Life on a back blocks farm: Roland

Kennedy

Roland Kennedy is a keen horseman so air conditioned high-tech tractors are not for him. He ploughs the way people have for hundreds of years – with big strong draught horses.

Roland was 83 when this week's story was written. He learnt how to plough when he was a young boy and he's still training horses to plough. Draught horses helped break in much of New Zealand's farmland so to have them working today lets us live history.

Rewind

Roland learnt to plough in the 1920s. Decide whether the events below really happened in New Zealand during this decade. Answer true or false and check your choices at the end of this week's TreasureLink.

1. The National Air Board is set up to control aeroplane flights in New Zealand.
2. The first of New Zealand's intermediate schools opens.
3. The school certificate exam is introduced.
4. All motor vehicles must now be licensed.
5. The first large scale trials of aerial top dressing begin.

Word watch

All the words and phrases below are in this week's story. Choose the best meaning and then check your answers when you read the story.

1. mimicking (a) following or (b) imitating closely
2. graduate (a) get promoted or (b) advance to a new level of skill
3. rejuvenated (a) restored to the way it once was or (b) improved
4. tam-o-shanter (a) a Scottish cap or (b) an oilskin raincoat
5. clear-felled (a) cut all the bush and trees from a block of land or (b) turned into paddocks
6. negotiate (a) come to an agreement or (b) succeed in getting through
7. isolated (a) separated from others or (b) lonely
8. rudimentary medicines (a) home made medicines or (b) very basic medicines
9. accommodate (a) fit in or (b) to hold comfortably without crowding
10. heritage line (a) the preceding generations or (b) a pedigree

The clearing came first

Farmers needed clear land before the plough could take over but early Taranaki farmland was covered in thick bush. When Roland's grandparents bought the land that became their farm they had to clear nearly 1000 acres with an axe and a saw. There were no chainsaws in those days.

Clearing began as a winter job. Underscrub like small trees, supplejack and fern was cut. Smaller trees were then felled with an axe or cross cut saw and left to dry.

Big trees were cut part way through and one of these was felled so it would fall on the next one. With luck all the trees would fall like dominoes. Branches were lopped off and stacked ready for the burn.

The dry cut bush was set alight in the summer and a good burn only left black stumps and charred trunks. Farmers sowed grass seed into the ash while it was still warm and grew a good first crop of grass. Later though the stumps had to be pulled or blasted out of the ground. A team of horses with a block and tackle would drag out the broken stumps.

Neighbours helped each other to plough. One man would drive the horses and plough while the other removed roots and bits of stump. Root crops were later sown and after several root crops the soil was ready for grass.

Clearing the land then was tough work. Imagine if you cleared 1000 acres today. Which parts of the clearing process would still be the same? Which parts would be different? Pick five pieces of modern technology that would make the job faster and easier. Work it out with a classmate.

Different time, different needs

The two photos below take you back in time to the days of the plough horse. Check out each one and then list some things you might find in a farm shed in the early 1900s. Compare your list with a classmate.

Photo one

Photo two

How odd! A plough goat?

Read all about the goat that could plough. It's in the first part of this week's story.

Roland says horses have been on his Tahora farm since the beginning doing all sorts of jobs. He's a keen horseman but let's see if we can work out why some farmers were quite happy when tractors, cars and bikes replaced the horse.

Work this one out with a classmate. For each job below work out what people have to do before the horse is ready for the job. Estimate the time it would take to get the horse ready.

1. Going to town for groceries.
2. Ploughing a paddock.
3. Mustering the sheep.

A tough trip to town

Some people think that Tahora is isolated now but when the area was first settled it was a difficult place to get in or out of.

Read Proud Heritage now and find out about the transport problems on the river and the roads.

Who blocked the river?

Using the rivers for highways was a good idea. Maori had done it for centuries and travelled all over New Zealand. It was never far between one river and the next and a light canoe could easily be carried.

The Wanganui and Tangarakau Rivers could have become quite good highways but they were blocked by logs. These days a Resource Management law makes sure nothing gets tipped in our rivers so they are less likely to get blocked or polluted.

What if this law was a round when the Whangamomona region was being settled? Discuss these questions with a classmate.

1. Would the law have been popular?
2. Could it have been policed?
3. What would farmers think was more important-clearing their land or protecting the river?
4. What solution or rule would need to be in place that let farmers clear their land but keep trees out of the river at the same time.

