june 2007 rural women magazine, new zealand

8/9/2019 June 2007 Rural Women Magazine, New Zealand

1/8Strengthening Rural Communities Page

O F F I C I A L J O U R N A L O F R U R A L W O M E N N E W Z E A L A N D ISSUE No.2 June 2007

National Conference

Otago Central Rail Trail Challenge

Marrying the Farmer or the Farm?

How to train a sheep dog

in this issue...

RWNZ launches new Leptospirosis fundraising campaign

Rural Women New Zealand members gave their ull support to aproposal to revive a very successul undraising campaign or urtherresearch into Leptospirosis, at the recent national conerence.

During the 1970s and 1980s Womens Division FederatedFarmers (as Rural Women New Zealand was then known)raised close to $200,000 or research into vaccination andmanagement regimes or the control o Leptospirosis in pigsand dairy cattle.

This money unded the publication o 57 research papers onthe disease by the Massey University Faculty o VeterinaryScience. This research directly contributed to a signicantdrop in the number o notied cases in humans, rom 875cases in 1974 to under 200 in the early 1980s. This was largelythe result o a vaccination programme in dairy cattle and pigs,as well as educational campaigns.

However, the disease is ar rom beaten, and is still NewZealands most commonly notied workplace disease, Massey

veterinarian, Dr Jackie Blenschop, told conerence delegates.While some orms o the disease can result in mild fu likesymptoms, others suer severe eects which can last or aconsiderable time and necessitate lengthy periods o workand sometimes a change o career.

Dr Benschop told RWNZ members that the disease is spreadwhen the leptospirosis bacteria are shed through an animalsurine, with just tiny splashes potentiallycontaining millions o bacteria. Bacteria

inect humans, entering the bodythrough cuts and cracks in the skin,and the membranes o the eyes, noseand mouth.

A blood test is necessary to diagnosethe disease, however antibodies arentpresent at the acute stage, only twoto three weeks later when symptomsmay be easing. Once detected,eective treatment is available thatusually kills and removes the bacteria.,but people cant be vaccinated.

Prevention techniques centre on vaccinating animals and takingphysical precautions to avoid contact

with shed bacteria, such as wearinggloves and suitable ootwear.

Dr Jackie Blenschop gives a presentation on

Leptospirosis at our Rotorua conference

In the 1970s this was largely a disease o pig and dairy armers.However as pigs and dairy cattle are now largely vaccinated,the prole o those at risk has changed. Meat workers arenow the most likely group to contract the disease, and Massey

wants to understand more about their exposure to the diseasethrough sheep and deer.

The Massey team also wants to establish the importance oLeptospirosis as a cause o sheep mortality, to provide a cost-benet analysis o vaccination.

Dr Blenschop says the researchers need to do more study into theuse o vaccines early in an animals lie,beore it becomes inected, as vaccination

will not alter the urinary shedding statuso an already inected animal.

They also want to understand whethersome types o bacteria cause more diseasethan others, whether there is competitionamong the dierent types o Leptospira,

whether the disease is seasonal and whether sheep get inected rom deer,cattle, wildlie and vice versa.

RWNZ members are urged to get behindthis important campaign, and to sharetheir stories about successul undraisinginitiatives and events. Our conerence wasbased on the theme Using the Past toCreate the Future and it is tting that wehave decided to revive this very worthwhileundraising project at this time.


2/8Strengthening Rural CommunitiesPage

Farewell from past PresidentSherrill DackersI remember my rst editorial just three years ago and thequalms with which I approached it. I was very unsure o whatI should write, whether it would be relevant and how muchI should say. I still have similar concerns but now, with thebenet o experience, it does not worry me so much.

So, now, my riends where to rom here? I am about to leave

or Finland to lead the Rural Women New Zealand delegationat the Associated Country Women o the World (ACWW)Conerence - what an honour - and then, later, join myhusband in London or a long postponed and long awaitedtour o Great Britain and Europe. But ater that what? Isimply do not know.

I do know that as I step down I leave some dear riends andacquaintances. The National Council, the sta, many, manymembers. All the wonderul people throughout New Zealand

whom I have had the privilege o meeting during these last

three years. Not only members, but Members o Parliament,Government and other agency employees and people rom all

walks o lie involved and interested in rural and rural healthissues. My lie has expanded considerably and I have learned.I have been an extremely ortunate woman, I have walked atotally dierent path rom what I had expected, aced some hugechallenges, learned countless things, expanded my knowledge inunexpected areas and had new and interesting experiences andall because o my involvement in Rural Women New Zealand.

