H0364 Joseph Philip Roy JONES

Interviewer: Janice Templeton

Abstracter: Judith Christie

Interview: 11 July 2013

TRACK ONE

00.00 Full name Joseph Phillip Roy Jones, born 18 February 1926. General conversation for the rest of Track One

TRACK TWO

00.00 Name and date of birth repeated.

01.25 Born in DUNEDIN. FATHER’S name DAVID JONES. Was a FARMER until the DEPRESSION, then became a GOLD MINER. MOTHER’S name ELIZABETH (LIL) nee ROBERTS. Father’s second wife. Father’s first wife was COLLINS, they had five children.

02.45 Four children in the second family. NORMAN (died two years previously), VALERIE oldest child (died five years ago) CATHERINE (died eight or nine years ago).

03.10 Lived at CAMBRIAN until FATHER INJURED [died?] in a GOLD MINING ACCIDENT.

03.25 Mother then met ALBERT SMITH and family moved south. Difficult time.

03.50 Children from first family not with them.

04.00 CAMBRIAN (aka Cambrians) is a small settlement in the MANIOTOTO, CENTRAL OTAGO. Originally a gold mining settlement, then coal mining.

04.30 Attended one teacher SCHOOL in Cambrian. First teacher was JIM BROWN, who was later a LABOUR MP. Second teacher MRS SHADWELL, who attended a Jubilee at Becks years later – had reached 100 years old.

05.20 All of the children in family attended school together. Lots of experiences. Set fifty RABBIT TRAPS on the way to school and cleared them later in the day. Parent angry they were out after dark. Describes rabbit shooting process.

07.35 Mother made RABBIT STEW – good cook.

07.50 Played RUGBY at BECKS, but CRICKET main interest. Father and other locals built a concrete cricket pitch behind school.

08.25 CAMBRIAN had a population of around eight residents. In the early days, larger village. Many CHINESE and EUROPEAN GOLD MINERS. Describes

09.00 Quite a few buildings remained when self and family arrived, but in poor repair. Many Chinese miners moved on to KYEBURN and ARROWTOWN DIGGINGS.

10.00 Place was called WELSHMAN’S GULLY when Chinese were there. Some rich diggings. FATHER and UNCLE CLAYTON mined there until father died. Mentions VINEGAR FLAT, which contained lots of gold.

11.00 Finished schooling after gaining PROFICIENCY EXAM at 12 years old.

11.30 Started work with MRS ANNAN, a friend of self’s mother, who had an ORCHARD in CLYDE which is now under water. Biked from Cambrians to Clyde which was 25 miles away. Stayed there on the job at the orchard. Lots of STUDENTS worked on the orchards.

13.05 RABBITED in the winter at Cambrian. Then worked for BILL MCCANNON at BLACKSTONE HILL STATION as a rabbiter, earned £1/10 a week. Used horses and poisoned and shot rabbits up in the hills. Stayed in a hut. Rabbit skins much more valuable in the winter.

End of Track Two

TRACK THREE

00.00 Further description of rabbit hunting.

00.40 Mentions MR HERRICKS[?], teacher at school, who went with students rabbit hunting. Used the skins of the rabbits, kept the bodies to rot.

02.00 During the SHEARING SEASON, worked on MR HARLEY’S run – age 13 or 14. Picker up for the shearers.

02.45 Shearing on MR PYLE’S station and the life of the shearers there. Describes. Rose at 4.30, washed in the river.

03.50 At age 15, went to shearing classes at CHEVIOT DOWNS STATION, ROXBURGH, used a blade.

04.10 Went on to shear for a living. Wasn’t taxed until age 16, so made lots of money as a 15 year old. Sheared MERINO SHEEP. Started shearing 40 sheep a day, and got up to 70. Shearers hard to get because of the War.

05.10 MR BEATTIE sat at the end of the shearing board. His SON STUART joined the AIR FORCE, and flew plane over the shearing shed. Dust and sheep and wool blowing everywhere.

06.10 Ended up being able to get 100 sheep shorn a day. Ten years shearing, and continued shearing small mobs of sheep, e.g. for MR BAILLIE, the PLUMBER IN RIVERTON, and MR CLEAVER’S stud sheep.

