Christopher (Chris) CARRAN

Interviewer: Morag Forrester

Interview Date: 5 August 2009

Track 1

00.24 States he is CHRISTOPHER CARRAN, born in 1944 in RIVERTON (SOUTHLAND) where he grew up.

00.52 Replies his FATHER was GORDON (ANDREW CARRAN) who worked as a BUSHMAN, including the local SAWMILLS "for most of his life" as well as running a 270-acre FARM. [He later added that his FATHER had worked in GIPPSLAND, VICTORIA, A USTRALIA, from where the participant's paternal GRANDMOTHER originated. When the SAWMILL (there) was destroyed by bushfire, his FATHER returned to NZ and worked at the remote PORT CRAIG WMILLING COMPANY on the south coast.]

01.12 Says his MOTHER was MARGARET (nee MUIR) from WAIRIO where her FATHER had a FARM. Adds that her FATHER died due to sudden illness at the age of forty-eight and because he had not left a will, the PUBLIC TRUST took it over. But within eighteen months, "it went broke" and his (maternal) GRANDMOTHER ran the WAIRIO POST OFFICE to provide an income for her family of thirteen children.

02.22 Of his SIBLINGS, he says they were a family of ten - all BOYS. - with himself being the seventh child (in descending order).

02.37 Schooling, he says, began at the CONVENT in RIVERTON, followed by ST KEVIN'S COLLEGE in OAMARU.

03.44 It was at secondary school, he says, that he took up sports activities, such as RUGBY and CRICKET.

03.57: Admits that academically he did not excel, in fact he "couldn't get away quick enough to go to work", and left at the age of fifteen.

04. 06: His first job was at the MORES MILL (SAWMILL) and he later also worked with his BROTHERS who owned a SAWMILL in the POURAKINO VALLEY. This was followed by work for his BROTHERS in the TE ANAU BASIN where they had set up a CONTRACTING business.

04.45: TONY, JOHN and MICHAEL (CARRAN), he continues, set up the business in 1958 (at the start of the FARM DEVELOPMENT SCHEME in the TE ANAU BASIN) and, while still at school, he helped them out during the holidays. On leaving school, the SAWMILL was his first option because it was closer to home.

05.10: Even when he worked on a more permanent basis in TE ANAU, he says it was seasonal in duration so, during the off-season (winter), he went back to the SAWMILL.

05-30: Although he was employed by his BROTHERS, he says they each worked at different sites so, often, he was left to his own devices. The work, he adds, mainly involved clearing land for AGRICULTURAL purposes in the summer as well as working on forestry blocks and river areas across SOUTHLAND through the rest of the year.

06- 30: By clearing the land, he says, they used BULLDOZERS to knock down trees and scrub, after which the area was PLOUGHED over to be left all winter ready for CULTIVATION in the spring.

06.45: Apart from the BULLDOZERS, he says, most of their equipment was "crawler TRACTORS" without cabins to protect against weather conditions. The soil in those days, he recalls, was very light because it had never been stocked. "The ground used to blow away in the spring with all the winds and no tree... shelter belts in those days."

07.30: Replies that he never saw the TE ANAU settlement for the first three years of his working in the BASIN since the job was based on the TAKITIMU BLOCK/GILLESPIE ROAD area near THE KEY where previously no road existed. "There was nothing in TE ANAU...we went to MOSSBURN for all our repairs...the garage... blacksmith..." [He later added that the blacksmith at MOSSBURN was PHIL RICHMOND and his son RON. Another son, JACK RICHMOND, was the PRINCIPAL of the TE ANAU (PRIMARY) SCHOOL in later years.]

08.45: Says it was "quite a small town" (in 1961) and that although the main highway (SH94) was tar sealed, the route to MANAPOURI (SH96) was still a gravel road. "We went round through MANAPOURI on a trip in here one wet day. "

09.35: Explains that the LANDS & SURVEY DEPARTMENT began the FARM DEVELOPMENT work on LYNWOOD STATION (bought by the government in 1952) by doing its own CONTRACT work.

10- 00: "But they got nothing done...there was a lot of concern that the government had taken over all this land and doing nothing with it...so they sent GEORGE SINCLAIR down here.. .to crank TE ANAU up."

