President Linda gave Call the call to order and welcomed visitors Richard Fuller, guest of Colin. Then welcomed back after month of travelling overseas Bob and Greg
Birthdays Neville Matson 31st Oct
Rotary Years Chris Dever 4 years 25th Oct 2018
Erica Jackson 1 Year, 29th Oct 2021
Speaker Introduction was given by Les Geraghty Who spoke very highly of our speaker our very own Brian Winters
Pommie Bastard, in Bryans own words
The Contract
So I meet this great couple who have promised a friend who has passed on that they will
Get a book written about him. They tell me little about him and ask me how big the book will be. 60,000 words I say. Mentally that is 400 words time 15 chapters. I ask them in a round about way, do you want a polished story that skirts around and iniquities and they laugh. No you have free reign.
Try and figure him out. Contracted by a legal firm fulfilling a will request of one Stewart Smith. A whole box of documents and news clippings was dumped on me, and a few months later, the story emerged. It is both a story about him, and of invasive fish in New Zealand.
The Person
Stewart Smith as a child fished in the canals and ponds of East London, in the UK, there are two classes of freshwater fish people:
- The Rich, who have private rivers or mountain glens where they land trout.
- Coarse fisherman who sit on the canal banks with long poles and catch and release carp,
- Rudd, tench , and perch. Millions more do this in Europe than go to soccer matches.
Sent to NZ in 1928 at the age of 15 with his brother aged 12. Similar to the Orphans trains that plied west from New York annually in the 1800’s, dropping unwanted children off to willing parents along the journey.
Dispatched to work at different farms in the king Country, they split up and he gravitated to the Bay of Plenty in the 1930’s. He picked up fishing in the ocean and never wanted to leave it.
Boarding in the home of Jack Alach, once a Tauranga Harbour chief executive , he was introduced to communism in jacks library and was converted. 1930’s remember before Stalin was exposed and well before Mao.
This was central to the plot. “ If you’re not a socialist by the time you are 20, you’ve got no heart. If you still one at 60, you got no brain”. This is, not everyone does phase one.
He is in Auckland at a fish net maker when WW2 starts and hears that if the army knows you are a communist, you’ll be shot one day by your own men while on patrol. So, you need to join the navy.
He insists, the powers threaten him, he refuses and is sent to a conscientious objector’s camp along the Tongariro River.
They were running out of food and can he begin a fishing operation in the river. In other words the government of the day asked him to poach trout. Which he does energetically. Making nets, smoke house able to do 40 fish at a time.
Word gets out and occasionally a special batch with slow smoke of 15 hours would be railed to parliament house to specific offices.
Fish spreader
Beginning in the 1960’s Smith is blamed for bringing in a series of invasive fish. He did not import Trout, because that already happened back in the late 1800’s which led to NZ earning money from trout fishing after Zane Grey popularized our Lakes in the 1920’s.
Trout distribution – cold South Island and High North Island lakes. With a self-sustaining population of fighting fish.
So the communist who is asked to steal trout from an internationally famous river, decides the working class of our nation deserves a less expensive, working class means, of enjoying freshwater fishing.
He introduced Rudd, and encourages Koi, and Tench.
The History
One hundred years ago in a book was published entitled “ The Naturalization of animals & plants in NZ “ 1922, a the author, G.W. Thomson, warns readers about all sorts of creatures introduced into New Zealand, including some harsh words on releasing trout, wolves of the rivers.
Grayling died out in New Zealand rivers around about 1935 as it was hugely present in the 19th Century.
Then they disappeared, but we do not really know why. In 2019 a uni-student figured out the grayling don’t come back up the same stream when they return from their oceanic phase. They go up any old river, and he reckons a majority chose polluted ones, Or, river recently populated by trout- and they were eaten.
Brian continued in depth covering invasive fish species, common carp, brown and rainbow trout, rudd , tench and perch. He also through in a story about domestic cats with a referral to Gareth Morgan (he is right) . To catch up on the rest of the story he suggested you could either by his book or wait for Peter Jackson to make the movie.
Dave Robinson thanked Brian for his research in producing a great NZ story. Brian was asked why he picked this subject and he replied “for the remuneration in writing the book”
Raffle - Red 87 Barry
Sargent Mary – talked about the problems facing the world at large and how it affects our members. Horse racing Pat , shipping costs lowering Brent, JP’s sworn in Chiv Retiring - Neil -not retiring yet Kevin. Wine tasting – Ross and the Pilgrimage carried out by Bob and Greg.
Parting thought – Jim said “If at first you don’t succeed don’t become a sky diver”
Messages - Gumboot Day on November 4th Friday – Wear gumboots, prizes given
Quizz Night - Tauranga Club 29 November , email or phone to book tables 027495983 wayneshad@gmail.com
