Pole sitter descends

Press, 17 April 1978, Page 1

Pole sitter descends

When John Sheehan came down from a small wooden hut at the top of a pole at Darfield on Saturday evening, he had not only achieved his target of eight days up the pole but had raised more than $5OOO for the new Malvern Sports and Recreation Centre. When he went up the pole opposite the Darfield Hotel on April 7, Mr Sheehan, on leave from his job as a Central Canterbury Electric Power-Board line foreman, had intended to raise about $3OOO. He was thrilled with the response in donations and sponsorship. Tourists from Britain, Canada, and Australia were among his visitors, and there w’ere frequent visits from his family. Much of his time was occupied with

reading and taking calls on the telephone provided by the Post Office. Food and refreshments were hoisted up to him in a washing basket. His dinner was cooked by the Darfield Hotel, his lunch was prepared by the local tearooms, and Darfield people organised his breakfast. The strong nor’west wind on Thursday was the only unnerving experience Mr Sheehan could recall from his eight days up the pole. It had made the pole shake severely, he said.

Mr Sheehan said he had chosen pole-sitting as a fund-raiser as he did not think it had been done in the area before. Asked whether he would do it again, he said, “Not for a while.”