Michael D.Heath-Caldwell M.Arch.

1957

Constance M.H. Heath-Caldwell - 88

Rev. Capt C.H.Heath-Caldwell DSO RN aged 67/68

Violet M.Heath-Caldwell aged 71/72

Patricia M.C.Heath-Caldwell aged 36/37

Diana Charlton - (Danny) - (ne Heath-Caldwell) aged 35/36

Rosalind Attwood - (Ros) - (ne Heath-Caldwell) aged 31/26

J.A. Heath-Caldwell (NZ) aged 26/27

D.A.Heath-Caldwell (NZ) (ne Jones) aged 21/22

Vice Admiral Alexander Palmer ADC, DSO, OBE, RN. aged 76/77

Irving Palmer OBE, RN.

Lady Genesta Hamilton (ne Heath) aged 67/68

Madeline Marion de Salis (ne Heath) aged 64/65

Rosamond Heath (Posy) aged 63/64

Rev. Frederick M.T. Palmer aged 69/70 Maitland NSW

Part of letter from JAHC to CHHC

 ...as people do not fuss as much. Cow losses seem to be taken for granted - and on that farm they have no other stock but cows. Good pasture management entails having mixed stock I've always been told.  As a consequence, there is a lot of weed. However, as a foreigner one should not criticize the richest dairying area in the whole of New Zealand. 1 cow + followers to the acre is a stocking capacity there.  

The other farm that we looked at is near Wellington, about 40 miles awa yand it supplies milk for consumption in Wellington. There we would have a cottage, electrified, and a garden and get free milk and we would also get free wood for fuel. The stock is again all dairy cows milked in a very up to date steel and concrete dairy. I think they have 80 cows. The farmer, who is older, and his wife manage the farm together at the moment but they intend to do less and less and we would do more and more. They said that eventually they would be retiring and perhaps we might like to carry on. But in the meantime we would just milk for them and do the farm under them. They explained that they had 3 daughters - none of whom would want to continue farming, they supposed. The farmer has worked on other farms and has also been a carrier - driver of lorries etc. The day we paid them a visit Dora went riding and is now very stiff. I expect she would have more of that if all was well. The valley in which the farm was situated was a little wider than the Deverill Valley and had high hills on either side end with dear etc to shoot. 

Last Sunday we paid a visit to the Riddifords - the people that Cousin Madeline knows - one was Yvonne Westmacott, Madeleine's God-Daughter. We had lunch with them in their very pleasant house at (Lowng?) Bay. All the gardens are lovely just at the moment - full of flowers of English varieties and full too of flowers we have never seen before. 

We have had some difficulty in getting a side car chassis for the motorcycle so we are not bothering about it. I had my hands on one just before the weekend which the owner's brother promised to have taken to the garage where my motorcycle was. Unfortunately, we were away on Monday and yesterday and the silly silly jokers did not do what they said they'd do - instead they sold it to somebody else in my absence. They wanted cash before I'd had time to see if it would work on my bike so perhaps we were lucky not to buy it. However as soon as we get settle somewhere I shall fit a sidecar myself.  

You are not to write back to us at this address because we shall not be here more than a few days, I should think. Wellington is a lovely city - but we still prefer the countryside. Its not nearly so expensive staying here as it would be at home in England luckily. We have come to the conclusion that the cost of living is about the same here as it is in England - but that bare essentials here in the way of food are a lot cheaper. We can have a satisfactory stomach filler here for both of us for 10/-. You should have seen the mutton chops I got through at a restaurant tonight. 

The land-lady here is a great character and is very helpful...

Letter -Wednesday,  20th February 1957 

From - D.A.Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, R.D.. Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To - Mrs V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England 

Dear Mum,

It was kind of you to send me that beautiful little apron which arrived here yesterday. I love the Dorset feather stitchery and I think the apron is a beautiful example, thank you very much indeed. 

We are still having beautiful weather here, though sometimes it gets a bit too hot - I'm lucky because I am in the house most of the day, where it is nice and cool but Jimmy has to work however hot - he has got used to it though much to his own surprise. Mr Gopperth Senior remarked the other day that Jimmy was putting on weight so I don't think he can be suffering too much either from the heat or my cooking.

I made some nice red tomato chutney today, and tomorrow I have to bottle 20lbs of peaches so I should be busy. 

Pauline - Ron's wife lost her baby yesterday after a lot of messing around and negligence on the part of her doctor. The silly clot went off for the weekend after giving her injections to brin on the birth. When he returned on Monday and there was still no sign of the child he tried to make her miscarry but never bothered to find out whether the baby was coming straight or not, when Tuesday arrived and still no baby he sent her to the New Plymouth hospital where a Caesarian operation was found necessary - the baby was twisted up. It has upset old Mrs Gopperth quite a bit and of course we are now waiting for Barbara's time to see what happens. She is under a different doctor thank goodness.

Our little dog, Heidi, is growing rapidly and becoming quite a lovely looking creature. I took her over to the farm the other day when we were shearing and let her loose with Ivan's dog Flash - they had a whale of a time and both were worn out by the end of the day. She is getting less frightened of the Gopperth's and will even go to Ivan when he calls her but other strangers can't get more than a fleeting glimpse ofher. With Jimmy and I she is rough an any other pup. She has tried to play with Susie's kittens once or twice but Susie goes for her like a wild thing even though they are great pals. 

We are both pleased to hear that Rosamond (Attwood) is having another little one - I expect she is hoping for a little girl this time. How is Danny (Charlton) getting along. 

I expect Jimmy has told you that our little home is looking really bright with the two new floors. They are so easy to lay and quite fun really except that I usually get as much cement on myself as I do on the floor.

Pihama. Opunake, New Zealand, 1957

I hope you are all keeping fit and well in your English Winter.

My Love, Dora. xx 

Letter - Tuesday, 9th March 1957 

From J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To Capt C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Ma and Pa, 

Thank you very much for your letters of the 25th and 27th February, respectively. 

We haven't  yet received the picture of Dorset which is on the way but we have received the Illustrated London News which is good to look at and read. The articles by Arthur Bryant and Cyril Falls are sometimes interesting. 

We haven't yet bathed in New Zealand though we have beaches and seaside resorts quite handy. Dora is, as it were, a bit out of shape and somehow or other the trip over in the Rangitata has put her off the sea altogether. She thought five weeks was too long and then sea sickness (or it may have been morning sickness) put the cap on it. 

Next year we shall bath though. We have walked once or twice to the top of the cliffs which are about 1½ miles away or a little less than that. 

By the way we pass on the Illustrated London News and The Times to other people who also like reading them. 

We see that Arthur Bryant is writing against the Atomic Research Station which is to be built on Winfrith Heath on land just adjoining Roger Drapers. 

Dora has received the apron Ma sent her and she did write and thank you for it as soon as it came. I expect by now you have got her letter. 

We had a letter from Freddy Prideaux yesterday which was full of news and apologies for not writing. They have both been pretty busy I gather getting themselves organised after being married. I also told Freddy I has asked you to send me some "De-horing Cfollodiom"- obtainable from Boots Chemist - it being a Boots product. Enough for 50 calves. Freddy would get you the right stuff I expect. They don't seem to make it here in New Zealand.

I see the canal should be open to shipping by the time you get this - though there is sure to be quite a lot of bickering about payment of canal dues. Nasser is in the strongest position I think because British shipping couldn't afford not to use the canal if foreign competitors bow to Nasser's demands for cash on the dot - and Panamanian and Liberian registered ships owners will do what Nasser wants I see they are building 2 anti-submarine frigates for New Zealand I believe, or may be the Royal Navy for something like £2.000,000 each which sounds to me rather spend-thrift when submarines are hardly likely to be used much because aircraft can carry all the H.bombs any country requires for complete devastation. I really think they are now putting orders to the shipyards more to maintain employment than to make Britains defences stronger. 

