Interviewee: Thomas Steadman (Tom) Kirkwood

Date: 25 September 2006

Interviewer: Morag Forrester

Tape counter: Sony TCM 939

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008: States he is THOMAS STEADMAN KIRKWOOD and that he was born in 1932 in a maternity home at MILTON, SOUTH OTAGO.

019: Says his early years were spent in WAIKOUAITI, on the coast north of DUNEDIN adding that he was one of a family of five BOYS and two GIRLS. (Mentions later that he was the second eldest, having one older SISTER.)

026: Replies that his FATHER was also named THOMAS STEADMAN KIRKWOOD and his MOTHER was MABEL née CANNON.

032: His FATHER’S family, he says, were also from WAIKOUAITI and talks about how his FATHER worked as part of a road gang for FULTON HOGAN before taking up DAIRY FARMING in MERTON for about fifteen years.

044: The herd of about 300 COWS, he says, had to be milked by hand so he, his BROTHERS and MOTHER were all roped in to do the work.

049: Comments that although it was not hard work, DAIRY FARMING involved long hours (from 4a.m. till midnight) and says he was punished at school whenever he fell asleep in class.

053: Says he attended WAIKOUAITI PRIMARY SCHOOL followed by PALMERSTON DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL.

072: Replies that before his FATHER worked for FULTON HOGAN, he had been a RABBITER around the SEACLIFF area. Mentions that when his FATHER bought the 200-acre FARM at MERTON (in the early 1940s) he paid about 10shillings per acre.

091: Mentions there were seven teachers at WAIKOUAITI SCHOOL and that pupils were taught the traditional three R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic). Adds that he stayed at SCHOOL until the legal leaving age of fifteen.

106: Considers that school work in those days was very different from 2006 methods – that there was no television or computers.

110: In the evenings, he says, the family sometimes played cards but it was early to bed since they had to be up early in the mornings.

126: During the SCHOOL holidays, he says, he went RABBITING and recalls the price of a RABBIT skin was 4pence (in the early 1940s).

131: Mentions there had been a SCHOOL BANK at WAIKOUAITI into which pupils placed deposits of cash. The money, he says, was spent on items such as working gear.

147: Affirms there were always “chores” to do at home such as herding the COWS and filling the coal bucket or washing dishes.

149: An evening out, he says, was a big event and usually meant going to the cinema in WAIKOUAITI.

155: Transport, he adds, was by bicycle or more likely on horseback, recalling that each member of the family had a HORSE.

160: Sport was usually swimming at the local pool or playing RUGBY football. Says he played for the WAIKOUAITI team and later for OMARAMA when he moved to NORTH OTAGO.

163: Explains that his FATHER was a RUGBY COACH and so he ended up playing LOCK mainly because his FATHER told him to.

174: At PALMERSTON HIGH SCHOOL, he says, he was an average pupil and that ARITHMETIC and HISTORY were the two subjects he enjoyed.

188: Referring to growing up during the period of WWII, he recalls the day war was declared in 1939 because pupils were given a day off SCHOOL. Equally, he remembers when it ceased because the SCHOOL bell rang out indicating war was over.

197: Listening to the news on the radio in the evenings, he says, usually meant hearing about the dead or wounded and with three UNCLES involved in the NZ military services, there was always a concern that one of them would be next.

202: States that his FATHER was exempt from being sent overseas because of having such a large family to look after.

213: Recalls having RATION BOOKS and says when he started work, he had to take his RATION BOOK with him and hand it over to his BOSS. Things that were RATIONED, he says, included butter, meat, clothing and petrol.

218: On the FARM, he adds, meat and butter were freely available and his MOTHER made all their clothes. “I wore many a pair of school shorts with a flour bag lining in them sort of style (laughs).”

225: Having left SCHOOL at fifteen, he says, he and his FATHER didn’t get on too well at work, so his FATHER found him a job as COWMAN/GARDENER on a large SHEEP STATION in TARRAS (owned by JACK LETHBRIDGE).

