Leading from the front issuu

chapter two
Pat and Marie
create their own
worlds
by jes magill
BIG BROTHER GOES FIRST —
AND LOVE WALKS IN THE
DOOR
After graduating as a wool classer from Massey
Agricultural College and keen to indulge his
passion for the outdoor life, Pat secured a role as
a shepherd at Mangatutu Station, Puketitri, in the foothills
of the Kaweka Ranges, for successful Hawke’s Bay
farmer Lou Harris.
The hopeful shepherd, joined by two others, became
more ‘developer’s assistant’ though. This was the mid-
40s when land prices were on the rise and Lou could
see land was a smart investment. So rather than tend
livestock and help maintain a working farm as anticipated,
Pat and his mates spent more time fencing and preparing
the land for development. These were still great
times though and after three years, he left Mangatutu
and returned to the bright lights of Napier.
Living in the country did confirm his passion for the
lifestyle and gave him a love for Puketitiri as well, an area
which enters Pat’s story again in a few years’ time. He’d
also met the love of his life, Catherine O’Donnell, a trainee
nurse from New Plymouth who’d moved to Napier in
1946. Being closer to town gained a sense of urgency,
and matters of the heart would eventually steer Pat towards
joining the family business and making plans to
settle down.
The career choices for the women in his life were
much simpler. They were free to follow their hearts and
Pat has always been surrounded by exemplary nurses.
His mother Jessie, born in 1889, was keen for a career
and while you wouldn’t have called her a feminist, she
was certainly a trailblazer.
Through her work as a Plunket Nurse she was known
for developing her own solutions for the needs of mothers
and babies in her care. She could even be described
as gently rebellious, a trait that obviously appealed to
young Pat’s sensibilities.
Opposite: Steps linking Cameron and Milton Road that Pat traversed thousands of times; Above: Siblings together again after Marie
and David return from Indonesia for a brief family holiday in 1961.
Pat and Marie create their own worlds 19