'COUNTRY CALENDAR' THEME Copyright Able 2015 At home on every rural road ` This historic Hawke's Bay sheep station was once home to one of NZ's greatest military leaders. Dad used to call him Grandfather, but to us he was always referred to as the General. And a hundred years on from the First World War, General Russell's family still farms here. He would have been right into this. The General was always looking for the next way forward. DOGS BARK SHEEP BAAS GATE CLANGS (CALLS) At Tunanui Station, Sam Russell's focus is on running the stock,... Come on! (CALLS) ...his older brother, Andrew, manages the cropping and the finances, and youngest brother Dan farms further up the East Coast, but he's here today to select some bulls for his own farm. This guy here's quite nice. He's got a good straight back on him. He's got a good straight back on him. Yeah. This one here? The Russell family has been farming here since 1861. He's a good-looking bull. The three brothers cut their farming teeth working for their late father, John Russell. In the late '60s, early '70s, Dad started recording each cow and which calf it had so he could cull out any cows which had bad calves. GATE SLAMS These Hereford bulls are from the same herd started by the boys' great-grandfather, Andrew Hamilton Russell. His presence still looms large at Tunanui, particularly in the homestead he built for his wife. The story goes that, uh, when my great-grandmother and great-grandfather got married ` my great-grandmother was a Williams ` Mrs Williams came and saw the house that was there, which was some` a, sort of, single-storey number, and my great-grandfather was told that that certainly won't be doing for her daughter. And so she set about building something that would do, and her brothers had both built houses up the coast, and not that it was a competition, but I believe she might have won if it was a competition. UPBEAT MILITARY MUSIC But the stucco had barely dried on the homestead before war broke out. Russell was a graduate of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and by Christmas 1914, he had command of the NZ Mounted Rifles in Egypt. Within a few short months, he'd found himself at Gallipoli. BANG! This one is also from Gallipoli. (READS) My dear boys, are you there? Then stop there. (LAUGHS) He doesn't think it's very nice where he is. Phillida Russell is the General's granddaughter-in-law and the keeper of the family archives. They were all great letter writers, and they wrote very good, very well-expressed letters. Among the many treasures the family has from the General is a letter he wrote home from Gallipoli to his sons, likening the Turkish terrain to Tunanui. And he says,... (READS) 'This is a funny spot where we now find ourselves. 'Imagine a succession of amphitheatres, like the one under the Flag Range, 'that the seashore is about at the level of the gate into the bridge paddock. 'My brigade hold the line from the flag plantation down the slope to the gate 'between the bridge and the basin paddock. 'All day and all night the bullets come whizzing over our trenches, 'and at stated intervals, shellfire as well. 'Even the beach and seashore get their share of this latter amusement. 'Not by any means the place a mounted rifleman expected to find himself, 'but good enough as things go.' The terrain here today may be largely unchanged, but the way the family farms the land has constantly evolved over the years. 15 years ago, the Russells set up their paddocks to rotate their cattle efficiently around their grass. This is, basically, a very intensive beef-grazing system. We've got six lanes. We have three mobs of bulls, and they go down one lane then back up the neighbouring lane. That also means that there's a lane in between each mob. Go on! Go on! So it's all about just setting up systems so that we're not having to feed supplements during the winter. I'm out here every second day moving them, and if they all behave themselves, that's a 20-minute job. It can get a bit gnarly, but that's the theory. Uh, and then in the summer we go to a three-day shift, so that's every three days, I'm out here for 20 minutes. And the alternative would be to have them, say, on a crop and feed them` move` probably move the poly wire every day and feed out, which could involve up to an hour, two hours a day, every day. I watch my neighbour trundling up the road with his bale on his tractor, thinking, 'You've gotta do that tomorrow. I'm gonna have a sleep-in.' (LAUGHS) The General, I think, would've been right into this. He was always forward-thinking ` he was trying new grass species; he was looking at different stock policies. I think if he was here today, he would have probably beaten me to it. He was never content with just sitting around thinking, 'That's how it's gonna be. We'll carry on doing that.' And I think that showed in his military thinking and everything that he did. The General was always looking for the next way forward. (BARKS) But the more traditional ways of farming are not entirely gone from the family. Youngest brother Dan is also farming, but on another historic station further up the East Coast. 