228: Says he worked there for about two and a half years, earning 2pounds/10shillings a week. His job involved MILKING five COWS, feeding CALVES and digging the garden.

232: Replies that it was a large property (named THE POINT) and says his accommodation was one of seven huts. He also mentions that after some time, he was promoted to TEAMSTER (the person who looked after and worked with the PLOUGH HORSES).

239: The workers huts, he says, were part of an accommodation complex and with each promotion there was an upgrade in living quarters.

255: Recalls not being too enthusiastic about the job when he first started but he quickly settled into the routine.

260: The workday, he says, started at 8am and finished at 6pm. As TEAMSTER, he had to feed the HORSES and bring them from the stable to the paddocks, drive them with the PLOUGH, return them to the stable and feed them again at the end of the day.

277: Other workers on the STATION included a COOK, a HOUSEMAID and a person employed to look after the flower gardens.

283: With his promotion to TEAMSTER, he says, his earnings went up to three pounds/week.

289: But when he went MUSTERING around OMARAMA (aged about seventeen), he says, he was earning three pounds/day.

303: The job, he says, meant getting the SHEEP off the hill country around OMARAMA, SOUTH CANTERBURY and as far as (LAKE) TEKAPO. Adds that he was one of a gang of seven MUSTERERS including ALAN DOBSON, GEOFF USHER, BRUCE ANDERSON and RONNIE HALL.

311: Replies that they mostly worked on foot rather than horseback and were spaced about a mile apart over the hill country.

322: Explains it was seasonal work over seven months in summer.

329: Accommodation was usually provided on each property, he says. There were also MUSTERERS HUTS in the high country which were used as they brought the SHEEP in towards the HOMESTEAD.

333: Admits that the high country HUTS were a bit cramped for all seven MUSTERERS at one time. But at 364, he replies that there were few arguments between them.

346: When they did use HORSES, he says he brought his own rather than use the STATION hacks which he described as “mongrels”.

356: Recalls they often had to be on the tops as day broke but the working day would be over by lunchtime.

366: While talking about how they spent the rest of the day, he recalls one occasion when they were snowed in at a hut for about five days. There was one book between them, he says, so when one page was read, it was torn out and handed to the next person until the book was finished.

371: After OMARAMA, he says, he returned briefly to WAIKOUAITI and then on to the TAIERI to work at TRAQUAIR STATION.

374: Mentions that in 1958 he got MARRIED and although he gave it a go, life as a MUSTERER did not fit with his changed status, especially when there were CHILDREN.

390: Says he met his WIFE, ANNETTE (née HUGHES), at a DANCE in the TAIERI area and that they had been courting for about eighteen months before they got MARRIED in a church ceremony in OUTRAM.

399: Replies that he sought permission to wed ANNETTE from her FATHER (as was traditional) who was a MARKET GARDENER from OUTRAM. Adds that when her FATHER retired, he took on the MARKET GARDENING business for a couple of years.

403: Their first CHILD (LYNDSAY) was born about a year after the wedding, he says, and it was about then that he had to settle in one place at LEA STREAM. However, he mentions that at first, he and ANNETTE lived on THORNICROFT STATION where he worked as MANAGER.

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014: Explains that the MANAGER’S job only involved doing STOCK work since THORNICROFT was a GRAZING RUN. Instead of an itinerant gang of seven MUSTERERS, he says, there were three permanent workers on the property.

026: His WIFE, he says, was expected to cook for the workers, including the casuals such as SHEARERS. Person recorded: Tom Kirkwood

037: Mentions they first arrived in TE ANAU in AUGUST 1963 where he was employed (by the DEPARTMENT of LANDS & SURVEY) to MANAGE the WAIAU BLOCK (one of the sub-divided farm development areas from the original LYNWOOD STATION).

043: Says that while they were at THORNICROFT, the government (L&S) took it over and offered him a MANAGER’S job there, which he turned down for various reasons.

052: Replies that the L&S pay rate for MANAGERS was thirty-seven pounds/week.

