Spectrum 781. Life in the Gorge - part 1

Part one of a two part documentary.
In this Spectrum documentary, Darcy Collier recalls his life in the Otaki Gorge north of Wellington and the characters who eked out a living there in the 1930s.

The Colliers were one of several families who were driven to subsistence farming in the Otaki Gorge by the 1930s Depression. The leasehold was cheap but there was barely a living to be made there. Darcy Collier became good mates with Les Marriott, a lad about his own age whose parents also farmed in the Gorge. Marriott later wrote about their experiences growing up in the Otaki Gorge in a book titled "Life in the Gorge", from which this documentary takes its name.

Darcy recalls a local resident Paddy Shields and his family with many children. He speaks about the way local people managed to get access and supplies to their remote homes. He speaks about the guns they owned, including his father's "breach loader" shot gun.