1 Just inland from the East Coast town of Te Puia, Puketiti Station is farmed by General Russell's youngest great-grandson, Dan Russell. This morning, they're bringing in the main mob of ewes from the back of the farm into the yards for dipping. SHEEP BAA Dan leaves much of the day-to-day farming to his experienced team, including farm manager John Wright. Morning! Morning! Morning, John. Yeah, um, I just rung Harry at 3 o'clock this morning. There was a message last night, and` just go and get these lambs all in now. Oh, OK. Oh, OK. He's probably gonna be shearing by 9, 10 o'clock. There'll be crutchers and shearers and` well, I think so. What's the time now? It is, um,... 6.30. All right. I've gotta ring them at 7. All right. I've gotta ring them at 7. All right. John's the farm manager, so he runs the cutter day-to-day, and, uh, all the boys report to him. DOGS BARK We'd call ourselves a low-input, medium-intensity farm, I guess. We're definitely hill country, so we use a lot of horses. Probably 40% of the work here is done on horses, and, uh, we're running around eight, eight-and-a-half stock units to the hectare, which is about the maximum that this country could handle, due to erosion. SHEEP BAA Our paddock sizes are around 80 acres to 100 acres, and some of the big paddocks are still around 500 acres. That means we can run less staff and still maintain that intensity on the farm. Dan hasn't always farmed. After he left school, he was a pilot with Air NZ, paying regular visits to his godfather, Des Williams, at Puketiti Station. Puketiti was farmed by my great-grandmother, the General's wife, and, uh, his son took it over from him, Des, and he was my godfather. But Dan's world was turned on its head after Des died a bachelor in 1997 and Dan came to the funeral to pay his respects. I travelled up from, uh, Blenheim to go to the tangi, and after three days of being on the marae, a guy called Joe Oates, who was Des' accountant and trustee, said I should drop by his office on the way through Gisborne. I thought I might have come across a leather chair or a painting or something, but, uh, when I got into his office, he said that I featured quite heavily in the will, and, um, I asked him what that meant, and it meant that I'd actually had the house and the farm. At that point, it certainly was pretty daunting, and I wondered what I had got myself into, and the responsibility really did kick home at that point. Moving to the East Coast was a big change for Dan and his new wife, Anna, but it didn't take long to adjust. I can't imagine moving back to town, that's for sure, having neighbours. No. And being able to have all my animals, definitely. No, it's been great. No, it's been great. My father worried about Anna moving here from the city, and, uh` and then he came up to visit one day and came across Anna on the Puketiti Rd grazing 200 yearling steers, and he said, 'Oh, yeah, no, she's got no problems. She'll be fine.' and he said, 'Oh, yeah, no, she's got no problems. She'll be fine.' (LAUGHS) Yeah. That was a good job ` sitting in the car reading my book all day. Yeah. That was a good job ` sitting in the car reading my book all day. BOTH LAUGH Who knew it was so` such a big responsibility? Come on, dog. But farming is not the only vocation that runs in Dan's family. The Russell family has a long, distinguished career in the armed services going back as far as the Peninsula Wars under Lord Kitchener. But, uh, more recently, and certainly my hero, is Sir Andrew Russell, the General, talking to King George here on the wall, and, uh, my father and grandfather, who were both in the army as well, and, uh, I had little bit of a stint in the Territorials when I was 19 and, uh, was in the Armoured Corps in Wai/Wec Squadron and, uh, drove APCs in Waiouru and was lucky enough to be chosen to go to Gallipoli in 1990 on the Guard of Honour for the 75th memorial parades on Anzac Cove. That trip was an eye-opener, and seeing where the people had fought and the conditions they had endured was very moving. ARCHIVE: It's especially moving for Pvt Dan Russell from Hastings, visiting Russell's Top for the first time ` a piece of Gallipoli named after his great-grandfather. Major General Russell commanded the Anzac retreat from Gallipoli, in which not a single life was lost. To be able to visit the place where my great-grandfather served and commanded his troops and to come back and see where he was and the conditions he fought under, it's a very proud moment for me. Can you believe those conditions? > Can you believe those conditions? > Looking at them now, I find it very difficult to believe how they actually took this hill. It must have been a great feat. To stand on top of a hill that was called Russell's Top on the Gallipoli Peninsula was, um` was absolutely amazing, to see the`the terrain that they had covered to get up there. Russell's Top is the ridge where the then Col Russell had his headquarters. When his troops seized the high ground at Chunuk Bair in August 1915, after months of heavy fighting, it was heralded as a brilliant achievement. And when the decision was made to withdraw from Gallipoli in November 1915, Russell was promoted to Major General and commanded the rear guard during the final 48 hours. It was under his command