THE CHRISTCHURCH YEARS (1962 - 1966) This period of my life covers my time in Christchurch for the five years above. For the first year (1962) I attended the Christchurch Teachers' College. For the other four years, I was teaching at Burnside High School. I kept a diary for just one year, 1962. So what is written for the other four years is based mainly on my memory.

Getting to Christchurch After about a month in Wellington finishing off my M.Sc. thesis, I left Wellington for Christchurch on February 2nd. While one could fly, the main way for most people then was to travel on the inter-island ferries between Wellington and Lyttelton. Yes, that was indeed a nice way to travel! The ferries, which could accommodate 800 to 1000 passengers, left Wellington at 8 pm every evening and berthed at exactly 7 am in Lyttelton. (There was always plenty of time to catch up if necessary.) The photo (taken in 1966) shows two of the ferries berthed at the Lyttelton terminal. The ferry on the right (the Wahine) is backing towards the new link span, which was built to allow cars to drive on and off the ferry. [In a huge storm in Cook Strait in 1968, the Wahine capsized and sank as it left Wellington harbour and was entering Cook Strait; 50+ people perished.] To save the hassle of carrying my two suitcases with me, the day before departure I took my them to the railway station and checked them to Christchurch. Kartini and I then had dinner together at a restaurant. The ferry left at 8 pm with Ron and I aboard. We had supper with Bartha [Kartini's older sister; I am not sure why she was going to Christchurch] and her friend. I went to bed in my cabin at about 10.45 pm. Comment: Look at the clothes I was wearing, just to travel to Christchurch!! People seemed to dress more formally in those days. I was woken up at 6 am with the crew bringing round a cup of tea and a biscuit. After disembarking, we took the train into Christchurch. As this was my first time ever in Christchurch, I took a taxi (8/6) to the place where I was to board) where I had breakfast. •1

The first day That same afternoon, a Saturday, Ron and I went to Lancaster Park (the main Rugby ground) for an athletic meet. Peter Snell, who was making a name for himself as a middle-distance runner, broke two world records [in the one race – the 800 metres and 800 yards] Snell had come to Lancaster Park fresh from his world mile record at Wanganui, to race against two top Americans, Jim Dupree and John Bork, over 880 yards. The result entered sports legend – an 800 metres time of 1:44.3 (1.4 s under the world record) and 880 yards of 1:45.1 (1.7 s under the world record). That was on grass, remember. As the ground was for Rugby, they just marked out a track for these events. His 800 metres record remains the fastest ever run over that distance on a grass track! What I had witnessed is widely regarded as the greatest run in track and field history. That evening, I watched TV for 2½ hours at my host's place, which, remember, was a novelty for me then.

Accommodation Unlike Wellington, where I lived all the time at the Boys' Institute, I did not live in a hostel. Instead I boarded in a number of places in Christchurch. But I never enjoyed it; the hostel life I experienced was just great. As in Wellington, I still received the occasional parcel from my parents even though I was boarding in peoples homes! They tended to be clothes not food as in Wellington, which would have been embarrassing! • I boarded for the first term with a family, the Adcocks, who lived just off Memorial Avenue (picture of house, I think). The lady of the house was a widow with two sons about my age. In July of that year, 1962, they moved to Australia to live, and several years later one of the boys became the Australian yo-yo champion! • For the second and third terms of 1962, I boarded with Bob and Lesley O'Kane, a young family who, like us, used to live in Gisborne, but moved to Christchurch where Bob was in charge of the YMCA there. When I moved in, they had two primary-school age children. At the end of the year, Lesley was expecting her third child, so I moved again. (This child was a boy, Dene, who eventually became New Zealand snooker champion and one of the best players in the world later when they were living in Auckland.) •2

• This time, my stay was with an elderly couple just around the corner (I have forgotten their name). She took in two boarders, the other who also happened to be from Gisborne. We shared a room. I remember the man of the house liked cricket and would listen to radio broadcasts of every cricket test. I also remember that I would sometimes be a bit hungry there and would go to the fridge occasionally and 'nick' a bit of extra food. I was only there for about half a year. • Later in 1963, after my father had been in Christchurch for about six months, we moved into a rented house for a while while the house in Grahams Road was being built. My mother and Keith moved down from Gisborne then as well. The house in Gisborne was sold and my grandmother [Heyworth] did not want to come to Christchurch (I think) so moved into an “Old peoples' home” (as they were then called). So that was the end of the Gisborne link. • 34 Grahams Road: We moved into this house sometime in 1964. I had a hand in designing some of its features. Here are some of my suggestions that were incorporated: - The angle of the house. Most houses are placed parallel to the fences. I suggested putting it at an angle in order to get more of the sun during the winter in the kitchen and dining room rather than being wasted on the bathroom and laundry. This meant that the driveway from the road to the garage had to be curved, which I think made it quite attractive (though I must admit to driving off it and onto plants when backing my car out of the drive.) - Modifying the overhang on the front slightly (the side with the chimney) so that it would allow winter sun in (when the sun is low in the sky) but prevent hot summer sun in (when the sun is high in the sky). - Make the glass doors between the dining room and lounge as sliding door rather than swinging/hinged doors which require a lot of space to open/close them. This I think is the only house in the whole area with such doors and the builder was at first a bit sceptical about them. The house, of course, had an open fireplace; Christchurch is cold in winter! We would burn mainly wood but sometimes coal. The air in Christchurch during winter was filthy and was often combined with the winter fogs to form an ugly smog. Whenever I finished •3

an evening run during winter, I would cough up large chunks of soot. Part of the soot came from all the open fireplaces but also from a gasworks that used coal to make the gas. The gas works eventually switched to oil which helped reduce the pollution and later gas I believe. (Now, the use of open fireplaces in Christchurch is banned.)

