21.
Farming in Eskdale
Till the soil in your head.
Carl Jung
Before we purchased our Eskdale farm we had to
apply for permission from the Department of Internal
Affairs, because of our foreign birth, even though we
were all New Zealand citizens. Such were the government
regulations with respect to anyone born overseas who
wished to own rural land in this country at that time.
Although we had bought our property In 1969 from Jock
McKay, we could not take possession of the farm till his
manager's contract had expired a year later. Finally, on
19th April 1970, we became rural landowners In Eskdale of
our own 150-acre farm. After our Inadequate and cramped
accommodation in the tiny two-bed-roomed flat In Pirimai
of the past five months, we felt immensely liberated. The
60-year-old homestead had originally been double-storeyed
with what had been servants' quarters attached. The
wooden building had suffered considerable damage during
the February 1931 earthquake, which had struck the
Napier- Hastings area with the great force of 7.9 on the
Richter Scale. It had then been rebuilt as a
single-storeyed home and now much work was required to
modernise it and make it structurally sound. It urgently
needed repiling to straighten the whole upper structure.
The washing facilities were outdoors In an adjoining
shed, so we had to construct an indoor wash-house area
and an acceptable bathroom. These were our priorities.
The only relic of the old days when servants were part of
the household, was the box near the kitchen, with room
numbers. When we pulled the cord attached to this unit,
room numbers still dropped down, but no one came to
assist us. Similarly, as we opened the front door no
butler appeared to greet us. We obviously belonged to the
new era! Naturally, we did not expect to be waited upon,
but we often joked about the stately nature of the
homestead In bygone days. We were accustomed to
self-reliance and hard work.
As we had a large mortgage on our new property, Wim
undertook two employments simultaneously. He continued as
a partner in the consulting engineering firm of Powell,
Fenwick and Partners, commuting to Napier every day. He
also worked part-time on the farm, getting up early and
also working at night after coming home from work. He
worked on the farm during the weekends as well. Wim was
now the sole breadwinner again, while I was once again a
full-time mother of six children and a housewife. Our two
eldest children Zosia and Stephen traveled daily by
school bus to attend Colenso High School, while Annemarle
completed the first term at the Taradale Intermediate
School. staying on week days with our friends in town.
John started as pupil of the local Eskdale Primary School
and Annemarie joined him there In May for the last two
school terms. I remained on the farm with our two
youngest daughters, Helen aged 17 months and Lucy three
months. I was also required to attend to lambing during
my husband's absence. I felt quite isolated to begin
with, with only weekly car trips to Napier for household
shopping. This changed after I was elected a member of
the Eskdale Parents School Committee and upon joining the
Federated Farmers' Womens' Division. Having my driver's
license was essential in our rural setting. I valued the
freedom which my mobility gave me in circumstances where
no public transport was available. Wim was appointed
secretary of the local branch of the Federated Farmers at
the second meeting he attended. Thus, we gradually became
part of the Eskdale community.
On the farm Stephen built up his Suffolk stud flock. At
13 years of age he became the youngest registered stud
breeder In New Zealand. He even purchased six young
cattle at an auction once, bidding against adults.
Apparently the farmers present had an entertaining time
watching Stephen's responses. We were told that he knew
exactly when to stop bidding, and his purchase was a good
choice. No self-respecting auctioneer would have sold
this 13-year-old boy 'a line of duds'.
In addition to the sheep and weaner calves, we had three
breeding sows with their litters of piglets, which
Initially roamed free In the paddock adjacent to the
homestead. This proved 'a real nightmare', since the
piglets were able to squeeze under fences and to invade
our home garden and the grape cuttings in the nursery.
Finally, on my insistence, these animals were confined to
a permanent enclosure.
