Once A Forest Ranger
by Chris Nelson
This is an enjoyable book, it kept my interest high, and I read it in two sessions. It was that interesting. It tells the life story of a young man growing up, and forging a career in the forests of New Zealand.
Initially it deals with the issues around growing up with a father who drank too much, and who moved his family countless times during the author’s formative years. He attended at least 12 schools, and despite this obtained a good education. His mother did her best to give her children a happy, loving home, even while struggling with type one diabetes.
At age 18 Chris began training at Gwavas forest in Hawkes Bay, the first of many forests he worked in for the next four years of his training. He formed many life-long friends in this time, while learning about the sustainable cropping of trees. He learned about controlled burn offs, planting, thinning, pruning, and measuring the volume of timber in a forest then, when the crop was fully grown, the roads, and infrastructure needed to harvest the timber.
When he finished his training he obtained one year leave without pay and with a mate, David, left New Zealand for the UK and Europe, returning via the USA. His experiences in this year are quite entertaining, as they had introductions to some of the wealthiest land owners in the UK. He visited his father’s family in Scotland, and then equipped with a battered VW combi named Rusty, visited many countries in Europe.
Rogernomics saw the privatisation and sale of much of the forests in NZ, many to overseas buyers, and the staff in these forests found that their future was very uncertain.
Chris married Debbie and they had two children, Amanda and Ben. All was well until Ben had a fall, and suffered brain damage. This was to change the family forever. With Chris away working much of the time, Debbie had to deal with the demands of a young baby who needed her total attention. The strain this placed on the marriage led to Debbie returning to her mother in Kaikoura, where she could get the support she needed. Chris at this time was aged 53, and the rest of the book tells of his rise in responsibilities in the forestry industry until his retirement. It was in this time that Chris re-ignited his love for motorcycles, which led to him making numerous road trips both in New Zealand and Australia. He met and married Suzie, suffered a heart attack, which needed bypass surgery, and he retired aged 65, travelling with Suzie to many countries, as well as camping and motorcycling in New Zealand.
I was particularly moved by the effect Ben’s brain damage had on the life of the family. I was disappointed that the matter of slash, the waste from clear felling of forests, was not mentioned in the book. Moreso as Chris was an expert witness in the environment hearing in which granted his company the right to log in the East Coast region.
The book is well printed, with good quality paper, which allows many photos of Chris’ life and family. I would have liked more captions showing which was Chris in the photos.
by Chris Nelson
This is an enjoyable book, it kept my interest high, and I read it in two sessions. It was that interesting. It tells the life story of a young man growing up, and forging a career in the forests of New Zealand.
Initially it deals with the issues around growing up with a father who drank too much, and who moved his family countless times during the author’s formative years. He attended at least 12 schools, and despite this obtained a good education. His mother did her best to give her children a happy, loving home, even while struggling with type one diabetes.
At age 18 Chris began training at Gwavas forest in Hawkes Bay, the first of many forests he worked in for the next four years of his training. He formed many life-long friends in this time, while learning about the sustainable cropping of trees. He learned about controlled burn offs, planting, thinning, pruning, and measuring the volume of timber in a forest then, when the crop was fully grown, the roads, and infrastructure needed to harvest the timber.
When he finished his training he obtained one year leave without pay and with a mate, David, left New Zealand for the UK and Europe, returning via the USA. His experiences in this year are quite entertaining, as they had introductions to some of the wealthiest land owners in the UK. He visited his father’s family in Scotland, and then equipped with a battered VW combi named Rusty, visited many countries in Europe.
Rogernomics saw the privatisation and sale of much of the forests in NZ, many to overseas buyers, and the staff in these forests found that their future was very uncertain.
Chris married Debbie and they had two children, Amanda and Ben. All was well until Ben had a fall, and suffered brain damage. This was to change the family forever. With Chris away working much of the time, Debbie had to deal with the demands of a young baby who needed her total attention. The strain this placed on the marriage led to Debbie returning to her mother in Kaikoura, where she could get the support she needed. Chris at this time was aged 53, and the rest of the book tells of his rise in responsibilities in the forestry industry until his retirement. It was in this time that Chris re-ignited his love for motorcycles, which led to him making numerous road trips both in New Zealand and Australia. He met and married Suzie, suffered a heart attack, which needed bypass surgery, and he retired aged 65, travelling with Suzie to many countries, as well as camping and motorcycling in New Zealand.
I was particularly moved by the effect Ben’s brain damage had on the life of the family. I was disappointed that the matter of slash, the waste from clear felling of forests, was not mentioned in the book. Moreso as Chris was an expert witness in the environment hearing in which granted his company the right to log in the East Coast region.
The book is well printed, with good quality paper, which allows many photos of Chris’ life and family. I would have liked more captions showing which was Chris in the photos.
Review by Harold Bernard
Title: Once A Forest Ranger
Author: Chris Nelson
Publisher: Chris Nelson
ISBN: 9781067089405
RRP: $45
Available: bookshops
Author: Chris Nelson
Publisher: Chris Nelson
ISBN: 9781067089405
RRP: $45
Available: bookshops
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