Getting around In Wellington, walking was a common means of getting around, except when I had the motor bike. I note from my diaries that I would often borrow the car from one of the guy's at the BI. (This was particularly useful during the girlfriend months.) As Christchurch is flat, a bicycle was my primary means of transport, at least until I got a car. My father sent down his bike that I had used in Gisborne. It was an old bike and would occasionally break down. Uses included getting to college, to school, to basketball matches (way over at the stadium in Aranui) and to church. When the family moved down to Christchurch in 1963, there was the old Humber which I would use occasionally. However, I wanted my own car and bought a second hand beige-coloured Ford Zepyhr Mark II (similar to that in the picture). It had a sixcylinder straight engine block and was quite powerful (much more so than the Humber) but was rather thirsty on fuel. (This was an English Ford but I think assembled in New Zealand; in those days there were few US cars and this was before the time of Japanese cars). Compared with today's cars, there was plenty of space in the engine compartment; you could actually climb into it when doing repairs. I used to maintain it myself doing oil changes and greasing and basic repairs. For more serious things it would have to go into the dealers but this was seldom. Once, a bracket on the drive shaft (from the engine to the back wheels) broke and one end of the shaft fell onto the road. Fortunately I had just started moving from a compulsory stop (corner of Grahams Rd and Memorial Avenue) when this happened. I had to get the garage to come and collect the car and take it in for fixing. Escape from the law: When I got my car I would use it instead of the bicycle to travel to the evening basketball games. One evening, when returning for a match, I was nearly caught speeding along Memorial Avenue. At that time, there were no traffic lights along Memorial Avenue, just compulsory stops on the side streets. As a result, there was a long, wide, straight rode and the temptation to speed was just too great. Well, one cold, dark evening (this is winter remember), I did just that. But as I passed an intersection, I noticed a traffic cop in his car parked in a side street. A look in my rear-view mirror a few seconds later indicated that •4

he had begun to follow me. So, what did I do? Go slower? Pull over? No - I actually went faster! I wanted to turn into Grahams Road, which meant having to brake, but the brake light would have come on letting him know that I was about to turn. I still needed to brake, but left this to the very last second and shot around the corner. By this time, he was going so fast that he was unable to follow me and had to go straight ahead - and it was a long way before he could turn around! So I managed to avoid getting caught and got home all right though naturally, said nothing to my parents!

Teachers College The building The buildings were constructed in the 1920s. Later, when the college moved out to near the new university, the old college buildings were converted into an apartment complex (photo on right). The building was very cold in the winter months. The story goes that this is because the plans, which came from England, were followed exactly, including the direction of north and south, ignoring the fact that in England, the cold side faces the north whereas in New Zealand, being in the Southern Hemisphere, the cold side is towards the south!

The facilities were very poor. No gym or pool and just a single, second-rate laboratory. There was an open space outside used mainly as a volleyball court. Division 'C' and Division 'A' This building was for 'Division C, that is for graduates who are to become teachers; most would teach in secondary schools. Across the road was another teaches' college for 'Division A' students, that is for people who have not been to university; most of them would teach in primary schools. (I have no idea what the 'C' and 'A' mean.) The programme Unlike the university years with the teaching bursary, this year did not count towards the number of years one had to 'pay back' in teaching. So, there was no bursary but we were paid a minimal wage instead. Students were divided into their subject majors. I was in the chemistry group, but at first there was no chemistry tutor so we were lumped with the •5

mathematics group. In July, about half-way through the year, Alan McCurdy came as the chemistry tutor (he was the chap who eventually lived opposite 34 Grahams Road). Course taken: - Teaching of mathematics (then later chemistry) - Teaching of General Science - Psychology of learning - English (one hour a week lecture to all the non-English groups) - Physical Education (not how to teach it, just to do it!) - Three “Sections” (teaching practice in schools), one each term, for about four weeks each. Attitudes For many of us, the Teachers' College year was a waste of time, useless! It is only the fact that I, and others, were doing our Diploma of Education (Dip Ed; see below) at the same time that saved this from being a wasted year. Examples in different courses: - Mathematics: Although I would be teaching mathematics, the course was not much use. The lecturer, who must have been near retirement, was not inspiring. His lectures seemed to correspond to the period just after morning break. During these breaks, many of the group would play volleyball. There were no bells, as there are in schools, so we would pretend we did not know when the lesson was to begin; he would often have to come out of the room to get us! - Psychology: Another waste of time. The lecturer, who also seemed near retirement, would just drone away at the lectern. Fortunately, he issued us with printed notes that we could refer to. Many of the guys would sit at the rear of the room discretely playing cards (though not me), while some of the girls did knitting (yes, knitting was still a female pursuit in those days). - English: The attitude of many of us was why did we need this when English is our first language. But I do remember him saying that “every teacher is a teacher of English”. He was right! I realised this when I actually started teaching. He, too, issued notes which I did not look at until years later and they were quite good. He was a clever guy and used to write articles about education and life for a Christchurch newspaper. (I still have the notes and some of the newspaper articles which I used when teaching at the Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College.) The main way he would get our attention was to tell jokes, many rather off colour; they would make us guys roar with laughter while most of the girls looked embarrassed. Here is an example of one such joke which I have never forgotten. He use it to illustrate how a “misplaced comma” in a sentence can change the meaning. (For ladies reading this, you may like to skip the joke!) It went something like this: “A scientist was once sent to the jungles of Africa to look for insects that were causing some mysterious disease. When he discovered them, he sent back a a telegram (with a misplaced •6

comma) saying: 'Have discovered insects, copulating. What should I do?'. Back came the reply: 'Stop copulating, kill insects!' “. - Physical education: Not useful. Activities including swimming (in a public pool) and, I think, some Rugby. To show the general lack of interest, many people would just not show up. Ron Cook, who was also attending the college, and I would sometimes go for runs at lunch time around nearly Hagley Park; these were more useful. - General Science: This subject was taught to lower secondary forms and I also taught it when at Burnside High School. But there was only one thing I found useful and this was a field study of the nearby River Avon, useful because I had never done such a study and these were part of the school science syllabus. I still have the book in which I wrote up my report of this study. - Chemistry: When Alan McCurdy arrived (I think he came directly from a teaching position at Aranui High School), things improved. The only thing I did not like was when he scolded me, though for what, I cannot remember. Still, it did illustrate how a teacher might react to a disruptive student in the classroom! (though I wasn't being disruptive!). Others - Strike! In March, we (whoever 'we' refers to) went on an unofficial strike, though now I remember nothing about the reasons for it nor the outcome. - Morning tea duty: Several times each year, each subject group was responsible for preparing morning tea for the staff!! Would you believe it? This would never happen today. (I wonder if the strike had anything to do with this?) - University finals: When the Dip Ed final examinations were held, the College gave those of us doing Dip Ed classes a week off for study. - Holidays: As the family was then still in Gisborne, I travelled to Gisborne for the May and August holidays. In May I first attended my M.Sc. graduation in Wellington (see below). In August, I travelled by ferry to Wellington and railcar to Gisborne and return. In May, just the return journey was by ferry as I had flown to Wellington. Teaching Practice (Sections) There were three of these, one each term, of about four weeks each. They were: 1. Burnside High School. 2. Riccarton High School. 3. Kirkwood Intermediate School. The College actually wanted students to do one teaching practice in their home-town or in a rural high school rather than all in Christchurch. But for those of us, such as me, who were doing Dip Ed courses, it was necessary to stay in Christchurch. The Dip Ed classes were in the late afternoon or early evening so I would cycle - of course - to these after a day at the schools. •7

Most of the first week at the schools was spent, not teaching, but sitting at the back of classrooms watching the regular teachers teach. Thereafter, I had to teach. For one lesson at each school, there was a visit by my tutor (Maths for the first term, then McCurdy for the other two) for a 'criticism' (evaluation) lesson. We were also expected to join in the life of the schools. All together, these teaching practice sessions were very useful. • Burnside High School: My first teaching practice school. The school had opened in 1960 with Form 3 (all high schools start with Form 3) so in 1962 they had just Forms 3 to 5. I taught General Science and Mathematics (there was no Chemistry until Form 6). I learnt a lot though I would have a tendency to “talk and chalk” too much. But then, at Teachers' College, we weren't actually taught how to teach!) I remember I had a Form 5 class of boys, some of whom took advantage of me being a student and not a teacher and so misbehaved believing I would do nothing. (Most students-teachers faced similar problems.) Instead of keeping this issue to myself and not admit I had a problem, I actually spoke to the regular teacher about it. He identified the 'culprits' and caned them (caning was still allowed then). The students then seemed to respect me and there were no more problems. • Riccarton High School: This was much further away from where I boarded than Burnside was. The school was a little older than Burnside and had classes all the way to Form 6A (Form 7). The principal of Burnside High School has actually been a teacher at this school. Classes included Lower Sixth Physics and Upper Sixth (Form 6A / Form 7) Chemistry. (The photograph shows the school. Except for the trees, the school campus looks much as it might have been back in 1962.) • Kirkwood Intermediate School: This school was very much like the intermediate school I attended though smaller. Unlike in secondary schools, the class teacher teaches many of the subjects, though I think I just taught Science, Mathematics and maybe English. Getting a job About late September and early October, it was time to begin applying for a teaching post. In those days, there was a magazine called the Education Gazette in which advertisements for teaching positions were placed. Because I would still need another two years (part time) to complete my Dip Ed, I needed a job in Christchurch. I applied for, I think, six (?maybe only three) jobs; •8

this was done by mail. Soon after, I received telegrams (do you know what these are?) that were sent to the Teachers' College, for interviews. I had interviews with the principals of three schools in early October - Cashmere High, Mairehau High and Burnside High. October 15th was the first day schools could announce their acceptances of new teachers. This was rather an anxious day for me as it was the Burnside post that I wanted. At about 9 am that morning, I received a telegram from Mairehau High School accepting me and stating that I had to reply by 4 pm that day! However, I did not reply immediately and it was not till much later in the day that an acceptance came from Burnside, I could then reply to Mairehau saying 'no thanks'. I never heard from Cashmere but it didn't matter. So, teaching at Burnside High School was to be my first proper job. Qualification While at the Teachers' College, there would have been some assignments that needed to be done though I don't remember much about them. At the end of the year, we received a “Diploma in Teaching” (careful to distinguish this from the Diploma in Education from the university) though I think it was not fully ratified until we had actually completed one year of teaching. It did not mean much I suppose but an extra diploma looks good on a CV.

Diploma in Education (Dip Ed) As mentioned, I began this programme of study at Canterbury University in 1962 while attending Teachers' College. This was in the old university buildings in the city (now the Christchurch Arts Centre), built in a similar style to the older buildings at Christ's College. In New Zealand, the Dip Ed was an academic qualification; the professional teaching qualification was the Diploma in Teaching above. (In Hong Kong, at Chinese University by contrast, our Dip Ed was/is both an academic and a teaching qualification and so is needed in order to progress or be promoted.) For anybody doing this programme full-time, it might be possible to do it in one year. But most people did it parttime. In my case, I took three years, the second and third years while teaching at Burnside High School. I was awarded the diploma in May, 1965. Programme of study The Dip Ed programme was made up of courses that were part of the BA and MA courses in Education plus some additional courses just for the diploma programme. There was one •9

major compulsory course plus six shorter optional courses or four of these courses plus a thesis. My programme of study was: 1962: - Education I (the first year BA course; a major compulsory course consisting of psychology of learning, history of education in NZ and theory of education) - Educational Tests, Measurement and Guidance (with little on the 'guidance' part) - Psychology of Adolescent Development 1963: - Remedial Education (including mathematics) - Theory of Education (from Plato to more modern times) 1964: - Thesis (equivalent to two optional courses) Refer to the attached transcript for the courses and my grades. For assignments for these courses, there was much more 'essay' type writing compared with the science and mathematics assignments for my science degrees. For this thesis, compared with that for my Masters in Chemistry, I actually knew what I was doing and got an 'A' grade. Notes - Psychology of Adolescence project: For this course, we were required to do a major project / mini-thesis. I completed it while in Gisborne for the August holidays and a lady from the church there typed it up for free. I then took it round to the Gisborne Herald (newspaper where I had worked) and got them to bind it (not sure if this was free or not). I still have this project somewhere. - IQ testing: As part of the Tests, Measurement and Guidance course, we had to conduct intelligence tests using the 'Revised Stanford-Binet' test (first constructed by the Frenchman Alfred Binet and revised at Stanford University - hence its name). This work was very interesting. One of my subjects was O'Kane's primary-school-age daughter. - Thesis: The title of my thesis was “A Comparative Study of Teaching Methods in SlowLearner Mathematics”. I did this work using a low-ability Form 3 class I had that year at Burnside High School. The research compared the 'traditional' method of teaching mathematics (at least as I taught it) with an approach becoming popular at that time that involved 'programmed' learning, that is, step-by-step often self-instruction with each step followed by reinforcement for correct answers, which learners should get correct every time if the programme is perfectly designed. However, my system was designed for use in the classroom as well as individually. I think the students liked what I was doing. I had very few problems with this class even with one girl who terrified people, and I even requested to have this class (as I had an idea of what my thesis would be on), which few teachers would have done! • 10

- Graduation (if that is the correct word for being awarded a diploma): This took place in a large Army barracks hall not far from the (old) university on May 6th, 1965. I think I wore my M.Sc. gown and hood (which would not have been the correct academic dress for Canterbury) and a blue mortar-board (which I would have hired), the international symbol of Education. The ceremony began with us processing in to the music of Brahms' “Academic Festival Overture” the last part of which uses the tune to the university song "Gaudeamus Igitur" ("So Let Us Rejoice"). We may have sung the actual song later; if so, it would be in Latin, with most students not knowing one word of Latin!

