The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Brothers opened window into past, revealing daily life on land

By GAIL POPE - FROM THE MTG
Hawkes Bay Today·
11 May, 2018 09:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Illustrated Diary or Life in the Bush New Zealand was the work of brothers Frederick and Alfred (Steelpen) Chapman.

The Illustrated Diary or Life in the Bush New Zealand was the work of brothers Frederick and Alfred (Steelpen) Chapman.

Diaries provide the reader with a valuable window into the past.

Usually written in plain language, the writer often gives lively, fresh and intimate details about life. So much can be glimpsed within the closely written pages: hopes, worries, hardships, loves, losses and more.

In the museum's archive is a diary plainly titled: The Illustrated Diary or Life in the Bush New Zealand by brothers Alfred and Frederick Chapman.

During June to November 1854, Frederick Chapman kept this diary while his brother Alfred, whose non-de-plume was "Alfred Steelpen", illustrated it with pen and ink sketches.

In 1851, Alfred Chapman, Joseph Rhodes and William Rhodes applied for and obtained 25,000 acres (10,117 hectares) of land east of Otane, which they named Edenham.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The three men stocked the station with 1000 sheep, and Alfred, with the help of his brother Frederick, broke the property in and managed it.

Frederick's talents lay in animal husbandry and music. His main occupation was caring for and checking the whereabouts of the stock, which were continually disappearing because of the lack of fencing and density of bush.

Wild pigs and dogs, not averse to killing newly born animals and weaker stock, presented an even greater problem.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On one occasion nine sheep were found drowned in a creek which Frederick surmised had been "rushed in by a wild dog".

Almost daily Frederick went hunting for pigs carrying "the young fat ones fit for meat" back to the homestead while the older carcasses, used for dog meat, he retrieved at a later date.

The warmth of Frederick's words gives a telling picture of his close affinity with animals: including his faithful horse Nobs, the rooster he regretfully had to kill because "the pig bit it", and in particular his dog Polly which died after giving birth.

He was often called on to act as a veterinary surgeon, having to bleed a "sheep bad with tictic", and lancing the "swelled head & purse" of a sheep from which "nearly a pint of liquor" oozed.

His brother Alfred was an extremely talented artist, engineer and builder. He designed and constructed farm implements and tools such as sheep skin whips, pack saddles and dog kennels.

Alfred's engineering skills were evident in his design of a flour mill: the building of it was a joint contribution but it was Alfred who thatched the roof and erected a "flag staff up by the mill house, with a wind teller on the top".

The mill initially floundered because the sails were not large enough: undaunted by failure, Alfred merely enlarged and rehemmed the sails and altered the plan of the mill by "putting the sails on the mill itself".

Music was an important part of the brothers' daily lives. Both were competent at playing wind instruments: Frederick the cornopean or cornet, and Alfred the flute.

Frederick expressed this love for music when he described the excitement of collecting his cornet from Ahuriri, and "was much delighted to find the cornopean was such a good one".

Later that evening he "played a few tunes on the cornet for the first time". He would practise whenever he could: "milked the cows, & went after the sheep, took my cornopean with me to hear the echo on the hills".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Reading the Chapman diary and admiring the sketches allows you to experience an intimate glimpse into the rich tapestry of Frederick and Alfred's daily lives; how they lived together; how they spent their leisure hours and how they successfully managed and broke in the Edenham farm property.

• NZ Sign Language Taster Classes - Today, May 12, 9.30am - children under 13 years. 11am - adults (13+)
Spaces are limited to 30 people per class, please RSVP to events@mtghawkesbay.com

• Sign-interpreted Floor Talk - Today, May 12, 1pm-3pm
Suitable for families. Please meet in the MTG Main Foyer. Free poi-making workshop following the talk.

• Gail Pope is curator of social history at the Museum Theatre Gallery (MTG) Hawke's Bay.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes

The Country

Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury

The Country

Chris Hipkins ponders a grand coalition on The Country


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes
The Country

Watch: CCTV shows moment drug-driver caused tractor to crash into homes

Families were left homeless after the crash in the northern English city of Chester.

17 Jul 03:49 AM
Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury
The Country

Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury

17 Jul 02:26 AM
Chris Hipkins ponders a grand coalition on The Country
The Country

Chris Hipkins ponders a grand coalition on The Country

17 Jul 01:45 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP