Spectrum was a long-running weekly radio documentary series which captured the essence of New Zealand from 1972 to 2016. Alwyn Owen and Jack Perkins produced the series for many years, creating a valuable library of New Zealand oral history.
Bob Edwards provides a detailed account of his days and experiences as a swaggie and bushman in 1920's Southland and Wairarapa. At the time of the recording Edwards lived on the East Coast and recounted his life to Jack Perkins.
Edwards was born in Southland. He describes working alongside his father, a bushman, doing contracting or mining timber for a small wage. He describes his father kindness in paying his men well, and not taking a large cut for himself.
He describes how to correctly fell a tree. He describes the qualities of a good bushman, including their first aid knowledge, moral codes and clean living. The camp especially was well cared for. He remembers Charlie Moore, who had a steel hook for his right hand, warning a fellow man for using bad language.
Bushmen could rarely afford to buy alcohol, though sometimes brewed their own. Edwards describes making mataī beer from felled mataī. The liquid from the felled trees was collected in billy cans, sometimes with a handful of raisins, and left to ferment. It created a strong drink and was highly prized.
Edwards remembers the McCrae family who started a whiskey still in the Hokonui Hills. He tells the story of a man named Black who married the daughter of Mr McCrae. When Black sold her family out to local policemen in the valley, he was killed by his wife. It was the Lora Gorge murder.
During the Depression Edwards tramped north to the East Coast. The Wairarapa east coast was popular with swaggies. He also recalls his friend Dick, a colourful and well-known character. Dick once who scorned the hospitality of a woman who offered them scones, which was against the swaggie’s strict moral code. He lists the swaggie’s standard equipment and notes that they we’re subject to prejudices from people who saw them as lazy, which he says wasn’t accurate. He observes that ultimately, one’s needs are small and that there is great pleasure to be had in simple things. He ends with his song ‘Restless Feet’.