These opportunities are available and waiting or any member

who dares to take the step. In my case nothing was everplanned or anticipated. On refection I simply stepped on aconveyor belt which took me to the top. Never in my wildestdreams did I anticipate such rewards. All I ever intended wasto serve the organisation in the best way possible.

Now the cycle has been completed and I have returned to thestarting place I am once again an ordinary member. It iseasy or me to say any member can do the same. For some it

will probably never happen but it is important to realise thati you want to, you can.

I leave you in good hands your new National President,Margaret Chapman, has a sound grasp o all things rural.

She has strong principles and will, I believe, prove to be anexcellent leader. With a committed National Council and loyalmembers the uture is good.

To all my riends and ellow members my thanks or thehonours and blessings you have given me.

Sherrill Dackers is

pictured here with

National Party Leader

John Key following

a breakfast meeting

with our National

Councillors on Anzac

Day.

My rst editorial I neverimagined I would ever haveto do this. Thank you to allmembers or the privilegeo serving as your NationalPresident and, while Ieel very humbled, I amapproaching my term withnervous anticipation.

I would like to acknowledgea past Dominion President

the late Ginny Talbot a ellow Kakahu Branchmember. This is a rst or the organisation - twoNational Presidents rom the same branch. Ginny

was certainly my mentor and inspiration.

I live at Kakahu, 15 kilometres rom Geraldine inSouth Canterbury with my husband Graham on a530ha sheep and bee arm. We have two sons, botho whom are keen armers. I completed a Diploma o

Home Science at Otago University and taught or anumber o years beore heading o overseas.

Within weeks o getting married I joined Womens DivisionFederated Farmers, without knowing anything about theorganisation. I stayed because it was a way o getting toknow the neighbours and or the un and ellowship obeing with women who shared the same problems and joysin country living. I was also drawn by the educational andpersonal growth opportunities and the chance to infuencelocal decision makers on issues o concern. Does all thissound amiliar? I think it is the reason most o us join theorganisation. Only later, comes the realization that Rural

Women New Zealand is a powerul and very well respectedvoice or rural communities at a national level.

I am passionate about our organisation. I believe we havesomething to oer everyone and Rural Women New Zealandis as needed today as it was when it started 82 years ago.Those ounding members were women with a passion women with a vision o strengthening rural communities,o working to better the conditions or women and children.They led and inspired and laid the strong oundations on

which the organisation is based today. Throughout its historythe underlying vision has never altered that o strong,sustainable rural communities.

It is now our turn to take the organisation orward to beocused and orward thinking, open to new ideas and inclusiveo all who share our vision. A quote rom a ormer DominionPresident, Mrs Haldane says it all: an organisation that thinksin terms o tomorrow moves on; an organisation that thinksin terms o yesterday perishes. We must all think in terms otomorrow and encourage new, younger members to step upand be the uture o our organisation. Only then will we bepassing on our vision o strengthening rural communities.

To me, a quote rom the late Sir Peter Blake says it all:

To win-you have to believe you can do it. You have to be

passionate about it. You have to really want the result -even iit means years o work. The hardest part o any big project is tobegin. We have begun, we are underway - we have a passion.

We want to make a dierence.

I look orward to meeting and working with you all.

Editorial - by MargaretChapman

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Local Body Elections -make your voice heard

Nominations or local body and DHB elections open on 27 July andclose on 24 August, with elections to take place on 13 October.

RWNZ is keen to support rural candidates to ensure goodrepresentation o rural communities and their speciicconcerns. I you are intending to stand please contact national

oce so that we can publicise RWNZ candidates amongst ourmembership. To date we have details or one member whois intending to stand, our Regional Development Ocer orRegion 6, Rachael Dean.

