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The guest speaker at the Warkworth Fellowship (ex-Probus) Club was Ralph Neville (pictured), who reflected on growing up in Matakana and Omaha.
Ralph was born in the Omaha Valley in 1951 and grew up on a 40-hectare farm. There were about 12 dairy farms in the district then, each with 30 to 40 cows. Most also grew and sold vegetables to visitors. His house was built in 1930 of untreated pine. There were five children in the family and most of their spare time was spent outdoors. In the 1960s, amalgamation of farms was taking place, with more and more housing being built. Many farms were subdivided into four-hectare blocks. At school, the school buses often broke down and the day was spent boating.
Despite all the changes, Ralph concluded it was still a great place to live. For information about Warkworth Men’s Fellowship Club, phone Bill Speed on 425 8414.
Contributed
