50 years in NZ - where did the time go?

Jennie and I married in 1972.  She was teaching at a school in Northamptonshire UK and I was a member of staff at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire.  Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister of the UK and things weren't going at all well for the economy.  A couple of Kiwis undertaking postgrad studies in our department suggested that we look at moving to New Zealand.  Trudging through wet snow on a Boxing Day, I broached the subject with Jennie who took little convincing, even if the initial plan was to just go for a couple of years as a sort of working holiday.  I was offered a great job with NZ's largest manufacturing company at the time and in early April 1975, we arrived in Auckland courtesy of Air France (well, their Pacific arm called UTA, dubbed Unlikely To Arrive).

Right from the get-go, we were made to feel very welcome both by the company and Kiwis in general who still possessed a national "can do" drive and humanity which seemed increasingly hard to find at a political level in the UK.  Any intent to return was quickly abandoned and we became NZ citizens as a commitment to our new home.  Now 50 years have passed in the blink of an eye and we have absolutely no regrets about the move, apart from the distance from our remaining relatives and oldest friends.  Even that distance has seemingly shrunk with current travel options.

Being a keen photographer, what I've done is attach a few photos from those early years through the decades to the current time which will undoubtedly provide a laugh regarding hairstyles and clothing.  It's only of marginal comfort that many others dressed in the same manner!  Seriously though, having a decent photographic record of our NZ lives is pretty pleasing and can be passed down the generations. 

Here we go...

1975

We'd only been in the country for a couple of weeks and bought a bright orange Ford Escort to explore the countryside.  The photo was taken in a geothermal area not far from where we lived.  I think we can avoid any critique of my black checked slipover, checked flared pants and Zapata moustache.

Oh dear, the not-so swinging seventies

1976

We took up sailing with the local club on a hydro lake.  The Frostply-class yacht was a lovely boat and we won the club champs in the first year. Sailing with one's wife can be challenging as they don't like having orders barked at them, causing a certain degree of disharmony. Jennie became pregnant which was a good excuse to stop sailing and I had a further season with the daughter of a club member as crew. Heather had an excellent command of bad language if she thought that my instructions were unreasonable!  After a further season, peace reigned with a number of solo yachts after Heather went to university.

Frostply class "Ariel" at Lake Ohakuri

1982

We had become naturalised citizens in 1980 (I think) to show our commitment to NZ.  A couple of promotions saw me in the position as Mechanical Engineering Manager at our biggest pulp and paper manufacturing plant, with as much time tackling union problems as pure engineering.  That didn't often spill over into leisure time and we developed some great friendships from that time which still last today.  The following photo was taken at a BBQ next door at Ian and Raewyn's place.  My choice of casual clothing hadn't improved with the oriental beer shirt but Jennie looked a million dollars to make up for my shortcomings.  Little wonder she's laughing.  

Is Jennie laughing at my shirt?  Even Lyndon is shocked

1983

By 1983, we had the full complement of children and marked it with a family portrait.  I'd mercifully toned down my choice of clothing but Big Hair and large spectacles were "must haves" among the female population.

Coming to grips with a young family

1987

The tyranny of distance became apparent with the passing of Mum back in the UK.  Fortunately, I made it back in time to say goodbye, mainly thanks to a travel agent who was, and is; a very dear friend.  One of the very few downsides of living on the other side of the world. Our CEO called me in when I got back and as a compassionate gesture, gave us the use of the company executive apartment in Auckland for a long weekend.  The amount of food and liquor they'd stocked the apartment with had to be seen to be believed!  It's personal gestures like that which are never forgotten.  It was also the same year that my closest friend and work colleague in NZ lost his life in a car accident.  Jennie and I went with the police to break the news to his family. That's something in the darker moments which will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Executive apartment - Mount Eden, Auckland

1988

It was actually 1987 which rekindled my love of motorcycles. I'd been to Auckland to pick up a yacht sail and next door was a Honda dealer.  I totally fell in love with a Honda GB400 in the window.  The salesman spotted a sucker and the purchase was inevitable.  Jennie wasn't best pleased but got her own back by buying a piano which was roughly twice the cost of the Honda - ouch!  The photo was taken in 1988 after I'd fitted an aftermarket fairing.

 

Honda GB 400TT and a rekindled love of bikes

1991

The kids were growing up fast and we had our first ever holiday without them as one of their godmothers volunteered to look after them.  We headed for Bali and had a wonderful time.  The car in the photo belonged to the Balinese factory owner who made a suit for me and sent us back to the hotel in it after measuring.  The only downside of the holiday was getting a stomach bug the day before we flew home. A bit touch and go despite swallowing a handful of pills before heading for the airport!

The Indonesian equivalent of a vintage Rolls Royce.  Surprisingly good actually

1992

The whole family get on so well and delighted to say that the typical teenage troubles turned out to be practically non-existent, with great school reports too. I'm also inclined to think that growing up in a mill town with a mix of backgrounds and ethnicities was good preparation for later on in life.

School days

1999

A wonderful and moving occasion when Lyndon, our eldest son graduated from Otago University in the south island. A great experience for him too as many of the Otago traditions, particularly at his college; parallel those of Oxford and Cambridge. Formally dressing for dinner is just one of those traditions. He subsequently took a further degree in Auckland.  Immensely proud parents. Like many other parents, we dropped him off at the halls of residence when he started his degree with not a dry eye in the car when it was time to leave. Our first-born had left the security of home. 

