ONE ARM NO HANDICAP

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30289, 15 November 1963, Page 8

ONE ARM NO HANDICAP

[Specially written for "The ’ Press" by. J. SIERS] Mr lan Maxwell must be one of the most remarkable farmers in New Zealand today. He manages one of the toughest high-country runs—the Lilly Bank station at the head of Lake Tekapo. in the Mackenzie Country. And for most of the year he does it alone and with only one arm. M r Maxwell lost the use of his right arm as a youngster, in a shearing accident. Now, he prides himself on being able to do everything a man with two arms can do and often, according to his boss, Mr Allan Dick, M.P. for Waitaki, he can do it better.

On a recent visit to the station, I noticed how Mr Maxwell, who is 27, goes about everyday tasks with complete confidence. He drives a big truck, which has no special fittings, over the rough riverbed and sometimes over the swollen Macaulay river, changing gears without losing steering or speed; dexterously, he rolls cigarettes; he can shear sheep; and he shoots a rifle with the help of a special unipod he designed and made himself. The unipod is telescopic, but when Mr Maxwell is stalking, he folds it against the rifle. Mr Maxwell is superbly fit

and he loves the open spaces and the steep mountain sides of the area. Where others would find it difficult to cope with two arms, he finds the tough job a manageable handful.