History – Shepherd’s folly

Port Albert storekeeper John Shepherd served on the Provincial Council for two terms before representing the Albert riding on the newly formed Rodney Council in 1877. Following in his footsteps, his son John Alfred Shepherd first represented the Albert riding in 1911. He saw first-hand the struggles early settlers had with travelling on muddy, clay roads that were easily destroyed by horses and wagons, and described by locals as ‘three feet wide and two feet deep’.

In the 1880s to 1890s, New Zealand experienced a long depression, which had a profound effect on council spending, leaving little money to make significant improvements to roads and bridges in the area. Alternately, roads were closed and by-laws introduced that only allowed two horses or four bullocks to be used when carrying a load, or to make it an offence to go faster than walking pace when crossing a bridge.

The Wellsford Railway Station was completed in 1909 and all roads leading to the station came under scrutiny, with a large part of the Council Roading Budget allocated to their development and maintenance. Then came the onset of World War I in 1914, which took many young men overseas to fight. When John Alfred was elected Chairman of Rodney Council in 1917, changes were afoot, with a transition from horse and buggy to the motor age adding even more stress to the local roads.

Shepherd’s vision was for council to have its own motor transport and more machinery to repair the roads, so he persuaded his fellow councillors to purchase an AEC lorry and a 10-ton Austin steam roller.

These purchases were followed closely by a tractor, a portable stone crusher and a pile-driving plant, which came at a huge cost with a significant increase in council expenditure and loans raised to cover their cost.

This did not sit well with the more conservative members, who feared that this was not a good thing in an expanding post-war economy. While not entirely the fault of Shepherd, he was made a convenient scapegoat and defeated at the next election in November 1920 by his own brother-in-law, George E. Thompson. This was a rather sad demise for someone who had dedicated much of his life to local politics for the betterment of his district.

In the museum’s own history book, ‘Albertland’, we read that the 10-ton Austin steam roller purchased by Shepherd and his councillors became known locally as ‘Shepherd’s Folly’. When we search for the meaning of ‘folly’ we find it to be a ‘foolish action, mistake or idea’. It would appear that the fault did not lie with the roller itself but with the fact the bridges in the district could not carry its weight. Perhaps an important detail that should not have been overlooked when considering such a large purchase!