Acclimatisation field officer Frank Thompson had an even stronger opinion of Smith published in the Auckland Star in 1980, "If this man had done the same thing with poisonous snakes, he would have been shot."
Something of a folk hero among his supporters, Smith defied New Zealand fisheries laws for years, illegally importing and spreading invasive fish species in the central North Island. Even at the age of 86, he managed to outfox the authorities and smuggle in gudgeon ova.
Author Bryan Winters has reprinted many of Smith's personal notes, which are fascinating. Smith tells of an early life growing up in the East End of London, a happy playground where he had mastered the art of catching tiddlers in the sandhill ponds by the age of 5, and this play developed into a lifelong passion.
However, those fun-filled days were cut short at age 15 when his father took him and his younger brother down to the port at Southampton.
Unable to afford to keep his sons, he sent them to New Zealand, a land desperately looking for cheap farm labour.
Farming did not work out for Smith.
He quit after having to destroy his dog with a fence batten. The poor beast had bitten Smith after being caught in a trap and he could see no alternative.
His experiment at scratching a living from sea fishing proved fraught with problems. Eventually, he opened a small commercial garage in Massey, Auckland, and he could devote any spare time to introducing coarse fishing to New Zealand. It was here he built a series of ponds to breed goldfish (and others) and concealed a fish tank in the boot of his MK IV Zephyr to distribute illegal fish to willing farmers' ponds.
Winters presents extensive environmental politics, the freshwater environmental thinking v Smith. Smith would argue that trout fishing was elitist, while carp, rudd and tench not only provide sport for families but also the fry are ideal food for the also introduced rainbow and brown trout and salmon.
This is an intriguing read about a captivating individual who believed he knew better than the officials and dared challenge them. It also extensively documents freshwater fish policies and the thinking of various agencies but, at the end, Winters lets the reader draw their own conclusions.
- Stephen Jaquiery is the Otago Daily Times illustrations editor.