Burnside High School Note: As I did not keep a diary for the years I was at Burnside (1963-1966), what I write here is almost all from memory. The school Cooking room

Swimming pool

Staff room Assembly hall

The school began in 1960 with just Form 3 classes and by 1964 it had its first Form 6A (Form 7) consisting mainly of the original students. By the end of 1966, when I left, the school population would have been about 500. It is now about 2500 and I believe is the largest secondary school in the country. Many of the original building have been replaced with large, more modern buildings. The original school had a pool but no gymnasium; the assembly hall doubled as a make-shift gym. The photographs show how the school looked in 1963 when I was there (left) and how it had expanded substantially by 1980 (right). Note the almost entire absence of trees in the 1963 photo. Unlike older or more traditional schools, Burnside does not have a coat of arms as an emblem. Instead its emblem is a cabbage tree similar to the tree that grows in the school grounds (see photo). More than a hundred years ago, this same clump of trees stood out as a • 11

landmark on the Canterbury plains, guiding Maoris (and I suppose others). There have been a number of attempts by vandals to chop down these trees, all unsuccessful. The lower photograph shows the school quadrangle as it appeared in 2010 when I attended the 50th jubilee. In my time, it was almost the same though without the covered walkway (when it rained you had to run or take an umbrella!), the small onestorey rooms were not there and the quad contained one basketball court. The school then had just one large staffroom. In those days smoking was allowed and for many of us this was very unpleasant. We managed to get smoking restricted to one end only and that helped a a little. I also had an office attached to one of the four laboratories (Chemistry, Physics, Biology and General Science) but didn't use it much as all important notices for the staff were announced by the Principal or whoever in the staffroom at morning break times. Also, of course, it was more social in the staffroom. My Classes I was at Burnside High for four years before coming to Hong Kong to teach (and so managed to fulfil the four years required through having a teaching bursary while at university). I taught three subjects: 1. General Science (Forms 3 - 5, the only years it is offered). 2. Mathematics. Although this is taught up to Form 6A, I taught only Forms 3 - 5 as mathematics is not my major degree subject. 3. Chemistry. This, and the other specialist science subjects, are only offered for Forms 6B and Form 6A. I shared the teaching of the Chemistry classes with the other Chemistry teacher. Form classes: Each teacher was also allocated a 'form class' for more personal attention. - For my first year (1963) I was given 4P1 ('P' stands for the professional stream and the '1' for the top class in the stream). Because I enjoyed the class and seemed to get on all right • 12

with them, I also requested the same class in the following year when they were 5P1. I taught them Mathematics. As a result of having them for two years, and also as they were my very first form classes, they are the students from Burnside that I remember the most, and am still able to recall many of their names. - For my third year (1965) I was given a Form 3 class. I taught then General Science (I think). - For my fourth and final year (1966), I was allocated the 5P1 of that year and taught them General Science (again, I think). From the 'I think' comments, it should be clear that my relationship with these classes was not as close as with the original form class. Nor am I able to remember many of the names of these students. What would it have been like had I stayed longer? Photos of these classes are shown below. In three of the pictures, the students are wearing winter uniforms. The girls' winter uniform included a kilt. In the other picture, the students are in their summer uniforms. Note that for the two pictures that include me, I am wearing a suit. This was how male teachers had to dress in those days. 1963: 4P1 (photo taken outside the school assembly hall)

1964: 5P1

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1965: 3PG2

1966: 5P1 (photo taken in the school grounds)

Why were the first two form classes more memorable? As well as teaching mathematics, here are three other things that happened that made these classes memorable. Class discussions: About once a term, as a 'reward' for working hard, we would have a free class discussion on any questions that the students liked to raise. These would be held, whenever possible, in a double-period on their timetable to allow enough time. The very first time this was to be held (with 4P1 in 1963), I explained to the class how it would work. I would attach to the wall a sealed box with a slit into which they could drop anonymous questions on anything. Well, the day duly came and I opened the box and there were only five or six questions - all the same! The question was (more or less) “Why do we have to have military training at school?” The question must have come from boys as girls did not do • 14

military training. I took the question seriously and commented on it and asked them to comment and give their opinions. When this had finished, I said they could ask any other question they liked but if there were no questions then we would do maths for the remainder of the two periods! After a brief pause, one student asked a question (I cannot remember what it was). Well, this started the ball rolling and the questions and discussions continued for the whole time. And what did we talk about, from the questions they asked? Many topics, but they included all three things we were told at teachers' college never to discuss with students - sex, politics and religion!!! These seemed to be things that young people wanted to talk about. In the discussions, I never told them what was 'right' or 'wrong'; that was for them to decide. Also, I think I was the first teacher who had ever done this sort of thing at Burnside. I never got into any trouble with it as I kept the Principal fully informed and he backed me. Class barbecues: There was a barbecue and picnic area on the school grounds and at the end of each year, we would have a class barbecue in the early evening. I always got the students to get written permission from their parents for this (see example on right). On one occasion (I cannot remember which year but remember for these two years, most of the students were the same), I had to go to the staffroom for something and on the way passed the cooking room (for location see the labelled photo of the school above) when, lo and behold, two of the girls had managed to open a window and were squeezing themselves into the room. Of course, I had to act the disciplinarian so asked them what they were up to. They said that they wanted to warm up the sausage rolls (or whatever). So, what did I do? I became a partner in crime and told them to go in and heat the food but to keep their heads low as this room was visible from the staff room and I could also see the cookery teacher in the staffroom. It worked out fine. • 15