What is heartening is the expanded Atomic Power scheme to build 3 times as great generating power by 1965 as they thought could be done a year or two ago. Here in New Zealand the Government is watching closely the cost per unit of electricity from atomic power. As soon as this comes below electricity from Hydro-electric schemes - hydro electric schemes will stop; and they will get atomic stations built. 

The newspapers say that the results of one or two recent by-elections have shaken the Conservatives. They will have to show some definite results before the next general election or there will be another Labour Government in - and they won't be any better, in fact they could be a great deal worse. 

Glad to hear about John's job. Sounds good - Diana is sure to like going to Portugal which is supposed to have an ideal climate I believe. 

Hope allare well, Live,

Jimmy and Dora.

Pihama, Taranaki

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Letter - Thursday, 21st March 1957 

From - J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To - Capt. C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Daddy, 

Thank you for your letter of the 12th. I do hope those eggs have hatched by now because if they haven't they definitely won't. 

We think summer is coming to an end now. For the past week we have had nothing but thunder storms and torrential rain.

Dora has stopped milking with me on the farm now as it was getting a little too much for her - having only 11 weeks to go about. 

We are both glad we aren't still in England with strikes and one thing and another. I myself thought that it would boil up last Autumn at home but I think Suez affairs immediate effect was a unifying one at home. Now apparently there is no one to lead and nothing to be unified for - I should think that's what a lot of people think. Meanwhile of course the Germans and Japs are working away - a 50 odd hour week in competition with us. The unions either don't comprehend this or don't care. 

By the time you get this the Suez Canal will be open but they haven't yet decided on what terms. It seems Nasser is holding all the cards. Mr McMillan is taking home truths to Ike too at the moment I suppose. But he probably isn't quite so blunt as the French were.  

Dora is getting some negatives of the place printed - photos I mean. And we shall take some more and send them to you. I have tried to draw a plan below (sketch) but without much result. Mr Gopperth has a fine aerial photograph of the farm and I'll get a tracing of it. 

New Plymouth was struck by a tornado yesterday and a lot of damage was done there. Roof raised, factories wrecked etc. NZHMS Royalist - a cruiser - was visiting at the time. It struck at 3am and everybody was in bed and only one person reckons he saw it. The paper today is full of pictures - of course. 

We have finished feeding indian corn to the cows now. But we still feed them turnips besides their normal grazing. We are now getting the Autumn flush of grass which usually grows a bit late here. 

Dora lit a fire yesterday - we burn logs provided by the Gopperths. They have a circular saw and Ivan brought over a lorry load of logs the other day and dumped them in my garage - which is becoming quite a workshop. It now has a really respectable work bench, robust with vices etc - metal and wood vices. Soon - when we have settled into the house - laid a few more floors with lino tiles etc. I shall get down to carpentry.  

Duck has stopped laying but not eating!  

Dora's Ma is coming out some time. She is half way to getting her fare here. So I should think she will come before the end of this year.

Love Jim and Dora

Letter - Saturday 6th April 1957 

From - Mr & Mrs, Heidi, Susi & Squeaker Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To - Miss P. Heath-Caldwell, c/o 78 Weymouth St, Frome, Somerset, England 

Dear Pat, 

Thank you very much for both of your letters also the birthday card. 

Life here goes on much the same as usual though we have noticed that the nights are getting much colder. One good thing here - we don't get any November fogs, I haven't even seen an 'early morning mist.' 

In one of your letters you ask if we have time for sketching or painting - well, no, we don't really. I don't know what Jimmy's 'art' is like but mine is something of this standard. 

Sketch of Mount Taranaki-Egmont, horse head, bunny. 

I can sometimes draw horses but not very often! My only other artistic works are rabbits. We have some photos so will let your mother have them sometime and she can pass them on to you Danny and Ros.  

Today they killed over at the farm so I got the sheep's head, heart and some liver. 1 head will last Jim and I 2-3 days. They used to throw it away (typicall NZ - too darned wealthy to bother skinning it etc, they miss some of the finest parts through sheer laziness) they are good cooks so far as roasting, frying, stewing and their everlasting, fancy cakes but, when it comes to preparing something fiddly they haven't a clue!! Still not to worry - their loss is my gain.

Whilst in New Plymouth the other day I got some kippers - never thought they had them here but apparently they are imported from England for the benefit of we Pommies who love a nice tasty pair of kippers for breakfast.

I have been buying baby things just lately so spent yesterday morning washing them. 

Jim is keeping as fit as ever though he's been complaining of a pain in his derriere just lately - probably growing a tail; anyway he says it doesn't hurt so much today so perhaps he's not going to turn into an ape after all. Space has run out now so must finish.

Love from us all,

Jim, Dora, Heidi, Susi. 

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Letter - Sunday, 14th April 1957

From - J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand. 

To - Capt. C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England. 

Dear Ma and Pa, 

I  haven't written much lately due largely to odd jobs here. We have now finished all the floors we are going to tile - having tiled the wash house. I must say the place looks a lot brighter. Then we have also had three rooms sanded and we have done them with Bourne Plastic paint - expensive but they shine and don't require polishing. 

Autumn is here but it isn't quite the same as at home. For one thing it isn't nearly as cold as in England - and we are still getting hot nights, something like August nights at home. Also, of course, there are no deciduous trees about shedding their leaves. We hear from the news, the newspapers and your letter that you are having a warm Sping - but by the time this reaches you I suppose it will be early Summer. 

The budget was a bit ofr a relief I suppose but it seems to have given Labour a good campaigning start for the next election. I suppose the cuts in the services will soon start coming into effect - as they scrap all the battleships which should provide lots of scrap. How Portsmouth, Plymouth, Chatham and other naval ports will manage to keep occupied I can't imagine. Really there isn't a great deal of need for frigates I don't think. They simply can't do away with anti-sub ships because they comprise more than half the ships in the navy at the moment. I must write to Donald Smith and see what he says about it. 

We note too that everybody is now climbind downh and accepting Nasser over the Canal. Nobody can do anything about it with resolutions, notes, conferences etc because Nasser doesn't take any notice. Really the more the water settles the clearer it becomes that the Suez Affair might have been a success if it had been carried out a little faster with more power. There was no other alternative other than backing down without a fight.  

The cows should be dried off by this time next month except for a few odd cows which will calve early or which may calve later than the main herd. I might be going down to Massey College, Palmeston North, for three days for a sort of short course. To see how things should be done in New Zealand 'according to the book.' 

On Friday I went to an auction sale in New Plymouth and bought another double bedroom suite for our spare room and also we have to furnish a room for a boy because we shall board a boy to help milk etc while Dora is looking after her baby. Dora has been busy knitting little things for the baby - and as far as I can make out the only things she still wants are baby bed clothes. 

We still haven't come to the end of the fruit season here - apples and pears are only just beginning to come in.  

Hope all are well at home. 

Love from Jim and Dora.

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Letter  - Monday, 22nd April 1957

From - J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand

To Capt C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Ma and Pa, 

Easter is just over here – and on the farm things are not so pressing so we have had quite a good Easter Holiday - with Friday, Saturday and Sunday and today off and on Thursday next, Anzac DAy here is another holiday. This commemorates Gallipoli 0 though why they should want to continue to remember Gallipoli I really don't know.

I have been very busy in the garden today - digging it for early potatoes which should go in at the end of next month. I have also put in some cabbages to see us over the winter. At the moment we are approaching the end of the garden season and we no longer have any peas or beans left. The last butter beans we ate a week ago. but we shall have cucumbers, 3 kinds of pumpkins, carrots, beetroot, brussell sprouts, leeks, cabbages, cut & come again spinach etc so you see we aren't short of anything yet. 

