Sawdust
"I’m known all over New Zealand as Sawdust."
"When we left the mill we were all covered in sawdust. We used to go to the pub - four guys and me, had our little corner. By the time we left there was about half a metre of sawdust on the floor. I was called Chuck for a start, and it evolved to Sawdust.
I was not a particularly bright child at school; I was good at woodwork, geography, and things like that. I came here to Akaroa High School. When I was 18, I went into my compulsory military training. That was very successful. I stayed a wee bit long which took us on big trips to Fiji and whatever areas needed peacekeeping overseas.
I did firewood from the age of 15. I built my own saw bench in those days. I bought an Austin Seven, I jacked this Austin Seven up in the air, put the belt on the back wheel and built a sawbench.
My father saw an opening after all the sawmills in Banks Peninsula closed down after 1890. They planted macrocarpa and pine trees to get shelter, and because the trees were big enough to mill he started milling over there in 1945 then we shifted from Okains Bay to Duvauchelle Bay.
I got pretty well involved with it, you know. Dealing with builders all the time and cutting timber for their houses or whatever they were doing. Timber was cut at the sawmill at Duvauchelle - some of it went to the Chatham Islands. The first chainsaws arrived in about 1950 - sometimes it took longer to get the chainsaw going and than if you cut it with a hand saw!
It took me four years to build my house, all made of macrocarpa. I had to keep my business going as well. That's a real thing of self-satisfaction. Going to the bays, cutting down the tree, carting it, sawing it up, bringing it here and building a house out of that - not many people get that opportunity."
- Don (Sawdust)
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
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Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.7% Second half of November
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43.6% 1st December
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17.5% A week before Christmas
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33.1% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
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