Rachael Dean will be standing orthe Waikato District Health Board.Rachael is currently serving onthe Health Waikato AdvisoryCommittee or the Waikato DHB.She has previous experienceas a City Councillor, BoroughCouncillor and Southland Area

Health Board Member.Rachaels proessional lie hasbeen spent as a Chartered

Accountant, internal auditor,project manager, IT and businessconsultant. She was raised on a high country sheep stationand currently works with her husband in their amily business.She is involved with volunteer work, is a theatrical armourerand tutors FarmSmart courses. She also rows, shoots and isan associate lamb judge and board member or Diving NZ.

Rachael is concerned about issues o access to health outside

the big cities. Her candidacy is endorsed by Waikato FederatedFarmers. She will be available rom the end o July to meetand talk with RWNZ members and other groups such asLions, Rotary etc. She would also appreciate promotiono her candidacy in any newsletters you produce. [email protected] or call (07) 827 6778.

Opinion -by Liz Evans, national councillor

Hills Harvest Award

Leonie Batt o Kiripaka branch has won the a Ballance FarmEnvironment Award or her 70ha avocado orchard and drystock property near Whangarei. The present attractive stateo the property is a tremendous achievement said the judges.

Almost all the 25ha o bush and waterways have been encedto exclude stock and pests are actively controlled. The orchardand arm also contain some o the best examples o conservednative bush in Northland. Now in her 70s, Leonie is veryactive in the orchard, and employs two part-time workerso a similar age. The orchard produces high yields o topquality avocados, with six dierent varieties providing bothshelter and ruit, maximising income rom the export and localmarket, seed or nurseries and oil pressing.

Rural policing initiative welcomed

Seven rural police ocers have been appointed to the CentralRegion police district and will be part o a two year study to ascertainthe value o placing police ocers back into rural communities.

Wanganui Rural Constable, Allan Spooner, is one o the sevenappointed, and he recently held a meeting with rural stakeholders,including Rural Women New Zealand. He said there was a

need to get involved in communities very quickly and showNew Zealand what could be achieved with these new roles. Abig bonus was that his time was now ring enced, meaning hecould not be called on or town work. In the past rural policinghad been one o Constable Spooners our portolios, but he hadno time allocated to spend in the role, he said.

RWNZs Provincial President, Joan Black, attended the rstcommunity consultation meeting held to brainstorm on ruralissues. The new constables will be ocusing on the criminalelement in rural areas, drug issues, boundary problems, stockthet etc. Constable Spooner said any burglary, no matterhow small, should be reported as it could be part o a biggerpicture. He also warned against renting spare houses on rural

properties, or at least getting tenants checked thoroughlybeore signing up.

The extra seven rural constables will increase the visiblityo police in rural areas in Central Region and i the pilot is

successul it is hoped it will be extended to other areas.

A No Cows, No Countryside campaign has recentlybe launched by English liestlye magazine, CountryLiving. The year long eort is designed to encourageconsumers to buy locally produced ood and advancethe notion that arming is good or the countryiside.

We in New Zealand should take note o this campaignor it has several components relevant to our currentstatus as an agricultural exporting nation anxiousabout production versus environmental impact andthe place o rural in our societys pecking order.

A ascinating acet o the campaign is the hint ocriticism o the role o environmentalism in the demiseo British arming. This is a change rom what we areincreasingly told about the supposedly negative eectso agricultural grazing on landscapes here.

Having recently attended a national NGO orum onclimate change submissions, described by some o theparticipants ashigh level policy making, it is obviousNew Zealand is in the grip o land use ambivalence.

Rural Women New Zealand was one o only two community-basedorganisations invited to take part in the orum, during which thehead o one o our largest infuential environmental lobby groupsadvocated the cultivation o gorse on our armland because o itsunction as a carbon sink, while another leader stated that the onlyarming allowed here should be o plants and trees. The positionand contribution o arming and its people, and our accompanyingrural communities, were o little consequence. The need or exportsto und the economy in general didnt rate a mention.

The Country Living campaign seems to be bypassingthe political, academic and extremist elements stranglingBritish arming and making its pitch instead to consumers,traditionalists and tourists. How long will it be beore we too

need a campaign to save our arming?

(Abridged rom an original article by Liz Evans published inThe Press.)

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fea

tureNational Conference 007 - Rotorua

Conerence is always a great opportunity to network,catch up with members rom all over the country, and

dress up!

The conerence theme,Using the Past to Create the Future,

was no more evident than in the revival o 60s clothing, atthe themed dinner on the Wednesday night. Plunging

to the back o the wardrobe, members hadrediscovered a range o outts ranging rom

hippie costumes to mini skirts, and showing abit o leg was the order o the night.