Dora has now filled up all her available storage space in the kitchen, pears - and numerous jams including 15lbs of marmalade. Se we aren't too badly off. Dora has also got 1½ gallons of beetroot wine and carrot wine brewing in our hot cupboard at present. 

I told you in my last letter that we had got more furniture - we have found quite a lot of worm in the last lot so I have been busy painting it all over with turpentine. This apparently kills the worms - incidentally turpentine smells not unlike that very expensive anti-rot stuff you used to use on beehives etc. Talking about bee hives Dora and I have decided we'll start a hive next year - when we are more settled. There is much more bee weather here each year and lots and lots of white clover. Honey to buy is about 1/6 - 2/- a lb if you buy it in large quantities from apiaries of which there a few about but I haven't seen any bee hives in private gardens here. 

On 20th of next month - by the time I get a reply to this letter - the cows will be dried off and we shall be having our winter rest. I am going down to Palmeston North to attend 3 days of lectures for farmers by the staff of the Agricultural College there. Mr Gopperth suggested I should go. Dora will come too I expect - but she says she probably won't come to the lectures. 

Yesterday we spent the day with some Yorkshire fold who arrived here a month or two after us and who work for the farmer next door. During the course of a walk in the afternoon we found the corpses of 1 calf and 3 sheep which had just died and been left because nobody had noticed them. That farm is 475 acres of which a lot is just sand hills bordering the sea and is farmed by the farmer and one man. Next year they are going to milk 140 heifers in a milking shed which has not yet been built. A bulldozer was expected over there today to clear the site. They will have to hurry with their building if they want to have it ready by July or late June when their heifers start calving. The parlour they are building is going to be a zigzag two level parlour which is a new design out here. Some say it is wonderful and simplifies milking while others maintain that the one level type like ours is the best. We shall see in time if they will be able to milk 100 cows an hour in it as they say they can. We are all waiting to see how it goes.

I have been busy just lately fixing up a wire wove bed to make it into a sort of divan bed. We have also got to work on a chest of drawers I gave 35/- for with sand-paper and planes. We have removed the paint and the wood underneath is good. We shall give it a coat of Bourne Plastic when we have sanded the lot. It will look quite good, I think. 

Dora has been using her knitting machine to knit a shawl for the baby. She was showing it to a Maori woman this afternoon - whose car broke down just outside here. We gave the two women in it tea. One has 13 children and the other has her 9th on the way. Dora says she can't compete against that sort of achievement. They get 10/- per week per head children's allowance up to the age of 16, which works out at about £400 over the years. Some people put it into savings or life insurance for the kids - the children. 

I see we have completely given in to Nasser now. Short of a really efficiently organised Suez Operation in a swifter move with more forces I can see how we can retrieve our position. However the baby has been passed to the Yanks and Mr Dulles is now responsible for what happens and we can sit back and criticise like they did to us last November. 

Hope you have had a nice Easter - will send photos when I get some air mail paper next. 

Love Jimmy.

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Letter - Sunday, 28th April 1957 

From - J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Main Sout Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To - Capt C.H. & V.M.Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England 

Dear Ma and Pa, 

Thank you both very much for the picture which arrived yesterday and for your last letter.

Autumn is here but it is very warm and the weather has broken. We think it is more like Spring in England only warmer. We have only had a fire burning for about three nights - when a cold south wind has been blowing. 

For the past month we have been busy on the farm cutting all the hedges and there are quite a few miles of them and burning the trimmings. Now that the hedges have been cleared up we have to see to the ditches - 10ft deep in places had to be cleaned out - it seems to drain a lake which used to take up 5 acres at the end of the farm. 

On Anzac Day - last Thursday I put together my welding equipment and now there are quite a few things to be done on the farm. It is a good thing to have so that I can keep in practice at welding. 

The garden of course provides plenty of work to be tackled. I have got to prepare the ground for early spuds which should go in in mid May. We have got plenty of cauliflowers at the moment and cabbages and I put 140 plants in the other day. I think we shall have to sell seom of it because we have much more than we can personally eat. 

All our medical expenses here are free because we all pay 1/6 in the £ of our wages towards Social Security Tax. So hospital, all expenses to do with maternity etc are free. The only thing we have had to pay so far was 2/1d for a telephone call from the hospital. Dora has her doctor and sees him regularly once a fortnight and she will be going to the maternity clinic at the Cottage Hospital in Opunake once a week from now on. On Tuesday she has to go into New Plymouth for an Xray to see if the baby is the right size etc to be born. As some of the Gopperths are always popping in there, that presents no difficulties. 

The Gopperths go to a 'colour' man who gives them some colour therapy for which they pay. He is a complete quack and I'd say a complete charlatan too! The game is centred round divining of diseases by using a rod and then treating them with 'colour.' Somehow or other it has caught on here in Taranaki partly because people have so much money and are easily separated from it, and partly because the older part of the population is not very scientifically minded. 

Hope Ma's cold is now better. It should be getting warmer at home now I should think.  

Enclosed are some photos of the inside of the house - later on I shall have some of the exterior. Dora took them with her 6d camera and they have come out very well. 

Mrs Gopperth has been ill in bed just lately - with a very stiff back - and Ivan has also been suffering from a stiff back following ditch digging. Dora and I are very well - a bit tired though. The ducks which are not at present laying kick up an awful din early in the morning and keep Dora awake. Hope all are well at home. Love Jimmy & Dora P.S. Our finances are working out alright. We have about £100 in the bank and we have been buying pretty hard for the house - and things for the baby. 

Photos. 

1. Show Flash, Ivan's dog swimming in our trough in the field just next to our pump house. We have no water tank - a pump supplies water to a pressure tank. 

2. Flash and Heidi playing. 

3. Our living room from one door. On left settee and in front chair and chest of drawers all from auction sale.  

4. Bathroom from door. 5. Our living room from other side of setter. Shows our dining table and chairs. On right louvre windows and centre left opening into kitchenette. 

Letter - Saturday 8th May 1957 

From - J.A. Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To - Capt C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England 

Dear Daddy and Ma, 

Thank you very much for both your letters. It seems that there must have been a hold up in the airmail letters somewhere because we got a whole heap of them the other day - after a week or two when no letters came. 

Spring must be well advanced by now. It was extraordinary how the tone of all the letter we have recieved just lately has bucked up. Last Winder, with the series of crises and petrol rationing and the cold weather, must have made last winder seem a very long one. 

We are sorry to hear about the failure of your incubator. If you are at all interested in finding out why it did not work properly. I suggest you consult Norman Sweet of the D.F.I. - he is a poultry adviser. The only thing is he is keen on the commercial side. 

Glad to hear the Farmers boy works well for other people too. I wish I had something to do my digging too. Opposite is a plan of our garden - I haven't worked it acreage out but it must be about 1/7 acre. I've got to put some loads of dung on it from the cowshed today or tomorrow to dig in for early potatoes.  

Ivan has hurt his back and was in bed yesterday. I think he ricked his shoulder when he was burning some hedge trimmings. He was up today and looks a little sheepish but much better. His doctor has ordered gentle excercise as he says it is fibrositis. 

Our ditching continues but the weather is no longer dry and very soon if we don't finish it we shall have to leave it.  

Please could you pay your subscription towards the infant's expenses into my account at Lloyds. I think the less we have here the less we are inclined to spend and we think more about what we do get. 

We have planed up and nearly sand papered a chest of drawers (cost 35/-) and it looks quite good now. We have to furnish a room to put up a youth or boy who will work till about November or December probably. 