10.15: The first thing SINCLAIR did, he says, was to sell off all the CONTRACTING gear to private operators and then proceeded to call for tenders to undertake the CONTRACTING work at LYNWOOD.

10.30: The first CONTRACT, he says, went to BILL BUTSON who had been involved in the HOMER TUNNEL project. He then SUB-CONTRACTED to DON ROBBIE and CHARLIE CAMERON.

11.00: The next year saw the MCIVOR BROS start a CONTRACTNG business in the area, followed by the CARRANS... "and it went on from there".

11.15: The CARRAN BROS, he says, were initially based at the "TAKKIES" working over about 5500 acres that had been bought by the government from the leasehold owner of MANAPOURI STATION (HAROLD CHARTRES). "A lot of the land... was to grow FESCUE (a type of grass usually used on airstrips, etc)".

12.45: It meant that the land was already cleared, so much of the CONTRACTNG work 1involved ploughing up the FESCUE for re-CULTIVATION. But as time went on, he says, the off-season work increased, including preparing land for FENCE work in the summer as the land was being split into smaller-sized FARM units.

13.30: Another major task was clearing scrub. "There was a lot of MANUKA on that country in those days." And although the job was not difficult, the conditions were testing. "Some of it was quite wet country and of course there was no drainage in those days."

14.15: Recalls there were a lot of wild deer and pigs in the area, mainly deer on the former MANAPOURI STATION land while the DUNCREIGAN area further west had a denser wild pig population.

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Track 2 starts

00.25: When he first started working for his BROTHERS in the TE ANAU BASIN, he says, they lived in camp huts or caravans on site, and had to bring all their supplies with them, including drinking water which was stored in "cream cans".

00.45: Admits their living conditions were basic. "Caravans used to leak with rain."

01.07: Most weekends, he adds, they returned home to RIVERTON and on their way back to camp the following MONDAY, brought fresh supplies with them. In addition, he says, the butcher used to come through from LUMSDEN... to TE ANAU...one day a week and the grocer...he used to come from MOSSBURN".

01.45: GEORGE GILLESPIE (L&S FARM MANAGER on the TAKITIMU BLOCK), he says, picked up the dropped-off grocery stores from THE KEY, along with the mail and other items, and delivered them round all the different CONTRACTORS working on the TAKITIMU BLOCK.

02.30: At THE KEY, he says, there was the MARAROA SCHOOL and the KEY OF THE LAKES HOTEL building, although business had ceased long before. It was situated beyond the SCHOOL, on the left towards MOSSBURN where there now stands a residential home.

03.15: The CONTRACTING season, he replies, usually ran from SEPTEMBER till EASTER (MARCH/APRIL).

04.00: After leaving to work nearer home for a transport company owned by COLIN FREW, he returned to TE ANAU in SEPTEMBER 1969 with his WIFE, HELEN (and first CHILD, WENDY).

04.10: Replies that HELEN was born 12/MARCH/1943 and that her FATHER, NEIL NEILSON was a dairy farmer in the ROUND HILL area near COLAC BAY. Adds that he and HELEN were MARRIED on 24 SEPTEMBER 1966.

05.05: Says they met through the usual social circles in those days when people went to dances or the movies to socialise.

05.20: Although they'd been dating for about three years, he affirms that he followed tradition in those days by asking her FATHER'S permission to marry HELEN. After the church wedding, he says their honeymoon was a road trip round parts of NEW ZEALAND. "Wasn't a long honeymoon...that time of year it was back to work."

06.30: Mentions that before they were MARRIED, HELEN was employed (adding later that she ran the POST OFFICE at the COLAC BAY STORE) and that she continued to work until WENDY was born in NOVEMBER 1968.

07.30: The move to TE ANAU, he says, came about after he became a partner in the CONTRACTNG business with his BROTHER, JOHN, who continued to run a farm he owned in the OTAUTAU area.

08.15: Financial input to the business came from the sale of their home in RIVERTON so that for the first few years, he says, he and HELEN rented a house in TE ANAU.

