Thread: A few days in the Huxley

Originally Posted by bluebaiter222

@Snowgrass thanks for the happy snap of the ode to Tony 'Gatsey' Gates in the log book.The pen has captured the essence of the man well.He was a couple of years ahead of me at highschool growing up in the Hutt Valley.Knocking around with flogged out three naught threes in the Orongas as broken arse teenagers with no money to buy decent gear. A cheerful bubbly guy with a permanent smile.Spending time in the scrub was in his genes- both his parents were founding members of the Tararua Tramping Club.So he wasn't so one dimensional like most of us here - shooting only- he was just as passionate tramping,international Mtn climbing,kayaking,etc a la G Duley.His final job was on the Manawatu Pest Board.
Unfortunately he as a good bugger had his number called out way to early and was a victim of rust way too young.But he crammed in 2 lives in one short life @Snowgrass thanks for the time to reminiss about Gatesy due to your post.RIP
And tomorrow I will in similar vein honour the past diggers on the 25th

I used to run into Tony quite often in the Ruahines. Met him one day and he was skiing on little patches of snow (Telemark skiing maybe?) on the Rangi tops. What made me smile was that his girlfriend was lugging the skis for him, trailing along behind while Tony looked for good patches of snow. Tony was the first person I met who was hunting with a .284. I met Tony so often at huts that I got into the habit of writing into hut books "where are you Tony Gates?" if he wasn't at one. I had quite a bit to do with Tony when he worked for MWRC - work was a necessary evil for him that distracted from his recreation pursuits.
Thanks for the memory.