06.50 Family left Cambrian when self was 15 and moved to KAPUKA SOUTH on BILL MONK’S farm. Mr Monk later sold the farm and owned ASHER’S COALPIT.

07.45 Mother organized a job for self at HAYES making WIRE STRAINERS. Mr Hayes tested them.

08.25 Self developed QUINSY and became very ill. Taken to RANFURLY HOSPITAL. Experienced LARGE EARTHQUAKE while there. In hospital for some time.

09.30 MR MONK in KAPUKA had been a friend of the family and worked on a station there. His son ALF MONK and self were good friends and wanted to GO TO WAR together. Friend went, but four lots of RHEUMATIC FEVER prevented self serving. Did do some training for the AIRFORCE at HAREWOOD. Alf was serving in J FORCE.

10.50 Went into training on VE Day, and left training on VJ Day. Self’s and BOYD MASON’S posting overseas didn’t come through, so worked at the TRAINING STATION melting down old planes. Trained as ground staff. Rest of the trainees worked in the Islands. Self bitterly disappointed.

12.20 RSA were very good, and treated self as a returned soldier.

12.45 After the war, returned to shearing. MACHINE SHEARING by then. Had a good FRIEND, a NUIE ISLANDER, who worked with him. Moved around Southland a lot shearing. During Winter time, did various jobs, including EELING. Earned a penny a pound, or 3d if eels were skinned. Eeled at the back of WYNDHAM. Used chicken as bait.

End of Track Three

TRACK FOUR

00.00 Used dead chickens and rotten eggs as eel bait and got so many eels that they had to use a tractor to pull out the traps. Describes

01.12 Eels were taken to MAKAREWA for processing. Not very good money, but off season income. Would do anything to keep off the dole.

02.10 Self worked for the RABBIT BOARD at WYNDHAM and and worked on TOM SKINNER’S farm at REDAN. Mother and stepfather moved on to the farm. Used a fumigator to kill the rabbits. Describes

03.30 Still problems with rabbits in CENTRAL OTAGO. Rabbits poisoned there with carrots. Care not always taken with the poison.

04.10 Rabbited in a mining shaft describes. BLUE STRYCHNINE BOTTLES thrown down the mine shaft – now very valuable. Describes process of skinning rabbits.

05.50 Self owned a pocket knife, which was used for 80 years.

06.15 As a teenager, friend ALF had a PONTIAC CAR, and attended dances. Played little SPORT until moved to RIVERTON, when played CRICKET.

06.45 Worked for SOUTHLAND CATCHMENT BOARD driving an excavator 19RB describes. Moved to Riverton when started working for a private contractor, MR COLLIS.

08.50 Met wife MARGARET CRAIG, who was the daughter of a well known Invercargill couple. Mother played at dances. Father had had heart attacks and was an invalid – he made BAMBOO KNITTING NEEDLES. Stayed at the Craig home in Robertson Street when shearing. Wife’s brother was STUART CRAIG, who was blinded in Korea and became a physiotherapist. Died recently.

11.20 Wife Margaret worked in the office of RUSSELLS GARAGE. Met her at a dance, and MARRIED in 1952. Moved to the schoolhouse at GUMMIES BUSH.

12.10 Worked for DICK COLLIS for around ten years before self owned his own machine. Worked for Mr Collis around Southland, including DITCHING for ANDREW TEMPLETON. Worked at ERMEDALE and PURAKINO. Massive job draining properties. Describes

End of Track Four

TRACK FIVE

00.00 Worked at draining for MR SHEARING in wet weather. Describes

01.15 Ditches left for several months before being filled in.

01.40 Had family while living at GUMMIES BUSH, then moved to SHREWSBURY STREET, which was first house owned – purchased off CHARLIE CARNEY for £1000. Was there for five or six years before moving to THE HIGHLANDS on the outskirts of RIVERTON.

03.00 DAVID oldest child – had a lucky escape as a baby when he FELL INTO A WELL. HOPCROFT family helped to get him out and resuscitated him. Describes. ROBERT next child – he became an ELECTRICIAN for MR BAILEY. Starts to mention another child, but tape stopped at that point.

End of Track Five