Manawatū Conversations

John Hornblow, Part 1 of 2. First elected in 2001 after some previous attempts. Attitude towards the staff. Perspectives as deputy mayor. A big flood. Local Maori. City as a distribution hub and public sector activity in PN. Recognizing local war dead. Windfarms. Recycling. Events and festivals. Parks and Reserves. Sister City Missoula, Montana.

Ross Cassells Part 3 of 3. Leaving DoC. To Massey University to do development studies. Different perspective in the social sciences. Fieldwork in the Solomon Islands. Living in a leaf house. Pidgin English. Experiencing the local culture and knowledge. Mosquitos. Masters Thesis comparing commercial and subsistence forestry. High subsistence value of forests. Use of funds from commercial forestry.

Ross Cassells Part 2 of 3. Transition from NZ Forest Service to DoC. Setting up a DoC district office. Recreation facilities, tracks, huts. The Manawatu Gorge track. The Rangiwahia hut. Scenic reserves. Old man’s beard. Birds and predator control. Pros and cons of restructuring. Mishandling pine forests.

To Palmerston North in 1985, a forester with NZ Forest Service. Description of training and type of work. Living in forestry huts. Erosion. Effects of deer and possums. Importance of undergrowth in indigenous forests. Management plans. Introduction of computers. 1985 restructuring, Ross moved to Department of Conservation. Resources forester. Sand dune forests. Riparian buffer zones. [Forest clearing, alternative approaches, machinery]

Ivan and Muriel Allott, part 2 of 2. Recollections of Compulsory Military Training. Badminton at Ohakea. Social activities. Barracks. Hearing a Wurlitzer organ in Auckland. Under 21, so no drinking (officially). Allowed home at weekends. Issue and care of uniforms, developing good habits. Social mixing. Military service for young people now? QEC’s service academy. Benefits of CMT. No assault courses. No non-military service options. Ivan’s pharmacy apprenticeship. How he chose pharmacy.

Ivan and Muriel Allott, part 1 of 2. Ivan’s Compulsory Military Training experience in 1957, final intake. 14 weeks in air force. Had been in Air Training Corps at PNBHS. Choice of a trade after initial square bashing. Great air force food. Chose medical trade option. Hobsonville for initial training, then Ohakea. Description of the barracks. Aircraft - Vampires and Devons. Testing for diabetes. Training disrupted by the 1957 flu epidemic, several cases at the air base. Treating people for flu.

An oral history interview looking at the past and present of Palmerston North and the Manawatū, produced by Manawatū People's Radio with the support of New Zealand On Air.

Listening to the radio in the 1950s. Aunt Daisy, Children’s Hour, Lone Ranger. Reception problems. 2ZA locally, Garners and shopping reporters. Song requests, hit parades. In the Bag, Selwyn Toogood. Wedding announcements. Housewives listening to radio. Local participation. Crystal sets. Tangiwai disaster radio coverage. Crime serials in evenings, Randy Stone. Sport coverage. News bulletins. Valve radios. Listen with Mother. Reception issues. Teenagers and music. Overseas music.

Ross Allen Part 2 of 2. Joined the railways in 1963. Shunting and local trips. Got boiler ticket, then fireman’s ticket. In Woodville to 1969, trips as far as Wellington, diesel. Goods carried, including stock. A bull in a wagon. Delivering petrol in drums. Switch to diesel engines. Maintaining train wheels. A fireman on a diesel train. Became a train driver. How to drive a train. An incident with a train load of lucerne. Air brakes, “charging up” the wagons. Birds nesting in the engine.

Ross Allen Part 1 of 2. Born in Otaki maternity home. To Foxton when 6 years old (1951). Father’s work and health problems. Life in Foxton in 1950s. Early interest in trains. Grandfather was a stationmaster. Staff leaving railways in 1950s. Shiftwork. Working in Woodville. Getting steam up in an engine, steps in the process. Using wood and coal. The railway in Foxton. Flax carpets.