My Nanna loved living and working on the land, some of my fondest childhood memories are ones that involve feeding all the ducks and chooks, collecting eggs, making butter and horse riding. Nanna met my Grandfather after the war when she was working on a farm, my Grandfather was a man of the land and spent much of his life on the back of a horse and they would often do cattle drives together. For a long time, Nanna was believed to be the only female drover in Northland, she rode horses for work and pleasure up until a serious health problem slowed her down in her seventies.
My Grandparents didn’t always live on a farm, they had a house in town and oversaw my uncle’s property while he was living overseas. The thing I remember most about Nanna’s house in town is the garden filled with fabulous fruit trees, in summer we would eat the plums straight from the tree and my Nanna would spend hours making jam, filling jars with stewed fruit and preparing fruit pies or crumble. Visiting the farm was a real treat, we would help with shearing by cleaning up the wool, explore the paddocks and feed the chooks and occasionally we would visit neighbouring properties on horseback. The only dog we were allowed to play with was an old English Sheepdog called Muff, the working dogs were off limits unless my Grandfather wanted to send them with us to move sheep or cattle, they were generally Border Collies or Huntaways and they knew more than us when it came to mustering.
I have very little information about the photos below although I remember seeing the first image framed and hanging in Nanna’s house, as a horse crazy child it seemed like a fun and exciting way to live.
- My Grandparents, the drovers
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Northland cattle drive, New Zealand 
The drovers and their dogs 
Bringing the cattle through town 
Four legged roadblock 
Those were the days…
Two Black Dogs 