Academic study wasn't solely down to the kids.  A job change within my company saw me being responsible for implementing the international ISO 9000 quality assurance system at numerous sites.  For credibility with external auditors and customers, I was required to take the postgrad quality assurance course and exam at Massey University. Studying again in my 50's was bloody hard work!

Otago University, Dunedin.  The day after Lyndon's graduation

2001

Our second son, Kerryn, had almost completed his degree at Massey University in the north island when it was time for our daughter Victoria to start hers at Canterbury University down south. Both occasions were far less emotional, thank goodness.  We combined making sure Victoria was settled in with a month's holiday in the south island, touring in Jennie's first MX-5 sports car and having all sorts of cool adventures.

One of these adventures was a trip by quad bike into the foothills of the Remarkables mountain range. Jennie wasn't too keen initially and I kept my mouth shut when I discovered that the quads were 2 stroke "screamers", not farm machines!  I needn't have worried though as Jennie was a fast learner under the watchful eye of an instructor and she left me for dead on a tricky downhill section strewn with rocks!

2 stroke quad bikes in the foothills of the Remarkables

2002

2 down, one to go.  Kerryn graduated with honours from Massey University and once again, we were enormously proud parents; partially for their academic success but mainly because they had grown into hard-working, caring and independent young adults.

Graduation day, Massey University

2010

After completing a psychology degree with honours, Victoria studied part time for her psychology Masters, graduating in 2010. We made sure that none of them had debt when leaving uni to give them a good start in life but they were under no illusion that they now had to use their education and not come to us for handouts!

Graduation day, Canterbury University

2019

After a career of long hours and also prompted by several company ownership changes, I decided to retire in 2008 at 60. We moved permanently to our beach property and apart from a consultancy project with my old company, we slipped into retirement mode pretty easily. Work on the property and sea fishing from a runabout were regular activities but we also volunteered as tutors for Senior Net, a nationwide organisation for assisting seniors with computer-related matters.  That was really enjoyable and great value to both us and local senior citizens.  We also travelled a great deal with trips to Australia, Alaska, Canada and through Asia and Africa.  We had some wonderful holidays but from a personal viewpoint, Africa just squeaked home in first place.   The wildlife and scenery and travelling by 4x4 was spectacular.  Hard to pick a single thing but ballooning on the Serengeti at dawn, followed by a champagne breakfast straight after the flight was pretty darned special.

Dawn on the Serengeti

2022

Riding motorcycles had been my passion since the age of 16.  I realised that to safely extend my riding into the older years, I needed to upskill and regular readers of the blog will have seen a lot of posts about me joining the NZ branch of the UK Institute of Advanced Motorists in 2011 (now IAM Roadsmart) to be formally trained in police roadcraft.  Passing the advanced test, then Observer (mentor) and Examiner was a massive honour but even more importantly, it's allowed me to ride (and drive) safely for longer than I otherwise would have done, plus pass skills onto other riders who wanted to lift their game.  The photo was taken at home just before going for a ride with treasured friends.  Despite a few niggling problems with the KTM 790 Duke, it was the one which made me laugh more than anything I'd previously owned.  It was a hooligan of a bike, always encouraging immoderate behaviour - a good bike to finish my riding career on.  It was right up there in terms of favourite bike ever but just shaded by the Triumph Street Triple which did everything brilliantly. 

The hooligan KTM 790 Duke

2023

It turned out to be something of a watershed year.  Older bodies don't bounce well and as I'd got pretty much all I wanted from motorcycling, it was time at 74 to retire from bikes before age and physiology became a significant factor.  Sea fishing, travel and mountain biking were already in place as fall-back activities but Jennie had dropped a bombshell in 2021 that we should think about buying a classic car to do more stuff together.  There are plenty of posts about the squabbling which went on about what to choose but the 1972 MGB GT turned out to be perfect for us and a lot of fun.  I don't miss motorcycling as the fall-back plan has worked out just fine. The photo was taken at an MGB 60th Anniversary event in Auckland.

A great turn-out of MG's - Auckland

For quite some time, Jennie has been a volunteer with the Coromandel School of Mines Museum. In recent times, she's had the role of President/Chair and has been involved with a number of significant projects to keep exhibits relevant.  2023 saw her project manage the installation of a building which was originally used for manufacturing dairy products for an early settlers residence (butter cheese, etc).  That consumed massive amounts of time but the end result was spectacular.  Here she is in her finery at the grand opening by the Coromandel Peninsula Mayor.  Everyone was hugely impressed, not least me with respect to the project feedback!

Jennie at the opening of the museum creamery, 2023

 2024

Another action-packed year although we would have gladly avoided some of the action!  Long overdue knees were successfully replaced over a 2 year period and I ran out of talent on my mountain bike, resulting in a broken femur on a gnarly local trail.  They're all documented in the blog so a short mention is sufficient.  We also had a wonderful holiday in Australia's Outback, travelling by 4WD truck.  It was an amazing experience which shouldn't be missed.

Prairie Hotel - Parachilna, South Australia.  A real gem in the middle of nowhere

Christmas was spent on crutches at our younger son's place.  Our 5 grandchildren were present and a photo of them in bright matching Christmas PJ's is an appropriate way to end the post.

The grandchildren - Christmas decorations in their own right!

It's only when putting together a post like this when you realise why 50 years has passed in a flash with so much going on.  There are plenty of other happenings too but they'll never see the light of day in print.  Any regrets about the decision to move to NZ?  Apart from the previously mentioned distance from family and old friends, none at all.  Nowhere is perfect but it's been a blast and long may it be so!