Arduous Southland conditions forced move to warmer area In the 1860s the South Island of New Zealand offered only farming work to newcomers who arrived without means, and to fed his wife and family David Gordon senior cheerfully took employment as a ploughman, despite the fact that he was a practised sheepman. His powerful frame made the handling of a ploughing team easy, although there were time when his wife and younger children spent the night without his protection. Not very often, but often enough, a ploughman would cease his days work so far from home that he would prefer to spend the night on the spot rather than make the long journey to join his family for the night, with the prospect of another slog back to his team before dawn. Twenty years in the coldest portion of New Zealand took its toll of David Gordon senior, who developed severe disabilities from time to time. The time came when his family prevailed upon him to seek a warmer climate in the north. HARD TASK It was no light task to get the family on the move , willing as all were to make the change. Nor was it easy to find the kind of work which would enable him to support his brood. He did not want to live in a city, and had no experience of work away from the land. There was abit of Scottish luck, the Gordon thought, when David senior was offered employment on the East Coast helping to operate a cheese factory. Optimism ran high in the family in the face of this prospect, and was only slightly dampened by the first sight of their new home. This was a rough building standing back from the beach at one of the bays between East Cape and Optiki, surrounded by roughly cleared land on which grazed large numbers of cattle. From the production of these cattle was manufactured cheese which at intervals was sent to Auckland by schooner. The owner of this set-up was a man named Seccombe, an Aucklander who had induced a number of Maori families to buy nerds in the expectation that they would pay off the costs from the profits of dairying. Seccombe felt that he had full command of the situation, and with some reason; for only he could call in a boat from a passing ship to pick up passengers or cargo. When he quarrelled with any of his employees or suppliers to his factory he would refuse to raise a signal, and nothing or nobody could come or go across the beach. For a time David Gordon senior got on well enough with his boss, but too much goodwill around the place did not suit the Aucklander. Friction set in and eventually Gordon made it plain that he would stand no bullying. The two Europeans never came to blows, but the boss summoned some of his friends among the Maoris and convinced them that if the Gordon family was allowed to leave they would all suffer. Seccombe went further; he closed any gates by which the gordons might have removed their own belongings. Things came close to a big fight, but the Gordons good friends in the local tribe helped them to move their chattels from the compound, and found them shelter for the ensuing night. The family bade farewell to the factory. With further help from well-disposed Maoris they trekked along the coastline to Opotiki, a journey of two days. USED WAGON As the European family set out, they were given the use of a wagon to carry their gear, and Mrs Gordon was given a docile horse to ride. Harry, youngest of the family, rode double with his mother through the two long days, cradled in the arms that had nursed the older brothers and sisters in their turns. Although some fo the Gordon children were still too young to contribute to the family budget, Opotiki had plenty of work available for the older members. These assisted their father in his work, or found jobs for themselves, over a period of three or four years. Then the isolation of the small coastal port made itself felt, and David junior made the first break by taking work in Gisborne area. He was employed by William King, whose connection with the clearance of bush from large areas of the Poverty Bay plain is well remembered. David juniors location was at Makauri, and he was able to look around for a property which the family might buy. FARM OFFERING After a time he was able to write to his parents of an opportunity to take up a farm of 100 acres at Ormond, then available for sale or lease. David Gordon senior was persuaded by other members of the family to acquire this farm, and in due course became tenants of the property. Its location was between the Big River (Waipaoa) and the Ormond Hills, and between Valley Road and Bond Road. A small reserve on the farm provided a site for the school masters house, and their frequent and sustained battles yielded much solace to Mr Gordon, hose health prevented his indulging in much social activity. The association with the school master was interrupted when the Gordon family moved to another property at Makauri, which was smaller but which they believed would eventually become their own.