057: Adds that as the BLOCK was developed, the responsibilities of the job increased until the area was fully settled.

069: The WAIAU BLOCK, he says, measured about 5,000 acres and ran about 15,000 SHEEP. But, he says, it was cut into three smaller BLOCKS - LAKE BLOCK, STUART BLOCK and WAIAU, and later still, parts of these were subdivided into urban residential sections of the TE ANAU township.

087: Explains that initially the whole area was LYNWOOD STATION and the first area to be developed was what’s known as the LYNWOOD BLOCK. But other BLOCKS cut from the original area were WAIAU, KAKAPO and DALE.

095: As the BLOCKS developed and the STOCK numbers grew, the area was further sub-divided until ready for settlement.

098: Recalls that at one stage as MANAGER, he employed one HEAD SHEPHERD and three SHEPHERDS at WAIAU. Each SHEPHERD looked after his own area.

108: The first HEAD SHEPHERD he employed, he says was INGLE HULMES. He was followed by KINGSLEY DICKSON then COLIN TEMPLETON. The SHEPHERDS included BOB ADAMS, JOHN HEANEY and RAY COOPER.

121: When he first arrived in 1963, he says, the land was almost all manuka scrub which was cleared so that it could be turned over for GRASS SEED. Mentions that there was vitually no gorse on the land then.

133: The actual job of clearing the land, he says, was done by CONTRACTORS – as was most of the development work such as PLOUGHING, DRAINAGE, FENCING and SHEARING.

146: Explains that at first large mobs of CATTLE were brought in to trample the scrub, the heavier vegetation was cleared by tractor, the land PLOUGHED and GRASS was sown. At that stage, DRAINAGE TILES were laid especially in the swampy areas.

154: Lists some of the AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTORS as CLIVE DENIZE, CHARLIE CAMERON, AB SPAIN. BURT EGERTON and TONY ELLIS were FENCING CONTRACTORS while the SHEARERS were employed by annual tender.

169: Affirms that it took a lot of time and labour to develop the land into workable FARM units. Says that WAIAU only began to be SETTLED in 1979 – sixteen years after he arrived in 1963.

174: However, he says the timescale varied from between three and twenty-three years. It did not take as long, for example, around the LYNWOOD HOMESTEAD BLOCK because that country had already been productive for many years.

178: Some of those first LYNWOOD BLOCK SETTLERS, he said, included GRAHAM KEEN, JIM TAYLOR, and ANDY DODDS.

186: Mentions that the new SETTLERS were allocated their FARMS by BALLOT. So, he continues, there could be up to forty FARMERS with their names in the BALLOT BOX for only six or seven FARMS.

188: For seven years, he says, his name was in the BALLOT BOX but was never called. Says after the first disappointment, he got used to it: “I didn’t even bother going to the BALLOTS in the finish.”

195: While he considers it was a fair system for allocating the FARMS, he recalls that several of the L&S MANAGERS had thought they should be given preferential treatment after having worked on the BALLOTED land for many years.

199: Briefly states that this did occur on one or two BLOCKS (unidentified) after a seventh loss at the BALLOT.

203: Mentions that after losing out so many times, he decided to work on a private development of which he was one of the syndicated owners.

220: Returning to the actual development work on WAIAU, he comments that the original soil was like powdered rock which could not even produce good manuka scrub never mind pasture. So the soil had to be built up first which was done by using super phosphate and lime fertiliser. The latter, he says, came from near THE KEY – at HAYS LIMEWORKS.

235: The original SETTLEMENT SCHEME, he replies, was set up for returned servicemen from WWII and later it went to civilians.

251: Says that because it was a government-run project, money was no object for him as MANAGER. His budgeting system, he says, was to do the work first and apply for the funds afterwards. Considers that was the only way because otherwise the work would not be done.

257: “We were just here to make this BASIN into good FARMING country and I think we achieved it in the finish.”