Earlier, keynote

speaker GarthMcVicar o the

S e n s i b l eS e n t e n c i n g

Trust told o theneed to support

victims at parolehear ings , and

through lobbyingpo l i t i c i ans in

Wellington.

Balancing this

viewpoint wast h e

closing speaker, Jeanette Crean,who spoke about her amilys timber

business. Many o the 100 sta wereunemployable by others standards,

but by taking them on one at a time andshowing them there was a better way,

Jeanette and her husband changed somany o their lives. I believe success

is measured by whats let when all thelabour is done,Jeanette said.Perhaps

the Sensible Sentencing Trust would beout o a job i there were more people

like the Creans in this country.

Delegates listened in awe to dressdesigner and publisher, Annah Stretton,

whose energies seemed boundless, about her successul

business strategies and new challenges she has set hersel.

Many enjoyed hearing Susan Hassell talk about her educational

philosophies as head o Hamilton Boys High School. Shespoke o the negative eects o chronological snobbery,

where people think that only todays attitudes can be right andthat any ideas o the past have had it.

It is something we must ght, she says,particularly in education.

Each o the regions presented a tenminute showcase highlighting activities

they are involved in.

The conerence aired many issuesaecting the rural population and the

nal words should be let to our newpresident, Margaret Chapman.

Rural Women New Zealand can provideeverything you could want - social

contact, involvement inlocal issues, educational

o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n dadvocacy at a national

level. My aim is to see our organisation fourish by ocusingon the needs o todays young rural women and actively

meeting those needs.

Congratulations to Elsie McInnes, who attended her 50th RWNZ

conerence in Rotorua!

When our National Conerence waslast held in Rotorua, Elsie was our

Dominion President, the oce sheheld rom 1984 to 1987.

Ater dinner entertainment at

national conerence included theamazing creations o Oropi branch

members, who stunned delegates

with their outts and ensemblescreated rom shower curtains,plastic bags, doilies and tablecloths.Now in their eighth year, the women

entertain at various unctionsaround Tauranga.



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Directors Scholarship Winner

Hilary McNab was

announced as the winnero this years Directors

Course Scholarship atnational conerence. The

scholarship is sponsoredby Meat & Wool New

Zealand, and the courserun by the NZ Institute

o Directors.

Hilary decided to applyater being motivated by a presentation at the Ministry

o Womens Aairs when she attended the RWNZWellington Experience earlier this year. The Wellington

Experience was motivating or me and I hope I will beable to in turn motivate at other levels.

I see the course as an excellent opportunity to dosome proessional development as I have served on

numerous committees and boards, and this coursepresents me with an opportunity to upskill. It will moveme out o my comort zone and be a tremendous challenge.

Hilary is on the Farm Board o Management at Telord RuralPolytechnic and the Coopworth Sheep Council o NZ as

well as serving as Provincial President or South Otago RuralWomen New Zealand.

Keeping abreast of fundraising campaign

I you are out and about in Mid Canterbury keep an eye outor the Winchmore rural women at work. Maureen Maginness

and Sandra Curd ollowedin the ootsteps o moreamous calendar girls whenthey threw o their tops atconerence and proceeded tolaunch the latest Winchmore

Branch undraising projector breast cancer research.

The pair gave us a sneakpreview o the delightul 2008Calendar produced by thebranch with mid Canterburyrural scenes and careullypositioned models - all branch

members - who bared their fesh down on the arm, all in the nameo a good cause. Sandra Curd says the women were passionateabout the project as some o their branch members had sadlybeen aected by

breast cancer.

Just l ike theCalendar Girlsmovie, the irstrun o 1,500calendars hassold like hotcakes and a re-print is alreadybeing tipped.The Branchs aimto raise $15,000or the Cancer Society is likely to be surpassed. To order calendars

write to Ngaire Brown, Logan Stud, 226 Cochranes Road, RD7,Ashburton. $15 a copy, cheques to Winchmore Branch RWNZ.

Sandra Curd (rt) and Maureen

Maginness

Miss June - Sandra Curd at work in the

sheep yards

Sherrill Dackers,our outgoing president, was made a National LieMember at national conerence in Rotorua, recognising her years oservice including membership o a number o Boards and Committeesand her commitment to social issues, particularly health.