We are going to make pumpkin wine shortly. Just hallow out pumpkins and fill with sugar and leave! Our hot cupboard and smells like a cellar at the moment with beetroot and carrot wines on the make.  

Glad Ma is quite recovered - thie weather should keep her fit now. How did the Garden room stand up through the early Sprin weather? We have that painting hung in our room - it looks very good.

Thank you for the birthday book. 

Love, Jimmy and Dora.

Letter - Tuesday, 21st May 1957 

From - J.A. Heath-Caldwell, At Amesbury Hotel, Palmeston North, NZ 

To - Capt.C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England 

Dear Ma and Pa and Pat, 

Here we are at Palmeston North having arrived last night by train from Hawera which we reached in the Gopperth's car. The weather was awful. Wet and windy - blowing from the South-West though really it isn't nearly so cold as it is in England at this time of the year. 

We travelled down here in a Railcar, something like the Diesel Coach which used to - maybe still does - run a service from Weymouth to Bristol. 

Palmeston North is a nice sort of a town with many more deciduous trees than there are further North near the sea in our district. Today we have been walking about it shopping and shop gazing. Some of the shops are really modern specially the bigger stores and there is plenty of choice and service is invariably prompt and polite. Some of the furniture is very modernistic and really requires very bare rooms to be a success - than the room look empty and cold and vaguely hospitally - but they do look hygienic. 

The milking season is now pretty well over. On Sunday we started milking once per day and when we got back the c ows should be practically dried off. We have been busy for the past week cleaning out the drains. On Saturday we were busy deepening a 10ft drain 2ft wide through rock which was hard and was quite hard work. The rainy season has just started and the ground is now nearly waterlogged so luckily we only have a few more drains of ditching to do.  

Last week we had a three day S.E. gale which kept us inside. The house withstood the horizontal rain squalls pretty well and we had a log fire going all the time. I am thinking of getting a paraffin heater for the house because electricity is about the same price as at home - we spend about £9-10 in four months which pays for all heating of water, electric cooking, and pumping water. So a paraffin heater will ease the bill and they give good heat. 

The duck shooting season has begun and ended. It commences on 4th May and ended on th 18th. We had one shot by a neighbor who also gave us a hare so last week the only meat from the butcher was dog meat. The butcher - by the way - doesn't seem capable of providing lean meat but all meat seems to be about 1/- a lb cheaper than at home. The butcher doesn't seem to know one joint of meat from another according to Dora. 

The hotel we are at charges 19/6/- a day each for bed, breakfast and dinner. The rooms are all about 15ft high from floor to ceiling and is covered by a corrugated iron roof. Although it must be an oldish building it is clean and we had a good breakfast today. This evening we go to the opening talk of the Dairy Farmers Conference or lecture session at 7pm - after supper. 

By the time you get this Dora my have produced - at least she hopes she will have. She is getting a little fed up with waiting now. 

Hope you are all well at home - with love, Jimmy & Dora

Letter - Monday, 3rd June 1957

From - J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To - Capt. C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England.

Dear Ma and Pa,

Thank you very much for your letters. I'm sorry I didn't write last weekend but I was busy painting a friend's house. The people who live on the next farm were interior decorating and all their rooms are lined with wooden and to paint them takes a long time because oil paints have to be used and the brushes cannot be bigger than 3" and of course the paint cannot be just slapped on. So far we have painted out three rooms over there in more daring colour schemes. Contrasting postal shadow and bright colours have quite transformed the house. One room had buttercup yellow walls and a blue ceiling. Dora and I have been getting some ideas about the colour schemes we intend to use here because we shall have to do our interior soon - at least our kitchen, living room and probably one bedroom. 

Next door they are also building a 'herringbone' cowshed. This is the latest layout for milking sheds in New Zealand. 10 milking machines are installed up the middle of a shed and cows - ten each side - are lined up in batches, their rear ends inclined inwards towards the milkers. It is claimed that 100 cows can be milked per hour by 2 men. The shed is something like this (sketch) When one lot of 10 cows which have been brought in from yard - and the first lot are released out and then another lot come in. etc. Time is saved because the milkers milk in a pit - about 2ft lower than the cows stands, and 10 cows are moved in and out each time - instead of (in ordinary sheds) only one cow being moved and cajoled into position each time it is to be milked.  

Anyway there has been a certain amount of derogatory comment from neighbouring farms. It is said that they won't be able to milk cows any faster than we can in our one level sheds. Anyway everybody round about is interested. Allan Cooper told me that 200 people will be coming to watch the shed working! Anyway they have got 180 heifers and 12 cows which will start to calve next month (on the 6th they estimate) and at present their shed has only the walls up and the yard walls completed. Next week they will lay all the yards and floors and road to the shed in one day, they hope (weather permitting) and they will be using 3 concrete mixers. When that is all set iron piping for the cowstands has to be installed plus machinery and of course the roof so we are all wondering if it will be completed in time. 

This week we have a cat lodger belonging to another worker on the other half of the farm. This is a kitten, one produced by our cat Suzie. It is sitting up on the sofa beside me. Heidi, our dog is having dreams just beside me too - grunting. And the other two cats are out at present. 

Today I have been busy digging the garden, bringing in pumpkins (24 in the garage now) because we had our first frost of the season night before last. (only a touch mind you). Pumpkins will not keep after being frosted so they are now safe inside. I must sow some broad beans too. We bought a very comprehensive Vegetable Gardening book published by the N.Z. Department of Agriculture which is very useful. 

Have been doing some welding too - the welding set, which cost £70 is a very useful acquisition. Especially for small repairs which can be done practically on the spot. Mended Ivan's rotary lawn mower blade yesterday and have also fixed a slasher and part of a manure distributor.  

I agree with you that the papers are, really rather morbid. But looking at England's position from here it does seem to me that things have now got a sporting chance of going better now that the publicl and politicians have seen reality. Trying to outdo America and Russia in arms etc and pretending to and then giving way to Egyptians has brought our politicians up with a jolt which was badly needed. Cuts in defense should have been made so long ago but politically it could not than have been done. 

I have been interested in the Channel Tunnel - some news about it recently. I see the Suez Canal Company is going to conduct a proper geological survey of the tunnel area. Things like that give me something satisfying to think rather than eternal crisises of canals, black and whites etc. 

Hope all are well at home.  

Love James & Dora 

Letter - Tuesday 11th June 1957

From - J.A. Heath-Caldwell, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To - Capt.C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England 

Dear Ma and Pa, 

Sorry for the delay in writing -  but I have been quite busy since Dora has been away cooking breakfast and tea for myself here - I have lunch with Ivan and Barbara as a rule at Mr and Mrs Gopperth Snr. 

On Thursday night at about midnight Dora woke up and said she thought she was having her first labour pains at about 15 minute intervals. By 2am she was ringing up the Doctor who told her she had better come into Opunake to the Cottage Hospital. So I drove her in in the farm lorry at 3am and about 10 hours later Hilary Diana was born -weighing 8lb 10oz, round about lunch time that was.

I went in to visit Dora in the afternoon and saw her at 2 o'clock just coming round from her gas - she was sick. By the evening she was better after a sleep and by Saturday evening she was also much better. There are no complications so far so she will be alright. 

(con't Thursday 13th) Since starting this I have been pretty busy with one thing and another and I only occasionally manage to snatch a few minutes to write. This is because I am looking after myself of course, and am not really properly organised. Also I have been constructing a trolley for my welding set to make the set more mobile. This has left me occupied in the garage with bending pipes, heating them up and cutting them. 

Dora is very well and looking forward to coming home here again. The Baby is doing well and takes her milk out of the bottle very well without fuss or bother. In fact Dora has been told to get a teat with a smaller hole in it to slow Hilary Diana up a bit. 

