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Where the Nor’Wester Blows: Roland and Betty Clark of Staveley by Bee Dawson

Updated: Nov 4



Respected social historian and author Bee Dawson turns her attention to her own family—her parents, Roland and Betty Clark—in this well-produced and well-written hardback.


Roland Clark was famous as the popular columnist ‘Nor’Wester,’ where he produced monthly columns that were a highlight for farming families for over twenty years. He and Betty farmed in mid-Canterbury from the 1950s to the 1980s.


This biography covers their early years in Ireland and Australia, in the Queensland outback, and then the Second World War years when Roland served as a Special Operations Executive in the Mediterranean, and Betty served as a physiotherapist in the Australian Army. They married and came to New Zealand in 1958, and as complete novices, they began farming.


This is a beautiful tribute to her industrious and charming parents, but Bee has also recreated for the reader what life was like in rural New Zealand in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Bee draws extensively on her father’s columns, interspersing his lively words into the chapters, which gives the book a freshness and immediacy that enhances the overall reading experience.


Where the Nor’Wester Blows lovingly chronicles family and farming life, and local and social history in this excellent book published by Quentin Wilson Publishing. It’s a must-have for anyone interested in our rural farming history or anyone interested in reading about two remarkable people – Roland and Betty Clark.



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