Tribute was also paid to Rhonda Riddle, retiring nationalcouncillor or Region 1, who was made a National Member

o Honour. Her astute mind, involvement in land care issuesand contribution around the council table was acknowledgedas she was made a National Member o Honour.

The Honora ONeill Trophy or the Best Provincial Report waswon byJan Crayston o Otago. The Cora Wilding Cup orhandcrat (a spectacle case) was won byAnne Murphy, and the

Wool Competition (a wall hanging) byMargaret Springett oTaranaki. The Talbot Trophy or Best International Report wentto Melva Robb o Marlborough, while the Lady Blundell Trophyor the Most Innovative Branch Project was won byDrummondBranch in Southland or their collection o local history.TheMarlborough Short Story Award was won byBeverley Blanche

o West Melton Branch, and Fiona Gower o Waitanguru Branchwon the national speech competition with her take on the themeSure to Rise. Bevs short story and Fionas speech can be viewedin the Members section o our website.Hilary McNab o SouthOtago was announced as the winner o this years Meat and WoolDirectors Course Scholarship.

Tributes and Trophies

You Go Merle!Two years ago Merle

Wyllie entered ournational speechcompetition speaking

o n t h e t h e m eWomen Are Ready.

She talked about allthe activities shed

tried, and suggestedthat perhaps she

would have a goat sky-diving next.

So to ce lebrateher recent 75th

birthday, she wentto Taupo with her

granddaughter Amy,and daughter- in-law

Fiona, and signed upor a tandem dive.

The plane climbed to 12,000 eet. Then we were buckledsecurely to our jump masters and jumped out ree alling

rather rapidly to 6,000 eet, until the parachute opened.

The rest o the descent was at a leisurely pace with plentyo time to look down on Taupo township. Merle steered the

chute right to the landing spot, and the three women latercelebrated together.



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welcome to new members

Hazel Logan, Tatuanui

Adrienne DAth, Masterton, Jane Hobden, Wanganui,

Ngaire Palmore, Putaruru individual members

Julie Lealand, Pauline Carey, Te Rahu

Carolyn Atkin, Ann McGuire, Sue Snape,Mahakipawa

Glenda Ord, Tokaora-Inaha

Dianne Boyack, Rebecca Denham, Jill Faber, Ruth Galloway,

Deborah Harris, Sharon Hayes, Linda Hoyle, Brian Hoyle,Vicki Judd, Karen Kingswood, Anne Lunn, Heather Phillips,

Judy Philpott, Jenny Pyatt, Cathryn Robinson, Rachael

Schoeld, Christine Stanley, Anne Stapleton, Jo-Anne

Stokes, Jan Stott,Pauatahanui WIF

Joy Winmill, Denise Cameron,Macraes-Dunback

farewell to old friends

Mary Dudley, Mangapiko

Doreen Harvey, Aoroa

Jean Stewart, Te Rahu

Margo Cornwall, Olive Penney, Otumoetai

Melba Evans, Glenroy

Eileen Dickson, Gore

Joan Bain, Roxburgh (Ettrick)

Phyl Aston, National Member o Honour, Stoke (French Pass)

Evelyn OConnell,Macraes-Dunback

Peggy Sheat, Oamaru

Evelyn Donaldson, Lynnford

Joyce Clark, Motueka

honours board

Branch Life Membership

Beverley Roper, Helen Zieltjes,Fraser Road, Taranaki

Branch Bar of Honour

Joan Sullivan, Geraldine Craig, Marion Frost, Merle McIvor,

Te Rahu

Obituary-Phyllis Rosa Aston-Phyl - 97- 007

WDFF - now Rural Women New Zealand - played a very importantrole in Phyl Astons lie, particularly when she lived on DUrvilleIsland, where she raised her amily o nine children, educating themover 22 years through The Correspondence School.

Her amily saysWDFF was her lie when we lived on DUrvilleIsland and the infuence on us children has been immeasurable.

We all beneted rom her participation.

Phyl joined WDFF in1943 as a junior memberand became a dedicatedmember o French Pass andlater Stoke Branch. Sherose rom Branch Presidentto Provincial President,

which meant long trips byboat and bus to Nelson atattend meetings.

