When Collie Hancock's grandparents, Peter and Emma, emigrated from Staffordshire (England) in 1880 to Stratford, the population of the pioneer settlement was 90. Peter was a quarry worker and came out to work on the developing railroad. They had 13 children and lived in the old house which is still standing just south of the Pioneer Village. Of the nine children who survived to adulthood (including Collie's father Herbert), eight have descendants still living in Stratford.
Both Collie and his wife Celia have a long association with St Joseph's Convent in Stratford. Collie's mother, Ida (nee Satler), was a pupil, and two of Celia's aunties were first day pupils. Celia and her 12 siblings travelled by train from Midhirst to attend St Joseph's. Collie and Celia's great-grandchildren now attend the school, representing the fifth generation of the family to do so.
Although Collie and Celia attended the school and Catholic church around the same time, they didn't actually get to know each other until after leaving high school. Herbert died when Collie was 14 and Ida managed the farm on Pembroke Road single-handed until Collie turned 15 and left school to take over. He was paid the princely sum of 3 per week, milking 50 cows on 90 acres. The milk was taken to the Pembroke factory two miles up the road by way of a wagon pulled by two horses. Milk tankers were introduced around 1960 when the factory amalgamated with Stratford.
Farming would have been impossible without the horses, which were used for ploughing and haymaking too. Collie was building hay stacks and driving the hay rake from a very young age. He recalls one particular hot summer when he was convinced a hay stack was going to burn, so Arthur Wicksteed from up the road brought down his stationary baler and they forked the hot hay into it. The bales were left out to cool properly before being stacked away and there wasn't a single musty one. The only job Collie didn't do in the hay paddock was leading the horses, as that was considered a job for ladies and old men! Celia's sisters had the job on the Schumacher farm and wore muslin for protection from the sun.
Collie's sister Dorrie was doing a commercial course at the convent, which was shorthand and typing for girls who didn't want to go to high school. The Stratford stationmaster asked the nuns if there was a suitable girl to come and work in the railway station office and Dorrie was offered the job. She was the only female there among 70 men!
Collie and Celia were married in 1953 and lived in the old house, built around 1890, where they raised seven children and farmed together for nearly 40 years. They sharemilked for a few years, gradually increasing the herd size to 120. The original walk-through cowshed had six bails but only three sets of cups and eventually Collie built a herringbone shed (by himself). The first time Celia set foot in it, she took one look at the imposing view above and decided her milking days were over.
When he was 18, Collie had decided a bridge was required over the Gentle Annie which ran through the farm and often flooded. He consulted the enterprising Arthur Wicksteed
who was only too happy to help out. Arthur had engineered a form of hydro power to run his farm, as well as a cowshed washing system. After banking up the water behind a board, he then released it after milking, which effectively washed all the effluent into the river!
Where the river swept around a corner on the Hancock farm, metal was thrown into a heap and Arthur said there was enough there to build the piers. The Pembroke factory was discarding a wooden whey tank which had totara boards 18 ft long. Ida put in a bid for 25 and got the lot. Dorrie was able to secure unwanted railway irons through her job, and the bridge was built in no time with Arthur acting as engineer and Collie and his brother Tudy mixing the concrete. Tudy lived on Opunake Road and rode his horse through farmland and across the Patea River to Collie's property. Apart from a replacement deck, the bridge today is in original condition and is strong enough to withstand fertiliser trucks.
When Collie's horse-drawn top dresser broke down, he contacted Gary Curd, who drove a GMC (ex army truck) manure spreader for Taranaki Bulk Topdressers. Collie wanted 5 ton applied at 3cwt to the acre and asked Gary how much that would cost. Gary told him to ensure a few neighbours would be present to watch him do the job next morning, as no-one on Pembroke Road had ever applied fertiliser by truck. Next day Alec Robson, Don McCracken and Ernie Aldridge witnessed the display which Gary carried out to the last teaspoon of Collie's calculations. The following year, several farmers in the area switched to truck application. Using the horses was time-consuming and back-breaking as it involved lifting 180lb bags up off the ground into the spreader.
Celia's family maintains she makes the best mince pies in the world. Not so long ago, their three-year-old grandson was in a café with his mum who asked him if he wanted a meat pie. ``Only if Nana made it,'' was his reply. Quick as a flash, the chap behind the counter said, ``Yes , Nana made these ones.'' Celia has never bought pastry, preferring to make it herself. For the featured mince recipe she doubles the pastry ingredients to make around the dozen pies, which can be frozen and used as required. She said her `apprentice', Collie, is very good, but he says it's what Celia puts in the mince which makes the pies so tasty.
Marvellous Mince Pies
To 800g of mince, add finely chopped onions, carrots and salt, with a dash of port (or any red wine) and the following sauces; Bit on the Side, black and tomato sauces and curry, in fact any preferred flavourings. Simmer until tender, thicken with cornflour and water and leave overnight.
Put a small amount in pastry-lined patty tins, cover with pastry lid and bake at 200 15-20 minutes.
Flaky Pastry
225g flour
tsp salt
175g butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Cold water to mix to a stiff dough
Sift flour and salt. Chop in the butter, add water and lemon juice gradually, mixing well.
Roll out about 5mm thick and fold the pastry by bringing side edges to middle, then the top and bottom edges to the middle; fold in half and press edges together. When rolling out next time, repeat the folding process. Allow pastry to stand in a cold place (covered) for at least an hour before using.
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