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Governor General Honours Naturist Pioneer!

William Douglas Cook is New Zealand's first recognised naturist. In 1910 aged 25, Doug, as he was known, bought 250 ha of hill country 36 km inland from Gisborne, past Ngatapa; and promptly began planting trees for fruit and firewood. Lifetime naturist Patrick (BoP's oldest member, now in his 90s) asserts that he would have begun this work in his favourite garb: naked - something which ensured that descriptions by everyone from neighbours to biographers would have in common the term 'eccentric'. The variable terms included: visionary, dreamer, single-minded and obsessive. In the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography we find, "Neighbouring farmers considered him eccentric, not only for his plantings but also because he was a nudist who enjoyed gardening without the encumbrance of clothes."

During the First World War, while convalescing in Britain from several wounds, he recalled, "I stayed in beautiful country homes... and this left me with a growing desire to create something worthwhile in New Zealand. I'd got the idea that I too, could have lovely surroundings." So, on his return to Eastwoodhill - the name borrowed from his mother's family home in Glasgow - he began filling his land with northern hemisphere species, and his library with horticultural volumes.

In 1927 Bill Crooks came to Eastwoodhill as a farmhand and, despite their "frightful rows," stayed for the next 39 years. Bill served as "an assistant plantsman, chauffeur, drinking companion and, above all, as Doug's right-hand man." One of his war wounds had left him blind in his right eye, making Doug dependent on Bill to drive the car they shared.

Doug was a generous but particular man. During the depression of the 30s, he had the unemployed build stone walls along many paths. Patrick mentions an occasion when workers were asked to clear some trees; but they included a wrong one. When they realised it, they carefully removed all sign of the missing tree, and covering the spot with leaves. Doug spotted the error instantly. Patrick describes Doug's manner as 'blunt', and commentators have pointed to a 'lack of labour relations'.

At 46, Doug married Claire Bourne, an assistant librarian at Auckland University College. Four years later they adopted a son, Sholto. But marriage difficulties saw Claire and Sholto leave for Wanganui in 1935.

On Christmas and Guy Fawkes days, Doug invited the locals to parties he organised at Eastwoodhill. Yet stories of Doug's single-mindedness are as abundant as his trees - he once put dinner on, returned to the garden, forgot about the stove; and the house burnt down.

In the 1940s Douglas was elected a fellow of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and was involved in the establishment of Massey Agricultural College's horticultural faculty.

The cold war days of the fifties saw Doug determined to make Eastwoodhill a repository for future plant material for the gardens of Europe in the event of nuclear devastation. But one plant, the rhododendron, didn't grow well at Eastwoodhill. Eventually Doug found a better 'home for rhodos' at Pukeiti, near Mt Egmont. He bought 153 acres and gifted it to the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust which he founded in 1951. Then, in 1952, at age 71, Doug sold nearly half of his property.

Doug had always hoped that Eastwoodhill would be used as a 'nudist centre,' so he would have been very pleased to welcome an Auckland family to his grounds in the early 50s. In 1954, on Doug's behalf, Patrick put an ad in the Gisborne Herald, which brought to Eastwoodhill about 16 adults and children from four families. For several years they all enjoyed Douglas Park, a designated area where Doug had Bill Crooks bulldoze five flat spots for chalets, and make a hole for a swimming pool.

Doug did not expect his fledgling membership to laze about though: there was always work to be done! That work, however, did not include actual buildings. A year or two later the little group fell apart, because besides the lack of legal titles, Huia and Linnel Cooper, growing maize not too far away; offered them use of some land where no work was required.

Thus - despite good support from the Naturist magazine and despite being a lifetime nudist and unconcerned about who knew it; Doug's great wish: to visit a naturist club; was never fulfilled. Presumably this was due to his dependence on Bill as his driver. 

At age 80, lonely and unwell, Doug worried about the future of his tree collection. In 1965, Gisborne farmer and businessman, Heathcote Beetham (Bill) Williams, agreed to buy Eastwoodhill and maintain the arboretum.

Soon after selling it, Doug had two heart attacks. Bill and Jo Crooks moved into his home so that they could be near at hand. In 1966 his health deteriorated and he spent some time in hospital. Douglas later wrote that his doctor wanted him to engage someone to look after him, "but I said no! Bill will look after me. He and his wife do all I need... Bill is like a most attentive son to me."

Doug died in 1967, aged 82.

In March, 2010, the Governor General opened the centenary celebrations for Doug's purchase of the land. Raconteur Jim Hopkins, pointed out:

"Imagine the hassles Cook would encounter if he tried to create Eastwoodhill today. Hone Harawira would insist the site was Maori land, the Greens would demand all the trees were natives, the regional council would spend two years studying adverse effects on water quality and the district council would levy squillions for roading upgrades and car parking.

"By the time the poor bloke got consent, he'd be in receivership and forced to sell to the Chinese.

"It's a Taj Mahal of gardens, really, a labour of love and proof of its value, established in 1910 by William Douglas Cook - a man who, rumour has it; preferred to garden wearing just a hat and one boot."

With a collection of international standing, Doug's Eastwoodhill has become the most comprehensive arboretum in New Zealand - and possibly the Southern Hemisphere.

In 1975 the Eastwoodhill Trust Board was established with the prime objective being "to make Eastwoodhill available to the public for its education and recreation."

But: no, unfortunately, you're not encouraged to walk around Eastwoodhill naked, anymore...

JL in Free Beach News June-July 2010.


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