Margaret Jean McKenzie (Jean)

Interviewer: Kerry Murray

Abstracter: Katharine Morrison

First Interview: 4 August 2014

TRACK 1

00:00 Interview identification

00:44 MARGARET JEAN MCKENZIE born in 1931

01:00 Interview agreement

01:39 Focus of interview: LIFE in OTATARA

01.55 Parents JACK and MAY HARVEY worked at BAY ROAD when single, for MR EUSTACE RUSSEL and Family until married - contacted them about a job for a HEAD GREENKEEPER CARETAKER and CATERER for the GOLF LINKS

02.38 Moved there OCTOBER 1927, Lived on the GOLF COURSE, Wooden villa, until CLUBHOUSE modern building built. Mother CATERER, father GREENKEEPER

03.34 DUNNS ROAD, MR JIM BIRSE SENIOR, his son JIM, MR JACK PATERSON

03.59 Siblings - JIM aged 5, RUSSELL aged 3, ALAN aged 11, ERROL '29, MYSELF in '31

04:34 Mother died 1949, Jean left her job, kept home fires burning for a year and a half 120 acres of well-groomed ground, trees to climb, vines

06:06 TOURNAMENTS, LADIES DAY, 100 to serve at big weekend tournaments

06.51 Well to dos could afford to play golf, BAY ROAD

07.26 Brothers didn't work there, ALAN did years later after he left TAPPERS, brothers stayed in the district

07.49 Lived directly opposite the SCHOOL where dad built the house he and Mum had dreamed of, getting the sun all day, ERROL still resides there aged 85

08.11 Farm land, bought 1/4 acre off dad, joined another farm off VYNER ROAD

08:45 Describes home on Golf Course, flush toilets, windmill, National Tournaments, all played golf, ERROL was playing in his late teens

10:10 OTATARA SCHOOL, JIM started in '27, I started in '37 aged 6 in the DEPRESSION years, biked to town, caught bus, standard 6, New River Ferry, CURRAN ROAD was the cut off, MIDDLE SCHOOL, WEST PLAINS, never biked to school but biked to work and back on gravel, STEAD STREET

13:15 OTATARA School, Details, 2 rooms, first teacher lovely FRIDA WILKINSON, MRS REED, MISS RAE headmistress, original school was shifted from North Otatara, describes, Miss HANNAH EWART

14:58 End of Track 1

TRACK 2

00.05 Friends continued, BLOMFIELDS, TATHAMS, big family of PATTERSONS, TANGNEYS down Dunns Road, everybody knew everybody else, close knit district

01:01 SCHOOL was the hub, describes, flowers, sweet peas, MR TREMLOW, BIRSE FAMILY

02:09 Describes Pet Day, bantams, ERSKINE FAMILY came to school on ponies, went til standard 6, MISS RAE, three TRELOOR nieces, Education Board, SOUTHLAND TECHNICAL COLLEGE, built a house, RAYBURN AVE, women teachers, first bike, couldn't wait to show MISS RAE her bike, school house, MISS EWART

05:37 Dad and MR GORDON worked hand in glove on every committee, forward thinking,

06:07 Hall, son BARRY, land corner of VYNER ROAD and DUNNS ROAD where MRS MITCHELL used to live, BOWLING GREEN, CHURCH got shifted, SCHOOL, METHODIST CHURCH Otatara road, Centralize Otatara onto Dunns Road, WITHERFORD HALL, ORETI Road.

07:44 Fund raising, community dances. WEST PLAINS HALL, shortage of building materials after war, bought YMC Hut from SIRLING POINT MILITARY CAMP, describes hall, opened 1946, GUIDES, BROWNIES

09:32 Dances, First new home built, Bulling home, shifted from BLENHEIM, IVAN BULLING and sons on BAY Road, the ACKER property, great night, LORNA KISSEL's 21st one of the first functions, Dad took the door, leg paralysis, Flower shows,

11:16 Hall on the corner of Dunns Road and RURU Avenue, and then moved to THE CABBAGE TREE, dance floor Black Pine

11:51 Roads and bridges, traffic couldn't travel over Estuary until bridged, tram track on embankment went the length of STEAD STREET, boats in Estuary and SCOUT HALL, Tram tracks became cycle track

13:15 Dunns Road, First house on left was MR COPELAND's had a menswear shop, end of embankment first house on left, start of Dunns Road, RODGERS, MARAMA AVENUE, two HENDERSON FAMILIES, GEORGE, she worked for school, no school fees, other Henderson family had a dairy farm at the end of MARAMA AVE NORTH, first house BIRSE home, JIM built

15:00 END OF TRACK 2

TRACK 3

00:07 MR TREMLOW was on terrace, behind BIRSE Family, MOLONEY FAMILY had a dairy farm, school, reserve, TATHAMS drive, BARRY MCKENZIE'S House is there today, JACK and DIDDY TATHAMS, MUMFORD FAMILY, Diddy's parents, PATTERSON Family farm, JOHNNY, POSTAL BRANCH, TELEPHONE BOOTH, SPENCE AVENUE, Links, Hall, details