There are a lot of farm auction sales going on round here at the moment. Also some land near here is going for auction - government valuation £54 an acre - 75 acres so Mr Gopperth thinks that it will sell for round £60-70 per acre. There is still plenty of land here fairly cheap considering the use one can get out of it - ie 1 cow and followers to the acre. I think Dora and I will stay in Taranaki and perhaps one day we will be able to afford some land but before then we will be share milking. That is we will own and milk the cows on somebody else's farm and take 50% of the profit - there are also lower % shares when the share milker has less invested. 

With all the modernisation these days with tractors, machine milking etc the edge has been taken off the really hard grinding sort of repetitive work. 

I gather that if one buys a farm it is quite possible to borrow 2/3 of the cost of the farm if one can put up the first third so that does not put farm ownership completely beyond our reach. And of course it is best to be on the best land although it may be expensive. Mr Gopperth's land is valued at £160 per acre!  

Hope all is well at home.

Thank you for your letter received today - Thursday.  

Love Jimmy. 

Letter – Friday, 28th June 1957

From – J.A.Heath-Caldlwell, Main South Road, R.D. Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To – Capt.C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England 

Dear Ma and Pa, 

Thank you very much for your letters, the eider down for Hilary Diana and for the income tax rebate form copies (?) or do I have to sign them or something? Anyway, I’ll sign them and send them back to you. 

I was surprised G.M. (Constance M.H. Heath-Caldwell) left so much. I had rather imagined that nearly all had gone west by now on odds and ends. 

Dora came out of hospital at New Plymouth on Wednesday and the baby comes home tomorrow as Dora had some boils on her bottom that were infectious so they had to clear up before the baby could come home. Dora is very well and so it Hilary and all is well. 

I’m now having a weeks holiday to get all settled before the next season’s milking. Our first cow has calved down prematurely – its calf, a heifer, was born dead and so it has to be specially milked by hand in the afternoon and with another 7 cows by machine in the morning. 

We are top dressing all the fields now – and getting calf pens ready for calves etc. 

The weather here has been quite warm lately – we can almost feel the spring in the air. Daffodils etc are out. Really it has been like spring at home – tho' of course, it does not come here for about 2 months. 

I have sown broad beans and today put in a row of spuds –Arran Banner - with sulphate of potash and meat and bone meal. 

Tonight we should be getting a Scottish Collie for the weekend to sire Heidi and then as a result we shall be expecting some pure bred pedigree pups in some months time with a good pedigree which should be easily disposable at a profit we hope.  

Dora and I wonder if you could pack something in the way of furniture with odds and ends of G.M.’s. If Diana, Ros and Pat do not want that chest in the hall perhaps some things could be packed in that. 

I had in mind one or two mugs – Queen Victoria’s coronation mug etc. That was in the sitting room. Also, if there are any wine glasses, decanters etc or things like that, and china. Also there were some rather nice white Staffordshire china things. Anyway if that chest were packed well it could wait till such time as somebody in the family is coming in this direction. We want nothing for the next 3-4 years because we haven’t a great deal of space but if packed well some things that I have mentioned would be appreciated, also linen sheets and blankets cost the earth here and would be appreciated. I suppose G.M. had no more musical boxes? Silver tea set (ie unbreakable teapot) coffee pot – percolator – really anything nice, small and packable would be appreciated by us.

Hope all are well at home. 

Love Jimmy & Dora 

 Saturday, 29th June 1957

 Nurse holding Hilary on the way out to the car, as per protocol of the time. DAHC left looking on.

Letter – Monday 1st July 1957

From J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand 

To – Mrs V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England 

Dear Ma, 

Thank you very much for your letter of the 21st June. All the the news of one sort and another in it. Nobody has yet enlarged on the fire in the potato shed or the cesspit pump house wherever it was. 

Dora and I Don’t want any hair dye and I suggest it be shared equally between Pat, Diana and Ros. 

Dora and I wonder if Grandma (Constance M.H. Heath-Caldwell) had a wrist watch as hers is at the moment kaput, but we are going to take hers into the menders. Are there any clocks to spare – other than Grandfather clocks? Any cupboard or electric clocks?

I never knew G.M. had a car – or did she get one after we left – or are you getting rid of the Prefect for another one. These Prefects certainly are reliable – you still see plenty of them out here – also we se plenty of old ones like CAA – but by and large there are a lot of new cars on the road.

What may I ask is stopping you coming out to see us? I haven’t suggested it earlier because I thought you would be too tied at Cattistock with G.M. and animals. But now things are different. I think you would like a trip out here – by boat. I think you would do best to travel by tourist class or by a one class ship because 1st class travel is rather starchified I’m told and people behave like individuals in a popular English railway style. You know – not a word. I should think something like your Tintagel Castle Hotel place.  

Can’t think why you don’t get rid of your (esse?) cooker whether it burns anthracite or noblets. We have an electric heater or cooker with 3 hot plates on top and large oven. When there are power cuts – and there have only been one or two in the 9 months we have been here – we just use a primus stove. No dirt, no mess, no stoking, no worry. A jug of water and heat element boils in 3 minutes for tea making. 

Mrs Gopperth came over for the afternoon today to see Dora’s baby. She brought her needle work with her. She is busy making seat covers I think. 

Pat has mentioned once or twice coming out here. I think she might like it more than Australia. Certainly she would have no trouble in finding a job in the midwifing line. New Zealanders keep midwives at it flat out it seems. 

Today I have been busy mending bicycles and making Heidi a big box to sleep in. Also a dirty laundry box is on the stocks.  

Tomorrow we are going to Opunake to have a look at a pram – 2nd hand. It's owner produced twins just before Dora. Yesterday she, the owner, stood on a nail and pushed it through her foot and the Doctor had a job getting it out. Poor woman, she was in the wars. 

I would be a good idea for you and Pa to come out – it’s a good country and you’d have more idea of the world. I wish too that Diana and John would take the plunge and try their luck. They couldn’t possibly be worse off than they are at home now ( not that they are badly off) But of course we find that there really is no ‘class’ here or class consciousness. They might or might not like that. 

DAHC and Hilary 

DAHC writing –

Jimmy has handed over to me now so first let me thank you for the sweet little eiderdown and cot blanket. The eiderdown has been admired by everyone who has seen It. We bought our dear little daughter home on Saturday – a great day for both Jimmy and I as we had waited for what seemed ages before I was at last allowed to bring her home. My boils aren’t properly healed yet but I am keeping my fingers crossed that no more will appear – never had one in my life before and can’t say that I want any more. 

Hilary is behaving herself very well and seems to sleep OK – just like Jimmy who is on a weeks holiday at the moment and would sleep the clock round if I let him – he gets up at about 9am but I’m not complaining because he has done a lot of odd jobs for me around the house, (bleats?) new, and has also done quite a lot of gardeningt, welding and etc. 

Tomorrow afternoon we are leaving Hilary over at Barbara’s while we go into Opunake to look at a pram. I met a lady in the nursing home who had one for sale – she had produced twins so her single pram was of no use to her and she is selling it. Well, paper has run out and it is also feed time for Hilary Diana so I must warm her bottle up. 

With love from us all, Jimmy, Dora and Hilary.

J.A. Heath-Caldwell holding Hilary HC. 1957

Letter - Thursday, 25th July 1957

From J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand

To - Capt.C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Daddy and Ma,

Thank you very for your letters of the 12th and 15th July.

We were both glad to hear that Ros has had twin girls, which I imagine is just what she and John wanted.

Dora received today another baby cot blanket from one of the girls who was at the D.F.I. with her.