08.30: Three years later, he continues, it became apparent that the business had a two way split - NDUSTRIAL and AGRICULTURAL. They sold off some of the INDUSTRIAL equipment to focus on the AGRICULTURAL side. But within a year, he says, he was buying back some of the INDUSTRIAL gear.

09.20: In 1969, he says, there was still a lot of clearing work available for CONTRACTORS. With more BULLDOZING work on offer, he adds, the business was able to operate year-round. Still contracted mainly by L&S, he says, they worked throughout the BASIN, including the BOUNDARY BLOCK and WAIAU BLOCK.

10.20: The company also took contracts from the MINISTRY of WORKS to do road work around the BASIN.

10.35: In 1975, he says, CARRAN CONTRACTING bought KEY DRAINAGE from JIMMY CLEARWATER, thereby acquiring more equipment, such as a HYMAC EXCAVATOR to add to the recently purchased D4 BULLDOZER.

11.30: Comments that it was more difficult in the 1970s to borrow money to buy new machinery than it is in 2009. "You had to have a third (of the) deposit to buy a machine in those days."

11.45: After scraping together the deposit, he says, they were able to buy the new D4 and a few months later won a SUB-CONTRACT from WILSON & DAVIES to work on the CONTROL GATES that cross the WAIAU RIVER at the outlet from LAKE TE ANAU. [He later added that, at that time, they also purchased a new CATERPILLAR MOTORSCRAPER and employed MURRAY JENNINGS to drive it. JENNINGS continued working for the firm until it was sold 27 years later. By then, they had three each of the CATERPILLAR MOTORSCRAPERS and D4s.]

12.30: It wasn't long after that when he realised the business was spreading itself too wide so decided to sell offthe AGRICULTURAL side of it to LINDSAY MCCULLOCH, in 1976.

13.00: Admits there was a marked surge in the business' worth between 1969 and 1976. Although there had been a drop-off in activity after the MANAPOURI POWER SCHEME was completed (by the late 1960s), there was a pick-up with the ECNZ contract for the CONTROL GATES, followed by the MARAROA DAM construction.

13.45: At that time, TE ANAU "started to go mad". Several building projects were underway, he says, such as the new POST OFFICE/TELEPHONE EXCHANGE (in the town centre), the LUXMORE HOTEL, the KINGSGATE HOTEL and the MANAPOURI HOTEL as well as the luxury TAKARO LODGE development.

14.45: Remarks that since he had first seen TE ANAU, more than a decade before, it was clearly obvious how much the township had changed by the mid-1970s. "The town was starting to really grow."

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Track 3 starts

00.15: Continues that the COMMUNITY HALL had been opened in 1969 and recalls seeing the late TED THOMAS "walking the streets collecting (donations) to get the first ambulance in TE ANAU... one of those old VW combi-vans...

00.45: In 1973, he says, CARRAN CONTRACTING was awarded the contract to prepare the site for the town's first secondary school, FIORDLAND COLLEGE, which opened in 1975.

02-05: Says MURRAY JENNINGS, worked 28 days in a row uninterrupted by rain in the JULY of '73 to clear what was a SWEDE paddock, in preparation for the BUILDERS to start the foundation work. [He later added that it was not only the building they were CONTRACTED by the DEPARMENT OF EDUCATION to complete, but the total area of school grounds, fences, plants and car-parking areas. There was a strict time limit imposed for them to complete the work.]

02.20: Mentions LES COOPER and GRAHAM MATHIESON were CONTRACTED to BUILD the SCHOOL, so he and his staff had to ensure their work was completed on time so as not to risk any delay in the building schedule.

03.05: Briefly mentions other work they did around that period of time, such as the laying out of HOWDEN STREET and (the top end of) MATAI STREET. "For the next 20 years we did just about every street and subdivision in TE ANAU, really, and MANAPOURI, (and) most of the rural roads."

04.10: Bringing in building supplies and materials, he affirms, at first involved liaising with the NZR haulage firms operating from the rail terminal at MOSSBURN. "Transport firms weren't allowed to cart from INVERCARGILL."