The limbo dance: One time I entered the classroom when a dance called the Limbo dance, which was quite new then, was under way. Heard of it? You have to get yourself under a stick without touching the ground. The students (4P1 I think), there were most of the students lined up and doing the limbo. I wanted to laugh and even join in (I probably would do that now) but pretended to be strict and punish them. This consisted of the writing of a paragraph about something - perhaps not dancing in the classroom. (Unfortunately, I never kept these.) (Note: Th picture is from the internet, and not the classroom!) Caning In those days, caning was a common form of punishment for boys. I only used to three or four times. Once was for a boy in this class, who was often badly behaved (red circle in 4P1 photo above). I heard that later he ended up in jail. To cane, the boy was taken into an office (not the staff room) together with another teacher as a witness and whacked on the bottom while bending over. Repeat student In my first year at Burnside, one of my other classes was a Form 5 General Science class. There was one girl who was extremely troublesome and disruptive. It was, for obvious reasons, more easy for a male teacher to discipline a girl. Detentions and a sending to the head mistress could be used but for this girl they were ineffective. (Her father was also on the school board, though I did not know him.) Form 5, as I have said, is the School Certificate year and if a student fails, he or she must repeat Form 5. This girl failed! On the very first day of my second year, before I had met any of my classes, and before students knew who their teachers would be, I was walking across the quadrangle and she was there with some friends. As I passed, she said to her friends, in a voice just intentionally loud enough for me to hear “I hope I don't have him this year!” Well, she did have me and was in 5P1, my form (and mathematics) class (she is show circles in green of the 5P1 photo above). At first she was a little troublesome (I had learnt a lot in the first year about class control things not taught at Teachers' College) but she improved and by the end of the year she was 'eating out of my hand'. I think she found the discussions we had useful, though she did not join in. “Children love you” Every year, the school would have a meet-the-parents evening to talk with them about their children's progress - or otherwise. In the second year (I think), one parent (mother of girl circled in white in 5P1 class photo) was very keen to meet me. While talking with her, she thanked me and said that “All the children love you!” Nice to hear compliments like that. • 16

Christmas cards from Hong Kong In January of 1965 (the school summer holidays), I was visiting Hong Kong. My 5P1 class had sat for School Certificate in November of that year and I had a list of those who had passed (which would have been nearly all). So, from Hong Kong, I bought some Christmas postcards and wrote a congratulatory note on them and posted them back to the students. At the 50th jubilee in 2101, one of the female students had remembered this and reminded me of it saying “That was sweet of you” and I replied “Yes, it was!”. Non-teaching duties In those days, it was necessary for teachers to have non-teaching duties, such as looking after a laboratory or supervising a sports team. In my case I had to look after the swimming pool and coach several sports teams. The swimming pool The photo shows the pool. This was taken in 2010 at the reunion but it is exactly the same except that we had no canoes in those days. The length of the pool was 331/3 yards which was typical of small pools in those premetric days; this length was chosen to give three lengths for 100 yards. The pool was not heated. I was in charge of the pool maintenance. This included filling and emptying it when necessary, testing the pH and chlorine levels every day of the season and maintaining the filtration system. The filter pumps were in a small room with pipes everywhere and I would have to clamber over and under pipes (in my suit!) to operate it. One regular task was 'back filtration' where the water flow had to be reversed for a while to clean the filters and empty that dirty water obtained down the drain. Our pool did have have chlorine gas but powdered alkali would need to be added almost every day to keep the pH (acidity) at the correct value. A lot of trouble! Sports Every Wednesday afternoon, the lengths of the periods were shortened so that students could take part in sports. Over the four years, I was in charge of a number of sports teams as follows: • Girls' basketball (not netball): A winter sport which I took for a while. I remember there was a girl in the sixth form who was an exchange students from the United States (that is, one student from a US school comes to a New Zealand for a year while one sixth-form • 17

New Zealand student goes to the US for a year - not sure if it had to be the same school or not.) She was the best player. The picture below shows the girl's teams for one of the years - not a very inspiring-looking bunch!

• Boys' basketball: Also a winter sport. There was just one basketball court and that was in the main quadrangle. I had to take this I suppose as I played senior basketball in the local league (first with the university club then with the YMCA club). There was the occasional inter-school game (usually against Aranui High and Mairehau High). I remember very little else. • Girls' lifesaving: A summer sport. Why I had to take this I am not sure; perhaps because I played water polo for a university team in the local league. But I had no lifesaving qualifications whatsoever, though I managed to teach them all right. So when the students passed the examinations, they had more lifesaving qualifications than I did! On passing, they were given a small medallion that they could wear on their uniform (Leonie may be familiar with this from her time at Rangi Ruru). Other memories • Athletic sports day: All schools in New Zealand would have an annual athletic sports day. This would usually be an inter-house competition (what the names of the houses were at Burnside I do not remember). One event was the (male) staff versus boys 400-metre relay race. (There was never an equivalent female relay as the female teachers would never participate.) I must have been one of the fastest runners among the staff (though not the fastest) as I was always in the relay. The staff would almost always win. They would usually get me to run the last leg: perhaps this was to put the fastest runners earlier to make it easier for me! For the race, we teachers would all be kitted out in the appropriate running gear. • Basketball competition: There would also be an annual (male) staff versus students (boys) • 18

game which I participated in. I cannot remember if the staff would win but we were not too bad. • ‘Cadets’ (military training) week: As mentioned above, this was held every year for boys. It would be in the first week of school. By that stage, teachers and boys no longer wore army uniforms (as we did in Gisborne). Actually I remember nothing about these weeks. • Camps: For a brief period, I helped with the school Crusaders. The highlight of this would be a boys' winter camp in the Arthur's Pass region (just before getting to where Bill Ellwood's 'bach' was) where there was a mountaineering hut which we used. The same sort of rough physical activities were carried out as in the camps I attended while a student in Gisborne. Except that these camps were much colder, being in winter. In my third year(?), the (male) physical education teacher organised an adventure camp for about 10 boys which was held on a farm just north of Dunedin. He asked me to help. We travelled in our cars. Again, the physical activities were tough. At the 50th jubilee, one of the boys who had participated asked me if I remembered this - I did. [For a short time, this same PE teacher and I would drive to a local beach and run along to the mouth of the Waimakariri River, over the sand dunes on the way there and through the water on the way back (water up to our lower calves). Good training!] • Outings with school groups: From time to time there would be outings with classes or other groups of students. Examples included: - A science group visit to a local fertiliser factory to see how fertiliser is manufactured. - A visit to the local sewage works, where we were given samples of pure water obtained from the sewage to drink. (Ponds used to treat the sewage would often stink, causing many complaints from local residents.) - Visits to other schools for inter-school sports. - When the movie “Sound of Music: came out, I went with a large group of students one evening to a cinema in town to watch it. - The River Avon estuary was a good place to do a Biology field study, especially at low tide) as it had many animals and plants that could be observed. These outings necessitated contacting a local bus company to arrange transport. I can remember using the phone booth in the staff room to do this when I had to organise transport. (The phone in this booth was the only way we could call out and the only way people could call in to speak to staff. Of course, the Principal and General Office had telephones.) • A student's not so tactful comments on my teaching: This happened at the jubilee in 2010 and not while I was at the school. The student in question was in the first Form 6 • 19