During the 1980s, Phyl was

National Councillor orTop o the South (region3) and a member o theHonda House committee.Education, conservationand the environment were

Phyls passions and she kept other members inormed on theseimportant issues. Her achievements at all levels were recognised

when she was made a National Member o Honour. Phylalso loved the social contact that Rural Women NZ provided.Regional and national conerences were her holidays. She wasthe lie o the party and loved meeting all her riends. Phyl wasa Member o the New Zealand Order o Merit, awarded orservices to rural communities.

We have lost a great riend,said Gabi Abeltshauser at heruneral. We will miss her very much. Our thoughts andsympathy are with her amily.

80, 90, 100 Happy Birthdays!Congratulations to three members of PoatiriBranch, Otago, who recently celebrated specialbirthdays

Shirley Hicksturned 80, her sisterIsobel

Salter 90 and Jean McCulloch 100!

Mrs McCulloch celebrated her birthday

at the Dunedin Mornington Methodist

Church Hall, where riends and amily

gathered or aternoon tea. They are

three very special ladies in our Branch says secretary Shirley

Murray.

Bequests:As a charitable organisation we welcomebequests to assist with our work in strengthening

rural communities. Further information is available

from Executive Ofcer Noeline Holt, at RWNZs

national ofce, PO Box 12-021, Wellington. or email

[email protected].

Phyl enjoyed the Region 3

conference earlier this year

Pup Pen to Paddockis a no nonsense

guide to rearing and training better

sheep dogs. The author, Lloyd Smith,

is one of New Zealands best known

sheep dog triallists, as well as a highly

respected sheep dog trainer. Pup Pen

to Paddockdescribes an easy to followsystem of training sheep dogs for every

day farm work. Lloyd Smith says the

book is a response to requests for written

information from the many tutorials and

training days he is involved in. The

training guide covers huntaways and heading dogs in every step

of their training from the pup pen through to membership of the

working team. The book is available for $15 plus $1 pp from LA

Smith, 1RD, Palmerston, 9061. We have three copies of the book

to give away. To go in the draw, write to RWNZ, PO Box 12-021,

Wellington, writing your name, address and Dog Training Book

on the back of the envelope.

Congratulations to winners of our last book draw. Last Line of

Defenceby Megan Hutching was won by Pat Edwards-Sextus ofDannevirke, while Farm - the Spirit of Rural New Zealandby

Vaughan Yarwood was won by Theresa Stark of Taupiri.


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Marrying the farmer or the farm?

Jan Allan (front left) with Women in Farming members

at RuapehuJan Allan caused a minor media renzy last year ollowing thesuggestion rom her PhD research that arm women, or morespecically those known as armers wives, are not ullledby their roles over time.

As the lid has come o this tightly screwed container, thesubsequent publicity has given voice to the unspoken realityo the changing expectations o women marrying, or expectedto marry, onto arms,she said.

Jans research ocuses not on women who have chosen to arm,but on those who marry a man and thereby also married thearm and oten an extended arming amily.

While generations o New Zealand women have semed to ullyembrace the pioneering spirit by ollowing their man on to aarm, the reality is these women oten work through signicantstruggles in the processing obecoming arming women. During

her research, women described to Jan a long period o suppressingtheir sel, while accommodating their lot and making the besto things. Isolation can be not just geographical, but emotionaland social. Women may be challenged as they seek to nd like-minded people and to develop good conding emale rienshipslike they had when they were single.

But times are changing. Younger women are challenging thehistorical expectation that they will live on arm supportingtheir partners in their careers and neglecting their own. Forothers, the women are chosing agriculture as a career.

Jen Lancaster a member o King Country Women in Farming,

organised an FMG-sponsored retreat attended by 27 members atChateau Tongariro recently, with Jan Allan as guest speaker. JensaysI did eel as a WIF group we had probably addressed mosto the problems associated with marrying a armer and made thechoice to be part o the arm, so there is not the total eeling thatthe arm dictates. But, she says, Jans work has made us realisethat some rural women are still unable to exert their opinions andneeds. This is due to arming in some communities still laggingbehind the liberated times o younger urban women.