Before leaving for school the elder children's daily
tasks Included feeding a few young calves. They mixed
milk powder with water In my old agitator washing
machine. I was usually left to clean up following their
hasty departure for school. On their return home both
boys had other farm duties to fulfill, before they could
tackle their homework. With the whole family's effort we
soon planted cattle pumpkins and got maize planted under
contract in the front paddock. We also planted poplar
trees as a means of soil conservation and arranged to
have four acres of young pine trees planted in one of the
back paddocks. We also entered a grape growing venture
and planted 30 acres of Muller Thurgau and Palomino vines
over a two-year period. We had a contract with the local
McWilliams Winery to supply them with the yearly crop.
This viticultural venture gave us no income for four
years, but involved us In a considerable expense in the
meantime, combined with much sustained hard work. Our
family worked Industriously as a team. Throughout that
busy period the older children still participated in team
sports, though transport was sometimes a problem. We were
glad, therefore, when our eldest daughter Zosia got her
driver's license at 15 years of age. This was of
considerable assistance to us.
In 1971 Wim's parents paid us a second visit from
Holland, this time In the Esk Valley. We were delighted
to have them in our midst again. I still remembered
sufficient Dutch from eight years before to communicate
with them, so there was no language barrier. After two
and a half months it was again difficult to say good-bye,
although this was made easier by our firm resolve to be
present at their golden wedding celebrations in Holland
in 1973.
Meanwhile, I responded again to an urgent need for a
part-time teacher at St. Joseph's Maori Girls' College,
advertised in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. After an
absence of two years, I was welcomed back on the teaching
staff, now to take social studies and geography. My early
return to teaching was made possible by Mrs. Johnson's
acceptance of our two-year-old Lucy with her
three-year-old sister Helen, at her private kindergarten
at Greenmeadows. Luckily, both girls adjusted well to
this new situation. I taught five mornings per week for
three hours, before picking up the two girls from
kindergarten. I gave them a prepared lunch In the car,
while I drove for half an hour home to Eskdale.
During the early 1970s the New Zealand economy was
undergoing rapid change, with Britain joining the
European Economic Community (EEC) in 1972. With that
event, our exports to the United Kingdom were now
increasingly restricted by the imposition of diminishing
quotas. This was a shock to New Zealand. which had strong
historical ties with Britain, its main trading partner.
We now needed to establish new world markets to alter our
country's trade distribution. Unemployment, virtually
unknown since World War II, became a disturbing reality
in New Zealand. while previously high prices for our
primary products were no longer a certainty. Many young,
unemployed New Zealanders started emigrating to Australia
to look for work there. In addition to this trend, it was
fashionable for young graduates to travel abroad for a
time.
For many years the National Party dominated the New
Zealand political scene. During the 'reign' of Sir Keith
Holyoake from 1960-1972. schools, hospitals, roads and
bridges were built and help was given to farmers as well
as businesses. The status quo was preserved, with only
minor changes made by public demand. The Norman Kirk
Labour Government in 1973-74 attempted to give political
expression to idealism, but the international economic
upheaval with Britain's entry into the EEC refocused the
political emphasis on economic issues under the pragmatic
National Government of Sir Robert Muldoon, which tried to
extend New Zealand exports into Asia, notably Japan, the
Middle East and to North America. Closer trading ties
between Australia and New Zealand were also forged.
increasingly, urbanised young Maori responded to a
powerful revival of confidence and an increasing pride in
their cultural heritage. They rejected the prevalent
Anglo-Saxon cultural dominance and wanted a greater
national recognition of their cultural heritage in a
bilingual New Zealand.
With increased Polynesian immigration from the Pacific
Islands, from Asia and from the European continent, this
previous cultural homogeneity gave way to the gradual
acceptance of cultural diversity in New Zealand society.
When in 1972 Britain, previously nostalgically referred
to as 'the Old Country'. withdrew economically into
Europe of which it was geographically a part, the
'umbilical cord' was cut with its former colony of New
Zealand.
The oil crisis during the 1970s and the consequent fuel
restrictions prompted the Muldoon Government to embark on
the policy of Think Big' to make New Zealand
self-sufficient In domestic fuel and hydro-electric power
needs. With this changing economic scene, and faced with
the unstable overseas market prices, the Muldoon
Government tried to protect farmers with subsidies for
sheep and by setting minimum prices for wool, meat and
dairy products.
