Acknowledgement:
I am indebted to the detailed memory of my sister Stephanie who still lives in Katikati, and who, at the time we lived at the KDV mill was a nine year old girl ... but blessed with a photographic memory. As well, I acknowledge all of the assistance given by Mervyn and Maureen Bergersen who also lived as kids at the mill camp and Mrs Pat Pamment and Mrs Gwen Lane, all of whom contributed much valuable information to this article. To our knowledge there has been virtually nothing ever written about this period in the town's colourful recent past, and so my sister Stephanie and I are putting together what we remember of life in the camp when our family lived there and our father was employed as a timber worker.

If any of the other 'KDV families' would like to add to our recollections and expand on this article, they are most welcome. At the end of the piece we have included a nominal roll which contains the names of all of the timber workers and their families that we can remember. Please do feel free to add to it if, or to the photo captions, if you remember anyone we may have missed out.

Mike Subritzky
Katikati
14 October 2000

World War II:
My father, like many of his generation was something of a rolling stone and tended to drift from one North Island mill camp to another. During the war years he had been employed as a tram driver in Wellington, and also served in the Army as a Corporal, with the Vital Points Guards, at Fort Dorset. All men of working age, and single women during the period were 'manpowered' and were forbidden to either quit their employment, or leave the district they had been sent to.

When the war ended my father, and his ever-increasing family, was once again free to move about the place and so developed a wanderlust drifting from one dusty mill camp to another. After my brother Joe was born in 1948, my parents and older siblings moved to Machins Saw Mill Ltd which was in Kopaki in the King Country. There my mother and all of the other camp wives did their family washing in the river, and often at night my sisters would stand outside of the house and tell mum where the light from the primus was shining out of the weatherboards so that she could plug the holes with newspaper and make the whare a little warmer. Kopaki had bitterly cold winters and so my father then got work at Henderson's Mill Camp on the Tauranga side of the Upper Kaimai Ranges, nowadays just about where the top of the old Kaimai road leads to. My family didn't remain there long; perhaps a month when my father learned from mates that there was more money and better conditions to be had, at the KDV mill in Katikati.

above right: A view from the KDV wharf looking north across the Tauranga Harbour towards the Bowentown Heads. Matakana Island is just visible on the right. Like the mill, none of this structure exists today.

KDV
The letters 'KDV' stood for Kiln Dried Veneer, which was a process that had been developed and was being used in the manufacture of furniture, and was a subsidiary of an Auckland Company. The mill itself was located at Ongare Point, and I believe opened in 1946, and was a very substantial investment to the owners and/or shareholders ... we can only ever remember the mill cutting pine trees from Matakana.

The Camp Layout:
The millcamp was entered down a poplar-lined dirt road, across a cattlestop and then a right hand dog-leg into a village of about a dozen houses, all of them painted in creosote. There were about half a dozen houses on the left, all occupied by Maori families, and about eight or ten homes on the right all occupied by Pakeha. Further dividing the Maori from the Pakeha were a series of timberstacks which ran right down the centre of the road. It sounds perhaps just a little discriminatory or even racist, the housing set-up back then, but that was simply how things were done in all of the mill camps of the period. At the end of the road was a village hall, and behind it the mill office. I understand that these homes were the first ever built under contract by Keith Hay Ltd, and were two bedroom dwellings.

The Manager of the mill was Frank McIsaac, and the Bush Boss Mr Roy Callaghan. Mrs Callaghan ran the singlemen's cookhouse for a time, although later Mr and Mrs Proberstill took over the cookhouse, and lived in accomodation at the rear. Later still, while we were still living in the camp Tommy and Zelda Baldwin and their family moved out and were replaced in the same house by Tommy's brother Eddie and his wife Fimi. Once a month, the camp cookhouse was utilised as the venue for a Euchre tournament.

My family lived in many mill camps during the 1940s and 50s and this was a fairly typical layout, with the exception that most of the timber was being cut from the forest on Matakana Island which was across the harbour.

Between the Taihunganui's house and the village hall the road turned left and led down to the shoreline with the huge mill complex on the right, and at water's edge was a wharf with various shackle devices for hauling logs and for securing the towing launches...it was also an ideal fishing spot. The slabs from the mill were burnt at the back of Mr and Mrs 'Tai's' house.

The whole of the foreshore was a mass of beautiful pohutakawa trees, and to the left of the mill complex, and behind the Maori families homes were large, ever expanding sawdust heaps. These were used by the boys as a place to build underground huts ... it took only about half an hour to scoop an entire fortress out, and then do battle with the girls by throwing 'snowballs' of wet sawdust at each other. I daresay that now-a-days OSH would place a large 'NO ENTRY' sign and a fence in front of such places of adventure. As well, the whole area must have been constructed over an ancient pa site as behind the European family houses was a very high bank of burnt Pipi shells, so obviously there had been human habitation in this beautiful area for many centuries.