Snail mail!

The story tells us mail took a long time to arrive in 1906. Sometimes the farmers had to hang around until the next day.

What if a farmer had to order some farm supplies? He might write a letter like this.

The Manager
Fred Nail
Stratford General Store
7 May 1906.

Dear Mr Nail,

I need the following farm supplies but require a quote on the price before I place a firm order. Please mail me the quote as soon as possible.

Three boxes of six inch nails- (straight ones please)

Five boxes of two inch staples- (with sharp ends)
Two good quality claw hammers-(with strong handles)
One banjo shovel and three spare handles
Three sharp slashers
Ten axe handles
Two dozen horseshoes with nails-(size 21)
Two dozen sticks of dynamite
Two dozen dynamite fuses-(long ones)
One carton of matches- (long ones)
Half a dozen pairs of men's woollen underwear (longjohn style-large)
One pair of light leather farm boots with non slip soles (size 10)

I look forward to your quote in the first available mail service.

Yours faithfully

Charlie Teetree

Let's say Charlie mailed his order on a Monday. How long do you think it would take to get his quote back, reorder and then get his supplies delivered? Work it out with a classmate.

Image if a similar order was placed today using modern technology. How long would it take before today's farmer had his supplies?

School poems!

There's a good little poem about the old Tahora School in this week's story. Another favourite that lasted for years and years began like this…

No more spelling, no more…

This poem could go with the cartoon above. See if you can find the words to the rest of this poem (you could ask an older person).

The good old days?

A home built with love tells us about the "good old days" when people built their own homes and the local dance was the big night out.

Read this part of the story.

Home handymen!

Roland and his wife still live in the house his father built in 1918. It was built from pit sawn timber. You can see a log being pit sawn here.

Two people operated the saw. One stood above the log while the other stood below in the pit. Up top was the best place because the man down below was hit by sawdust.

      
  
Steam powered mills were around by the time Roland's dad built his house but it was probably cheaper and more convenient for the Kennedy family to saw their own logs.

Houses like Roland's are still standing today. The timber was never treated but it didn't rot. It's as good today as when it was first nailed into place.

Why is it then that many modern homes rot? They are built using the latest technology. They cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and look very flash but they leak and fall to bits. Most of these homes are less that 25 years old and some a lot younger.

This New Plymouth home was built in the 1800s. It's had a few renovations over the years but it is an historic home so it can't be changed that much. The original part is as good as ever-just like Roland's house.

Talk it over with a classmate. What makes these old houses "rot proof"?

They danced their socks off!

Roland said there were two or three dances a month when he played in the band. That's almost one every weekend just in the Whangamomona district.

Try this with a classmate.

1. List all the things people do for entertainment on a Saturday night these days.
2. Now go through your list and tick all the things on it that could have been done sixty years ago.
3. Now check out the items on your list that are not ticked. Do they involve a lot of socialising or are they stay at home things that don't involve many people?

Cool car

The story tells us that the Kennedy family got their first car in 1937. It was an Austin 10.  Look here for these very fine little cars.

In those days distances were measured in miles and it was about 48 miles from Tahora to Stratford. Those little Austin 10's did around 35 miles to the gallon.

Look here to work out how many litres in a gallon- (a UK gallon).  

Look here to work out how many kilometres in 48 miles- (round it to the nearest kilometre).

Now use your calculator to work out how many litres Roland's family would use on a return trip to Stratford.

The best of eggs and the best of life

Finish the story now and find out if Roland had any plans to retire when this story was written.

What if Roland makes it well into his 90s? What do you think he might say to someone that suggests it is time to put his feet up and have a rest from farm work?

Write down a good Roland Kennedy quote that shows what he thinks of that idea.

Fast forward to 2005
In my day!

Farm work has changed a lot since Roland was a boy. Check out each of the photos here and decide what Roland's dad might have used to do the same job in his day.

Rewind answers

1. True. This happened in 1920 even though there are only two airports in the country. One is in Auckland for seaplanes and the other is in Christchurch.
2. True but it is called a Junior High School. The school is Kowhai in Mt Eden, Auckland.
3. False. School certificate does not begin until 1934.
4. True. This happened in 1924 and at the same time are penalties for dangerous driving.
5. False. This doesn't happen until 1949.

Word watch answers
1b, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6b, 7a, 8b, 9b 10a