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Packing Wool from Cascade to Jackson Bay
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DescriptionI recall a conversation I had with Uncle Bill about sheep farming in the Cascade. He said it was the brain child of his uncle, Paddy Nolan, and they ran three hundred ewes. The attrition rate was so high that the herd size never increased.
The sheep were blade shorn and Bill said they were up half the night sewing up the wool sacks with flax and that it was a mission to get the sacks balanced on the horses. They set off very early in the morning with the team and rested at the Heveldt homestead at Arawhata before the step climb over the hill and into the bay. They then returned to Cascade and bought another load out and stayed the night at Arawhata, returning to Cascade early the next morning to bring out several more loads. I can't recall how many trips they did but it was a huge feat.
The wool was stored in a shed at the Bay and each wool bag had to be undone and put into a wool press. Bill said the sandflies were horrendous and they couldn't tie their horses up, the horses went into the bush and rubbed on trees to get rid them. One particular day the horses went into the sea and swam around to Neils Beach, he thought they were trying to get away from the sandflies. Pressing the wool was a hard task and eventually they did this job at night by candlelight when then were no sandflies.
Once the wool had been pressed the wool bales were loaded into a row boat and taken out to the ship.
When Paddy sold his share of the farm to Dinny they decided that sheep farming was not viable and they would get rid of the sheep. Dinny was adamant they were worth a bit of money and insisted they be sent to Greymouth by ship to be sold. Driving a large herd out on the rocky and muddy track and swimming them over rivers was no mean feat. The trip took two days and by the time they got to Jackson Bay some of the sheep had such sore feet they were walking on their knees.
A yard was erected on the beach in the Bay and the sheep were manhandled into a row boat and taken out to the ship. Bill drew the short straw and had to oversee the sale of them. By the time they landed up the Coast everyone knew the story and they never received one bid.
I am so grateful for the time I spent talking with Uncle Bill and it is a privilege to be able to share some of his memories.Map[1] ContributorNeroli Nolan
The sheep were blade shorn and Bill said they were up half the night sewing up the wool sacks with flax and that it was a mission to get the sacks balanced on the horses. They set off very early in the morning with the team and rested at the Heveldt homestead at Arawhata before the step climb over the hill and into the bay. They then returned to Cascade and bought another load out and stayed the night at Arawhata, returning to Cascade early the next morning to bring out several more loads. I can't recall how many trips they did but it was a huge feat.
The wool was stored in a shed at the Bay and each wool bag had to be undone and put into a wool press. Bill said the sandflies were horrendous and they couldn't tie their horses up, the horses went into the bush and rubbed on trees to get rid them. One particular day the horses went into the sea and swam around to Neils Beach, he thought they were trying to get away from the sandflies. Pressing the wool was a hard task and eventually they did this job at night by candlelight when then were no sandflies.
Once the wool had been pressed the wool bales were loaded into a row boat and taken out to the ship.
When Paddy sold his share of the farm to Dinny they decided that sheep farming was not viable and they would get rid of the sheep. Dinny was adamant they were worth a bit of money and insisted they be sent to Greymouth by ship to be sold. Driving a large herd out on the rocky and muddy track and swimming them over rivers was no mean feat. The trip took two days and by the time they got to Jackson Bay some of the sheep had such sore feet they were walking on their knees.
A yard was erected on the beach in the Bay and the sheep were manhandled into a row boat and taken out to the ship. Bill drew the short straw and had to oversee the sale of them. By the time they landed up the Coast everyone knew the story and they never received one bid.
I am so grateful for the time I spent talking with Uncle Bill and it is a privilege to be able to share some of his memories.Map[1] ContributorNeroli Nolan
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Location (city or town)CascadeHaastEventPacking Wool from Cascade to Jackson Bay
Category Information
Category Tagfarming
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CommentsSue Dixon
Lovely story.They sure worked hard in those days.
Jane Blakeman
Oh my goodness such hard times we have no idea!
Rhonda Glasson
There days were very hard
Kathryn Bennie
Thank you for sharing, loved reading this
Paul Robin
A tough life then for sure…
Dorothy Wills
Thank you for sharing such hardships would be unrecognised these days
Pete Lusk
Tough times
Tony Brunt
Helluva story.
Roger O'Regan
What a great story. Things don't change a lot sometimes. My brother, before he left the farm at The Landing sold 30 lambs to the works in Nelson. When there were killed, and all charges subtracted from the price, he was left with a small Bill to pay. H… How generous they waived the cost! He got zilch.
Heather Newby
Roger O'Regan out of 30 lambs,, he got nothing,, poor guy,, all that work for nothing
Dave Hamilton
Heather Newby My aunty Amy told me farming conditions could be tough on the coast and profit margins slim. But those conditions didn't stop inland revenue department offices visiting from Christchurch looking for "hidden money." They once were asked to account for a deficit of 4 sheep in a herd of many thousand.
