Robin Rowles

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 501, 31 August 1993, Page 8

Robin Rowles

A well-known Waimarino resident - local man Robin Rowles, was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident on Tuesday 24 August. He was 46. Robin was born in the Waimarino and was educated at Ohakune Primary School and Ruapehu College. He worked for a short time in Tasmania as a bushman but retumed to the area to support his parents. Robin loved the outdoors and this was reflected in the organisations he actively supported. He was a committee member of the Central North Island Mountain Radio Service, a bushcraft and firearms officer for the Mountain Safety Council and a member of the Waimarino Search and Rescue group. Robin also gave countless hours of his time assisting students of Ruapehu College in their outdoor education camps, held yearly in the Kaimanawa Ranges and Tongariro Forest Park. He was involved with the running of R.E.A.P fencing and possuming courses and bushcraft courses with college students. His outstanding bushcraft skills made him a very thorough bushman and he was always prepared to pass on his knowledge to othefs. Coupled with his relaxed manner and great sense of humour, he was able to relate eas'ily to people of all ages and he would always offer positive encouragement and help to those who required it. Robin worked closely with special education pupils of Taupo-nui-a-tea College and took expedition camps in the Kaimanawa Ranges for the college's Duke of Edinburgh Award programme. As a team leader and contact officer with the Waimarino Search and Rescue, his vast local knowledge proved invaluable and was widely used during searches around the Ohakune area. Robin was an active

branch member for nearly thirty years. During this time he was branch secretary for three years. Deer stalking took him to different parts of New Zealand but his three favourite areas were the Tongariro National Park, the Kaimanawas and the rugged peaks of South Westland, where he got considerable enjoyment hunting chamois. His keen eye for trophy heads earned him the Seddon Shield Trophy in 1980 - jointly with longtime hunting partner Graeme Brebner - for the best Rusa head of the year. He became an official Douglas Scorer for the branch and was frequently called upon by local hunters to assist them with the measuring of their trophy heads. Robin also had an interest in taxidermy and was skilled in the mounting of small mammals and other game. His skill as a fisherman was well known and he obtained some excellent brown trout from local streams. Robin was a major force behind the success of the Waimarino branch's 41st national conference in 1989. He was also involved with an exhibition of big game heads at the Raetihi Cosmopolitan Club - many of which were his own trophies. He was also involved more recently with the restoration of the Ohakune Railway Station, with landscaping and the installation of the railway turn-table. Robin was range officer for the Waimarino Deerstalkers Association Turn to page 9

Robin Rowles From page 8 and helped to install a running boar range on his father's property on Tohunga Road. He was also firearms testing officer for the NZ Mountain Safety Council and was responsible for testing firearms on behalf of the NZ police and the Safety Council committee. Ohakune Police Sergeant Bob Evans described Robin as "selfless and unassuming", and held in high regard by the local police contingent.