Sorry to hear that your 'inside' was 'off,' for a bit - but it didn't sound as if it was very bad. We both realise you couldn't really expect to pay us a visit this year but you must make definite plans for next year. We will then be in a better position to finance transport - which is now our chief handicap.

About the Frigidaire - we note that new Frigidaires of 6.2 cm.ft capacity cost £99-100 here so you see they are quite expensive. If G.M.'s is in good working order - and is serviced by a Frigidaire agent you could work out how much we would save when you have found out how much shipment would cost - to New Plymouth, New Zealand (nearest port to us). It is risky bringing 2nd hand fridges - unless one does happen to know why the previous owner disposed of it. Otherwise I believe good fridges do last quite a long time - provided they are sensibly used and kept maintained. I imagine too that things could be packed inside it if the chests you have mentioned will not hold everything.

Hilary Diana is house trained - as far as managing to put her do's into a pot instead of soiling her nappies at each change and feeding.

We imagined that the (aneroid?) barometer you mentioned was a huge affair, but if it is only 4" x 3" x 2" we would like it. Some of the battle prints would be nice too plus about a dozen picture frames but no more. Sorry to hear the max and min thermometer bust some time ago - now that would have been appreciated. But still, never mind.

I'm glad Diana has been helping you to square things up. I should think her assistance was appreciated.

Here, as I told you in my last letter, we are in the middle of calving. We have now 13 heifer calves and we want about 20 before we have enough replacements. Besides the normal routine of calving and milking we have been busy lengthening the track up the middle of the farm which is concreted for about 3/4 mile and we have extended it nearly up to the end of the farm. In the last two days we have planted about 15 chain of boxthorn hedge to go alongside the race.

Dora has been out today visiting some other young mothers who live in the district. They were all in the Maternity home at the same time and got on very well together.Heidi, our dog, is expecting pups we hope, from another pedigree Scottish Collie. We hope she has a reasonable sized litter. It should be due on 20th August or thereabouts.

We have got some photographs which we are sending on. Some quite good ones of the home, baby, Dora and mountain etc.

Hope you are all well,

Love James & Dora

-

Wednesday, 31st July 1957

From - J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Main South Road, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand

To - Capt.C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Daddy and Ma,

Thank you very much for the letter of the 20th July. I hope Ma has found a projector. We can't start filming really until we know you can see the finished product.

I bet you got a lot of junk out of the attic when it was cleared out. How much roofing timber has to be replaced?

There are no Australian or locally made vans available in NZ. Ford assembles cars and vans in Wellington and Auckland. But because labour is so expensive here engines for Ford cars are reconditioned in Germany because it is more cheap to send them there for work to be done to them than for NZ or Australian mechanics to do the same job. You see mechanics here get paid more than £1,000 per annum - and the customer pays for this.

I think a 2nd hand Ford Thames van - provided it was reconditioned by some Ford agent in England would suit us provided we one could be purchased in U.K. for less than £400 - or £300 - otherwise we could wait till someone is coming out here. It is a lot cheaper to come out accompanying a car - or van about £25-30 I think. But if the van or car is not accompanied, just sent, it will cost a lot more - note you have to pay Wortes (?spelling) £27 just to pack and send out 2 fairly small boxes to us. That is expensive I'd say. Anyway, in the fairly near future either you and Ma will be coming out here. And if you don't come for a year or two, Dora's Ma is coming and Pat has said a word or two about coming out to Australia (?) or NZ sometime.

We both think that Freddy and Rachel would be excellent caretakers in your absence. Both are responsible people - and you could leave them to look after the animals etc without any qualms. I know Fred and Rachel would like looking after the Pound House provided that they can somehow look after their cottage at Charminster at the same time.

I quite agree with you about the Squire Estate car. I would either get a new Prefect or a Thames van. The van can easily be fitted out with moveable seats in the back - seating pads of Dunlofillo (?) can be purchased in all shapes and sizes.

Dora and I haven't really seen very much of NZ yet because of transport difficulties. Until we can get around easier - apart from being comfortable here - it would not be a good idea to even think of moving till we know more about and have observed other New Zealand farms and farming methods.

On Saturday last we went up 2,100ft on Mount Egmont - taken by some friends of ours in Opunake. The people who provided the sire for Heidi. We all piled into their Standard 8. The young couple in the front with Hilary, and Dora and myself and Heidi in the back. And Duke, their dog, in the boot! We got within 150yds of a Mountain hostel when the car could move no further because of wheel slip on the packed snow. From there we walked up to the hostel from which place we had a fine view of the coast from about Wanganui to near Opunake. We could also see the mountains of the South Island - about 200 miles away from the hostel.

We have decided that Hilary D. looks like David Attwood at her age - in some photos we have here.

Hope all is well at home.

Love Jimmy and Dora

Sunday, 11th August 1957

From J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand

To Capt.C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Daddy and Ma,

Thank you very much for your letters - we are glad to hear you are now seriously thinking of coming out her to see us. Already yor intentions have caused a certain amount of stir up in our family - we are now considering colour schemes for the rooms - and curtains are being made right at this moment by Dora who is pedalling away at her Singer Sewing machine. We now have to choose some wallpaper to tone with the curtains and the general colour scheme.

I have also been making 'make-it-yourself-furniture' - which we thought we'd buy to see if it was worth it. So far we are quite satisfied. I have made a contemporary table (sketch) - looking something like that. A handy size for tea by the fire. And also a bookshelf cabinet (sketch) - really not very like that - but something like it. (Sketch) - it looks quite like that. We will finish both off with coats of plastic which gives an excellent finish.

The weather here for the past week has been quite spring-like. Warm - how warm I can't tell you - in the 55° to 60° at times I should think. We have done some sowing already - onions, beetroot, peas etc, carrots as we hope some will come up. 

We have also tried levelling the lawn by putting earth on it and sowing grass seed. Unfortunately Heidi seems to have taken a liking to using the earth patches as a race track - so far not much of the first sowing has come up. Heidi is expecting on about 20th of this month - we hope she will be alright. She is in good health - and takes quite a lot of exercise. 

Dora and I have both had 24hr flu. Whether or not Asian I don't know. We were both sick at 2am and after spending morning in bed we both felt well by tea time. I had it on Thursday and Dora did a repeat performance on Friday. We are now both very well. Calves nearly all in, 93 cows in milk - about 20 odd still to calve. 

Love Jim and Dora

Letter - Monday, 12th August 1957From J.A. Heath-Caldwell, Pihama, Opunake, Taranaki, New Zealand

To - Capt.C.H. & V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Daddy,

Thank you very much indeed for your letter of the 2nd August. I'm afraid I haven't written for about 10 days as Dora and I have both had flu - I had it last Thursday. Started noticeably one morning at 2am with sickness. Got up and went to the shed as usual - but was sick half way through milking so went to bed. Was quite recovered by tea time and felt fit. Dora did exactly the same routine on Friday - she was also quite herself by tea time having spend the day in bed.

About 3 days previously to that I got a box thorn into the calf of my leg. It was a bit sore because it was on a level with the tops of my gumboots. Anyway I didn't think much about it till af few days ago when my leg swelled up and was very sore. Dora tried to squeeze something out but couldn't get anything. Today Mr Gopperth took me and Dora into Opunake and I saw the Doctor. We had thought it was a boil. Anyway, the Doctor got cracking with scalpels, tweezers etc and when he had opened it up and removed the puss he probed around for the thorn which he eventually found - but he only managed to get 2/3 of it out. So now I have my feet up at home in front of the fire - and in half an hour I have to feed the baby. Dora is of course, off at the cow shed doing afternoon milking. Dora, by the way is now enjoying life much more than she ever has before since we arrived. Her abysmal morning sickness during the pregnancy was a puller down on her - that and home sickness too - still, now she is full of beans.