Although our small farm made little profit, we managed to
scrape enough money from our two salaries to visit Europe
to attend Wim's parents' golden wedding celebrations in
The Hague In Holland in 1973. We planned to visit Poland
first. I had not been in Poland since our deportation to
the USSR in 1940 when I was only nine years old. For Wim
the visit to Holland was to be his first since he had
emigrated 22 years previously, in 1951. Our friends
responded most generously with offers to care for our six
children for the seven weeks of our absence overseas. The
knowledge that our children would be well cared for made
it feasible for me to accompany Wim abroad on this
sentimental journey.
There was much evidence of Communist domination and
repression In Poland which was lagging behind the
economic and technological changes taking place in the
Western democracies of the free world. My relatives gave
us a very warm welcome. This hospitality was in contrast
to the generally gloomy atmosphere In the country, the
backwardness in rural areas and the austerity of many
urban apartments. Although food was plentiful, there were
long queues for most commodities. People were well
clothed, however, and there was full employment.
In Poland there was no freedom of speech. Everyone spoke
about political repression, forced cheap exports to the
USSR, and trade virtually restricted between the Iron
Curtain countries of Eastern Europe. Most shops were
state owned and sold only basic requirements. Overseas
goods could be purchased in special shops with overseas
currency only. There was a thriving black market
operating and everyone was keen to exchange Western
currency, especially US dollars, for Polish money, at a
much higher rate than the official bank exchange rates.
For Western travelers prepared to risk this illegal,
unofficial exchange rate, holidays in Poland were a cheap
proposition. My various relatives invariably took us to
graveyards, to their family members' resting places.
Everyone spoke about hardships and the devastation
resulting from the Second World War. In spite of the
great warmth of the Polish hospitality, our visit there
was tinged with sadness.
We were glad to have visited Poland before going to
Holland, where we had a joyous occasion to celebrate with
Wim's large family — their parents' 50th wedding
anniversary. The prosperity of this Western country with
its political freedom and advanced technology, was a
sharp contrast to impoverished Poland behind the Iron
Curtain. Wim enjoyed seeing his family and old friends
again and I was glad to meet them all. During our four
weeks In The Netherlands we endeavoured to spend as much
time as possible with Wim's parents. Their golden wedding
celebrations on 24th May 1973 were undoubtedly the
highlight of our European trip.
We returned to New Zealand much enriched by the renewing
of family contacts In our countries of origin and with
many impressions to savour. We were grateful to our
friends here, who had so generously cared for our
children during our absence abroad. Soon we both resumed
our employment and work on the farm. Our eldest daughter
Zosia was now at Massey University, Stephen and
Anne-marie attended Colenso High School in Napier, while
John was still at primary school in Eskdale and Helen
with Lucy at the Greenmeadows kindergarten.
In 1974 Helen started school at Eskdale. I extended my
teaching hours at St. Joseph's Maori Girls' College. I
ceased teaching social studies to take geography and
biology at Form 5 and 6 levels, to prepare these classes
for the national examinations of School Certificate and
University Entrance. In 1975 Zosia completed her Bachelor
of Arts degree at Massey University. That same year
Stephen started a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree
at the same university, while our youngest daughter Lucy
commenced primary school at Eskdale.
Our grape production was now in full swing, but as
primary producers we were exposed to unforeseen problems.
In those days contract growers' grapes were picked by
hand, when the wineries' management considered the sugar
levels acceptable. Reliable pickers were in short supply
when seasonal labour was in great demand. Furthermore,
the McWilliam's winery's capacity to cope with the
harvests of contract growers, in addition to their own
crops, was often inadequate at peak harvest time. If the
weather deteriorated the winery tended to accept their
own crops In preference to those of the contract
suppliers. In 1975 we lost our entire Muller Thurgau crop
as prolonged torrential rain devastated the ripe grapes
on the vines. There was no compensation for this huge
loss. Fortunately I was teaching, so we managed to
survive. Soon thereafter, Wim became the President of the
Hawke's Bay Grape-growers' Association, and later the
President of the New Zealand Grapegrowers' Council, which
united grapegrowers nationwide in their endeavour to
obtain fair returns for their crops.
