“So we started calling him John and it ended up there were four Graemes and five Johns.” Ray said when his brother was older and bought some land he grew and sold potatoes to help pay his bills.
MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/STUFF
John Gardner, a lead organiser with trade union E tū, died suddenly on May 1. (File photo) Hawking potatoes where ever he went earned Gardner the nickname “Johnny Potato”, while his thick head of hair meant he was also known as “Thatch”. As fate would have it Gardner ended up winning Bonus Bonds twice, pocketing a tidy $30,000 in total, enabling him to build a house and a pool, Ray said.
Drake was patron of the South Canterbury Aero Club, and a foundation member of the South Canterbury aviation Heritage Centre where he was the history advisor for 20 years. South Canterbury Aviation Heritage Centre’s Hamish Cameron, who is responsible for art and design, said Drake knew who flew what, all the pilots, and the different airlines and operations.
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Brevet Club South Canterbury president Doug Drake speaks at the Air Force Remembrance Day, hosted by St Mary s Church at Craighead Diocesan School chapel, in 2012. A portion of the heritage centre is named after Drake’s book
They Served with Honour, about South Canterbury Kiwi airman who served overseas.
Wyn Drabble: Heading south to revisit earlier years
27 Apr, 2021 11:04 PM
4 minutes to read
Wyn Drabble recalls crampons were necessary to ascend to the passenger seats in the front of a DC3. Photo / Ian Cooper
Wyn Drabble recalls crampons were necessary to ascend to the passenger seats in the front of a DC3. Photo / Ian Cooper
Hawkes Bay Today
I m heading south.
Over the next few weeks, I ll be in travel-writer mode, writing for you from the places where I grew up: Ōamaru; Timaru; Christchurch. It seems that the advancing years bring on the urge to go back and explore one s beginnings (assisted, of course, by the current inadvisability of flying the world).
Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
Crusaders No 8 Cullen Grace is back in the starting side after being rested against the Chiefs last weekend.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson wants to see more from No 8 Cullen Grace, starting against the Blues in Christchurch on Sunday afternoon. It’s not that the one-test All Black has been bad. In fact, Robertson believes he’s doing all the simple things well. But he hasn’t made the same impact as he did last year, when Grace earned an All Blacks call-up on the back of his impressive rookie campaign. Speaking ahead of training on Friday, Robertson admitted they’re “looking for more from him” when asked if the 21-year-old Timaru Boys’ High School old boy had performed at the level he expected from him this year.