As well as the above folks who were part of the village life there were also many visitors who were often in the camp and one family that often stayed with the Watene family was Mr and Mrs Tuanau. I think they actually lived at Athenree, and that Mrs Watene and Mrs Tuanau were sisters. Mrs Taunau's daughter Helen, later married Doug Runga from Waihi who was a friend of my brother Dave. Doug and Helen were tragically burnt to death in a house fire in about 1960, leaving behind a young family.

Other Maori families who sometimes came and stayed over with whanau, were members of the Walters, Jacobs, Wharekawa, and Samuels families. These families actually lived at the Pa which was located on Tetley Road, just south of Katikati. 'Bunny' Walters who went to school at Katikati later became a Kiwi Icon during the 1960's and 70's and a rock singer.

The Butcher:
The other items that were kept in the safe was meat. The local butcher at the time was Tom Pamment, and Pamment's Butchery, where he and his wife Pat traded from was located on the corner of the Main Highway and Beach Road. The building is now a Maori Craft Shop. Families tended to keep meat longer back then, which today would be considered 'spoiled' or gone off; however it was part of life and was accepted that meat might well be a little ripe at times prior to cooking. The Pamment family were also Catholic, and had one daughter called Isobel. Mrs Pat Pamment was the sister of Mrs Beth O'Flaherty, and both women were Polish, descended from the noble Wisnowskis of Taranaki. Beth O'Flaherty and husband Morrie were local farmers and at the time had two children Patricia and Thomas (Tommy).

The Baker:
Fenns owned the local bakery in Katikati main street, and Warren Harding drove the bakery van out to the camp about twice a week. Often, to supplement our staple bread diet, my father often made scones which were delicious, and my mother made 'Rewena' bread which she had learned to bakefrom the Maori wives. I can't remember how exactly how she prepared the mix, but I do remember that she used rotten potatoe, rather than yeast ... the result was always outstanding, and to this day I always 'taste test' any Rewena within spitting distance....if I could buy it from a shop I think that me and my siblings would live on it.

Taxi Drivers:
The local Katikati taxi drivers at the time were brothers John and Bill Cunningham and KDV families reckon that they made their fortune out of the KDV mill. And not long after the mill camp closed they actually sold out to Harry Hunt. On pay day there was a virtual convoy of vehicles that went into town and the pub. It was early closing back then so no time was ever wasted by the timber workers. Clarry Bergersen at the time owned a navy blue Model A Ford, and the mill also owned an ex-Army Dodge that was used as a pick-up.

In about 1953, Sally Henry took part in the Carnival Queen competition which was just one of the fundraising activities that Katikati was involved with to raise funds for the building of the new Katikati War Memorial Hall.

The Bushmen:
Every morning bright and early, Roy Callaghan took the bush gang across to Matakana Island on one of the towing launches to begin the day's work. At that time, no chainsaws were used and all of the trees dropped on the island were cut by crosscut saw. Chainsaws weren't used mainly due to the fire risk. The bush gang had a sled and an old Fordson tractor set up on a railway line which ran through the forest; it was referred to as the tram. Tommy Stafford was the hauler driver, and the hauler itself was an old diesel. Whenever Tommy was off sick or away at a Tangi, Clarry Bergersen was the standby driver. Down at the water's edge, they had hammered down into the foreshore a series of railway irons and these were used to anchor the logs until such time as there was enough for a load. The logs were then shackled onto the stern of one of the launches and towed across to Ongare Point and the mill. Mervyn Bergersen visited Matakana Island recently and the railway iron anchors are still embedded into the foreshore ... they are about the only remaining visible remnants of where the bush gang operated from.

George Holmes had the contract to transport the sawn timber from the KDV down to Katikati Railway Station and load it onto the freight wagons. George drove and 'S' Bedford articulated truck and his offsider was Slim Kelly. There were no forklifts back then and using simple 'Kiwi Ingenuity', George simply welded a piece of angle iron onto a small cream can and this was used as a fulcrum to load the sawn timber onto his truck, and later transfer the timber onto the freight wagons at the Katikati Station ... very simple, and jolly efficient too!