On the national scene, the 1,100 kilometre Maori land
march which began in Te Hapua in Northland ended at the
Parliament Buildings in Wellington on 17th October 1975.
This pilgrimage was inspired and led by the 80-year-old
former St. Joseph's Maori Girls' College pupil. Dame
Whina Cooper. Maori were concerned that out of their
original 66 million acres of land, less than 2 million
acres remained in their ownership. Their march drew
attention to the plight of landless Maori and the unfair
confiscation of Maori land by the Crown since the Treaty
of Waitangi in 1840. Land was the soul of Te Tangata
Whenua (people of the land) of this country. With their
diminishing land ownership, the Maori cultural heritage
which was so closely bound up with the land, was
undermined. This significant protest mobilised Maori
opinion throughout the land and reawakened the Pakeha
conscience on this important issue. The focus on this
long-unresolved problem later led to the formation of the
Waitangi Tribunal, which remains the legal body dealing
with Maori grievances related to their land alienation
and the other rights of Te Tangata Whenua secured In the
Treaty of Waitangi. The increased Maori consciousness and
their claims have continued to capture national attention
since then. Working so closely with Maori students at St.
Joseph's Maori Girls' College, and having suffered
deprivation of human rights during my childhood, my
empathy with Te Tangata Whenua increased over the years.
The high point of our busy lives in 1976 was Zosia's
marriage to a fellow Massey University student, Bob
Warren, on 24th May at the Eskdale Memorial Church near
our property and the reception at the Eskdale Community
Hall. This country wedding was a great family occasion.
Bob, like Zosia. was from a close family of six children,
who had been brought up on a dairy farm at Tinopai in
Northland.
With our eldest daughter now married and the youngest at
school. I decided to teach full-time at St. Joseph's
Maori Girls' College. The stress and constant
frustrations which accompanied grape harvests continued
until the introduction in 1978 of mechanical harvesting
in the Hawke's Bay Province. On Bob's completion of his
Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree, he and Zosia
leased our Eskdale vineyards in 1979, for a period of
three years. Zosia and Bob moved into the old homestead,
and we transferred to our new home on the property. Wim
had retired from civil engineering in the summer of 1977
and had spent considerable time building this home. Zosia
continued teaching in Palmerston North for the last term
of the year and then in Napier for a while.
The arrival of our first grandchild, Ben Thomas Warren,
on 16th October 1979 in Napier, represented another
milestone in our lives. In the same year our second
daughter Annemarie graduated from the Palmerston North
Teachers' Training College and a year later, on
completion of her Bachelor of Education degree, she began
her career as a teacher at the Greenmeadows Primary
School, where she had once been a pupil herself. Stephen,
now overseas, graduated in absentia from Massey
University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Agricultural
Science degree. Both Stephen and Annemarle were in
Europe, with their base in Holland. This working
adventure gave them an opportunity to become acquainted
with their Dutch relatives and to experience life outside
New Zealand. Annemarie studied Dutch while living in The
Netherlands, where she taught English at a Dutch school.
She also visited Poland to meet my relatives and to
experience something of her Polish cultural heritage. She
was, in fact, our only child to establish contacts with
the relatives of both parents. Going back to their
parents' countries of origin was very important to both
Stephen and Annemarie. While Stephen was in Holland In
1980, Wim's father died at the age of 83, so Stephen was
able to represent our family at his grandfather's
funeral. On his return to New Zealand he leased our
Eskdale vineyards for four years, Zosia, Bob and their
two sons Ben and Nick having moved to their newly
purchased property at Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands. Our
second grandson, Nicholas James Warren, had been born in
Napier, on 16th May 1981. Later Stephen purchased part of
our property — the old homestead and 11 acres of
land surrounding it. In 1982 Wim's youngest brother Guus
emigrated to New Zealand with his wife Annelies and their
two children Dymphl 'and Marc. They now live In Hawke's
Bay.