Chemistry class I taught. However, he did not realise that I had been his teacher. He was telling me how bad the teaching was and how I was focusing a lot on Organic Chemistry (my M.Sc. speciality). I think his comments were valid and I never let on that I was the teacher! • Farewell speech: I left Burnside in December 1966 a few days before the school year ended in order to come to Hong Kong to teach. I was asked (or did I ask?) to give a farewell speech at the morning assembly. I spent many days preparing this speech and tried to include jokes but also to give the students some idea about where I was going to. The speech turned out to me more hilarious than I had planned (sometimes unplanned!) with the students and teachers who were on the stage for the assembly rocking in the aisles with laughter. Some of the teachers said it was the funniest talk they had heard. Some of the jokes I had borrowed or modified from “Readers' Digest” magazines. Two examples: 1. To try to give an idea of just how large the population in China was, I used a story of what happened in the geography of one of the teachers (he was seated on the stage behind me when I told this). I heard his story when we recounted it to some of us in the staffroom: To try to impart to the class the idea of just how large the population of China was, he told the class that one of every four children born into the world was Chinese. A boy at the back of the room puts up his hand and says “Gee, sir, that makes it awkward for large families!” I turned around to look at the geography teacher who was nodding vigorously indicating that the story was correct. 2. This one is from Readers Digest about US advisers in Vietnam. In the early years of the Vietnam war, many US personnel were called 'advisers' rather than 'soldiers'. This made people wonder what they were supposed to actually do which led to the following joke which went something like this: “The cattle in Vietnam were in need of improving. So the US sent across some bulls for this purpose. However, the bulls just hung around and did nothing. When a bull was asked why, it replied 'I thought I was just an adviser!'” I then commented to the assembly that I was not going to Hong Kong just to be an adviser. Unfortunately, they saw the second meaning that I had not seen and burst out laughing. For a second I was puzzled, then realised why so added that that was not what I meant! • Meeting Judy Garland: In my memoirs of the Gisborne years, I commented that this was the girl in my Standard 3 class that I had kissed and who had moved with her family to Christchurch. She had become a TV presenter for a children's programme. She came to Burnside one day for some reason and I chanced to meet her briefly. She still remembered me. • 20

Church During my years in Wellington, much of my social life centred around the hostel. Because of boarding in people's homes in Christchurch, it centred around the youth clubs at the churches I attended. There were two such churches: - Moorhouse Avenue Church of Christ: This was in a very old building (now knocked down) not far from the Christchurch railway station. For many years it was the main Church of Christ in Christchurch and as a result had many elderly people. But there was still a large youth group with its own basement coffee room. I went here for about half the time I was in Christchurch. I was part of this group and was eventually elected 'president' of the group in late 1962. - Bishopdale Church of Christ: This was a newer church that began one or two years before I went to Christchurch. Initially they met together in a YMCA in that area and in 1963(?) their present church building opened. I went there for about 2 ½ years. For the last year or so, I was also the leader of the Youth Club there. Church-related activities • Choir: For part of the time I was at Moorhouse Avenue, I was in the choir. There would usually be a choir practice on Sunday evenings after church. • Public speaking: Also at Moorhouse Avenue in 1962, I took a course on public speaking. While its main purpose was for giving sermons, it helped me a lot for talks, etc. I had to give in public. • Camp site: The Churches of Christ in Christchurch had a camp site at Spencerville slightly north of Christchurch near the beach. It consists of a central building (converted old house) plus nine concrete bunk rooms. In my time, it was not in good condition so we used to organise work groups to go out some Saturdays to improve it. I remember one time late in 1962 when a couple of us went out to paint the roof of the main building along with a chap from Zimbabwe who was visiting Christchurch. • Mystery hikes: This was an activity we had occasionally. It involved being given a clue at the starting spot to find the next spot and so on. At the final spot there would be some kind of dinner or supper. Travel from spot to spot was in cars. • Arthur's Pass visit: The first time I went to Arthur's Pass was on a one-day trip by train with the Moorhouse Ave youth group. • Visits to elderly homes and prison: The Moorhouse Ave youth group used to regularly visit two elderly homes, usually on a Sunday afternoon to talk with the folks and to hold a service. Most of these were at a home called Langford House. Occasionally we would do the same at the local prison. • Easter camps: While in Christchurch, I attended two youth Easter camps, I think. One was at Dunedin and the other at Nelson. In both cases, we had the camp in local secondary • 21

schools, where we slept in classrooms. • NZ youth president: At these camps, the NZ president of our churches youth arm was sometimes elected. Lyndsay Jacobs was elected president at one such camp. In 1966, I stood for election as president but was not successful but became the vice-president. But being vice-president did not involve having to do much at all; most of the work was done by the president. • Youth leader at Bishopdale: After being at Bishopdale for a while, I was the 'adult' leader of a youth group that was slightly younger than me, many being of secondary school age. With them, we would organise activities, which included outsiders who came to talk and discuss with us on various issues, as well as outings and camps. We held regular sessions on Friday evenings. It was rather sad at the last meeting before I came to Hong Kong; I actually cried!

Overseas church-related visits Two times, I was chosen to represent New Zealand churches overseas (all churches, not just our denomination). These were for (1) the Asian Christian Youth Assembly (ACYA) in the Philippines, and (2) a work camp in Fiji. These were the first times I had been out of New Zealand. The costs of these trips were subsidised though we ourselves had to contribute towards these costs. ACYA This was held in the Philippines from late December 1965 to mid-January 1966 (see the attached banner). This was my first overseas trip. The assembly included delegates from most Asian countries. It was originally supposed to have been held in Manila (the capital of the Philippines) but was switched to a university campus in a small town further to the south of the country. At first I was disappointed in the switch as the thought of visiting a big city was enticing. But the alternative turned out to be excellent and probably much better than if it had been held in Manila. Following the assembly, the our NZ delegation visited a number of cities in the region before returning home, just in time for the new school year to begin. Here is a summary of what happened. • Travel to the Philippines: The NZ delegation assembled in Christchurch from where we departed for Sydney (photo, below). Notice how dressed-up we were! Nobody would do that today! I was even wearing a thick jacket, completely useless for the tropics. (Note also the 'TEAL' on out bags; this is for 'Tasman Empire Airways Limited' which later became Air New Zealand.) • 22

