Anna Munro, who works at the Temuka saleyards, is originally from Christchurch but felt like she needed a change of scenery, finding peace in the idea of rural life.
‘‘I was born in the North Island but my dad was in the army, so we travelled a lot all over. I ended up in Christchurch for a while, met up with a really cool guy and moved down here.’’
Speaking to Central Rural Life during a recent stock sale, Ms Munro felt she needed to get involved with the community after purchasing a lifestyle block and some sheep.
‘‘I was working full time but finding it really hard as I have a daughter with a disability, so started looking for part-time work.
‘‘I saw the job come up in the paper and thought why not ... applied on the Saturday, got an interview on the Monday and started the next week’’ she laughed. ‘‘I don’t really buy it when people say there are no jobs around.’’
While some might not find it glamorous, Ms Munro is enjoying her role.
‘‘I just love the job, actually. I love being here and the guys are really cool to work with. Met some really interesting people, bought some really interesting sheep last week that all turned out to be pregnant ... so made some money on them.’’
It hasn’t taken long to learn the ropes with support from a good team that passes on professional information and personal advice for looking after her own stock.
‘‘Basically, it’s just opening up the gate, letting them in and out of the box. We just make sure the number I’ve got on my sheet coincides with the number of cows getting scanned and at the end of the sale we just make sure that it tallies up and the agents get it back, because they have to distribute the numbers to the new farmers,’’ she said.
‘‘It can be intense when you get the bulls coming through. Last week we had something like 490 bulls and they were pretty full on.’’
‘‘I’m in a great spot unless a howling wind comes through. I have to keep the windows open so the guys can call out which pen the cow’s come from.’’
-By George Ckarj