In 1985 Wim and I traveled to Melbourne In Australia to
celebrate the Silver Wedding Anniversary of Wim's sister
Thea and Rob Donker. It was a most enjoyable family
reunion. André with his wife Janie and four children
also lived in Melbourne, while Frans, and his wife
Catharina with their two children were then in New
Zealand. Frans was one of the engineers in charge of the
revamping of the Marsden Point oil refinery in Whangarei.
They also traveled to Melbourne for this family occasion.
Although we adapted well to the ever-changing
circumstances of our lives, the traumatic experiences of
our youth had touched us deeply. I had worked through my
personal trauma earlier, but during the early 1 980s Wim
suffered from recurring periods of depression as he
increasingly reflected on his adolescence during the war
years in Holland and the three years of compulsory
military service in the Dutch army in Indonesia. These
years were a low point In our marriage and a difficult
time for us both and for our children. Wim's return to
emotional stability and personal happiness was a gradual
process. I encouraged him to visit his mother and his
brothers and sisters in The Netherlands, in the belief
that the emotional scars of his youth would be healed by
the return to his own roots in his native land. Indeed,
Wim did not fully recover until after his trip to Europe
in 1985, when he made Holland his base while traveling
through Europe. Wars are great catastrophes for mankind,
Inflicting not only the obvious physical suffering on
those caught up in these tragic conflicts, but invisible
mental and emotional wounds which can fester for life. In
the past, wars have been glorified, and the mental
suffering and emotional scars resulting from the
traumatic war experiences have only quite recently been
recognised and comprehended.
Every dark cloud indeed has a silver lining. Wim's full
recovery and our mutual happiness was euphoric, following
his return from Europe. This was reinforced further with
the happy family celebration on the occasion of our
younger son John's and Ana's marriage on 4th January 1986
in Napier. All our children and five grandsons attended
their wedding. My mother, Alek my brother with his eldest
son Stephen. as well as Wim's two brothers Frans and Guus
with their wives and children, joined the Cooper family
and numerous friends, in this very happy family
celebration. John and Ana purchased part of our Eskdale
property, where they established their home and a
vineyard.
This great joy was followed by sadness later that year
however, when my mother died on 2nd March 1986 in her
87th year. My brother and I owed our survival to her. She
had battled through widowhood, the deprivations of our
exile in the USSR, our experiences in Iran and India
before our arrival in New Zealand In 1947. She had indeed
been a survivor of great adversity. Mother had worked as
a nurse until her 65th birthday. She had then continued
to reside In Waipukurau in her retirement. Her last four
years were spent at the Hetty Charles rest home in
Napier.
John's graduation from Massey University in May 1986 with
a Bachelor of Horticultural Science degree, meant that
our four eldest children had successfully completed their
tertiary education at the same university.
Four of our children, John, Stephen, Helen and Lucy were
associated with the Surf Life Saving Club of Westshore
near Napier. In 1986 John and Lucy successfully competed
in the National Life Saving Championships. John won
several medals over a period of some years at these
national competitions.
At the national level, the economic recession had
deepened since the early 1970s. Unemployment Increased
steadily and the country known as 'God's Own' lost the
great untapped potential of youth, as many young, Jobless
New Zealanders emigrated to Australia in search of work.
Several industries were adversely affected in New
Zealand, including farming and viticulture. Some wineries
were no longer an economically-viable proposition.
