Old time drovers who helped shape our nation

The old time drovers who moved stock around the country and helped shaped a nation.
Allan Crawford and his droving crew snatch some lunch along the route to Paparoa in 1984. by Shaun Reilly.

Author Ruth Entwistle Low has explored the history of droving  in her new book "On the Hoof, the Untold story of drovers in New Zealand".

Her research reveals how the pioneering early drovers forged new routes - including moving the very first sheep off the early ships and taking them across untamed land to farms in other regions.

She also interviewed 60 retired drovers who recalled their days shifting stock around the country - often on horseback.

Drover Bill Pullen and horses.

Ruth Entwistle Low talks to Lynn Freeman along with former drover, Jack Curtis - who began his career in Gisborne at the age of 10, in 1947.