Mr and Mrs Brinkley:
Well known local identities and frequent visitors to the KDV mill camp were Mr and Mrs Brinkley. They were an older couple who lived in a little old house set back off the beach at Tuapiro, between Ongare Point and and Tanners Point. They owned a horse and dray and would clip-clop into the mill camp with a wide array of items on sale; including: maize, vegetables, chooks, honey and spuds. They are also best remembered for the homemade salty butter which Mrs Brinkley made and which was absolutely delicious on a rough crust of bread after school. My sister Stephanie and brother David would often round us all up and take us for a visit to see Mr and Mrs Brinkley as they were very kind people and we were always guaranteed a homemade biscuit or two. My father had built a small hand cart and this was ideal for Stephanie and Leonie to take turns at pushing me about.

Katikati Picture Theatre:
Every once in a while, my father or brother David would take us to the 'flicks' in Katikati, and I think we usually caught a taxi for this mission. The local picture theatre was called the Plaza Theatre and was owned at the time by the Henderson family, who later sold out to Jim Purcell. The Plaza Theatre was situated about where Cherry Court Mall now stands. Beside the picture theatre was the all- important 'Plaza Milkbar' which at the time was a focal point for the Katikati youth on Friday and Saturday nights. The one picture that I do remember seeing was a couple of years after we had moved to Waihi, although Dave was by then working as a timber worker himself. The movie was called 'Battle Cry' and had been adapted from the Leon Uris novel. It was deeply moving for both my Mum and Dad as parts of the movie were actually set in Wellington and the war itself had not long been over.

As I said, we were living in Waihi at the time and I think that the local Katikati Taxi Driver who uplifted us and transported us to the movies was Rex Cunningham ... I do remember that he was very kind and understanding as I threw up in his cab returning through the metalled Athenree Gorge and he assisted my mother to clean me up using several brown paper bags ... my brother Joseph, and my sisters had the windows down and their heads out, all the way back to our new home in Rosemont Road in Waihi.

School Bus:
It was an excellent place for children as there was so very places to go and adventures to be had. The school bus was owned by the Department of Education, and operated by the Manson family. Percy Manson and his wife also owned the Old Mill Dairy and Pumps which is still standing and is located on the main road between Katikati and Waihi. From the moment the school bus turned into the housing area it took less than a minute for the kids to sprint home, throw on a pair of togs and then dash down to the water. There were also lots of fish, and trevalley especially were to be had off the wharf with a hand-line. We ate a lot of fish and also shellfish as did all of the other families.

Booze:
Our father, at this camp and several of the others fulfilled a very important community role in that it was considered by many to be not the done thing to sell alcohol to Maori and so whenever there was to be a community gathering, which was almost always a hangi, then they would take a truck into town and it was my father's job to buy the beer as some publicans refused to sell beer and liquor to Maori. At the time, Herb Strawbridge was the publican of the Talisman hotel, and Mr Bluegum was the town's Maori Warden. Our father also brought beer for our Maori friends, especially when we lived in the King Country as the local Chiefs had banned its use and abuse by Maori. Having said that, at that time in history alcohol and its abuse caused a great deal of misery and sadness amongst wives and children as in the 1950s it was considered 'acceptable' for a drunken husband to beat his wife, and this did happen. It happened in our own family. As well, many of the menfolk in the local community were returned war veterans and were dealing in their own way with their own demons and the horrors of war.

Katikati's Policeman:
Hughie Hunter was the local Bobby, and my family got to know him first hand on one occasion as my sisters climbed into a beach bach and painted a pair of dutch cloggs blue...then left a note "You Can't Catch Me I'm The Blue Ghost"...needless to say, Constable Hunter (all six and a half foot of him) arrived on my parent's doorstep bright and early the very next morning. He is remembered in our family for the size of his feet which my sisters reckoned were huge ... needless to say it was hot bums all around.

Being Catholic:
Our family was Roman Catholic, and Katikati had originally been settled by devout Northern Ireland Protestants, and in the early 1950s the type of your religion was probably more important than the colour of your skin, or your cultural background. And being Roman Catholic and with a Polish surname we were at times doubly prejudiced against, more-so in Waihi when we wore a school uniform and attended Saint Joseph's Convent. Then the catch-cry when we were sighted in uniform was the ubiquitous "Convent Dogs! Sitting on Logs! Eatin' Bellies Outta Frogs!!!"...if I had sixpence for every time that was yelled at me when I was a kid walking to school, I'd be a very rich man now. And now-a-days most folks don't even bother to go to church. When we arrived at the KDV mill the Parish Priest at the time was the Reverend Father Carl von Rotter and he was based in Waihi, and by the time I arrived on the 13 June 1950, he had been replaced by the Reverend Father Michael Crawford. After my mother brought me home, about two weeks after my birth, she and one of her friends Rama Tarau took me by taxi to Waihi where I was baptised. My mother wanted to call me Raphael, but my father (to his eternal credit) put his foot down and told my mother that it was an 'un-Kiwi' name, and I was baptised as Michael. Rama and Hone Tarau, and their son Hohepa (Joe) were to become an important part of my early life as not long after we left, Hone sold the 'Rosaleen' to I think Goldie Hutchings who ran the vessel on the Matakana-KDV run until the mill closed. Years later Goldie Hutchings was lost over the side of a fishing vessel off the East Coast.

