Tall, towering trees remember Wainui Bay farmer
Most motorists miss it completely. That single acre remnant of lowland forest surrounded by farmland just off McShane Rd along the eastern side of Wainui Bay. But to walk underneath these trees, many of which tower 35m and more, is like being in the presence of giants, podocarp ones that is.
Most of the tallest trees here are ancient kahikatea and pukatea, although rimu, matai, totara and miro are also represented. As you gaze upwards, their spreading sun-loving canopies give you the feeling of being in a vaulted cathedral.
Below, carpeting the forest floor, is a profusion of splendid kawakawa, nikau, ferns and tree ferns.
This is once what all our fertile lowlands were like of course, smothered in thousand-year-old tree souls harking back to ancient, forested times.
The Wainui remnant escaped the sawmillers and bush fellers largely thanks to the dedication of successive owners.
The section incorporating these trees sold a couple of years back, but it’s heartening to know they will stay protected thanks to previous owners, James (Jim) and Marie Robertson, who advocated for formal Protected Trees status over their stand.
Another remnant of ancient rata on their land, just down by the Wainui River bridge, also has protection.
Jim died just before Christmas.
The well-regarded old boy of Wainui Bay spent fully eight decades of his life living there. The third child of Frederick (Fred) and Marguerita (Rita) Robertson of Petone, James Martin Robertson was born 22 May 1934.
He was three when his family returned to live at the family farm of ‘Palmville’ in Wainui Bay, where Wainui Falls carpark and cafe of the same name is now.
One of Jim’s earliest memories is as a four- or five-year-old riding their horse, Star, with his brother Alister up the Totaranui Hill.
The horse spooked and threw him off into the ferns. His brother clung on to the horse’s neck for dear life as it galloped all the way home, but little Jim lay alone until Fred Hadfield came along on horseback on his mail run from Awaroa and rescued him.
The experience didn’t put Jim off horses though. They remained his preferred mode of transport all his life, even 4WD farm bikes didn’t interest him when they came along.
Wainui was an isolated place back in his childhood, but growing up with the love and support of his extended family and friends, Jim grew up to be good natured and friendly.
Every school day, the children’s governess would escort her charges by foot or horseback to Anatimo School located on the bank above the road at what is now the junction of McShane and Totaranui Hill roads.
That little school closed when the children attended Motupipi school, boarding away from home during the week until old enough to commute daily on horseback and bicycle over the gravel hill road.
Later, the Anatimo school building was shifted to become the sports shed at Golden Bay High School (GBHS).
It was at a Motupipi School dance that Jim met Marie Dunphy, a teacher at the school.
They married in January 1960 at St Marys Catholic church in Nelson, Jim was 25, Marie 23. The resourceful couple had bought their Wainui Bay farm (Te Rakau) the year before from the Manson family, good friend Lawrence Manson leaving in equity so they could purchase the 900-hectare holding.
Jim and Marie moved onto their farm straight after getting married, settling into the Manson homestead in front of the big bush.
Here on this site over the ensuing years, they would rebuild their roomy bungalow and raise eight children – six daughters and two sons. Their house was always open to anyone who called in.
Jim’s love and interest in people helped shape him into the very social man he was. Musical by nature, he would play the piano at a moment’s notice. Picnics on ‘the point’ were a Robertson family tradition for many years.
During those early years they hosted a couple of rodeos at Wainui Bay, using ‘fairly wild’ steers herded from the hills. Most of Golden Bay turned up, the cars streaming into Wainui Bay raising a cloud of dust that could be seen all day from across the Bay.
Their very first rodeo was such a success that they handed the ticketing over to the A&P Show Committee to run. Afterwards there would be a big dance in their woolshed.
The farm needed a lot of hard work, but Jim was young and keen, always saying he loved the challenge.
He didn't like what he called ‘wasteful spending’, if he could do it himself, repair it, or make it, he would.
He had some great farm workers over the years too, many of them remaining life-long friends.
His first farm worker, Frank Verose, broke in Jim’s big powerful part draught horse, Rudolf. The hill behind the haybarn is still called Rudolf’s Hill.
Innovation was all part of the farm. The milking shed, woolshed, sawmill and farm houses were all run off hydro power generated on the farm until the early 70’s.
Jim had grown up with power produced from a micro hydro plant on his parents’ farm. His family were amongst the first to have power in Golden Bay.
Hydro is still in use on the farm today. Jim’s tractor was a huge Field Marshall. Marie used to make ‘starters’ for it, soaking old Christmas cards in saltpetre before rolling them up like a cigarette.
This mighty machine was donated by Jim and Marie to the Rockville Museum.
When they first arrived at the farm, all the surrounding low hill country ran 1800 sheep which were eventually taken off when the farm transitioned to dairy and the hills left to regenerate back into the bush we see today.
In many ways, Jim and Marie were conservationists before it became the buzzword it is today. Jim was particularly fond of his bush remnant and even set up an elaborate sprinkler system for it when it got dry.
Jim and Marie’s family recall how they used to play as children amongst the huge buttress roots of the giant Pukatea trees, pretending the plank-like divisions were separate rooms of their make-believe houses.
Said one; ‘We used to get [stung by all the tree nettle (ongaonga)] until Mum went through and pulled it all out.’
The effort Jim and Marie put into community is legendary.
He served on the Northwest Nelson Forest Park management committee for nine years, then a further two after DOC took over the management in 1987.
Other organisations Jim gave his time freely to, were the Jaycees and Deerstalkers (including time helping build the Wainui Falls track), being Wainui Civil Defence and Fire Chief, honorary park ranger, plus mentoring many kids after theirs all left GBHS.
Together, the couple delivered Meals on Wheels in their later years.
Jim remained a keen recreational hunter into his later years and the couple were known as active walkers and trampers throughout the district.
He particularly loved the ‘Snow tops’ of the Cobb where he first went as an 18 year old hunting.
He would return in April for the roar whenever he could, with friends such as Jo Isaac, Graeme Coombs, Jim Baird, Paul O'Connor, but mostly with his cousin and good mate L .O. (also Jim Robertson) who joined him on two epic wapiti hunting adventures in Fiordland.
Jim stepped back from milking cows when his sons came back to the farm but he continued to work just as hard as ever with other farm jobs like fencing, pest control and river management.
In 2016 Marie and Jim left their home in Wainui Bay after 56 years, moving to Pohara. Sadly, Marie died just 10 months later.
When Jim passed last year too, I couldn’t help but think it was the end of an era for Wainui Bay.
A postscript worth mentioning is that when their quintessential bay homestead with its most magnificent backyard of trees went on the market several years ago, it was not an instant seller due to it being a ‘no data’ dead zone.
I cannot help but think how silly we have become as a species, thinking data is more important than our ancient, treasured trees.
Jim Robertson would have appreciated that sentiment for sure.