Likewise, the local Glenvale Winery, to which we were
contracted to supply grapes, was unable to buy our annual
grape crop. Faced with no alternative we accepted the
basic government compensation offered and Joined other
New Zealand grape growers in liquidating our existing
vineyards, with a bumper crop hanging on the vines. This
was a sad time for our family and for many other grape
growers, who were now deprived of their livelihood after
the very hard work and the substantial capital invested
in establishing their vineyards. The government subsidy
only partly covered the value of the grapes hanging on
the vines which, as part of the conditions Imposed, were
not allowed to be harvested. Fortunately, our son John,
who was then leasing our vineyards, obtained employment
with the Apple and Pear Board, and later as a tutor at
the Hawke's Bay Polytechnic.
The 1980s in New Zealand were years of profound change.
The 1983 Closer Economic Relations (CER3 agreement with
Australia provided for the gradual elimination of trade
and investment barriers between Australia and New Zealand
in anticipation of a free market between the two
countries by July 1990. CER was also broadened to
encourage trade In services, transport and tourism.
Growing unemployment in this country during the 1980s
meant a further loss of young New Zealanders to Australia
and elsewhere abroad. The Springbok tour of New Zealand
caused much resentment among the population. Protest
rallies were brutally controlled by the police, and New
Zealanders came face-to-face with violent clashes on the
streets and the playing fields. It was a
politically-inspired conflict that set people against
each other, the aftermath of which was felt for very many
years. New Zealand protested against apartheid policies
in South Africa.
In New Zealand the renaissance in Maoridom continued as
Te Tangata Whenua established their language nests of
Kohanga Reo preschool education throughout the land,
clamouring for their land rights in accordance with the
Treaty of Waitangi. Te Maori' exhibition in four major
centres in the USA focused attention beyond New Zealand
on the richness of the Maori culture, before these prized
treasures (taonga) were shown locally. Te Hoki Mai, The
Return of Te Maori' exhibition enabled many New
Zealanders to appreciate the culture of their fellow New
Zealanders of Maori descent. By the 1980s one in four New
Zealanders had some Maori blood, as Intermarriage had
increased with the growing urbanisation of Te Tangata
Whenua.
Beyond its shores, New Zealand became known for its
conservation policy of Antarctica's environment, as one
of the early signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. Rewi
Alley achieved greatness In China, where he initiated
vastly improved working conditions, organising
co-operative factories and workshops and setting up
Baillie schools to train young Chinese people. During the
Labour Government of David Lange, New Zealand became well
known for its anti-nuclear policy.
Meanwhile in Poland, 'Solidarity', the free trade union
movement initiated In 1980 by the inspiring, fearless
Lech Walesa, had become a nationwide organisation uniting
Polish workers. They demanded better working conditions,
higher living standards and an end to political
oppression. A series of marches and strikes drew
attention to their cause both in Poland and worldwide.
Finally, under extreme pressure from Moscow, the Polish
President, General Jaruzelski, was forced to take action
against Solidarity. With USSR armed forces assembling on
Poland's eastern borders, Jaruzelski prevented bloodshed
by imprisoning the Solidarity leaders, by declaring
Solidarity an illegal organisation and by imposing
martial law throughout Poland. This brought international
condemnation. Poles were once more being denied the human
rights of the United Nations Charter. The Polish
Government-in-Exile in London, headed by my cousin's
husband President Kazimierz Sabbat, kept in close touch
with the underground Solidarity movement. Over half a
million Solidarity members, fearful of persecution in
Poland, escaped and sought political asylum in the free
Western world. Finally, the imprisoned Solidarity leaders
were conditionally released and martial law In Poland was
abolished.
It was in this political climate that my husband and I
decided to visit Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, as
we planned our trip to Holland and Britain in 1987. Wim's
mother was now a very frail old lady approaching her 87th
birthday on 13th May 1987, so we resolved to be present
with the rest of the family in Holland on that occasion.
I requested a term's unpaid leave of absence from St.
Joseph's Maori Girls' College to enable us to travel
abroad for four months.