that 10,000 soldiers were evacuated from the peninsula without a single casualty. For his actions at Gallipoli, General Russell received a knighthood and a command of the entire NZ division, now headed for France. DOGS BARK Much like a hundred years ago, it's people with horses and dogs, rather than machines, which make Puketiti Station run. In the yards behind us, we've got Ben Green, who's been the manager here on and off for 40 years. He's now semi-retired. It's the sort of loyalty that, uh, yeah, you can't really buy, and the pride on his work in Puketiti, where he was brought up, where his father worked before him as well, um, it just makes the Coast a special place. I started here in 1963. So I've been here since then. My family is born and bred on this place. DOG BARKS All the staff that were here when I got here, they didn't leave here, they died, and that's how their career ended, really. They didn't move anywhere else, which is amazing, really. So we all, sort of, grew up together. The sense of community here is vital. Puketiti is a bit of a hub that a lot of the locals use as a source of employment. They come and get their watercress; they get their lambs' tails. They come up here and, um, have parties in the shearers' quarters, and we support the locals as much as we can in the form of the rugby team and the netball team and, um, the hospital and hub and shop and everything. Everybody knows everybody here, and they all help each other out. Another vital member of the team is fencer-general Tarquinn Collins who came here for a short job 10 years ago and liked it so much he stayed. Ready? Go! Tarquinn and his wife, Christine, were married on Puketiti, and they've raised their family here. Today they're practising for the upcoming inter-marae Pa Wars. Yeah, you've gotta come round that last peg, bend all the way back without hitting any poles. It's pretty difficult. (LAUGHS) And they're just not allowed to hit the poles down. Keep going, Zyon! The people in the community and the locals are definitely what make the Coast the place that it is. We couldn't do what we do without their support, and, um, you go down to the pub, and they're all cheeky and keeping you on your toes and... But when you need something done, they're willing to work, and they work really hard, and they make the place just a pleasure to operate and live on. LAUGHTER LAUGHTER He tried to jump the pole! Well done. Well done. ADULTS CLAP And there's a long history of Puketiti Station giving back to the local district, which Dan and Anna are keen to continue. After inheriting Puketiti Station from his godfather, Des Williams, Dan Russell was keen to ensure the station's place within the wider East Coast community. Philanthropy has always been a big part of Puketiti. I haven't been quite as good at making money as my forefathers, but, uh, I try and give my time to as much of these operations as possible. Dan and his wife, Anna, have got involved with global charity SurfAid, which has its roots here on the East Coast of NZ. SurfAid's a, uh` a non-for-profit humanitarian organisation, and its aim is to improve the health and well-being and self-reliance of people who live in remote regions that are connected to us through surfing. You can learn more about the work Dan's doing with SurfAid at ` I am the master of the way. I am the master of the way. ALL CHATTER, LAUGH Hey! Over here, mate. (LAUGHS) Hey! Over here, mate. (LAUGHS) Thank you so much. See ya! Hey, thanks for driving tonight. Hey, thanks for driving tonight. You owe me. Hey, thanks for driving tonight. You owe me. (LAUGHS) Fair enough. Kate was giving me the eye as well. What?! What?! She was. No. No. BOTH LAUGH What's that? What's that? Oh crap. Don't worry about it. You're well under. Don't worry about it. You're well under. Yeah, but it's a lower limit now. Good evening. Any alcohol tonight? Good evening. Any alcohol tonight? Uh, just a couple... with dinner. Good evening. Any alcohol tonight? Uh, just a couple... with dinner. Yeah. She's fine, eh. Stop. That's over 250 micrograms. I now require you to accompany me to the booze bus... Oh stink. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do say... It's a failed result, ma'am. ...may be given in evidence in court. You could ring a taxi and pick your car up in the morning. Let's call your mum and dad. They're, like, 10 minutes away. Let's call your mum and dad. They're, like, 10 minutes away. We're not calling my parents. CHILDREN ARGUE CHILDREN ARGUE Please. Behave yourselves. No. In the car. INDISTINCT RT CHATTER SOMBRE COUNTRY MUSIC Up and down the East Coast are stark reminders of the losses these tiny communities suffered as the Great War raged a hundred years ago ` men lost first to the rugged hills of Gallipoli and then to the mud of Europe, as fighting on the Western Front devoured more and more soldiers. In France, by 1917, General Russell had gained a reputation as a man not afraid to lead by example. He was definitely known as a front-line general, um, much to the dismay of his superiors sometimes, who thought that he shouldn't be in such a dangerous position when he was trying to command men, but the General definitely believed in` time spent in