04.25: Credits the late WILSON CAMPBELL (co-founder of FIORDLAND TRAVEL) for initiating the establishment of a freight service from INVERCARGILL to TE ANAU. "That opened up the town a lot, when you got a freight service...it was only once a week to start with."

04.45: Comments that in the early 1960s "it was a wild west town" in that there were few services available. The nearest policeman and doctor were based in LUMSDEN, about a hundred kilometres away.

05.15: But by the early 1970s, all that had changed as the town had grown apace. In 1971, he says, his family had also expanded with the addition of SON, ROSS. To maintain the business and a young family, he adds, meant their home was a rented property and he worked constantly throughout the season.

05.30: "Every season for the first few years that's all we lived for work." And although this put pressure on both him and HELEN, he says the much greater pressure for them was the success or failure of the business.

06.15: Affirms that HELEN played a key role in the administration of the business through bookkeeping and organising timesheets for the workers, some of whom often stayed at their home during the season. So HELEN also cooked meals for them. "Yeah, it wasn't easy goin'."

06.35: The first home of their own in TE ANAU, he says, was a former (MANAPOURI) HYDRO VILLAGE house, which they transported in 1975 to a (quarter-acre) section in CLEDDAU STREET which they'd bought for $2240. The (three bedroom) house, he says, cost around $5000.

07.45: Recalls that at that time, the LANDS & SURVEY DEPARTMENT undertook all the subdivisions, which were rare. "We couldn't get a section...we tried everything... but there was no section."

08.00: In exasperation, he says, he informed the COMMISSIONER of CROWN LANDS in INVERCARGILL that he was considering giving up AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTING in TE ANAU because he was unable to secure a section in the town.

08.30: Continues that the CONMISSIONER guaranteed he would be successful in the next round of BALLOTS for the upcoming subdivision, despite the possibility of competition from scores of other hopefuls. "And I did, I got the dearest one."

09.15: It was an era, he says, when the town was effectively owned by four government departments. "There was the THC (government-owned TOURIST HOTEL CORPORATION), there was DOC (then it was the DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS before the formation of the DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION in 1987), LANDS & SURVEY and the MINISTRY OF (PUBLIC) WORKS...and they controlled TE ANAU...and you daren't fall out with them or you might as well leave town."

09.35: Even in later years (1980s), he says, when he was a member of the TE ANAU COMMUNITY BOARD, continued to take unilateral decisions even if they were against the wishes of the wider community. He cites, as an example, the issues surrounding a proposed "small-holding" subdivision of land near the golf course on the outskirts of the town.

10.30: At the time, he continues, the COMMISSIONER OF CROWN LANDS in INVERCARGILL was also CHAIRMAN of the FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARKS BOARD who stated that "he didn't want to be coming down the lake and see houses on the skyline". [He later added that DOC built a departmental office on the waterfront of LAKE TE ANAU against the wishes of the local authority and the COMMUNITY BOARD He said it was also constructed without a building permit.]

10.45: "He (COMMISSIONER) wrote the rules for the subdivision and really the local authority (WALLACE COUNTY COUNCIL) didn't have much say on it, they just had to accept it."

11.30: Referring back to his company's road-working contracts, he says they redeveloped more of the MILFORD ROAD than any other CONTRACTOR, much of which he attributes to being in the right place at the right time.

11.45: The tar seal, he says, stretched to the 27-mile mark and thereafter it was a gravel road all the way to the HOMER TUNNEL. Having the right equipment helped place his firm ahead of any competitors, he says, but more importantly it was having the right men to do the job.

12.15: In the early days (mid-1970s), he continues, as SUB-CONTRACTORS to the MINISTRY OF WORKS (MOW), he and his workers had to play by its rules but, later on, the government wanted all the work put out to tender.

12.30: But with the first CONTRACT that operated under public tender, he says, his firm did not submit an application thinking it would be business as usual in that it would perform the actual work while the MOW took on the administration. He later explained that when the MOW won the CONTRACT, it did not hire CARRAN CONTRACTING. Instead it started buying its own equipment. So when the next public tender was offered and CARRAN CONTRACTING secured it, the new modus operandi was followed, and it did not SUB-CONTRACT the MOW.

