The Life of Frank Erceg – New Zealand Deer Hunter, Mountaineer, Photographer
Bateman Books, $49.99
The book for review today is far removed from my usual repertoire of fiction and self-help books. Finding Frank, is the beautiful hardback biography of Frank Erceg a highly respected hunter, first as deer culler for the New Zealand Forest Service and later as a commercial meat hunter. Tragically, Frank was killed in New Zealand’s first helicopter hunting accident, already a legend at the young age of thirty.
The striking picture on the cover is a photo of Frank taken in 1961 in the Godley Valley. Frank is covered in thar and chamois skins, leaning on an ice axe and his .222 rifle with the headwaters of the Godley river in the background. Salivating stuff for hunters.
This book is written by Louise Maich, Frank’s niece who spent over two decades piecing together her uncle Frank’s previously untold story through family research, letters, and many photos. Impressively, the author immersed herself into Frank’s stories by travelling to the places where Frank lived and hunted. She also became an associate member of New Zealand Deer Cullers. At their reunions she connected to the people who knew Frank, the last of the great hunters of that era, and heard the compelling recollections and yarns about her uncle and his adventures.
The book is divided in four parts. The first part is about the family’s arrival from Dalmatia. The second part (1956-1961) is about Frank’s time with the New Zealand Forest Service. The third part (1961-1965) is about Frank as a professional meat hunter. The last part is about Frank as photographer and the legacy he left behind.
My husband Michael Midgley has his own Frank Erceg story to tell. In 1961 Frank took Michael (20) and his brother Alastair (17) up the Arawhata River in his jetboat for a hunting trip. As was custom with these trips, as a ‘payment’ for the ride, they left the gutted carcasses of the stags they shot on the flats for Frank to sell. These were the halcyon days of New Zealand deer hunting.
Wilma
