Thread: Venison meat hunting in NZ in the past

Originally Posted by XR500

This thread is why I have dragged out my copy of 'The Venison Hunters' and am re re rereading it. An awesome commentary on an awesome part of our rural history.

Haha me too , actually nearly finished it , it’s probably the best book on that era with the details as he was there doing it , I really like the way Mike Bennet has written that book as well

spotlighting FROM helicopters was common place around lewis pass area too Im told ,and the main highway wasnt immune to being done from the air either.

Fitted a number of light kits to 500’s. As things got harder in the eighties, operators were constantly looking for an edge and the law enforcement style lights fitted underneath the machine and remote operated from the cyclic were the ducks nuts.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

spotlighting FROM helicopters was common place around lewis pass area too Im told ,and the main highway wasnt immune to being done from the air either.

The main culprit was a dude called Noel Boyd. The chopper boys would do an evening run and pack a hand held spottie to pick up any stragglers on the way home.

you can only imagine the carnage/slaughter that would occur now with thermals added to that mix,....

Ratting around and found this old flyer.Used to live in my truck glove box along with the black notebook.Any greying Nth Is hunters recognise their local Berg's depot for dropping off carcasses for beer money?John Tilley at the Opotiki chiller got a few from me,and curiously cause not listed was the Martinborough chiller,can't remember his name,but do also remember dropping off at the Masterton depot just along from the Hansells factory.Also dropped off animals at a Turangi chiller but maybe it was Consolidated cause also not listed.Cant remember that

The Bergs buyer Cliff Fergus at Mangatainoka was a great bloke. Supplied a lot through him. Cliff used to have sets of spare ears "just in case" they were needed. He would safety pin them on and rub a bit of mud around . A stag I shot won his "heaviest stag" for the year prize one year. It got the new set of ears treatment 'cos it had a tag in its ear - it was a deer farm escacape-ee. Miles away from a deer farm. Got a crate of Tui.

Another time I shot one on the back of a farm and had forgot to get permission . The farm manager "x" who was always chasing hunters must have heard my shot cos when I took it to Cliff he said "x told me you would be in here this morning". Good times.

I see K Lambert Tuai now passed on great bugger - Gisborne was my mate Pat Whelan at Makaraka fish and chip shop - Tiniroto pub -Matawai - Spud Collins in the Waioeka gorge - great days

Alan Jones in Waiouru - we were neighbours.
Oddly enough, our number was 566 97. The stuff you remember.

Rusty memory but it's come back to me.The Marty chiller was run by a joker Higgins or Higginson but not the AB Lockwho played for The Bush.Also recall the Poh Base # Apiti 732 but dont ask me what I had for breakfast

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

I see K Lambert Tuai now passed on great bugger - Gisborne was my mate Pat Whelan at Makaraka fish and chip shop - Tiniroto pub -Matawai - Spud Collins in the Waioeka gorge - great days

Barry couldn't drop off any @ the Wairata chiller to Spud Colin's.$$ Involved so always politics at play.Had to drop them into Tilley @ Opotiki.I shot for FS with two of his sons nod nod wink wink

yes the old FS took a poor view of its hunters selling deer - despite the fact that many of the shall we say upper management got away with it - we did give the loggers at Willow flat deer and they would drop us of beers - one of the closest near crashes was at the Wairata chiller - Spud had sold and the new owner was standing on the side of the chiller holding his young son when a fully loaded 300 came in totally committed - the hook release failed and the pilot managed to drag the load sideways and dump down onto the paddock - he reckoned that was as close to a fatality as he came in his flying - he had no ability to lift at all - he had been only able to maintain level flight all the way from upper Waioeka

Not Tib Gedson in his 300?I would say the two Opotiki/Wairata chillers would have had the biggest tonnages in the Nth Is put thru them in those days due to all the Waro activity flying out of the Opotiki strip .Tilley had to get the truck in thrice weekly minimum or he couldn't close the door!.Good times

Mboro was boggy Ramsden Fred burling had the one up by hansells in masterton