This trip, my second to Europe, was another sentimental
Journey. We visited Wim's relatives in Holland
endeavouring to spend as much time as possible with Wim's
mother at 'de Manter, a rest home for the elderly in The
Hague. We also spent some time in Britain with my three
first cousins and their British-born families. While
staying in London with my cousin Hania and Kazimierz
Sabbat, the President of the Polish Government-in-Exile,
we visited that Government's official residence, where
the Polish Government seals, the Democratic Constitution,
and other official documents had been kept since the
legitimate Polish Government had found refuge in Britain
during World War II. We also visited the Katyn Monument
in London, erected to honour the 15,000 Polish officers
murdered by NKVD in 1940 in the Ukraine, in the USSR. As
I laid flowers at the foot of this monument I felt very
emotional, knowing that my father and uncle had been
among the innocent victims of the Stalin Communist
regime's massacres.
When we visited Poland next, we saw several crosses with
chains, erected in large cities to commemorate the
now-illegal Solidarity movement. They represented the
Polish spirit, undefeated in spite of constant political
oppression and denial of freedom, of self-determination.
The destruction of the war years had resulted in a
substantial loss of historic buildings, art collections
and other national treasures. Poles, proud of their
cultural heritage, were now rebuilding these relics of
the past. Though there was no political freedom, in
private people spoke freely of Communist repression.
Communist Party members were generally despised by the
Polish population. Church services were very well
attended throughout Poland, as Poles gained spiritual
strength from Christian worship. In Czechoslovakia and in
Hungary we saw greater evidence of Communist ideology in
slogans on official buildings, statues of Lenin and the
hammer and sickle emblems of the USSR. Here, Communism
was equally hated by the populace. Friends we visited
spoke of religious suppression, educational advantages
granted to members of the Communist Party and the general
saturation of Russian books, which few people wanted to
read, because the Russian language had been made
compulsory in schools against the will of the citizens of
these Eastern European states. Our tour leader in
Bratislava showed us the imposing Russian memorial to the
soldiers of the USSR killed during World War II. Here the
Czechoslovaks received no mention. This memorial occupied
a vantage point on a hill, which made it a dominant
feature of the city's landscape. In contrast to this, a
Roman Catholic church erected nearby was not permitted a
church tower, which could detract from the visual
dominance of the Russian war memorial.
The border between Czechoslovakia and the free state of
Austria was defined by a barbed wire structure, with
lookout towers manned by armed soldiers. This was further
evidence of the Communist domination of Eastern Europe
behind the Iron Curtain. As tourists, we were carefully
searched on entry into Czechoslovakia. We were also
required to report to the police within 24 hours of our
arrival in Poland, in Czechoslovakia and in Hungary. Our
address book was scrutinised by border guards, who
photocopied several addresses of friends we visited in
Western Europe and within Communist Eastern Europe. These
experiences were in sharp contrast to the great warmth
and the tremendous hospitality shown us by our relatives
and friends in these countries. They related their
personal experiences freely, but all requested that these
discussions remain confidential, because any press
reports abroad could endanger them personally.
While staying with relatives in Munich later, I had the
privilege of being interviewed about life in New Zealand,
including a discussion on our educational system, to be
broadcast on radio 'Free Europe' to countries behind the
Iron Curtain.
On arrival back in New Zealand I resumed teaching at St.
Joseph's Maori Girls' College. where I then taught Junior
science, senior biology and fifth and sixth form
geography. I was asked to contribute an article on our
travels to the school magazine. The following year I
became the Head of Social Studies. I was already Head of
Geography at that school. I relinquished the teaching of
science and biology and remained in charge of the social
studies and geography departments until my retirement
from teaching three years later.
In 1989 our third daughter, Helen, also graduated with a
Bachelor of Business Studies degree. She was our fifth
child to graduate from Massey University in Palmerston
North. That year another Joyous family occasion was the
marriage of our daughter Annemarie and Ross Heald at the
Eskdale Memorial Church. Again, this was an opportunity
for another family reunion, which, in addition to our
children and five grandsons, included my brother Alek and
his wife Anne and also Wim's youngest brother Guus with
his wife Annelies and their two children, now living in
New Zealand, in Hawke's Bay.
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