Bendigo is an intriguing story

Dust to Gold – The inspiring story of Bendigo Station, home of Shrek.

By John Perriam, photography by Stephen Jaquiery.

Random House, $49.

Reviewed by Jill Galloway.

All book royalties go to Cure Kids.

This book has some great photographs. But it is the story, and the writing, that make it really interesting.

The trip undertaken by John Perriam and his wife Heather, their journey from their small farm in Upper Clutha (drowned by the Clyde Dam) to the high-country Bendigo Station, is interesting and inspiring.

The book starts with the story of Shrek, the hermit sheep who shot to world fame when he was brought down from the high country after escaping shearing and mustering for years.

Surprisingly, he was brought down to the shed to be shorn, rather than "hit on the head" as is often the way with rogue hermit sheep.

Shrek became famous and now has his own abode.

Thankfully, Shrek makes up only a portion of this book and not a big part!

I found the trials and lessons of running Bendigo Station more interesting.

Perriam has been a mover and shaker one of the first behind merino fibre being used in high fashion.

He is naturally inquisitive, and rather than sending bales of wool off-farm and forgetting about them, he undertook to find out where the wool went, and what it was used for.

This was a most interesting part of the book.

It was a voyage of discovery of people from Japan, and from Italy and the business deals, the professional and personal friendships that were forged as a result.

They were entrepreneurial times, and Perriam had that streak in him.

He also stepped out of his comfort zone, and confronted bureaucracy and politics, and championed industry and community interests.

Many in the rural industry will know Perriam for that.

This is the story of some of those exploits.

Then there is the writing about the station and the people who worked there as shepherds, shearers and wool classers.

There are also great stories about the dogs.

Through radical transformation, Bendigo Station is now home to one of New Zealand's high-quality pinot noir vineyards, merino wool and public, ecological and historical reserves with walkways and recreational areas.

Stephen Jaquiery's photographs help tell the modern story.

The old pictures of rabbit carts, the shearers and shed hands, and the old homestead help illuminate Perriam's words.

The one criticism I have is that this is neither a coffee-table book nor one that invites a reader to go through from beginning to end.

However, it's well worth checking out the photographs, and reading all the words.

This is an intriguing story.

November 19 is the regional launch of Dust To Gold.

John Perriam will speak at the Rangitikei Club, Feilding 7pm, this Thursday. Tickets can be bought for $5 from Poppies.

- © Fairfax NZ News