The Club’s Hay project commenced in 1973 after Des Vince, a member of the Club, purchased what was known as Duckworth Farm on the corner of Settlement and Dominion Roads. He offered the hay from the block to the Club and Past Presidents Ray Coles and Noel Bryant asked Ross Ferguson, who owned a hay baler and all of the other necessary equipment, if he could arrange the haymaking. Later the property was purchased by the Papakura City Council and the Auckland Education Board and the Club was able to continue to make hay off it until it was developed for housing.
Initially the Hay was sold to a variety of farmers around the Karaka but from 1978 I purchased the bulk of the hay until the land became unavailable. One paddock had a shallow gully running through it and on some occasions it was so wet we had difficulty getting the trucks across it to pick up the hay.
In the earlier years we made hay in December as we did not think that we could get Rotarians to help with the picking up of the bales and the cartage after Christmas in the holiday period. Making hay in December can be dicey and I did get quite a bit of substandard hay. However eventually we made it after Christmas and found that there were plenty of Rotarians prepared to help and so the quality of the hay was much better.
When houses started to surround the area a lot of plastic rubbish began to get thrown into the paddocks. One year we collected three large sacks of plastic out of the bales as we were feeding the hay to the cows and I fully expected to have a calf born with plastic jandals on its feet.
One year Ross’s baler broke down and it was obvious that it could not be fixed that day. After driving around Karaka and Papakura at breakneck speed I eventually found someone who was able to bring his baler and the crisis was over.
In the early years Ted Lees provided a large truck or two which was a big help while Graeme Matheson and Merv Webster always had their trucks available and many Rotarians brought along utes.
There was always an after match function in my garage which certainly added to the fellowship.
Bill MacMillan and others would sometimes bring teenagers to help and they would happily play pool on one side of the garage while the exhausted would drink and eat on the other side. Rotaryannes would provide some refreshments in the hay paddocks while my wife, Gay, and Betty Ferguson would provide food for the after match function.
When the last truck reached my farm there was always a mad rush to get to the after march function and the bales would be flung all over the barn. The next day my farm assistant and I would spend a couple of hours restacking the hay.
It was a miracle that the only injury suffered by the workers was to Charlie McPeak – he was not hospitalised although his pride as a cricketer was dented for not being able to catch a bale of hay. If Occupational Safety and Heath (OSH) had been around in those times they woulf have had a field day.
In the early nineties we lost the hay paddocks through development and I was more than a little relieved. With houses appearing around the paddocks and as I had to leave my tractor over night (for making the hay) in the paddock I was always concerned that I would arrive the following morning to find the tractor battery missing or other damage to the machinery. I remember arriving one year to find hay heaped all over the place when the youngsters from the surrounding area had obviously had a great time playing in it. Once when making the hay I had to ask a young couple to move to another row while I raked the area in which they were cuddling.
After the Settlement Road project was completed we made hay in Oaklands Road at Karaka where Merv Webster had organised and another year we made it in a paddock in Great South Road opposite Gatland Road which Malcolm Glasgow organised.
For a few years we picked up and carted hay on the Molletts and More Farms in Urquaharts Road, Karaka. Then it was on to Ross Ferguson’s farm where we carted hay into his shed and into his neighbours as well. Because of the short distance between the field and the barn the utes came into their own as bale movers.
During the early years we made about $5,000 each year which was a considerable amount in those days. However when we were just carting hay it was not as profitable as when we were able to sell the hay but it was still worthwhile and good for fellowship. The professionals in the Club knew what they were doing when they stacked hay and they obviously enjoyed it.
The last cartage of hay was in 2004 and so the hay projects spanned some thirty years of the Club’s history.
The part that the late Ross Ferguson played was invaluable to the club and a monument to the effort that he put in. Ross was a dedicated Rotarian who also put a great deal into so many other fund raising ventures of the Club and was for many years attendance officer.
Laurie Henwood.