Your letter - I really think that the Wallis would be worth it for us if it can come with you or be sent. That is if it is in working order now. Any little things which go wrong with itI can fix myself I think. And it would save us some cash while we save for the Thames van. A gamble of course - but if it faded out on us the loss would not be too great and I have an idea that a fridge could quite quickly be turned into a clothes dryer! (if the Fridge works positively refused to furnction).

About the Thames van. If you bought one with you it would probably cost about £25 - have windows put in for export (they'd do that and you'd get out of P.T.) Here we would pay import duty. It would be cheaper than getting one here. Or alternatively, if a 2nd hand Ford reconditioned one could be bought out with you P.T etc all the way round would be reduced. But the reconditioned engine etc would have to be genuine. That might be the best way really. What do you think? Thames vans here are in very scarce supply - but are just what we want.

Hope you are all well, Love Jimmy

Friday, 16th August 1957

From - J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand

To - Capt.C.H.& V.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Daddy and Ma,

Thank you very much indeed for Daddy's letter of the 8th August received today. Here is a quick reply because at the moment I'm chair bound by having a bad leg - poisoned by a common box thorn. The little blighter entered the calf of my leg practically unnoticed by me and just irritated my leg for the first few days. I couldn't see if a thorn was in it or not because the thorn was embedded in my leg muscles and evidently the shin had moved over so that the thorn did not coincide with the hole through the skin.

I went to the Doctor last Monday who 'operated' on me from about 12 o'clock to 12.45. He cut a hole about size 6d bit and a little more than an inch deep. Have had it dressed on Wednesday last and today. At the same time as this we have been busy preparing for Hilary's christening on Sunday. Dora has been making curtains and has started to cover our chairs - but is held up at the moment due to lack of pipe cord.

We are having to - or will be shortly doing our ceiling and walls. We have been unable to get a red wall paper motive mind you. We wanted something red to match the curtains - but no.

Well, to answer your questions in your letter.

Our Voltage is precisely the same as at home 220-250 AC., 50 cycle. The only difference in NZ is that all plugs have flat pins - I have an ideat they are like this in more modern set ups at home - but that is only incidental. The voltage supply is precisely the same as at home. It seems that the Wallis would be wonderful for us. My last letter told you how much new fridges cost.

Dora and I think that you are really too honest to be practicable in these modern times. But still perhaps strict honesty is the best policy. I think it would be a good idea if you deposited the diamond pendant at Lloyds Bank for us because we can't afford to pay £30 just for duty at the moment. It will be a lot safer in the bank than elsewhere.

It seems to me that if so many people have looked at The Lodge (Cattistock) it might sell under auction. Cattistock seems to be a place where people with money like to go to be parted from some of it. 

Oh! I see there is a picture. (on envelope) So must wind up. I noticed in yesterday's paper a Thames Van for sale for £585, having done 16,000 miles - a 1955 model. How does that compare with models at home second hand.

Hope you are all well - 

Love James-

Monday, 19th August 1957

Letter from J.A.Heath-Caldwell, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand

To Pat C.M. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England

Dear Pat,

We gather you are now on a 3 month holiday without pay. Hope you are enjoying yourself - or should I say, enjoying helping everybody at home.

We hear that there have been one or two heat waves at home and its been a real good summer.Here, the 'winter' is really over now and spring has started. It has been considerably warmer for the past3 weeks now - than for a month or two past but  really compared with winter in England, this is a mere fleabight.

Actually it is cold enough at night to make a fire a luxury - or at least enjoyable. When it is wet we usually endeavour to have one in all day.

This month we hope to purchase a washing machine. Nappies etc plus our dirty clothes make washing an every other day routine - not Mondays only so we want something to take the backache out of washing. The only difficult part is still drying clothes in wet weather in winter - but we'll overcome that problem later with a dryer of some sort.

Glad to hear that a number of people have been looking over the Lodge. Don't suppose Pop will have a lot of trouble selling it. It is of convenient size for somebody who must hang large pictures to keep up appearances etc, of course. Cattistock must be considered to be a fashionable place to live in.

Dora is now busy making covers for our chairs to match the curtains. Last night we had party - 12 of us to celebrate Hilary's christening. All the Gopperths came plus some people from Opunake and some share milkers on the next door farm. We had wonderful eats - home baked by Dora - plus beer and we played parlour games and talked till the party packed up at about 11pm - it couldn't start till 8pm because everybody is doing cows and having tea till about then.

Dora and I are God parents and a farmers wife next door (?) It is unfortunate that most of the people we know closely are R.C.'s - most people are round here.

We met our local vicar the other week. A new one in the parish who was once a curate in Manchester. He is very amusing and full of life and we shall be going into Opunake one evening to meet him and his wife.

My leg, which had a bad box thorn in it which had to be cut out to the depth of 1 1/2 inches is now healing up from the bottom. It has caused me to be away from work for 8 days now but it should be better by the end of this week. This explains why I"ve been writing so many letters in the last few days.

We hope you are all well at home plus zoo etc. Hope Nikki is well too.

Love, Jimmy & Dora. 

P.S. I'm quite expert at nappies and feeding now

Letter - Sunday, 8th September 1957

From J.A. Heath-Caldwell, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand

To Capt. & Mrs C.H. Heath-Caldwell, The Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England.

Dear Pa and Ma,

Thank you very much for your letters. Thank you too for dealing with the fridge people in Poole. Seems as if we'll get something looking like new when it gets out here.

At the moment the weather is cold - not really cold with those N.E. we get at home but our South Easterlies are quite cold enough especially as our louvre windows are not absolutely draught proof.

Here we are still a bit upside-down with painting. My leg is now quite OK, but still I have to keep it dry to let new skin grow over the scar.

On the farm all the cows except 5 have now calvedand we are milking 112 at the moment. Farmers here are getting a little apprehensive about butter prices and cheese prices at home. Some, however, don't work very hard and could, with not a great deal of difficulty, produce much more than they are doing at the moment.

People still wonder what will happen if England joins the European free market area - but judging by th utterances of some English statesmen (?) it seem that the English politicians want to have their cake and eat it at the same time.

Magazines here have had one or two articles on the Channel Tunnel scheme which looks more like coming to something soon. They are spending £300,000 so I've read, just surveying the route of the tunnel.

Heidi, whom we thought might produce pups some time this month is definitely not doing so. She will have to be mated again next time she comes on heat and we'll then hope for the best once again. Meanwhile our cattle dog over at the farm produced a litter and is rearing two which look like tubs with feet and a head each. They are too fat to walk very energetically yet. 

We are glad to hear that you have booked your passages for next year. Now you will have time to get ready. As it s I think the Lodge etc will take some few months longer to sort out and I can just imagine what a rush it might have been had you decided to come this Christmas.

Our early spuds are just starting to come up now. I think I put them in a bit too deep perhaps. We might have frosts for another 2-3 weeks so perhaps it is as well they are only just coming. The birds have taken all our first seed sowings except for the carrots and onions. So I've put black cotton over the last peas I've sown and I hope that will put them off a bit. One of our ducks died today - don't know why - still we've got one duck left and three hens and we are now thinking of getting some day old chicks - about a dozen to rear for laying this Autumn. 

Hope you are all well.

With love, Jimmy and Dora

Letter Tuesday, 8th October 1957 

to:  Capt and Mrs C.H. Heath-Caldwell, Pound House, Cattistock, Dorchester, England. 

from: D.A.H-C, Main South Road, RD.7, Pihama, Opunake, New Zealand. 

Dear Mama,  

Just a line to enclose another photo of our wee girl - the best so far. I want to get a studio portrait sometime but as no one round here does studio photography I'll have to wait till we can get into New Plymouth or Hawera. 