After the KDV, Hone and Rama took over the old Tarau family farm in Te Puna which they worked together for many years. They became 'Aunty Rama' and 'Uncle Hone' to me and I spent just about every school holidays living with them and Joe on the farm; they were the most Christian people that I ever met and taught me a great many of the values that I personally hold to this very day. They were like blood kin to me and I loved them like parents.

Being Catholic meant that we were required to attend Mass regulary and in the 1950s this was a mission in itself, living deep in the heart of a Northern Irish Protestant community. Father Crawford held a Sunday Mass service once a month, and believe it or not, the Mass was held in the local Orange Hall, which to say the very least was bloody ironic. At the time the Orange Hall was situated just past the Old Mill on McMillan Street. At the time, taking the sacrament of Holy Communion required a 'fast' from midnight of the previous evening; that is from midnight until fifteen minutes after Mass had ended, the parishoner must not partake of anything other than water. David and my mother always did this and then we walked in from Ongare point to the Orange Hall, on empty stomachs so-as to be in a fasted 'State of Grace'; most times we only had to walk to the corner of the Main Road where we were picked up by the Boggis family or the Bergersen's who very kindly took us to Mass. The women and girls were required to have their heads covered with a hat or a mantilla, or in the worst case of forgetfullness that sometimes happened, simply wearing an unfolded handkerchief on their heads. Other Catholic families that we remember were the Rueggs, Morrie and Beth O'Flarhety, Leslie Hume, the Rosses, Wickhams, Casseys, Nevilles, Bergersens and the Pamments. Stephanie and several other Catholic kids made their First Holy Communions while we were at the KDV and this actually involved them being billetted in Waihi for a week and attending various religious classes at Saint Joseph's Convent. Stephanie was actually billetted with Stan and Vi Callaghan, and their children, Rosalee and Tony.

Passing:
In old age, my folks moved back to Katikati, a place that held so very many warm memories for them both. My parents are gone now, as are most of their generation and I am now rapidly entering 'the third age'. My folks, Clarry and Olly Bergersen, Joe Burstein (Doctor Burstein was held in such high regard by many of the local families that although he was a Jew, he was actually buried under a Christian Cross), Mr and Mrs Bluegum and a whole bunch of other good people who helped shape the history of Katikati are now buried on the hill at the Katikati Cemetery on Springs Road. I personally didn't realise just how important local history was until after the passing of my mother, because she was always there and a wealth of knowledge on family and local history. Then once she was gone, there was no longer that resource of knowledge to tap into.

KDV MILL NOMINAL ROLL
The following is a nominal roll of Katikati folk who are known to have lived in the KDV millcamp during its existence. If you know of any other families who worked and lived there please inform the webmaster so that this unique piece of our local history can be updated.

McCRACKEN
Mr 'Cactus' (Singleman/Timber worker)

McISAAC
Mr (Timber worker)
Mrs (Wife)
(about 2 kids in total)

NATHAN
Mr (Singleman/Timber worker)

PROBERSTILL
Mr (Mill Cook)
Mrs (Mill Cook)

SIMPSON
Mr (Singleman/Timber worker)

STAFFORD
Tommy (Timber worker)
Alice (Wife)
Queenie
(about 6 kids in total)

SUBRITZKY
Leonard (Timber worker)
Marie-Therese (Wife)
David (Timber worker)
Stephanie
Leonie
Joseph
Michael
( 5 kids in total)

TAIHUNGANUI
Sada (Timber worker)
Suzie (Wife)
Carl
Graham
Russell
Girly
(about 5 kids in total)

TARAU
Hone (Launch master)
Rama (Wife)

WALSH
Pat (Timber worker)
Ettie (Wife)
Laurence
Lynette

WATENE
Leo (Timber worker)
Rose (Wife)
Molly
Sonny
(about 6 kids in total)

WESTRUPP
Norman (Timber worker)
Mavis (Wife)
Nola
Irene
Valarie
(about 3 kids in total)

Jack and Ruth's children are now settled throughout New Zealand: Beverley (Kerikeri), Jacqueline ( Whangarei), Lorraine (Blenheim) and George (Kawakawa).

Special thanks to Beth Leckie, Dulcie Bond (née McIsaac), Jackie Porteous (née Murray) and the Katikati Public Library for their help in providing some of the photographs on this page.