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On arrival in Sydney, which was Christmas Eve, we immediately transferred to a Qantas Boeing-707 for an overnight flight to Manila. This was my first pure-jet flight. (TEAL had Lockheed Electras which were jet prop aircraft.) I clearly remember the thrust at take-off pushing me back into the seat. I also remember how some of the cabin crew were somewhat drunk. (An informal comment near the end of our tour to a Qantas official who was looking after our group suggested that the crew would be disciplined for this.) Manila: At Manila, I encountered my first cockroach! I had to visit the toilet at the airport and there in a corner was this enormous black thing that scared the daylights out of me. At that time I did not know what a cockroach was. To Dumaguete: We then flew on an ageing DC-4s from Manila to Dumaguete City where the assembly was to be held. We were taken to Silliman University campus where we stayed in student dormitories (it was their Christmas break). There was no air-conditioning (it was hot!!) and we had to use netting while sleeping to protect us from mosquitoes. All together, there would have been about 300 delegates. May: It was there that I met May Vail (now Mrs May Lee - see photo). She was a university student in another city and was an organiser for the assembly. (I believe she is half American and half Filipino.) Events: Every day there were talks by prominent international figures. There were cultural evenings with delegates from each country performing dances, etc. that reflected their cultures. We sang a Maori and performed a haka, though not terribly well if I remember. Informal events: Socially, we had time to visit a nearby beach to swim. Also, local families would invite groups to their places. The NZ delegation was invited to the home of the Dumaguete mayor for food and dancing (photo - I am not in it). I • 23

remember the extensive use of bamboo in the house for furniture, walls and other things. • Village visits: For one weekend, delegates were divided into groups, with each group visiting a nearby village. The group I was in visited Amlan, a village about 23 km away. I and a chap from South Korea (surname Kim) stayed with a family who owned a coconut plantation (surname Bocanegra). The photographs below are of the Amlan group at the municipal welcome where we New Zealanders did a - terrible - haka (note the silly hats that we wore). The other picture shows me and Kim with our host family. Their house was open (again no air-conditioning) and again with lots of bamboo. I also remember one night finding an enormous spider in my bedroom!

• Departure: We left Dumaguete again in DC-4s to return to Manila. However, these planes had never taken off from its (short) runway fully loaded. So they weren't sure if they would manage to get airborne. Great - just what we wanted to hear! I was in the second plane that was to take off, so we were all watching the first take off rather anxiously. They all made it! We spent a couple of days in Manila though I remember little about this. We left Manila for Hong Kong on a Philippine Airlines DC-8. • Visit to the presidential palace: The NZ delegation (I do not know about other delegations) was invited to meet President Macapagal of the Philippines at his official residence (Malacanang Palace). I think his then teenage daughter was also there. Her name was Gloria and later, as Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, became president, though sad to say she did not live up her father's high standards. (Photo shows the palace as it was then though we did not enter from the river side.) • Asian tour: On the return trip after leaving Manila, we visited Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. We were supposed to also go to Jakarta in Indonesia but as there was turmoil in the country at the time, this was cancelled. From Singapore, we flew via Perth (airport only at about midnight) and on to Sydney. Some highlights: • 24

- Hong Kong: We stayed at the (old) YMCA in Salisbury Road where I was to live for some time when I came to Hong Kong to work. We visited some 'H' blocks that were being constructed in a crash government building programme to house the many hillside squatters; one block was then being completed every nine days. ('H' because each arm consisted of rooms, one for each family and the link for toilets and washing facilities). We visited a local secondary school where there was a teacher who became the principal of the school I later went to teach in, though I did not remember him. As mentioned above, I also sent congratulatory postcards to my 5P1 students who had passed their School Certificate examination. - Bangkok: We flew from Hong Kong to Bangkok with Air India. Visits that I can recall included the reclining Buddha and a floating market (photo, below left). - Kuala Lumpur: I can recall we visited the Cochrane Road School (though why I do not remember) and the famous Batu caves (photo, below right).

- Singapore: We flew from KL to Singapore on a Comet IV of MSA (Malaysian Singapore Airlines, now split into two separate airlines). In those days, Singapore and Malaysia were combined as the Malaysian Federation, but it did not last long. We stayed at the old YMCA in SIngapore. What we visited I no longer remember. - Sydney: From Singapore we flew to Sydney via a brief transit at Perth airport with Qantas on night flights. I do remember visiting the cockpit on the Boeing-707 on the way to Perth and being quite impressed with the sight below. We spent a couple of days in Sydney though I remember nothing of this. Fiji Work Camp In the May school holidays of 1966, a delegation of 20 young men, including me, was selected to go to Fiji to help in the construction of small houses that poor people, who were • 25

unable to afford even the cheapest of normal housing, could live in for almost free. In the approximately three weeks we were there, we completed or nearly completed six of the proposed 55 houses. Several of the group were professional builders; the others, like me, not. We stayed in a (?student) hostel while there and walked to and from the construction site each day. On the way back we used to stop at a water hole for a swim. It also had a rope hanging from a tree which we used. We spent one day away from the construction to work on rice farms and experience that life. Very, very hot and very tough work as I recall! One day was just about all most of us could take. As Fiji had little or no tariffs on imported goods that tourists would buy, I bought a portable (just!) stereo radio and cassette player. Unlike ACYA, there was little in the way of social activities during our stay in Fiji; all we wanted to do at the end of the day was sleep - or try too as it was hot. Still we managed to attend the 21st birthday party of a New Zealand girl who was working in Fiji. For a little more on this, refer to the file “ACYA & Fiji work camp 1966” in the folder.

Exercise and sport in Christchurch The amount of physical exercise I did increased substantially while in Christchurch. This consisted of water polo, indoor basketball, running and weight training. - Water polo: I started this sport, of course, in Wellington. In Christchurch, I joined the university water polo club and played competitively for several years in the old Centennial pool. A tough sport but good fun. - Indoor basketball: Again, I started playing with a university team. We would have practices in the small gym at the old university. Later, when living in Grahams Road, it became too far to have to go to town for practice so I joined the YMCA which practised in the gym in nearby Greers Road. I played mainly in the 'senior reserve' competition, so I was not a regular in the senior/top division but just a reserve. This I would occasionally play in the top team as well as regularly in the senior reserve team. Competitive games were played at the Aranui stadium. Indoor basketball was a winter sport, and before I got a car, I remember having to cycle there on those very cold and often foggy Christchurch evenings. Returning home was not so bad as my body would then be very hot. I do remember that the quality of basketball boots then was terrible. The main problem was after some use, the soles would fall off! - Running: All the running was street running; I did not do any competitively. I started this as soon as I got to Christchurch. I would run up Memorial Avenue towards the airport and back; these runs would only take 35 minutes or less. But over the years, the distances increased and I think I was running for up to two hours on Saturday afternoons. After moving to Grahams Road, many of the runs were in the evenings. Again, it was cold running in the winter. Also, as already mentioned, because of the fogs and air pollution in winter, I would often cough up large chunks on soot. • 26

- Weight training: Again I started this in Wellington and continued in Christchurch. For the first years, while at the university, I would go to the university gym. The facilities for weight training for appalling; we had to do it in a storeroom. If the gym was not in use, we could move apparatus there. Later, I switched to using the YMCA where I was also doing my basketball. Again there was no special room; there was an area under the stands, but it was better than at the university. - Others: During the year I was at the Teachers' College, I was introduced to target training at the university gym. (For this, there was a list of exercises to do, some with and some without apparatus, and the aim was to see if you can complete all these exercises in the target time set. As you progressed, the target time came down. Then, you progressed to a higher level, with the number of repetitions for the exercises increased and perhaps some new exercises increased.) This is very good training. I would usually go at lunch times to do this or weight training. Occasionally I would also do use the trampoline in the university gym but I was not good at this and it also seemed rather dangerous.