Both Jimmy and I are anxiously awaiting to hear exactly when you are coming out; we want to be still here at Pihama when you come so that you can see our first home.

We were very pleased indeed to hear of Danny's little son Giles. What does Amanda think of having a brother to play with - hope we can manage a son next time!!

At the moment Hilary is teething and is a trifle niggly but not very, thank goodness. I must say, she has been a perfect angel and not caused us much trouble at all. Next Monday I take her to Plunket so am hoping she's piled on masses of weight, she certainly looks fit - as brown as a bunny and bright eyed. 

Today has been cold and cloudy but I guess it'll soon be high summer. 

Just had to break off and go and milk the cows and have tea. I've put Hilary D down for the night so guess I'll not get a squeak out of her till 4.30am.  

I made a chocolate cake this afternoon but by the time Jimmy came in at 3.30pm for afternoon tea I'd eaten half so he sat down and ate the other half - result, we both feel horribly sick!! That's the trouble  - we are both pigs and whenever I do any baking it has always disappeared by the end of the day.

The other night we went round to Pauline and Rob's, which was nice, to listen to their new radiogram which wasn't - it kept going wrong. Barbara and Ivan and some other friends were there. Barbara's baby was very naughty but H.D. was as good as gold and slept like a log so Jimmy and I were very proud of her indeed. 

We are looking forward to having our (fridge, pig?) -  it is sweet of you all to go to so much trouble - as for all those jewels and things - well I can't wait to see them - many, many thanks. A diamond pendant to me is just wonderful - my engagement ring is the only diamond I've ever owned in my whole life. 

I had a letter from Mummy today saying how much she enjoyed her day with you - thank you for being so kind to her - you can't imagine what it means to her to have someone in the country to whom she can go for a chat when the (town, term?) gets a bit overbearing. 

I enjoy getting letters from home because as I've said before, most NZ women make me sick - they're so weak minded and simple. I suppose I'm a bit of a hardened character alongside these pallid watery beauties but at least I can stand on my own feet instead of clinging around like a piece of soggy ivy!(Jim's just read that bit through and considers it very expressive!) 

What do you think of this satellite - Jim gave me a very interesting lecture on satellites and such like at breakfast - I'm often lectured at breakfast time (my own fault for always wanting to know the 'whys' and 'wherefores' of everything)!! 

Jimmy has just put our 'Heidi' to bed and is himself having a bath so I think I'd better finish and take myself off to bed. Hope this hasn't bored you, 

Jimmy and Hilary D. x from Height (sketch of dog) to Koko (sketch of dog.) Sandy now has two kittens, one black and tan and a tabby one (sketch of cat and kittens) 

Letter - Wednesday, 16th October 1957

 To: Capt & Mrs Heath-Caldwell, Pound House, Cattistock, Dorset, England 

From: J.A.H-C, Pihama, Taranaki, New Zealand 

Dear Ma and Pa, 

Thank you very much for the parcel and your letter of the 8th Pa. The sheets, pillow cases, dish clothes, curtains etc were exactly what we wanted and we now have adequate linen.

The Bank has also sent me details of my assets there which may be alright. Anyway, I'm writing to my Ford agent here at Hawera and he'll tell me if it is OK or not. The Bank rate change should - I think - by your next spring put more heart into stocks and share prices. This is my idea - anyway I'm optimistic. I'll let you know as soon as possible how I get on with getting an import license. The agent is very willing to help. 

Taranaki has huge deposits of iron and all round its coast. The sand hills at the end of the farm are composed of the black stuff in fact. But according to our newspapers the smelting is to be done in the South Island somewhere - the sand being transported there in ships. Anyway you can imagine it is causing quite a lot of local dismay that the iron-sand is not being processed here. The experts of one firm say that the South Island has the necessary power available and coal. But within the foreseeable future there should be an abundance of 'atomic' electric power just as there should be an abundance in the UK in time.

Is the 'split front axle' the same as fitting a 'sway bar' do you know? Because a friend of ours who dry cleans in Opunake had a 'sway bar' fitted to the front wheel assembly of his car with the result that it now holds the road and rides like a much heavier car. It is a 10h.p. Standard 1956 model I think. We quite often after their Scottish Collie dog for him. 

The satellite has made a big bit of news here. I think it was a good thing that the Russians have done it. It has shaken the Yanks and pulled them down a peg or two. They seem to be sour graping about it still. Don't agree that it is a waste of money. It does give people something to think about other than weapons of wholesale destruction. The race is 'on' now to the moon and probably to the stars. I see that the U.S. has already said that the U.S.S.R. cannot claim the moon as Russian territory and can only claim any bits of it which she occupies for some time! 

We have sown nearly all our spuds. And the other night I sowed two lines of yams which are good with the Sunday roast. The weather up to a day or two ago has been awful with torrential thunder showers and gale force W & NW winds but at least it has not been too cold. The chicks thrive though we have lost one or two which just went lame and couldn't get their food or prevent themselves being frozen out by their fitter sisters. Am about to build another run for them about 1' x 1'9" x 7'. I think as their present run is a little cramped.  

On the farm we shall be making sileage by the time you get this I expect. This is rather earlier than usual this year by about 2 weeks.  

Hilary D put on 2lbs in the past 2 weeks and now weighs 17lbs 3oz . She is starting to eat porridge. 

Hope you are all well, 

Love Jimmy & Dora.

Letter - Sunday, 8th December 1957

 From DAHC to Violet Mary Heath-Caldwell,

My Dear Mama, 

Thank you so much for the Christmas presents which arrived on Thursday - Pat's also arrived the day before. Just ran out of ink so had to hunt all over for it as usual. I'm afraid that both Jimmy and I are frightfully careless about putting things away and the result is that whenever either of us want anything we've both got to turn the house upside down to find it!! Ah well, such is life. It is sweet of you all to think of us at Christmas and we will look forward to opening our presents on Christmas day. 

Incidentally, when was the silver salver sent off? I seem to think it was ages ago so hope nothing has happened to it. The Custom's are probably trying to wrangle an import duty on it, if I know them - honestly I think Jimmy and I must pay their wages. We had to fork out 16/- on one of the parcels the other day and nothing on the other; still it's worth it. 

We had some friends out to lunch today and had a really quiet time and such a change to have someone to talk about things other than cows - our main conversations were on satellites in which I'm very interested and politics about which I didn't know one single thing. 

Friday 13th Dec. - I had to leave off the above because Iris and Alan came to return my sewing machine. I've made my Christmas cake and although I say it myself, it smells very good. I've also put on the almond paste and icing. I love icing cakes though I'm not very good at it as I need more practice. Did Jim tell you I shot Susie the cat - she is too expensive on the chicks and was always on the kitchen table stealing things so I'm well rid of her - I dislike cats at the best of times, especially thieving ones - we still have the kitten and it will fo the same way if we have anyh trouble with it. 

On Sunday we have been invited to a kids party - should be pretty awful - masses of screaming little horrors swarming around like locusts damaging everything. The party is over at Ma Gopparths and personally I hope it'll rain, then we won't have to suffer the ordeal. The manners of most N.Z. kids are apalling, they are extremely badly behaved as well due to lack of a few good hidings!! 

How are the twins coming along? It was Hilary's 6 months check up on Monday - they get a complete going over by the Plunket Nurse every 3 months - she weighed 20lbs 3oz and measured 27 3/4 inches in length - must be good cows milk around here! She had the 1st of her inoculations as well and was very good, her leg was a bit sore but nothing much. 

Well, paper is running out, we are looking forward to seeing you soon. 

Love from Dora, Jimmy and Hilary.