Newspaper Article 2015 – Kereru a moreish treat

Kereru a moreish treat

A colourful 229-page history of one of Hawke’s Bay’s oldest sheep runs was launched last month. Deputy editor Mark Story reviews Mary Shanahan’s book, which is fast gathering local acclaim.

REVIEW
Kereru Statlon – Two Sisters’ Legacy
By Mary Shanahan
Photos by Grant Sheehan
Phantom House, $65

THIS is a lavish read. The stellar photography alone is a triumph – it’s a work that could easily hold its own as a collection of landscapes. Photographer Grant Sheehan has captured pastoral images that render the book nothing less than a moreish treat.

But it’s much more than a visual success.

Author Mary Shanahan details the highly readable trials and triumphs of siblings Ruth Nelson and Gwen Malden, who in 1946 took on the historic Kereru Station plot; land that was initially “carved out of the bush” by their grandfather, J .N. Williams.

Their pioneering and unusual-for-the-day matriarchal guardianship is one of the many intriguing veins in this substantial but not overcooked 229-pager.

Of interest was the surprisingly harmonious interfacing of the sisters’ Rudolf Steiner beliefs with the more conventional farming principles of the station’s managers.

The book underscores the hard-graft of the rural vocation, the sometimes tempestuous on-farm politics, the vagaries of farming trends and the vastly different ideologies of the many managers.

As a reader it was impossible not to feel the heat of the documented droughts. Furthermore, it was easy to empathise with staff during the toil and (thanks to Mother Nature) often outright luck that befell managers on their respective tenures.

Frequent sidebars, with random yet converstional vignettes, were a welcome addition.

As was the inclusion of paintings by Malden, which personalise the text.

However, while it was difficult to put the book down, the emphasis on the managers’ farming philosophies perhaps came at the expense of their personalities.

My only other quarrels were that the station’s mighty battle with wind and rabbits was given too much ink – and the absence of a chronology was a regrettable omission.

But these weren’t deal breakers.

While a closer scrutiny of the station’s managers would have lifted the narrative, the author’s characterisation of the sisters was the exception – and exceptionally done.

After all, as the title suggests, they’re the protagonists. Erudite, old money, unorthodox, charitable and articulate, “the ladies” were well researched.

I was left with a deep regard for their pluck and compassion.

Shanahan skilfully walks the line between history and dual-biography.

For more lnformation, visit: kererustation.co.nz

Photo caption – PICTURESQUE: Gorges, streams and valleys are a picturesque feature of the historic sheep run. PHOTO/GRANT SHEEHAN

Photo caption – WINDSWEPT: Strong winds are a traditional foe and constantly test the mettle of Kereru Station workers.  PHOTO/HELEN NELSON

Photo caption – CROSSROADS: The station is at the hub of Kereru’s local community. PHOTO/GRANT SHEEHAN

One of the farm’s great characters, tractor driver-general Ray McIntosh was well into his sixties when the Merwoods moved onto the station. One day, Ray complained about an aching tooth and Vin told him to go to the dentist: “You ring up and make an appointment. Just let me know when you’re going to get it sorted.” Weeks went by and Ray still hadn’t done anything about the problem. Vin was exasperated. “I said, Ray, look, it’s your tooth, go and get it sorted. Go to the dentist.” Some time later Vin was hailed down by Ray driving a tractor with an old toolbox secured to the front. “And he stops and he says I’ve got that tooth out and he had this hole in the front. And I said, what, have you been to the dentist Ray? And he says, nah, I got it out myself. And I said, how did you do that? And he says with these.” Ray went to the front of the tractor and pulled out a pair of vice grips. “And he says, I put ’em in my mouth and clapped them on my tooth and I went like this (Vin whacks one hand down on the other) and pulled it out. And, he said, I’ll be able to clean my teeth tonight.” Ray was a smoker, Vin says, and his front teeth were badly stained with nicotine. “Old Ray comes down to the workshop in the morning and his teeth are all shining and white, and he says, I cleaned my teeth. And I said, how did you manage to get them so white? And he says, oh, I used Jif!”

An excerpt from Kereru Station – Two Sisters’ Legacy.