Bay Harbour: April 27, 2022

Bay Harbour News Wednesday April 27 2022
6
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Richness of rural childhood revisited
Le Bons Bay resident
John Stuart has
published a book about
his childhood in Little
River in the 1950s and
1960s. Gary Brittenden
casts his eye over it
IF YOU grew up in 1950s and
1960s rural New Zealand, you
don’t have to be told what a
different world it was back then.
John Stuart, one of Banks
Peninsula’s most well-known
and respected characters, grew
up in Little River and now lives
in Le Bons Bay. Having recently
retired at 75, John has put
together a collection of stories
that begin with his 1950s Little
River childhood and wind their
way through a rich and varied
life.
Stuart is not just a great storyteller
– he is also a very good
writer. The appeal of this book
does not just lie in the wonderful
adventures he had as a young
lad, but also in his writing,
which has a touch of magic about
it. There is a softness and simplicity
of style and a pervading
gentle humour that echoes Roald
Dahl’s Boy and Bill Bryson’s
stories of his youth in The Thunderbolt
Kid.
The first section of the book
takes us to the long-lost world of
John Stuart’s
book My
life and
other stories
recounts
growing
up in Little
River with
‘softness,
simplicity
and gentle
humour’.
a rural, post-war childhood. For
Stuart and his ‘cobbers’ (such a
1950s word) it was a time of innocence
and freedom. They lived
in a place where the imagination
ruled supreme. The adventures
they got up to will bring misty
eyes to those who shared this
time, and incredulity to those
who didn’t. Health and safety
officers, read at your peril!
After his school days Stuart
went to university, was conscripted
into the army, and
played rugby at a high level for
his beloved Banks Peninsula
club, of which he is now patron.
“During the 1972 season I
reached the pinnacle of my rugby
career. I was selected for trials for
the Canterbury country rugby
team.
“At the first lineout, I found
myself marking the fearsome All
Black Grizz Wyllie. This is great,
I thought. But as I attempted
to impose myself on him, he
stepped back and fetched me a
solid clout to the head.
“My enthusiasm waned for
quite some time.”
Stuart was also a very able
rower, gaining a couple of thirds
at the nationals and beating a few
Olympic rowers along the way.
His interests were not just
confined to the blood, sweat and
tears of the sports field. He also
trod the boards with the local
drama club, which led to being
offered a part in a movie that was
to be filmed in Akaroa.
“I was offered a speaking
part – that of a drunken sailor.
Perhaps it was considered a role I
had some experience with.
“Unfortunately, Actors Equity
objected to having a non-union
member playing the part and
I was replaced by pop star Ray
Wolf. That was the beginning
and end of my movie career.”
Stuart was a teacher in
Akaroa for many years and was
renowned for his storytelling
ability.
This was followed by a stint
with the Banks Peninsula
Conservation Trust, running
predator trap lines in the isolated
‘wild side’ of the peninsula.
The book, simply titled,
My life and other stories is
full of wonderful tales of
all these times, originally
handwritten in a notebook for
his grandchildren. A couple of
friends and neighbours had a
read and persuaded Stuart –
after some lively discussion – to
publish. This is a wonderful book
and deserves to be widely read.
• My life and other stories
is available in Akaroa at
Pot Pourri and the Akaroa
Museum, and the Little
River Gallery. Smith’s
bookshop in The Tannery
will also have copies.