North Canterbury News: November 24, 2022

Move to NZ highlight of long life
By SHELLEY TOPP
Franz van derVelden
immigratedtoNew Zealand
from the Netherlands in 1968
and has never returned to his
denselypopulated homeland.
Franz, who turned 100 on
Thursday last week,visited
New Zealand in 1963 withhis
wife Maria on their
honeymoon.
The couple fell in lovewith
New Zealand’s‘‘wide­open
spaces,beautiful scenery and
friendly people’’,and in 1968
made the decision to
immigrate heredespite
neitherofthem speaking
Englishatthe time.
It is adecision neither has
regretted.
Franz says moving to
Christchurch,beingable to buy
ahome there and finding longterm
employmentinthe city
have been highlights in his life.
His marriage to Maria tops
that listofhighlightswith the
birth of the couple's children,
Alexander and Petra and their
children,Brianna and Willem,
next.
Franz was borninMeerwijk
castle,the family homein
Empel, 's­Hertogenbosch,
(colloquially known as Den
Bosch),onNovember18, 1922.
His grandfather was a
wealthyland owner and coal
merchant during atime when
coal was apremiumfuel.
Franz’s father Nico,who was
the only person in the area who
had adriver'slicence,
transported coalfor the family
business, the StoneCoal
Company.
Franz was educatedin
's­Hertogenbosch, attending
primary and secondary school
there before studying at the
Maritime Academy in
Rotterdam.
During World War II Franz
Franz van der Velden
worked at homehelping his
family withharvesting on their
farm.
At one point during the war
his family was forced to leave
theirMeerwijkhome and seek
refuge in the nearby
countryside for several weeks
wherethey livedonpotatoes
growing on the landand used
hay bales for shelter.
It was adifficulttime for the
family butreturninghome to
Meerwijk after the war finding
theirfamilyhomehad been
severelydamaged and looted
was alsoalow point.
At the end of the war Franz
worked for several months as a
telegraphist at the Post Office
before joining KLM Airlines
where he stayed for 20 years,
first as atelegraphist and then
joiningthe groundcrew.
When Franz and Maria
moved to Christchurch with his
mother Elizabeth,they joined
his brother Henk van der
Velden and sister­in­lawTony
who had immigrated to New
Zealandin1952. Frank initially
worked as aharvester and a
painterbefore being offered a
job at the Sunshine Bread
factoryinMarshland, where he
remained for 22 years untilhis
retirement at 65.
The couple stayed in
Christchurch for 47 years in
the samehome, beforemoving
to Rangiora four years ago to
be closer to Petra. During their
marriage Franz has puthis
significant carpentry and
handymanskills to gooduse.
Petrasays her father was
always ‘‘pottering aroundin
his garage’’ building furniture
for the home such as cabinets,
wardrobes and beds, but also
otherthingslike dolls houses
and rabbitcages.
He took up stained­glass
leadlighting for severalyears,
has also been akeen fisherman
and is atalented musician.
‘‘He is very musical and
played several instruments,
including his favourites,the
pianoand the accordion but he
also played the clarinet and
saxophone,’’ Petra says.
‘‘There wasn'taday that went
past thathecouldn't be heard
tinklingthe ivories or playing
the accordion.’’
Franzhas passedhis love of
musicontoPetra, whoisa
musicteacherinRangiora.
‘‘When he visits my place, he
will still play on my piano,’’she
says.
Although Franz was ableto
drivehis car up untilthe
middle of last yearheis
disappointed that hisfailing
eyesight nowprevents him
from doingthat.
Franzhas seen many
changes in his long life. The
introduction of electric
lighting, compared to the
petroleumlamps used when he
was growing up, is one of the
most significant changes,he
says.
‘‘Theintroduction of
technology, air travel
becoming so easily and widely
accessible to all,the wide use
and ownership of motor
vehicles and the advances in
medicine, have been others.’’
Consent sought for quarry in Okuku River
By DAVID HILL,
Local Democracy Reporter
Aquarry to excavate gravelcouldbe
establishedatOkuku River, northof
Rangiora.
EnvironmentCanterbury (ECan) has
confirmedithas receivedaresource
consent application from Darwin
EarthworksLtd to excavategravel from
the Okuku River bed, to install temporary
culverts and to disturb the river bed.A
permittodischarge contaminantstoair,
as aresult of excavationworks, hasalso
been sought.
DarwinEarthworksLtd is the
landownerofthe property at 216
Riverside Road. Theapplication saysthe
company planstouse the materialfor
further localdevelopmentand
constructionactivities.
An ECan spokespersonsaysthe council
is conducting an assessment of project’s
environmental effects.Ifthoseeffects
were consideredtobe‘‘more than minor’’,
theresourceconsentwillbepublicly
notified,asrequiredunderSection 95A of
the Resource Management Act.
‘‘Whenwemake adecision on a
resource consent,weconsider theeffects
on thenatural environment andhow the
activity will affect other people's useand
enjoymentofthe environment,’’ the
spokespersonsays.
ECanisawaitingexpert advice on the
consentproposals beforemaking ‘‘a
notificationassessment’’.
Public interest journalism is funded by
New ZealandonAir.
NEWS
North Canterbury News, November 24, 2022
3
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