- This is about Jock Atkins. Our old roadman
who did a great job on the Akatarawa Road for half a century.
His rewards were not great. I thought it would be nice to put
this up so he is not entirely forgotten.
Jock Atkins 1909 - 1997
Jock Atkins was, for 50 years, a roadman
on the Akatarawa Road. A character, an eccentric and a toiler.
Jock never had a day's sick leave or
been laid up all of his working life. He was dedicated to
the job and frequently cleared slips from the Akatarawa Road
even at the weekend and in the evenings so that the locals
could get through.
Jock died in 1997 at Horowhenua Hospital.
For 50 years he daily traversed the hilly Akatarawa Road on
his bicycle with an accompanying dog and shovel to clear slips,
drains and culverts.
Jock retired from his job 31 March
1982 but was initially denied a retirement grant of 26 weeks
pay which his long service would normally have entitled him
to because he had not been with the Upper Hutt City Council
for 10 years.
Mr Atkins started his long stint on
the Akatarawa Road with the Public Works Department and was
transferred from the employ of the Hutt County Council to
Upper Hutt City Council with a boundary adjustment in 1973.
After some hesitation, the Upper Hutt City Council recognised
that there was an anomaly in Jock's case and sought legislation
through the Minister of Local Government at the time, Mr Highet,
so they could pay him the maximum retirement grant of 26 weeks
pay under the Gardeners and Labourers Award. He eventually
got what he was entitled to, $4,212 - he was originally offered
only $500.
Jock was a real hard case, he lived
in a one room shanty with few amenities and little other company,
except for his black dog and an old horse called Para (Parachute,
a retired race horse), although it was rumoured locally (but
unverified) that he did, from time to time, have some female
company and had been married at some stage
-
.
At work on the road, Jock was, apparently,
immune to the honks and greetings from passing motorists. He had
the habit of carrying on shovelling and supposedly ignoring passing
traffic but through the rear vision mirror one could see him stooped
over, looking under his arm to see who had passed, whether they
honked or not.
He also had a very short fuse which apparently
got him into a bit of strife from time to time, both with his
neighbours and the local constables.
Old Jock, as he was affectionately known
in spite of his shy and somewhat abrasive character, was a collector
of old Mini Minor cars, probably for spare parts, to keep his
own old "Morry" going.
On his retirement, Jock received a congratulations
letter from the Prime Minister, Mr Robert Muldoon.
Soon after retirement, Jock moved, along
with his horse and dog, from his shack north of Moss Green Garden,
17km. from Brown Owl, up the Akatarawa Road, to a small cottage
on a corner section (next to a Mrs Spillar and opposite the railway
subway) in Manukau Horowhenua. He proceeded to build a number
of sheds to house his horse etc. - improvements not entirely appreciated
by his neighbours!
Locals also said he had a near obsession
which compelled him to paint the cottage roof very often, a situation
completely out of keeping with the appearance of the rest of the
cottage, shed and section and his age - he was in his eighties!
A keen horse racing fan all his life. Jock
was a regular at Foxton races where he seemed to be well known
and it is perhaps from this association that his acquaintance
with Robert Muldoon stemmed.
Sometime in 1996 Jock became ill and was
admitted to Horowhenua Hospital. He was there for some time and
was visited once a week by his next door neighbour, Mrs Spillar,
who brought him sweets etc.. She was on occasions, roundly told
off if she missed a visit. Mrs Spillar's kindness was in spite
of her dissatisfaction over many years at the state of Jock's
section.
Jock died in 1997, 88 years of age. The
locals put on a very nice funeral and he was seen off well. Although
Jock was obviously a character and different from most, the funeral
was in keeping with New Zealand rural tradition and was extremely
well attended. Some months after his death, Mrs Spillar received
a very unexpected cheque for $200 from Jock's estate.
The house in Manukau was purchased from
the estate in 1998 for refurbishment and resale by Mr Tony Beaumont.
The dog, horse, sheds and all outward signs of Jock are now gone.
But what does survive, is the memory of Jock and the remnants
of the improvements to the Akatarawa Road that he made. The results
of the hard sweat and toil of conscientious work with pick, shovel
and bicycle. A little stone wall here, a neat culvert entry there,
a deep ditch yonder, an old drain that still works and that little
waterfall that he was working on. There was little call and even
less response for noisy, expensive equipment then.
For those of us that still remember Jock,
most would like to believe that the road was better then. It's
still worthwhile to give a honk. He is probably round the next
bend.
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