When I was last in Masterton I came across a brass sculpture in one of the town precincts; it was of Russian Jack, who was the last swagman of the Wairarapa. It turns out we had our own Jack here at Ruamāhanga Farm. Our Jack was also a wanderer, who did fencing and other odd jobs on the farms in the South Wairarapa. Jack was staying in a hut when we first came to live here and somehow the name stuck. For many years, the hut stood empty and was rather sad, gathering dead flies and parts of our family story we couldn’t quite part with … a green wicker bassinet , a broken bag of concrete, a bronzed padded armchair with the stuffing pouring out, my brother’s assortment of bee keeping equipment and even a coffin my mother bought years ago at a local fair in preparation for her final departure.
After more than forty years away, I returned to live on the farm. As we have written about, we have travelled hopefully, fencing and excluding stock, planting natives and making paths through the wetlands and along the river. However, unstocked pasture grows prolifically along with gathering all manner of weeds, especially by a river. The fennel can reach triffid proportions and the endless job of path clearing and tree release have at times been dispiriting. To quell the rising sense of overwhelm and in the hope of attracting help, we began to envision a new life for Jack’s Hut. A chance meeting with heritage architect Chris Cochran, helped us appreciate the building’s historical value. It is typical of what was known back in the day as a single man’s quarters. The structure, circa 1930, was built of native timbers, had good bones and was both charming and practical; a large bathroom with a clawfoot bath, a generously sized bedroom with a teeny pot belly stove to cook on and a verandah perfectly positioned to avoid the wind and catch the sun.
Over the last year Jack’s Hut has been restored into a warm and nourishing place for travellers. Our first Jack’s hut occupants, aka WOOFers, have each stayed for more than a month and have shown not only a willingness towards the physical labour involved in helping new plantings survive but they have also brought their own creative voice which is shaping what we are doing. Adi came first. She is a sculptor and a painter and signs of her visit can be seen along the walkway and on the walls of Jack’s Hut.
As I sat down to write this blog post, I received an email. “Here is my new piece. I think it will be the last one.” It was from Mathieu, our second WOOFer. He is a classically trained pianist with experience in education and an interest in finding ways to bring art and his recent studies in ecology together … a natural fit for us. Mathieu has helped us host workshops for children and young people and story walks for adults. He has accompanied us on morning forays across the farm, experiencing the overwhelm of seeing endless mounds of thick grass and the relief of discovering and releasing tiny smothered trees, helping them spring back to life. His contributions will have a lasting effect, particularly the twelve pieces of music he composed during his time with us. Each piece brings to life the twelve poems and creation stories created by the Year 6 Montessori children at Southend school for their QR coded Journey of the Universe Calendar. See and listen via the QR codes on each page, here.
Mathieu leaves today and we are all feeling a little sad about that. What and who will come next? I wondered and then an exciting message came; “could I come with my friend in January ?” The message, another echo from the past, was from Lily, who I met more than ten years ago in London. She was seventeen then and a youth ambassador for Global Generation, the environmental charity I co-founded, which has influenced much of the work we are now doing here in the Wairarapa.
Whilst there are no longer wandering swagmen like Russian Jack, we are grateful for the growing number of people who could be viewed as the swagpeople of our times. People who work for short periods of time in rural areas in return for bed and board and then move on to another host. For many it is a considered and gentle way of getting to know both people and place or as Mathieu described; “staying in Jack’s hut was a way of encountering new perspectives, seeding new ideas and possibilities going forward’. You can read more about how it was from Mathieu’s perspective here. We are thrilled that some of Jack’s Huts inhabitants, like Adi, are returning to be with us during the coming year, so our collaboration and mutual learning can continue to grow.
