Dick McArthur’s entire life has centred on the land, stock and particularly merinos, and the 69-year-old has no intention of it ever being any different, even though he has broken his neck.
On 3 November 2008 he fell 50 feet down a cliff on the edge of his garden in Alexandra. He was flown to the Burwood Hospital spinal unit in Christchurch and has been there ever since learning how to adjust to life in a wheelchair.
Dick is renowned for his cheerful disposition and the accident hasn't taken the shine off his optimistic view of life. If he can he intends to continue sheep and wool classing once he leaves Burwood. Referring to his emergency helicopter ride to Dunedin after the accident he says:
“What people will do for a helicopter ride! It’s a shame to be so full of drugs I don’t remember it.”
The well used visitors’ book next to Dick’s bed has entries from friends and family from throughout the country. There are notes from long lost rugby mates who have come out of the woodwork. Countless farming clients and friends made during the 50 years he has spent working in the South Island high and hill country have also penned words of encouragement.
Merinos are Dick’s great love, a passion he shares with his wife Beth. Last year the couple were made life members of the Otago Stud Merino Association for their contribution to the merino industry. Dick says Beth deserved the award for the 25 years of service she has given the organisation. However he says it was a very high honour for him to receive just for “making a bit of noise”.
He is referring to the seven years he spent as helmsman at the Association’s silent ram auction and his work helping guide the merino stud tours since 1969.
“I am a noisy bugger and my job was helping make sure the show keeps rolling on. But it pales into nothing in comparison with what Beth has done.”
Dick’s interest in farming started as a young boy growing up in Otago in the 1940s. Although his father was a teacher and he was raised on cherry orchard in Conroy’s Gully in Alexandra, Dick wanted to go farming like grandfather and uncle. The McArthur family has produced good wool on Strathclyde since 1863.
He showed little interest in books so left school at 16 to work as a rouseabout at Mt Aurum near Coronet Peak. Next he got a job working for Chappie Hore at Stonehenge near Ranfurly where he spent “four glorious years working as a farm boy.”
“Chappie was incredible. He was very good with livestock, dogs, horses and farm boys. He was very nice to me as a young man. “
Next he spent four years in West Otago learning about crossbreds working for Charlie Smith at Ben Koi. After Charlie died, Dick ran the place but it didn’t work out with the farm advisor.
The freezing works was looking for people so Dick spent a season there learning how to put on weight.
“We worked hard but we ate a lot too,” he recalls.
Dick and Beth had met while he was working at Chappy’s place. The romance had “settled in” and they were married on November 6 1965. The freezing works knew Dick was “a farm boy” so they asked him to work on their farm which he did until he and Beth took on a married couple’s job at Cave Hill at Herriot.
Three years later when the farm was sold Dick intended to get another married couple’s job but Beth wasn’t keen. Instead he started working for Wright Stephensons as a stock agent.
“They were eight glorious years working mainly from Alexandra to Lindis and down to Glenorchy. It is tremendous country and they are tremendous people.”
Life wasn’t so good for Beth because she had four children and Dick was never there at mealtimes. When he was at home, he was on the phone talking to clients.
Thomas Borthwicks and Son started trying to convince Dick to work for them as a lamb buyer. Beth knew they were chasing Dick and she was right behind them so she would see more of her husband. Eventually Dick confided in his good friend Bill Gibson asking what to do.
“He said ‘is it more money? You only have your labour to sell'. In fact it was very nearly double. The decision was made and it was very good advice.”
On 26 April 1975 Dick joined Borthwicks. But by June the freezing works for closed for the winter and Dick was lying around on the couch with nothing to do.
“It got to the stage where Beth would kick me as she went past to go and say 'do something'. I saw an ad in the paper ‘two open shearers looking for a presser’. I had worked in a woolshed once so rang the phone number.”
The two shearers were Brian Quinn and Jimmy Keenan. They knew Dick and decided to give him a try. That was the beginning of another “five glorious years” working with Brian and Jimmy in the freezing works off season from July to November.
“I had been developing a large weight excess as a stock agent but started losing quite a bit of sweat on the press. One day the assistant wool manager at Wrightsons in Dunedin Buck Gloag was watching me and asked ‘how long do you think you are going to be able to do that for? I was 37 so said ‘I will hang in here for a few years’. He said ‘you know what you should be – a wool classer.”
Dick had always loved wool so for several years he classed and pressed on several half bred properties, along the way earning a degree in hard knocks and experience. Eventually Buck offered to jack him up with a merino run.
It meant leaving his shearing mates but Dick was keen to take up the opportunity to class Bruce Paterson’s wool at Cairnmuir near Cromwell.
“Bruce was a wonderful merino man but he was nervous and I was nervous. We both rang Buck each night to see how I was going. I would be looking at the fleece and Bruce would be standing beside me. My table was a wool bale. I would be about to move to a bin having made up my mind what sort of fleece it was.
“Bruce would suck in his teeth saying 'that is a good one Dick'. I asked 'is it a good fine one, a good strong one or a good medium one?' Then I’d hope I had got the right one as I had immense respect for his knowledge of merino wool.
“We finished the shear and both waited anxiously for the sale results. I stayed there until they sold the place so I must have done alright.”
Dick’s run grew to include half breds at Nine Mile Station and merinos at Timburn and Walter Peak.
In 1992 Dick also started classing sheep. He had never thought New Zealand farmers would use a sheep classer because they are so independent. But visiting Australian classer Gordon McMaster paved the way, showing them the importance of stock selection and having someone independent providing an objective outside perspective.
Another Australian classer John Williams helped Dick get into sheep classing.
“He suggested to Bruce Paterson at Armidale and Robert Jopp at Moutere to use a local guy to do their commercial flock. They rang me after having a chat and asked me to class their merinos. In pretty strong terms both said it wasn’t because I was a wool classer because wool is only part of the total picture. Instead they valued my knowledge of livestock and of buying.”
Dick Croft at Omarama was another early client who helped Dick along, recommending him to other local farmers based on the results he achieved at Berwen.
“We had never met before but he said ‘I will give you five years. If you haven’t made any difference by then you are down the road. That is what I love about farmers. They tell it like it is.”
The workload at Borthwicks was getting bigger so in 2001 he decided to quit his job and have a go at making a living sheep and wool classing.
The accident means he is unable to service his clients at the moment but some have stepped forward, offering to class stock for free until he can get back on the job. Others are talking about altering their stock yards so Dick can still work there. Such is the measure of their respect for the man.
