Ashburton Courier: November 12, 2020
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www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz<br />
Book recalls farmers’dark days<br />
LINDA.CLARKE<br />
@ashburtoncourier.co.nz<br />
Mid Canterbury farmers today<br />
are among the most productive<br />
on the planet, but 35 yearsago<br />
they were angry and bitter<br />
about government policies that<br />
were driving somefrom their<br />
land.<br />
The rural downturn of the<br />
1980s had abig impactonthe<br />
district’s farmers andtheir<br />
families, the businessesof<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> suffered too.<br />
Emotional and hard<br />
decisions made then continue<br />
to have ramificationsfor some<br />
families today,says firsttime<br />
author Alison Argyle,who has<br />
publishedabook about the<br />
downturn and its resulting<br />
grief, stress and challenges.<br />
Shespent nearly three years<br />
interviewing 40 farmers,<br />
workers,farm consultants,<br />
bankers, social workers and<br />
others and has woventheir<br />
storiesinto a130pagebook<br />
called TheHalf Banana Years.<br />
The title reflects thefact that<br />
money was so tight for some<br />
Mid Canterbury families,<br />
bananas were cut up and<br />
rationed out to their children.<br />
Alison said it wasimportant<br />
that memories of the time were<br />
recordedbefore they werelost.<br />
It was apainful period in the<br />
district’s history atone time,<br />
twothirds of thedistrict’s <strong>12</strong>00<br />
farming families were existing<br />
on special needsgrants,some<br />
farmers did not survive.<br />
Alison Argyle has penned abook about <strong>Ashburton</strong>’s rural<br />
downturn in the1980s.<br />
While grief andlosswere<br />
part of this period, so too were<br />
resilience, strength and<br />
opportunity, shesaid.<br />
‘‘People were challenged<br />
andlivesdramatically altered<br />
duringtheseyears but many<br />
people in the district were<br />
totally unaffectedand<br />
unaware of what was<br />
happening to others.’’<br />
The formerteacher recalled<br />
afightinher class at<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong>College, the result<br />
of underlyingtensions in a<br />
rural home after an offhand<br />
commentbyatownstudent.<br />
Family loans were forgiven<br />
at emotional ‘‘restructuring’’<br />
meetings, children were<br />
broughthome from boarding<br />
school,farmers’ wives found<br />
themselves working on the<br />
farm or went backtoformer<br />
jobs. It changed society.<br />
‘‘I have used namesinthe<br />
book,’’ Alison said.<br />
‘‘One or two wanted<br />
anonymity butgenerally<br />
speaking people were more<br />
than happytotalkbecause<br />
time has elapsed.’’<br />
Timedid notmake the<br />
memories any less painful.<br />
‘‘Theirfeelings were so raw.<br />
This book is not an economic<br />
analysisofRogernomics,<br />
thoughit restsonthe<br />
background of that. It is about<br />
the human stories,stories that<br />
were in danger of not being<br />
recorded.<br />
‘‘Farmers lost their homes,<br />
some hadbeeninthe family<br />
for generations, theylost their<br />
jobs andthey lost their selfesteem.’’<br />
Alison said the painfultime<br />
had helped shape Mid<br />
Canterbury into the successful<br />
farmingarea it is today.<br />
She saw that as thedrove to<br />
all corners of thedistrict to<br />
interview farming people,<br />
often stopping at the end of<br />
their long drivewaysto<br />
transcribe notes intoexercise<br />
books,before committingthe<br />
wordstocomputer screen.<br />
Friends and family acted as<br />
proofreaders for the book and<br />
Alison enlisted the helpof<br />
former<strong>Ashburton</strong>ian Brad<br />
McDonald to design it for<br />
publication.Some 500 copies<br />
have beenprinted by<br />
Spectrum publishers in afirst<br />
run; the book is selling for<br />
$39.99 and is availablefrom<br />
PaperPlus.<br />
It waslaunched at aspecial<br />
function at the Mid Canterbury<br />
VintageMachinery Clubrooms<br />
at the showground last night.<br />
NEWS<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> <strong>Courier</strong>, <strong>November</strong> <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
3<br />
Borough<br />
leads way<br />
FromPage 1<br />
The Borough redevelopment<br />
is one of several major school<br />
renovations in thedistrict over<br />
the next few years.<br />
Twenty schools inthe district<br />
werealso allocated acombined<br />
$3m of School Investment<br />
Packagefunding.<br />
Ms Shannon said a$60m<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> Collegerebuild<br />
involved replacing existing<br />
ageing teaching spaces that are<br />
at the endoftheir life. ‘‘The<br />
auditorium, library,<br />
administration area willalso be<br />
replaced. The projectisinthe<br />
preliminary design stage and<br />
we expect the designphase to<br />
continuethroughout2021.’’<br />
Construction will take about<br />
three years and is estimated to<br />
get under way in early 2022.<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong>Intermediate<br />
Schoolhas around$5m to<br />
replace three older relocatable<br />
buildings with anew 11<br />
teaching space block. Another<br />
teaching block willbe<br />
seismically strengthened and<br />
refurbishedinthree stages.<br />
‘‘We willsoon finish the<br />
designphase and expect<br />
constructiontostart in late<br />
2021.’’<br />
Allenton Schoolhas around<br />
$5m to replace five older<br />
teaching spaces (currently in<br />
threerelocatable buildings and<br />
tworoll growth teaching<br />
spaces), with anewseven<br />
teaching space block. Work<br />
should start late 2021.’’<br />
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