12.48: And although rival firm, FULTON HOGAN, won two MILFORD ROAD CONTACTS, he says, his firm did most of the earthwork excavation while FULTON HOGAN carried out TAR-SEALING work for CARRAN CONTRACTING. He affirms this was after he had bought out KEY DRAINAGE (in 1975).

13.45: Even the tar-sealed sections, he says, had to be redeveloped to make the MILFORD ROAD serviceable for the anticipated rise in traffic volume as tourist activity increased, "The buses got bigger and the trucks got bigger... and the road just fell to bits...it couldn't handle it."

14.45: Having originally been built by men using pick and shovel, he says, the road had no foundations to cater for heavy vehicles, so it had to be rebuilt even at that first section into the 27-mile mark.

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Track 4 starts

00.00: Continues to relate an event in OCTOBER 1978 when, after a typical deluge of rain, major flooding occurred on the road. "From nine till eleven on the FRIDAY night, it rained two inches an hour." They were staying at JOHNSTONE' S CAMP (now known as the MILFORD LODGE) and were advised to pack up and get out quickly, or be flooded out.

00.40: Goes on to say they ended up (sleeping) on the floor of the MILFORD HOTEL for the night as the MILFORD ROAD had been closed to traffic due to the weather conditions. "Went for a look the next morning...well what a mess."

01.10: Amid concerns that the CLEDDAU RIVER was a major FLOOD risk for the small settlement at MILFORD, he says, the MOW called for tenders ''to rock the CLEDDAU RIVER". NORTH OTAGO ROAD METAL COMPANY from OAMARU (owned by STAN FRANCIS) won the CONTRACT but employed CARRAN CONTRACTING to place the rocks in the river (to form a barrier wall).

01.30: "Two thousand eight hundred and sixty hours later, we had all those rocks in the CLEDDAU RIVER and they're still there today." Comments that it had taken the river in flood just five hours to shift the metal road material while it took his men about nine months to build the rock-wall barrier.

02.00: "I've seen that river rise over seven metres at JOHNSTONE'S CAMP and those rocks are still there, so I reckon that was a great achievement doing that job."

03.20: Among his labourers on that project, he says, there were TREVOR HARPER, MIKE BRIGHTWELL, MURRAY JENNINGS and CHRIS FREW.

04.20: Recalls the occasions of working on the MILFORD ROAD when it was blocked by avalanches (usually around the HOMER TUNNEL area) and their only recourse was to call on the services of TE ANAU-based helicopter pilot, BILL BLACK, who flew in supplies of fuel and other items, which allowed them to continue working.

04.50: Says it was before the MILFORD ROAD AVALANCHE PROGRAMME began, adding that it was implemented by MOW supervisor, POP ANDREW, about two years before he died (in 1983) in an accident caused by avalanche.

05.20: Replies that the GABION WALL (a specially designed supporting wall built into the side of the mountain near the HOLLYFORD ROAD turnoff) was completed in 1993.

05.30: Explains that there had been a major landslip of rocks and earth onto the road, obstructing vehicle movement. Tenders were called to rectify the damage and introduce measures that would prevent a re-occurrence.

06.00: The concrete foundation of the wall, he says, was at a depth of about three metres which meant it reached down into the HOLLYFORD RIVER. Having won the CONTRACT for the project, he adds, it ended up being the largest GABION WALL in the SOUTH ISLAND.

06.30: Recalls when the project began there was "Twenty-seven minutes of sun the first day.it deteriorated from that. Snow, cold, frozen, all winter. I could never understand why they ever had that MARIAN CAMP at the HOLLYFORD turn off. It was the coldest place you could find just about." This is in reference to the accommodation provided by the MOW for the workers (and their families) during the original construction of the MILFORD ROAD between 1929 and the mid-1950s.

07.40: Combined with another project, he says, the job took about 12 months to complete and on its earned CARRAN CONTRACTNG about $1.9 million, which had to cover not only labour and equipment but also the cost of materials.

08.15: Talks of the pressure in competing for CONTRACTS and yet, as far as the Milford Road was concerned, "the harder the CONTRACTS were on the MILFORD ROAD, the more we loved them because we knew the area and we knew we could blow our opposition away".