264: Accommodation for the L&S staff was also built by CONTRACTORS: “TE ANAU had seven builders in those days.” Says they included the ROBERTS BROS, MATHESON and GREER. Like the SHEARERS, he says, they each had to place a tender for each contract job.

292: Mentions that the HAY CONTRACTORS he used included FRANK RYAN, SIMON ASPINALL and GODFREY HOODS (from TIMARU).

316: Referring again to wages earned at L&S, he says a HEAD SHEPHERD earned about ten pounds/week and a SHEPHERD earned five pounds/week.

332: Replies that most of the employees brought family with them and mentions that his eldest SON was the 16th pupil at TE ANAU PRIMARY SCHOOL (in 1963). Five years later, he adds, the population had “exploded”, mainly due to the L&S work bringing new families into the district.

338: At its peak, he says, WAIAU BLOCK had seven married couples and about five single men living on it. The single men’s camp was situated on SANDY BROWN ROAD.

348: The first part of WAIAU to be SETTLED, he recalls, was KAKAPO ROAD and included KEN WRIGHT, GEORGE O’BRIEN and GRAHAM CAMERON. The next area was along MANAPOURI ROAD.

354: Included in each FARM unit was three thousand SHEEP, thirty CATTLE, and a house as well as the land area which varied between 500 acres and 700 acres, depending on its productive quality. The SETTLER was expected to have a deposit and then pay off the rest of the value of the property within a few years.

367: Replies that there were some SETTLERS who were removed after failing to sustain their units. The properties were then returned to L&S or were re-SETTLED.

382: In total, he says, ten FARMS were created out of the WAIAU BLOCK as well as the urban development sections, including a lot of “lifestyle blocks”, such as small DEER FARMS. Adds that some of the SETTLERS later cut up their units into lifestyle blocks.

394: Comments that the land on which his house stands (on HENRY ST) ran about 4,000 COWS one winter in the early 1960s: “It was all mongrel scrub so we just put a big mob of COWS on here for two or three months, fed them hay and tramped the scrub out of it.”

395: “QUINTIN DRIVE was my boundary…and the AIRSTRIP (on MANAPOURI RD). Most of the township…down by the HIGH SCHOOL…was WAIAU BLOCK.”

403: The first houses to be built on the BLOCK were for L&S staff.

406: Tape stopped slightly early and run on to end.

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007: Reiterates that when he arrived in TE ANAU in 1963, it was the first time he had been there. Mentions that in the TAIERI PLAINS, there was something of an UPPER class and LOWER class social structure, but in TE ANAU there appeared to be none of that.

026: Physically he says it was a “western town at the end of a road”. At that time, he recalls, there were no trees, it was just scrub country.

050: Points to behind HENRY ST and says the pub (TE ANAU HOTEL) had a COW paddock there to provide milk for guests. In the paddock, there was also a shed (byre) for the dozen or so COWS.

073: Apart from the pub, he says there was a fish and chip shop which is now the WESTPAC BANK, next to which was the FOUR SQUARE grocery store. Also mentions the POLICE STATION was housed in what is now a restaurant, there was DES ARTHUR’S BARBER’S SHOP, a BAKERY STORE and LAUNDRY and the PHARMACY.

107: Recalls that the DOCTOR (based in LUMSDEN) was only in town once a week – on a THURSDAY while newspapers were delivered three times a week and bread twice a week.

119: States that three of their four CHILDREN had already been born when they came to TE ANAU, the fourth was born at LUMSDEN MATERNITY HOSPITAL.

122: Lists them as HERBIE (TERENCE) who is employed at the ALLIANCE FREEZING WORKS, CHRIS who works at the TIWAI ALUMINIUM PLANT, LYNDSAY who manages a cardboard production factory and WARREN who works on an oil rig in SAUDI ARABIA.

141: Replies that the CHILDREN attended TE ANAU PRIMARY SCHOOL and later were BOARDING pupils at GORE HIGH SCHOOL until the secondary school was built in TE ANAU (FIORDLAND COLLEGE).

