Lawrence

I am Lawrence born and bred. I went to Lawrence Area School. I have fond memories of playing a lot of rugby on the field and going to the swimming pool. The pool was in town - as kids, we used to walk in our wee lines from school all the way to the pool, go swimming, then walk all the way back.

My family moved away when I was about six, but because I've got grandparents and lots of cousins there, we'd travel back down a couple of times a year to visit. We'd often go up to a place called Gabriel's Gully. There are two ponds there: one you can swim in, and one you can't. We would swim in the safe one or take kayaks my cousins borrowed from school and just muck around.

Horses were a huge part of my childhood. I got my first horse when I was five and I was properly riding by the time I was eight, going off by myself and all. My brother is a big motorbike man, very much into his two-wheelers. Through our teenage years we'd tag team around the farm - he'd ride the bike and I'd ride the horse, taking turns at getting gates and whatnot.

There was always something to do in Lawrence, always something happening. There's a Bike Club, Lawrence Rodeo and the Lawrence Horse Trek - that's probably one of my fondest memories. Mum and I used to go on the horse trek every year. Even after we'd moved away, we would travel back to Lawrence for it. It was a long way to go, but Mum loved going back as much as I did.

On the second day of the trek, the traffic would be blocked off so we could ride down the main street of Lawrence. It was awesome. After a bit of lunch, we'd go and saddle up our ponies for the games - the gymkhana. There were about six or seven kids I went to school with, and even after moving away I was able to stay in touch with them because we'd ride and compete together.

I've always felt drawn to Lawrence. I moved back to work on Waipori Station when I was just eighteen. I was really excited to go back because it's like going back to family. I was quite lucky - I got a casual shepherding role working with a family friend and it turned into a full-time job. I had three dogs and did a lot of stock work, a lot of break fencing during winter. I got a lot of responsibility at quite a young age.

Station life was pretty good, and it was very social. Once a week we'd get off the station for groceries, and we'd always meet down at the pub on a Friday night - do the old ring-around to see who was keen, fill a couple of cars and shoot down for pizzas and drinks. I remember playing netball on Saturday mornings, then going to watch the boys' rugby in the afternoon - every person on the station played for Lawrence. On other weekends, we'd go fishing or hunting or riding.

I had been shepherding there for about a year when Ian, my now-husband, got a job as head shepherd. One thing led to another and we got married, both got promoted and had our first child there! I was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when I stopped work. Everyone banded together and let me do all the easy jobs.

We live in Hawke's Bay now, but still go to Lawrence several times a year. Most of our good friends are down there. And my family, of course. I'm quite close with my cousins - they have young children and I have young children, and we want that closeness for our kids as well. The playground has slowly gotten better, but it still has things that I used to play on when I was younger - there's at least one slide that hasn't been updated. There are a lot of interesting things about the town's mining history. There was gold mining on the station where I used to work, and we were always finding old bottles and bits of pottery.

Lawrence is getting bigger, with the Clutha Gold Trail and all, but the people don't change. It doesn't matter where you see someone - whether at the supermarket, on the road, in the pub - they'll always cross the street to talk to you, always excited to see you when you're back in town. I visited recently for a wedding and it took me four days just to get around to see everyone! They're the sort of people who would give the shirt off their back to help you out - a lot of them actually have at different stages. It's nice to know that while the town changes, the people stay the same. They make Lawrence what it is.

 

This story appeared in the Takurua Winter 2022 Edition of Shepherdess.