Jan pointed out that i you dont stand up or yoursel,no-one else is going to. Its the manner in which themessage is delivered that makes a dierence. We need

to become good negotiators and communicators. Its abit like having a dog that bites. How do you change abehaviour thats been happening or a long time? Theissues are complex, and the needs and solutions individualBut one thing is clear, womens needs must be prioritised.

The Triple F Challenge team set for a frosty departure from

Ranfurly

Fitness Fun and Friendship onthe Otago Central Rail TrailThey came from Australia, Nelson, the North and the

South Island to take part in the Triple F Challenge issued

by our Otago Regional Development Ofcer Pat Macaulay

to RWNZ members to conquer the Otago Central Rail

Trail. In all 79 cyclists set out from Clyde and cycled to

Middlemarch over three days, with nine support crew

and 26 others who walked around 15km each day, all in

the name of Fitness, Fun and Friendship.

Steeped in history, the trail took the riders through

magnicent scenery, away from the main highways, past

small towns and settlements.

Members took the opportunity to visit the Historic Hayes

Engineering Works at Oturehua, where several of New Zealands

early fencing tools were designed and manufactured.

Special mention must go to Ella McKerchar of Pleasant Point

and Gwenda Holmes of Dunedin, our eldest members to cycle

and walk the trail. Otago Southland national councillor, Rhonda

Riddle, was joined by her sisters Marilla Fraser of Palmerston and

Sandra Reynolds of Queensland Australia. Making new friends

was an important part of the rail trail experience and to many of

us this was an unimagined challenge, which we wondered if we

could really achieve, Mrs Riddle said.

The three found the ride a great experience. At times during her trip,

while sitting enjoying the view and having a rest, Rhonda was able

to feel the isolation and reected on what a Godsend our organisationmust have been for those early settler women and their families.

She says Although communication, transport and household

conveniences have advanced hugely since then, loneliness can still

be an issue today and RWNZ is still needed.

Fay Taylor of Henley branch stamps her Rail Trail

passport en route


8/8

Ofcial Journal of Rural Women New Zealand PO Box 12021, Wellington Tel 04 473 5524 Fax 04 472 8946

Email [email protected] www.ruralwomen.org ISSN no 1171-4425

Editor: Head Ofce, PO Box 12021 Wellington Printer: Precise Print, Paraparaumu

Peter Allen, Kereru dog trainer and retired trialist, says

there are many ways to train dogs, but they all take time,

patience and consistency. Cheerul, articulate and quietly

spoken even to his dogs Peter demonstrated the subtleart o dog handling to a ascinated group o Rural Women

members at a Hawkes Bay Women in Farming Group

meeting recently.

Peter believes in discipl ine or arm dogs rom early

puppyhood, saying a month o a dogs lie is the equivalent

o a year or a child, and a dog is mature at 24 months.

The most important commands or the dog are Stop and

Come and he teaches these when the puppy is about our

months old.

Socialising is very important and the trainer should talk tothe puppy at least our times a day. Peters quick course in

dog psychology included the best way to approach a dog,

how to stop dogs barking on the chain and how to establish

dominance without ear.

Demonstrating with two o his own dogs Smith and his

14-month-old daughter Penny, Peter showed that even

well trained dogs continue to learn: his young dog Penny

accomplished something she had never managed beore

squeezing past sheep crowded into a corner to move them

out. He was very pleased with her progress, pointing out

how brave a slender, light dog has to be to push past much

heavier, stronger ewes.

All Peters basic dog training is done without sheep. He

How to train a sheep dog in one easy lessonI wish!by Sallie Moore, Hawkes Bay

Women in Farming

WIF members watch as Peter works with Robyn Bunny and

her dogs from Elsthorpe

Peter Allen gives Denise Davis some pointers in the AnawaiStation yards

says until the dog knows Stop, Come, Over and Back

thats Let and Right i you dont speak Sheepdog and

some other more esoteric commands, theres no point indistracting it with the interesting sight o sheep. His main

aids are a light rope, a pole with a collar at the end and

shorter sticks to guide the dog in the required direction.

We only had our hours with Peter Allen, but we could

easily have spent all day and more watching and learning.

Our own dogs, despite our ears, were not beyond

redemption, Peter said. He gave individual tips or better

dog control and training regimes and was optimistic

about the utures o what looked like serious nutcases in

comparison to his own haloed dogs!

june 2007 rural women magazine, new zealand

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