152: Mentions he was a committee member and past CHAIRMAN of the FIORDLAND COLLEGE board of trustees. Says he was also CHAIRMAN of the TE ANAU PRIMARY SCHOOL for a few years, adding that three committee members from there and three from the MANAPOURI DISTRICT HIGH (which operated for the duration of the HYDRO VILLAGE) formed the first board of FIORDLAND COLLEGE.

163: Says that from 1966/67, he was a member of a SCHOOL COMMITTEE for the following fourteen years.

177: Initially, his involvement was as a result of LANDS & SURVEY requiring a representative on the SCHOOL committees.

188: Recalls that he and the first COLLEGE chairman, JIM AGNEW, pushed the authorities over plans for a secondary school in TE ANAU which meant L&S was able to retain staff in the district.

218: Committee meetings were mostly held in the evenings, but he admits that working flexible hours at L&S helped.

223: Other committee members he mentions were BOB YATES, CHARLIE CAMERON, CLIVE DENIZE and his wife, DENISE, BARBARA MURRELL, IRENE BARNES and FRANK FISKEN.

234: Mentions that L&S staff did not often visit town, so had little to do with its residents, yet he commented earlier that the department helped build much of the town’s infrastructure.

250: Replies that his WIFE, ANNETTE, adapted well to living in the district, adding that the MANAGERS’ wives developed strongly supportive relationships. Adds that ANNETTE got involved in several local committees, such as CHURCH, FLOWER SHOW and PONY CLUB.

259: Affirms that he was COACH for TE ANAU (RUGBY) FOOTBALL CLUB, as well as the NORTHERN SOUTHLAND CLUB.

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264: Says he also played RUGBY for TE ANAU when he first arrived and stopped when he was about thirty-three years old (1965). That was when he took on the job of COACH and says he was also COACH for the FIORDLAND COLLEGE team which he trained up to winning the SOUTHLAND SCHOOLS competition in 1976/77. Person recorded: Tom Kirkwood

278: In the late 1960s, he says, he ran about 350 COWS in the UPUKERORA VALLEY. Explains it was shortly after TAKARO LODGE went into receivership when its owner, STOCKTON RUSH, failed in his efforts to create an exclusive hunting lodge.

286: The CATTLE roamed an area of about 2,000 acres, much of it bush cover. Once a year, he brought them out to wean the CALVES.

291: Admits that he regularly checked out the animals to ensure they did not get too “wild and pushy”. The CALVES, he adds, were sold at the CASTLEROCK SALEYARDS and the COWS were left to winter through the bush.

311: Says he used this grazing area for about ten years until he left L&S in the late 1970s.

314: Explains he left the department for a number of reasons including the fact that he had missed out too often on the FARM SETTLEMENT BALLOTS. Adds that in one year, he worked for seven CHIEF FIELD OFFICERS, each of whom had different methods.

319: Added to this, he was approached by DALGETY’S about joining up with a syndicated group to invest in a FARM (NORTH RANGE) in the MOSSBURN area of which he was also employed as MANAGER.

322: Says it is a hill country property of about 2,000 hectares (4,800 acres) between MOSSBURN and LUMSDEN underneath where MERIDIAN ENERGY is installing power generating wind turbines.

329: Replies there were initially ten individuals involved in the syndicate, most of them FARMERS. However, he says he pulled out of the group and bought his own 130-acre FARM near LUMSDEN in 1991/92 which he held before he retired and bought their residential home in HENRY ST in 2004.

343: In the first year at NORTH RANGE, he says, he put in fifty-two miles of FENCING to create more manageable paddocks, which was similar to the kind of work he had being doing at L&S.

352: Says the syndicate also bought an area near CENTRE BUSH which is used as a finishing block for NORTH RANGE. After he had left, he says, the group bought another area around the APARIMA RIVER in the MOSSBURN district.

377: Affirms that TE ANAU is a very different place now than in 1963 and questions whether there is sufficient infrastructure planning for the new subdivisions that have been created.

Interview ends

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