at a time’.

13:10 Personal story. Driving truck up steep hill. Describes.

14:50 Contracting for Wallace County roading and for farmers. ‘Carting for cockies’ every Saturday. Started carting stock when ‘the boys took over’. Competition with ?MacLEOD. Details.

16:40 Roadbuilding at WILMOT PASS. ‘Six inches of gravel right to the top of the pass’. Details.

18:20 Personal story. Problems with the ‘diff’. TSK drove truck back to workshop. FRED BYARS put in a new gearbox. Describes.

20:30 1960s. Bought new grader and excavator. Had four trucks. Accommodation and meals. July – October. Home every three weeks. Violet ran the house and the contracting business. Describes.

22:40 Roadbuilding between TE ANAU and MANAPOURI. Good workers to drive machinery. DES WILSON and DES ?LEVEN worked their whole lives for TSK Contracting.

24:00 Pricing for Wilmott Pass contract. ‘what we do is a certain price and I just double it’. Government paid for barge transport. Worried about getting equipment across lake. Took crusher, loader and two trucks to Wilmot Pass. Excavator arrived later. Crushed rotten rock from under cleared trees. Details.

26:55 TSK WHITE company played major role in roadbuilding for farms, but if lots of clay to shift, got HIGGINS or WALLY HERON with big gear.

27:25 1970s. Boys (TSK’s sons) take over contracting. Bought farm at RUAHINE from ?LAURIE McKENZIE for $3000 for 220 acres. Rough block, gullies and trees. Only fit ‘a dozen sheep’. Cleared. Bulldozer moved logs into heap, then burn. Boys picked up sticks at weekends. Mostly sheep and a few cattle. 1100 ewes. Details.

31.20 1990s. The year Violet got ill, sold farm to DAVE CLARKE who ran dry stock and horses. Details.

34:14 Contribution to development of Southland. Water Supply and Sewerage scheme. Chaired Council that fought battle to put in sewerage.?ANDREW McKENZIE encouraged ratepayers to pay up front. Costs. Details.

37:50 Wastewater issues. Discusses.

39:05 Biggest influence in life. Parents. Made sure no family members left the Church. Sunday life. Describes

41:10 Travelled during World War Two but did not met the Pope.

41:40 Had not travelled since the War. ‘Look after your own backyard first’. Describes.

42:25 Met Violet when doing a job in the POURAKINO Valley. Ministry of Works contract guided by Wallace County, breaking boulders. Personal story - ’21 days of frost’ after War, broke roads everywhere but not there. Father took Engineer into Valley. Bridge broke, so dragged gravel from COLAC BAY. Describes.

48:50 Rotten rock from STANLEY BLACK’S farm. But people wanted river gravel then, not clay gravel. Details.

50:00 ?1954. YVONNE was a baby. Violet got TUBERCULOSIS. MONA (Violet’s sister) looked after children. Had three years away at WAIPIATA Sanatorium. Dr KIDD was Chief Medical Officer. ‘Gave her 1:100 chance of living’. Brought drug from ?Australia. Describes.

53:30 Letter and then visit to Waipiata to talk to Dr Kidd. Visited every three weeks. Describes.

57:00 Tuberculosis treatment. Violet brought home by a friend ‘good as gold’. Describes.

58:40 More children born TONY, BERNARD, KEITH and KENNETH, JOHN and JOE, THERESE.

59:55 Moved to Milton Street, Riverton. Bought Dodds’ place first. Describes. Then Frews’ house on current section by auction. No hot water. New plans drawn up. 16 acres. Describes.

1:04:20 Violet wanted new house ‘before you buy a racehorse’. New house cost $40,000. Four bedrooms. Describes.

1:05:50 Most traumatic time. Took racehorse to ‘Charter and Stakes’ race at Wingatui. Describes.

1:07:40 Bought racehorse from JACK WHITE in OMAKAU. Describes.

1:11:30 Janice Templeton reads Riverton Lions Club Citizen’s Award citation, 2005, for TSK White, detailing TSK’s service to Contracting, Riverton RSA, the Catholic Church, Riverton Borough Council, Sesquicentennial, and interest in racehorses.

1:17:56 End of recording.