Eve Nissen
Awesome story thankyou for sharing
Jan Page
Great story ,thankyou so much xx
Judith Johnston
They sure hard in those days aye
Dave Hamilton
My grandmother told me about her father working in that area in the 1890s.
The sandflies were so bad that the men had to cover all exposed skin with silk stockings.
Heather Newby
Dave Hamilton when we were camping at Jackson Bay in 1965 you couldnt stand still for more than a couple of minutes without being covered in sandflies.. but when my hubby and i stayed at Haast in 2014 there were hardly any sandflies
Dave Hamilton
Heather Newby I was at Milford sound in August 1968. There were abundant sandflies in spite of the rain.
Heather Newby
Dave Hamilton the other place that is bad for sandflies is Lyell.
Dave Hamilton
Heather Newby I'll take your word for it. I am not familiar with Lyell.
Dave Hamilton
Heather Newby It does seem you have some intelligent animals down that way. I was intrigued to find cattle that could read, and presumably obey signs.
May be an image of nature, road and text that says 'CATTLE STOP 30'
Veronica Moore
Dave Hamilton Great Story,see they rested at my dad's home The Heveldts on their journey.
Jock Allen
Tough Buggers those days and the HORSES
Jock Allen
While on Horses did anyone witness Mark Todd BEAT that poor horse it is pity that the horse didn't give himm BOTH HOOVES How would he go if somebody whacked him with a stick
Kerry Molloy
the days when real men and hard work were synonymous ,unlike a lot of what is mislabelled in this day and age,by those in and around a certain sheepshed or maimai (take ya pick)
Martin James
What year was this? My great grandfather was John Joseph Heveldt from up the Turnbull River.
Rata Charlton
Awesome story, thanks for sharing
Mary Prendergast
Hi Neroli. Might be time for a memoir.
Lovely story.They sure worked hard in those days.
Jane Blakeman
Oh my goodness such hard times we have no idea!
Rhonda Glasson
There days were very hard
Kathryn Bennie
Thank you for sharing, loved reading this
Paul Robin
A tough life then for sure…
Dorothy Wills
Thank you for sharing such hardships would be unrecognised these days
Pete Lusk
Tough times
Tony Brunt
Helluva story.
Roger O'Regan
What a great story. Things don't change a lot sometimes. My brother, before he left the farm at The Landing sold 30 lambs to the works in Nelson. When there were killed, and all charges subtracted from the price, he was left with a small Bill to pay. H… How generous they waived the cost! He got zilch.
Heather Newby
Roger O'Regan out of 30 lambs,, he got nothing,, poor guy,, all that work for nothing
Dave Hamilton
Heather Newby My aunty Amy told me farming conditions could be tough on the coast and profit margins slim. But those conditions didn't stop inland revenue department offices visiting from Christchurch looking for "hidden money." They once were asked to account for a deficit of 4 sheep in a herd of many thousand.
Eve Nissen
Awesome story thankyou for sharing
Jan Page
Great story ,thankyou so much xx
Judith Johnston
They sure hard in those days aye
Dave Hamilton
My grandmother told me about her father working in that area in the 1890s.
The sandflies were so bad that the men had to cover all exposed skin with silk stockings.
Heather Newby
Dave Hamilton when we were camping at Jackson Bay in 1965 you couldnt stand still for more than a couple of minutes without being covered in sandflies.. but when my hubby and i stayed at Haast in 2014 there were hardly any sandflies
Dave Hamilton
Heather Newby I was at Milford sound in August 1968. There were abundant sandflies in spite of the rain.
Heather Newby
Dave Hamilton the other place that is bad for sandflies is Lyell.
Dave Hamilton
Heather Newby I'll take your word for it. I am not familiar with Lyell.
Dave Hamilton
Heather Newby It does seem you have some intelligent animals down that way. I was intrigued to find cattle that could read, and presumably obey signs.
May be an image of nature, road and text that says 'CATTLE STOP 30'
Veronica Moore
Dave Hamilton Great Story,see they rested at my dad's home The Heveldts on their journey.
Jock Allen
Tough Buggers those days and the HORSES
Jock Allen
While on Horses did anyone witness Mark Todd BEAT that poor horse it is pity that the horse didn't give himm BOTH HOOVES How would he go if somebody whacked him with a stick
Kerry Molloy
the days when real men and hard work were synonymous ,unlike a lot of what is mislabelled in this day and age,by those in and around a certain sheepshed or maimai (take ya pick)
Martin James
What year was this? My great grandfather was John Joseph Heveldt from up the Turnbull River.
Rata Charlton
Awesome story, thanks for sharing
Mary Prendergast
Hi Neroli. Might be time for a memoir.
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West Coast New Zealand History (17th Feb 2022). Packing Wool from Cascade to Jackson Bay. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 6th Apr 2026 20:00, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/30652