09.00: Again saying that, above all else, it was his workers that put the company ahead of the competition, he adds that the company averaged about nine labourers fulltime, although there was the odd occasion when there was more than double that number.

09.20: Recalls that when he started CONTRACTING work for his BROTHERS in 1958, he was paid six pounds a week for a six-day working week. But he couldn't immediately remember what his men were paid in the late 60s/70s, although he admits it "still wasn't big money".

10.10: Referring to the difference between the equipment used then and now, he says the technology installed in the GRADERS and DIGGERS used today would have been unheard of in the 60s/70s when quite a lot of the work was still manual labour.

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Track 5 starts

00.45: Replies that the MILFORD ROAD was not the only state highway his firm worked on. As mentioned earlier, his workers laid out many of the smaller roads in the TE ANAU BASIN and in the town's subdivisions as each one came up. Other jobs included drilling work for a petroleum company during its investigations into oil deposits in the LILLBURN VALLEY (further south) and in TE ANAU'S UPUKERORA VALLEY.

01.30: Adds that there were jobs even further afield, such as the HAAST HIGHWAY. "We had our eye out all the time for CONTRACTS in different places."

[Later, he listed some of them as the following: construction of oxidization (sewer) provided ponds at the CLYDE DAM; the grounds for the new school at TUATAPERE; new sports fields at RIVERTON, the THORNBURY BRIDGE approach, the LUMSDEN BRIDGE approach, the DUNCRAIGEN BRIDGE approach, TIM TIAKA 'S subdivision in MANAPOURI and the nearby lifestyle blocks at ROBBIE HAYES farm of which the CARRANS were a 50% shareholder. He went on to write that his firm was CONTRACTOR for the upgrade to the TE ANAU waterfront, the layout of LUXMORE DRIVE, MACKINNON LOOP, TE ANA U town centre, helped in the formation of SANDY BROWN ROAD and dredged the TE ANAU BOAT HARBOUR. He also recalled receiving a phone call from the late LES HUTCHINS (DCNZM, OBE) from WANGANUI who asked if CARRAN CONTRACTING would dredge part of FRESHWATER BASIN (in MILFORD SOUND) and build a wharf in preparation for the launch of the FIORDLAND TRAVEL COMPANY'S MV MILFORD HAVEN in a week's time (date?). So a temporary wharfc onsisting mostly of 44 gallon drums was created and the following year, CARRAN CONTRACTING won the tender to dredge a new channel into FRESHWATER BASIN, drive piles and build new wharves. That was when he hired JIM MORGAN, the participant wrote. He also added that CARRAN CONTRACTING worked with the late OWEN SMITH to establish the new FISHERMAN'S WHARF and access road at DEEPWATER BASIN.]

02.05: And yet, he says, they worked a lot of hours on the MILFORD ROAD, particularly doing maintenance work after heavy rain. The original culverts (for drainage) were too small and had to be replaced.

02.45: Unlike present day, he says the MILFORD ROAD was not open to vehicular traffic year-round. "In the early days... the road used to close for the winter. The hotel in MILFORD used to close...and everything... "

03.05: Continues that even into the mid-1970s the barriers were put up at CASCADE CREEK (where there was a tourist accommodation hostel run by AANZ. Later still, it was at the HOLLYFORD ROAD turnoff that the gates were installed to stop people going further.

04.10: 1968, he says, was when the biggest avalanche came down on the road. "The road was closed for over three months... ". Mentions RON BOATWOOD and DES HARPER cleared the bulk of the snow after they DOZED the road "for miles" to reach the affected section. But there was much less pressure for the road to be open since the number of tourists was far fewer than in more recent years.

05.15: It was the mid-1970s when the push to keep the road open year-round began to gather momentum, he says, mainly for the fishermen at MILFORD SOUND and during the years of intensive VENISON RECOVERY from the FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK.

05.30: Most of the CONTRACT work took place in the winter when the road was closed so there were no traffic problems to contend with.

06.30: Having started with only a few pieces of equipment, he says, by the time the business was sold (in 1998), its assets included five DIGGERS and two DOZERS. But they ended up hiring a lot of equipment because it eventually proved more economical than trying to buy all the different machinery or vehicles they required for the wide variety of jobs they did.

08.00: The reason for selling the business, he says, was because he had over-diversified. He explains that the firm had invested in the FIORDLAND LAUNDRY which it eventually bought out. As a result HELEN'S time was taken over with that business. At the same time, he had been developing a DEER FARMING investment, having bought some land in the BASIN. So, by 1998, they decided to get out of the CONTRACTING business completely.

[Another later addition not mentioned during the recording was that the CARRANS also set up the FIORDLAND AGRICULTURAL SERVICE and employed SELWYN CRANSTOUN to run it. After twelve months, he bought shares in the business and over the next few years gradually increased his shareholding until he eventually took 100% ownership. It still operates in 2009.]

09:00: Goes on to say that he made a deal with the SCOTT family (BARRY and VAL) through which they swapped the CONTRACTING business for the SCOTT'S FARM near TUATAPERE. The SCOTT'S two sons, (MARK and AARON), he adds, were "machinery minded" and keen to go into CONTRACTING.

09.40: "We were keen to see the SCOTT family get it. We did have bigger firms that were nibbling away, wanting to buy us out but we really wanted it to stay a handson family-type business." He adds that what evolved into CARRAN SCOTT CONTRACTING, by name, has continued and gathered strength as a business into 2009.

10.20: Explains that he started an interest in DEER FARMING because it was so very different from being involved in MACHINERY. "You live all your life on your and alarm clock with CONTRACTING and when you start to get older, the younger people start to undermine you 'cause you can't work long enough hours."

10.50: But it was as far back as 1981, he says, that he first leased land and stocked it with DEER and bought his first block of grazing land in 1984 bordering SH94 on the HILLSIDE ROAD turnoff



11.30: A few years later (1988/89), he continues, the CARRANS bought a block of land at PATIENCE BAY with the primary aim of DEER FARMING but also with an eye on possible residential subdivision.

[He later added that after three years of trying to get a concession for a subdivision at PATIENCE BAY, the CARRANS set up a 50/50 partnership with immediate neighbour, DEREK COOK, to develop the subdivision. The participant's firm carried out the CONTRACTING work overseen by MANAGER, MURRAY JENNINGS. "We spent a lot of money on the plans and designs which made it possibly the best subdivision for small holdings in TE ANAU " he wrote.]

12.00: At first, he says, all the DEER were bought from NELSON THOMPSON, who was an independent operator in VENISON and DEER RECOVERY from the FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK. The average price, he adds, was $ 1500 per HIND.

13.25: The next stage was breeding the DEER on the FARM and improving the quality of the STOCK. He admits it was a learning curve and that a few mistakes were made at first, as he explains.

14.30: At peak times during the FARMING year, he says, the number of DEER on the CAR-RAN property totals about 5,000.

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Track 6 starts

00.15: Affirms that it's an industry that has always been affected by fluctuating market prices ranging from $3000 for an average-sized animal to as low as $ 1200. And the same goes for DEER VELVET (a bi-product of the antlers). "We sold VELVET one year at $352/kg (about 15 years ago)...in the last four to five years we've been averaging $44 to $55 per kilo."

00.50: Living in the TE ANAU area, he says, had its advantages in its proximity to the FNP when the WILD DEER were being brought out by helicopter in the 1970s/80s. "They were well picked and NELSON THOMPSON was such a great guy to deal with."

01.15: Another advantage for him was that turning his attentions to the work of DEER FARMING helped him unwind from the pressures of the CONTRACTING business, in the days when he was doing both. "It was more relaxing, in the early days, to go FARMING."

02.30: Considers that selling the business was a positive move, particularly since it freed HELEN from the continuous BOOKEEPING and ADMIN required to keep it running smoothly. At the same time, he says, he was aware that their SON, ROSS, was "never cut out to be a CONTRACTOR" and had left TE ANAU to pursue a very different career.

03.00: But ROSS did return home and has effectively taken over on the FARM (at HILLSIDE). "And we're very happy to have him there."