Entertainment There was much less of this in Christchurch. In Wellington, a lot of the entertainment was movies with guys from the hostel. In Christchurch, I almost never went to the movies. Most of the the entertainment was through church youth related activities (mentioned above). This included occasional ice skating outings.

Girlfriends Nothing serious! • I was losing contact with Kartini as a result of being in Christchurch. She came down for a weekend in early March. I met her at the ferry in Lyttelton. (I cannot remember where she stayed; must have been with a friend of hers.) I also got a phone call from her late in March and she also sent me a cardigan that she had knitted. But it did not last. I do not remember if I saw her while in Wellington in May for my M.Sc. graduation - probably not. By August it was over. I wrote her a letter (no copy made) and she replied with a nice. parting letter, which you can find in the folder. • Jean R (this is the name I entered in my diary for 1962 - I have no idea now what her surname was). Just one date; went to a movie and had coffee at her boarder's place afterwards. (Not a very good film I noted in my diary!). That was it. • Adele: This was the girl who was a leader with me at the youth club at Bishopdale Church of Christ. After the meetings on Friday evenings I would take her home in my car - the long way! But no funny stuff was involved. This fizzled out when I went to Hong Kong.

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My Father and Bruce Dad In August of 1962, my father resigned - or was sacked - from his post as manager of “Adairs”, the largest department store in Gisborne. I never found out the real reasons behind this. He was only 47 years old at this stage so still had many years of work left before retirement at 65. He came down to Christchurch in September where he got a position (?as advertising manager) at Millers department store, one of the largest in Christchurch. After just a few days he returned to Gisborne, I guess to arrange for the sale of the house. I placed advertisements in the newspaper for homes for him to board when he returned to Christchurch. There were about six replies almost immediately. Eventually he moved into the home of a couple when he returned to Christchurch in October. Rented house: He remained there until about mid-1963 when my mother, Keith and the furniture moved to Christchurch and we moved into a house rented from people we knew at the church. Some happenings during the time at this house: - Assassination: We were in this house in November 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated. I remember that vividly. I was having breakfast in the morning before going to school and the news came over the radio. I just could not believe it. - Toughening up: During the winter there I decided to toughen myself up a little. For breakfast, I started to eat raw eggs. I would also begin each day with a cold (actually freezing!) shower. Neither of these two things lasted very long! - Biking headwinds: While there, I bought my car. But until then, I would bike to Burnside High School in the mornings and then in the afternoons return to the house if I did not have Dip Ed classes or any physical activities at the university. But biking was often difficult because of winds. In the mornings, there was often a strong north-westerly wind blowing across the city which meant a strong headwind when going to school. Unfortunately, the prevailing wind in the afternoons would switch to an easterly blowing in from the ocean. So that meant a strong headwind on the way back! This lastest until I got the car and drove to work. Bruce During my first year in Christchurch (1962), my brother Bruce came to Christchurch in March to work at the (city) YMCA. He also boarded there. Until then, he had been working at a bank in Gisborne. His job at the YMCA was to conduct gymnastic classes. He eventually left the YMCA to go to a Bible college in Auckland (where he met Heather who was also there). That presumably is why he was not living with us in the rented house in 1963 nor in the Grahams Road house.

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Others • More toughening up: When living in the Graham's Road house, my room was the small single bedroom in which I would study and work. In winter it was cold. At one stage I decided to 'toughen up' to bear the cold. I did this by not turning on the (electric) heater until the temperature fell below 100C. If it stuck on 100C, I would freeze, but if it fell to 9.90C I was able to turn on the heater and, of course, the temperature would immediately rise to maybe 200C so I would be comfortable. Remember too, that the 100C was the temperature of 100C was inside the room; outside it could have been closer to 00C. • Tramping: (This is the term used in New Zealand for hiking or trekking in the wild.) While in Christchurch, I was introduced to tramping but did only a few. The most memorable was a tramp in the mountains in the Arthur's Pass region near Mt. White. To begin the tramp, one leaves the West Coast Rd road about 2 km before reaching Bealey where Bill Ellwood had his bach (which is at the bottom left of the aerial photo below). Another guy, a friend of Keith's, and I set out for a weekend. It must have been in winter as there was snow on the tops of the hills. From the West Coast Road we crossed the bridge across the Waimakiriri River (upper photo) and parked (my) car at the bush line. We set off straight up the river and bivouac then along and up the fork to the right. (The arrows in red show our route.) Near the top of this stream in the photo was a two-person bivouac where we spent the first night. The hut was so small you had to crawl into it. It had no facilities whatsoever. But in our sleeping bags it was fine. There was a storm during the night and it poured, though the sound of the rain on the steel roof was very pleasant. The storm also brought snow! The next morning it was fine and after breakfast (we had to carry all • 29

necessary supplies in our backpacks), we set off up a steep hill to the right of the river, intending eventually to meet up with a track on the other side. But this is when things started to go wrong. It took much longer than expected to get to the ridge and the descent on the other side was through thick forest so we were not sure of the direction. Essentially we were lost! Then we came across a ravine with a flooded river (from the previous night) which we could not - and did not want to - traverse. By this time it was almost dark and we realised we were going to have to spend the night on the mountain. So we gathered piles of moss to form a mattress and because the hill was so steep, jammed the moss against the trunks of trees so that we would not roll down. To keep warm, we wore every bit of clothing we had and climbed into our sleeping bags. We survived a miserable night, but fortunately there was no rain or snow. The next day we just decided to just head downwards anyway we could, believing, correctly as it turned out, that we would come across the track we knew was down in the valley somewhere (along the long thin river line visible near the right of the photo). From there it was a relatively easy tramp hack to the car.

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