Russell Heckler - A job well done

From JP and Waitaki District councillor to Lakes District Museum chairman, Arrowtown MenzShed founder and go to ‘Wasp Man’, Russell Heckler is a humble, no fuss and tireless community contributor.

Even in his supposed ‘retirement’ he enjoys his twice daily Arrowtown Wakatipu High School bus run, a fierce advocate for the “great kids” he carries on board. “The Arrowtown students are very good, I enjoy them,” he says. Besides, after more than 40 years farming you can’t sit idle. “It gets me going in the morning,” he grins.

The eldest of five kids, Russell was born in 1946, growing up on the family’s Stoneburn farm, in East Otago. They rode ponies to the two-teacher Dunback School in summer, swimming in the Shag River on the way home. High school years were spent boarding at Waitaki Boys.

Fun holidays were had at the family’s Merioneth Street crib in Arrowtown from the late 1950s, skating, and skiing at a very basic Coronet Peak Skifield using rope and nutcracker tows. “There was only a bit of a cafeteria serving hot canned tomato soup or pies,” he says. They rowed, fished and swam on Lake Hayes in summer and explored for miles beyond Macetown and around Moke Lake in his dad’s farm Land Rover, walking the heady heights of the irrigation pipeline up the Arrow River. “Gee, you wouldn’t be allowed to do that now,” he says.

Movies screened in the hall during Christmas holidays, with the chairs then stacked away and dances held, featuring bands like Invercargill’s ‘The Satellites’. “Mrs Dudley, from Dudley’s Cottage, had the milk bar, ex-mayor Jack Reid had a dairy and Alec Hamilton had the general store, the only shops in the main street.”

After two years working on farms in Clinton and mid-Canterbury Russell did a Diploma of Agriculture at Lincoln College. “They were among some of the best two years of my life”, Russell grins, preferring not to share why.

He also met his wife of 54 years, Denise, in Christchurch, before he and his younger brother bought a Balfour farm, with help from their dad, when Russell was 22. There were the usual challenges, like the flood of 1978 that saw their access bridge washed out, forcing them to ford the river for several months.

Russell and Denise then bought a farm at Dunback on the Pig Route between Palmerston and Ranfurly where they raised their three daughters and farmed for 30 years. There were the usual trials and tribulations, like serious droughts, but nothing fazes Russell. “You just have to farm around them,” he says.

Russell was president of the Waihemo Collie Club as a dog triallist, and of the Dunback Tennis Club, both of which he’s a Life Member. He served several terms on the Waitaki District Council during the 1990s and became a Justice of the Peace in 1995.

In 2010 Russell and Denise, a high school teacher, retired, their childhood holiday love of Arrowtown beckoning. Denise had also grown up with a family crib there.

“We just loved the weather up here,” Russell says.

Within a few years Russell had joined the Arrowtown Bowling Club, and was president for several years, and the board of the Lakes District Museum, which he’s chaired for the last four years. Local history is a passion and with long-time director David Clarke at the helm they oversaw the massive multi-million-dollar earthquake strengthening redevelopment.

A farmer’s tools can’t be wasted, and Russell didn’t have room for all of his when he retired off the farm, so he thought he’d put them all to good use. He called a meeting in 2016 to gauge interest for an Arrowtown MenzShed after seeing the concept in Australia. The other blokes were keen and although it took four years to battle their way through the consents and red tape MenzShed volunteers were soon in demand doing odd jobs and working on community projects all over the basin. They now have 50 members, including a growing women’s group using their shed adjacent to the camping ground. “I get great satisfaction out of seeing MenzShed being used and seeing what these ladies have achieved,” Russell says.

Russell’s also doubled as a limo driver and is probably best known for taking on the most undesirable role in the community – ‘Wasp Man’, which he does for free. Wasp wings shudder when they see him arrive with his bucket of blitzing powder, which used to be supplied by the Queenstown Lakes District Council. Red tape tried to get in the way there too. “The council wouldn’t supply it anymore as I didn’t fit their health and safety regulations, so I sourced it in Auckland and Arrowtown Village Association now pays,” he says. It’s not always a thankless task. Occasionally Russell receives the odd gin or wine.

Not surprisingly, he was awarded Arrowtown’s Unsung Hero Award this year for a job well done.