03.45: Considers that being successful in the CONTRACTING business requires dedication. "You gotta live with it, you can't get away from it. Everything's around your next job.. .if you have a day off the FARM, the VELVET'S still growing, if you have a day off CONTRACTING... the bills keep coming in and nothing grows."

03.40: Having said that, he admits that what he has missed most about giving up CONTRACTING is the other people involved. "We had good staff, I enjoyed working with them and that was the big thing that I missed... even today."

05.30: Referring to his involvement in the wider community of TE ANAU, he says during the 1960s the town was such a small place that everyone got involved in various community projects, such as setting up the FIORDLAND VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE.

05.50: Mentions he spent 18 years on the TE ANAL] COMMUNITY BOARD following persuasion from a past chairman, COLIN TAURI, who was keen to attract people with business acumen to join the committee, but also someone with knowledge about things such as STORM WATER DRAINAGE.

07.20: Says he enjoyed being on the BOARD at the same time as people like BRIAN WATT (a local plumber) and FRANA CARDNO (SOUTHLAND DISTRICT MAYOR) and DIANE RIDLEY (SOUTHLAND DISTRICT COUNCILLOR).

[He later added the names of some others, including: the late TED THOMAS, IRENE BARNES, DAVE MOSS, the late BILL NELSEN, the late JACK RICHMOND and BRUCE BROWN]

08.00: Also, as a trustee of the HOLLYFORD MUSEUM (the TRUST was officially set up c. 2000), he was asked to become an inaugural member because he had been instrumental in helping MURRAY GUNN to renovate his home and the MUSEUM at the HOLLYFORD CAMP after it was destroyed by fire in 1991.

08.45: One of the reasons for setting up the TRUST, he says, was to prevent the DEPARTMENT of CONSERVATION (DOC) from getting rid of the CAMP, a proposal which had been raised again after the fire. "It's the last (MINISTRY OF) PUBLIC WORKS CAMP in NEW ZEALAND to be still intact and we wanted to see it stay there."

09.15: Says there was a lot of local support for the CAMP, adding that among the CARRAN family there were three generations who had stayed there, including those who would have been there when it was run by DAVEY GUNN (father of MURRAY and the originator of guided tours in the HOLLYFORD VALLEY, through which he also ran HEREFORD cattle).

09.30: "DOC had the attitude that they were going to burn it down when(ever) MURRAY died...so we thought what could we do about this... so we came up with this idea of a charitable trust...and MURRAY appointed the trustees." Adds that he's still on the BOARD, but no longer as CHAIRMAN (that position is currently held by RON PEACOCK).

10.30: Referring back to TE ANAU, he replies that they lived in the first (owner occupied) house in CLEDDAU STREET for about three years and then moved to another house on the same street where they lived for almost 1 8 years before shifting to the FARM on HILLSIDE ROAD in 1992. A few years later, he and HELEN moved to their present home.

11.45: Considers the greatest change he has witnessed in the town's evolution is its increasing autonomy from larger government bodies such as the WALLACE COUNTY COUNCIL (predecessor of the SOUTHLAND DISTRICT COUNCIL) or TRANSIT NZ. Both these organisations, he says, proved difficult when consulted about town development plans, such as the formation of LUXMORE DRIVE and SANDY BROWN ROAD.

13.40: "It was good to see TE ANAU take over and make its own rules... 'cause (there were) people in TRANSIT NZ (who) probably never slept a night in TE ANAU making the wrong decisions for the town."

14.40: Affirms that his children attended both the TE ANAU PRIMARY SCHOOL and FIORDLAND COLLEGE.

Track 6 stops

Track 7 starts

00.35: Suggests that there is a change in attitude about issues such as raising funds to establish new facilities, particularly for sports or recreation. Whereas in previous years, people organised events as a fund-raiser, now people apply for government grants or the equivalent. "Young ones today, they just look round and think someone else will have to come up with the money.'

01.55: As to further town planning, he thinks there should be a halt on what he calls "ribbon development": "I think the subdivisions that are all over the place and scattered away out of town... create problems long-term. They get very expensive to service." He adds that there are plenty of areas within the town boundaries that are good for expansion rather than forming more satellite pockets on the outskirts

Track 7 stops

Interview ends