03:11 TANGNEY'S CORNER, SHOP, Petrol, BLOMFIELD house, ORETI RIVER BRIDGE, 1929, no cycle lane, wooden until 1988, WINNIE MCCULLOCH, REWCASTLE

04:43 Two Families lived across the left side of the river, GEORGE ARNOLD MANAGER of FLAX MILL and wife MARY, PATTERSON Family, HUTCHINSONS had a beach road STORE

05:20 MAYOR of INVERCARGILL ABRAHAM WACHNER and wife lived to 100, had a crib, cribs in ARIKI and RURU Avenues, like a resort, once the bridge was there it lost its flavour, were sold off, native bush

06:17 BEACH busy, biking rather than cars, Dad and MR GORDON had only cars, JAQUIERY STORE, on the corner, CLYDE STREET ROUNDABOUT, Mum and Dad dealt with ROYDS BROTHERS and KIRK, big catering, SUPPLIES, MORRIS’S, fierce slog into a westerly up a hill, gravel road, narrow, car piled high on carrier on back, picked up DOUG PATTERSON

08:37 Good Bus service, run by MR TOM ORR (sp?), passenger bus, secondary school, 10.30 to town, 1.30 after dinner, 4.30 home, walk to HALLENSTEINS, to get fruit, depot, pick up mail from PATTERSONS, phone booth, phone at Hall corner

10:20 Shops: Post Office, TANGNEYS CORNER, Shop at Beach, groceries JAQUIERIES coupons in War Years, Mum made butter, milked cow

11:22 Mr Orr's bus, MR HAY driver, IAN TODD another driver, prams hung on the front, Friday night bus in later teens, return after pictures 10.30 pm

12:14 Shops changed when War finished, JOHNNY BORROWS (sp?) and brother RAY built shop, sister MARG worked there, Post got moved there, Four Square is there today, MERYL WATT, ALAN and MERYL

13:21 WAR years, Jim went ARMY, AIRFORCE Pilot, trained in CANADA, went to ENGLAND tears of joy from Mother, Dad paralysis of leg but fit on green, formed OTATARA HOME GUARD, did maneouvres from front verandah

14:59 End of Track 3

TRACK 4

00:04 Fundraising for War, PATRIOTIC FUND, dances in the school to farewell soldiers, welcome homes, Jim came back to Otatara. Jim married. Had Dad and 4 men to look after. Worked at HERBERT HAINES in the office after secondary school, until Mum died, aged 18

02:06 Rented a house in town until Dad bought the property, LEX and I rented the house when married, 2 small boys born there, Lex then built on Dunns Road

02:38 ALAN and DOREEN YOUNG ran a MILK BAR, SNOW WHITE DAIRY opposite the school, married '53

03:55 Busy road, roads sealed, cycle lane, took the hill away for safety of the school

04:30 SANDY POINT, Flax Mill, details about buildings, BLOMFIELDS, KERRY MURRAY built, land reasonable, septic tanks restriction had to have an acre, JOHN and JOAN WATT built

06:56 Swim in river, canoes, MRS BLOMFIELD would supervise, Big Dip when tide out, track by bridge, fishing, ROWING CLUB, SKI CLUB, DAFFODIL BAY have picnics, our playground was at FOSBENDER PARK in a big sand hill under big trees, never in her children's day, bike to the beach, didn't learn to swim, manual training

09:24 PEEWEE (ROWLAND) PAYNE when they had a 75th Jubilee in the hall, 91, MR GORDON'S Good recording, COLIN ROBERTSON, 100, involved in community

10:06 Played Golf, bowls, 2 special families, Patterson family and Blomfield family, many old pupils of Otatara have settled back and brought families up, big school now, 125th, ANDREA and PAULA on committee, interview with Peewee Payne, he liked Sport and Repertory

12:32 School pool fund raising, put shoulders to the wheel, rugby, gala days, RESERVE, new hall 1999, BARRY her son involved

14:07 1927 Mum and Dad first came, '58 Dad and brothers lived opposite the school, tree felling, CAMERON HOME, STICKY BEAK

15:00 End of Track 4

TRACK 5

00.50 Clearing land for farming, Alan and Errol farmed 100 acres off MR GORDON, Sawmills, tracks came to Oreti Road, ran sheep, Barry built, TATHAMS farm

01:40 Dances, Netball Team, Bulling, Mr Gordon's daughter MAVIS, coach, Dance to raise funds, hire MR GEORGE MALTBY's taxi to take to INVERCARGILL games

03:25 Tennis Club, SHIRLEY McCATTY and GEORGE proprietors of Snow White Milk Bar, GAVIN son went to LITHGOW, meeting at Hall, didn't want children going to town schools, voted, COLLINGWOOD SCHOOL, school to standard 6

06:10 Size of families, TANGNEY, FAHY, Patterson family, most people gardened, Mrs Blomfield, MRS ARNOLD, domestic help, Mum did nice hand work, crochet, very enjoyable looking back

09:26 End of Track 5