President from historic mountain run

Press, 18 March 1988, Page 16

President from historic mountain run

Mt Whitnow, nestled under the Puketeraki Rmge in the foothills of tie Southern Alps, is home for Grant Calder, tr is year’s president of tl e Hawarden show. Mt Whitnow is one of Canterbury’s historic high country runs and according to Peter Newtdn’s book, “High Country Journey,” it was once c immonly known as the “What-no” run. Grant and his wife, Robyn, are keen high cpuntry people. Grant Ras lived on Mt Whitnow since 1963 when his parents took over the run. '[Today, Mt Whitnow covers 5238 hectares backing on to the Mt White country and includes the tops of the Puketeraki Range which rise to some 2000 metres. At prsent, Mt Whitnow carries 7500 dry Merino sheep, 130 cojws, 100 steers for fattening, and about 30 deer. 1 | Robyn has a flock of .iround 100 | [coloured sheep and some angora rabbits. She has a keen interest in sheep and some time ago started judging with the Young Farmers’ Club and progressed to national level. I One of the few women jo have judged sheep at a KShbw (Palmerston in 1986), ; she was Recently invited to be one of the two judges at the World Coloured E Sheep conference in the Nnited States next year. Grant says his main obby is working with uogs. He has won two New Zealand dbg trial championships as well as one North Island and two South Island championships. Grant says that his dog team on Mt Whitnow is

above average. This may well be an understatement considering the breed came from Molesworth in 1901. He says that his grandfather and father worked hard to keep the breed strong. “Both my father and I have put a lot of work into teaching young people to work with dogs in an effort; to improve the standard of farm dogs.” Grant has also competed twice jin the Television Dog Show. Grant and Robyn do most of the! farm work themselves, including the mustering which takes from eight [to 10 days. They say that most, of the work on the run is done on horseback. ■ For many years Mt Whitnow has been known for its Halftjred ewes, but during the last four years Grant has | changed ; the flock to the; present Merinos owing; to their fine wool. ; Devil’s Den Block on Mt Whitnow is I wellknown for (shooting and its old hut (was the onetime home; of Anthony Pilcher who later produced a small book of high country ; verse, “Venison for Breakfast.” Recently, the Calders were involved in a film about working dogs of the world which is being made by the National Geographic Society. The filming on| Mt Whitnow was done by the. wellknown !. Australian cameraman, Mike Dillon. The Calders have two boys. Duncan is working on a farm prior to going to Lincoln College, and Robert is school in Christchurch. Grant says that the boys love the high country and, like their parents, they have no desire to move into a city to live. j “As a family, we are not discouraged by the extremes of high country weather or by the distance and rough roads which separate us from the larger settlements,” Grant says.