reconnaissance was time well spent, and his planning was meticulous. So he would often go to the front line to see the condition of his men and the welfare of his men first-hand. So he was very much a hands-on leader. He got so close to the action that on one trip to the front, a sniper shot him through his helmet. It's kept at Tunanui. But apart from a small graze, he was miraculously unharmed. He was a pretty wily old fox, because he could get these guys to do pretty much, you know, anything he wanted them to. On one occasion, they said he wasn't digging the trenches fast enough, and they were gonna send more men. And he said, 'If you want this trench dug quicker, then take half of these men away.' SOMBRE COUNTRY MUSIC Through the fighting on the Somme, at Messines and at Passchendaele Russell won the respect of both his men and his superiors. At the end of the war, General Russell returned home to NZ and to managing the farm, but it was another two years before he fully recovered physically from the effects of the war. I think he served longer consecutively at the front than almost any other commander of his rank, from what I've read, so he certainly didn't spare himself. Such was his concern for his men that he spent many years advocating for the welfare of returned servicemen as president of the RSA in the '20s and '30s. He realised that the men who'd been away to war for four years were going to come home with nothing, whereas their contemporaries who hadn't been overseas had built careers and started businesses and, you know, got themselves ahead in life, and he was very concerned for the soldiers who came back, uh` that they should be given every assistance to catch up in life, as it were. General Russell continued to run Tunanui Station and would always buy his rams from a local sheep stud. David Hildreth remembers it well. Well, yes, I first met the General about 1948. I was working for a fulla who he bought his rams from, and the General used to come and pick his rams. And we had not the facilities you've got here today. All the rams were in one big yard, and the General sat on a stool in the middle of the yard, and he just pointed to pick that one or pick that one, and the thing was to try and pick the ram without knocking the General off his stool. (LAUGHS) Anyway, I don't think we ever hit him, cos he was in the middle and the sheep went round him. But he was always in charge of things. So they're good medium-sized Romneys. Decades later, the General's great-grandsons still buy their rams from the Hildreths, just up the road from Tunanui Station. Just peg the ones you like. We look closely at the feet for Puketiti operation, and, um` cos this is quite steep hill country, and these rams move very well up the Coast. They just seem to get better each year. And, yeah, we've been buying rams off the Hildreths for 47 years. This one. This one. And I'm only 46, so... (LAUGHS) before I was born. Back at Tunanui, Sam has a mob of lambs to weigh before the truck arrives next week. That'll do. Come here! (WHISTLES) DOG BARKS Yeah, this is something which we bought in about July this year. It drafts automatically. It makes weighing and drafting a one-man job. It used to be a two-man job. I like to try and get more` more efficient every day. (WHISTLES) Come here, dog! What are you doing? You're not very efficient, are you? Come here. Oi! (WHISTLES) Farming technology has evolved dramatically in the last century, but the family knows their ability to farm here owes so much to the General's decisions generations earlier. Well, the first legacy is that we are where we are ` is the place that he chose to farm. I mean, it's a stunning location. The infrastructure was very well set up, right from the get-go. And then my father built on that, and then we built on that, and so it's always come from a solid base, and each generation's just building on that base. FUNEREAL MUSIC General Russell died at Tunanui in 1960, aged 92. He received a funeral service with full military honours. He was a man of great moral courage. He didn't shirk from taking responsibility when` If things went wrong, um, the buck stopped with him. He was prepared to say it was his fault and not look around for excuses. It was, 'Sorry, I failed there. We'll get on and do better next time.' Uh, yeah, I just think he had a very robust attitude to life. The favourite quote of the General's that, uh, I've read, he said, 'I met Winston Churchill today. 'He was a very intelligent man, but it took quite a long time to get him round to my way of thinking.' General Russell's ashes were buried on Tunanui, marked by a boulder atop the Flag Range ` his favourite spot on the station. He'd been here a lot, spent a lot of time here. He farmed it, and he would have known every inch of it. He rode round it frequently, and it's the high point on the farm, where you could see pretty much all of it. So I think he used to like coming up here and surveying it, as my husband, John, did too. He would often come up here and sit and just, you know, look at the wonderful landscape and farm and enjoy it. For more information about this programme, go to ` Or find us on Facebook. Country Calendar is brought to you by Hyundai NZ.