New shed closes tragic chapter

The christening of a new woolshed this week helped a Masterton farming family put a tragic fire behind them.
The Wyeths celebrated the first day of shearing in their just-finished Upper Plain Road shed on Thursday, almost one year after a devastating blaze destroyed the previous building and burnt to death more than 500 sheep trapped inside.
Andrew Wyeth, son of farm owners Tony and Lynn Wyeth, said the family and the nine-strong shearing gang marked the occasion by lining up to drop their first shorn sheep down the portholes.
He said the moment came with "a special sense of achievement", following insurance setbacks and a race against time to finish the building before Thursday.
"They started building it in July and completed it at 8.30 the night before (Thursday)."
The new corrugated iron shed holds up to 1000 sheep 200 more than the last one and is fitted with brand new shearing machines, a compressed air gun to sweep the floor and an hydraulic wool press, replacing their old crank-handled press.
The first to use it was champion wool presser Jeremy Goodger, who gave his nod of approval.
"He said it was a privilege to work in the shed. To have a top gun like him say that was great. From what we found, it was quite a comfortable shed to work in."
A scorched loading ramp, the blackened remains of the old press and a few slabs of concrete remain the only physical tokens of the fire, which was ignited by an electrical fault at about 9pm on November 16.
It took Masterton and Carterton firefighters almost three hours to contain the blaze, which spared only 250 sheep, many of which were left badly burnt.
Water was pumped from nearby streams to douse the flames, which completely destroyed the 25-year-old lower level of the woolshed and a covered yard.
The next day, the carcasses of an estimated $50,000 worth of stock lay among smouldering corrugated iron and buckled steel.
Mr Wyeth said the outpouring of support that followed overwhelmed the family, who have farmed their "Brookley" block for three generations.
Local Farmer Doug Lamb, earth-moving contractor Nigel Croskery and former employee Brian Drysdale were quick to lend a hand, as were the neighbouring Patterson and Perry families, who offered the use of their own woolsheds.
"And then there was the Mauriceville Fire Brigade, the wool merchant Larry Connell& there are almost too many people to name."
The lost were sheep were replenished through breeding, and a reduced number of stock meant the family were less affected than others by last year's drought.
And although the Wyeths have moved on from the event, they still wish to commemorate it by planting trees above a nearby section of ground where the sheep were buried.
"It was pretty devastating and it would make a nice memorial to the sheep."