Peacock issue unsolved
My grandchildren enjoy visiting the aviary and have been spoilt with a trip out the back to see birds nesting and getting a peacock feather.
Bob has looked after the Gore aviary for 27 years. Birds are his passion and he devotes himself to keeping them healthy. He is well respected among the bird community and has a great knowledge of many different species.
I've had experience with peacocks running free near Gore. We all like to think of them enjoying their freedom and living their best life.
The reality is they are killed on the roads, their young are slaughtered by predators and they struggle for food in the winter months. They can fly over deer fences and upset people by roosting in their sheds and pooping everywhere.
Along comes a lady from Invercargill with her little tick sheet. She stands outside the Gore aviary and decides she is not happy with the way the peacocks are housed. She complains to the council and suddenly the peacocks have to go. The council stress that the peacocks will go to a good home, but Bob is just told to get rid of them.
They could easily have enlarged the peacock enclosure and had actually measured it out, but choose to do nothing. The vets thought the enclosure should be bigger, but acknowledged the birds were not showing any sign of stress.
Bob has had the peacocks for 12 years and the male has known no other life.
The cages are kept spotless, the birds are fed greens each day from Bob's own garden and they are well looked after.
The council has undermined and completely disrespected a good man who knows far more than they do about looking after birds.
REPLY — The Gore District Council has worked closely with Bob over the years, and has greatly valued his support with the aviary.
The physical structure of the aviary has changed over the years, with the location of different birds being moved around and enclosure sizes changing.
With the peacocks, we have received a number of concerns, raised by various people, over many years and the SPCA became involved in 2024 and highlighted that the peacock enclosure was not big enough for a bird of that size. It was not possible to enlarge the enclosure to a suitable size, due to the constraints created by nearby protected trees, without significant cost, and/or removing other birds housed in the aviary.
The SPCA has the authority under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 to enforce minimum standards for the care and treatment of animals, and as such, Gore District Council was required to act.
After consulting with a vet, rehoming them was the best option for the peacocks.
We explored possibilities for re-homing the peacocks, but ultimately, once it became clear the peacocks could not stay in their enclosure for their own wellbeing, we left the decision on their future home up to Bob, who has looked after them for many years.
— Gore District Council parks and recreation manager Keith McRobie
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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
'I said no, it was my brother': The Hare and Bubbles' prankish air force days
Identical twins Bob and Rolly Janek arrived in New Zealand as refugees with their family. They went on to serve in the air force, despite their father's harrowing wartime experiences. Geoff Sloan speaks to the brothers about survival, service, and a fair bit of mischief. After their family fled Europe to escape the Russians after World War 2, identical 67-year-old twins Robert 'Bob' and Roland 'Rolly' Janek were determined to serve their new country, enlisting in the air force as soon as they could despite what their father had been through. Their Hungarian father, Joseph Zolten Janek, had been a pilot before the war and was conscripted into the Luftwaffe, Germany's air force, serving in France, Germany and Russia. 'He had no choice. He would have been shot otherwise, and his family taken away,' Bob said. Janek flew Junkers Ju 88 bombers and Ju 87 Stukas before switching to the Messerschmitt ME109 fighter plane. 'He did a lot of his fighting in Stalingrad as a 109 fighter pilot and was shot down twice. The first time was from anti-aircraft guns fired by his own side.' The second time Janek was shot down, he was captured by the Russians and imprisoned for six months before escaping. 'He flew from the start of the war right through until the end. He was very lucky to survive,' Bob said. When the war ended, Janek was one of about 2000 men rounded up by the Russians and forced to clear minefields, digging up the explosives by hand. 'He had to do that for five years. A lot of his friends got blown up – he was one of about 700 who survived,' Bob said. After being released, Janek took part in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to free the country from Soviet control. The 15-day uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops, killing or wounding thousands of Hungarians. After the revolution failed, the Janeks joined the 250 million Hungarians fleeing the country. 'Unfortunately my dad's brother was shot and killed by the Russians as they made their escape through swamps to reach the Austrian border,' Bob said. Joseph and Maria Janek successfully made it to Austria where Bob and Rolly were born. Bob said his dad never felt safe, always looking over his shoulder for the Russians, so in 1961 the construction engineer and his family were accepted by New Zealand as refugees. 'It would have been hard for mum and dad when they arrived in Auckland with two three-year-olds, two suitcases and only £6. 'I honour him for doing what he had to do to survive, and look after his family,' Bob said. Growing up in Point Chevalier, Auckland, the twins watched military aircraft coming and going from the airbase at Whenuapai, both deciding to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force when they turned 18. Bob, who had always wanted to be a firefighter, joined the Crash, Fire, Rescue Unit, while Rolly became a military police officer. The pair said their father was upset when they enlisted in 1976. 'He didn't talk to us for a year. He didn't want us to go through what he did, but eventually he came around,' Rolly said. The new recruits were flown to RNZAF Base Wigram to start their training. 'As soon as we got off the aircraft we heard one of the general service instructors say 'Oh no, f***ing twins'.' Rolly said they gave the instructors hell. 'We got away with blue murder. They couldn't tell us apart, and we also had the same initials – RJ,' he said. Bob said one night he was spotted visiting a 'wee lassie' in the women's barracks. 'I jumped out of a second-storey window and escaped. The instructors tried to charge me but I said no, it was my brother. But he denied it and said it was me.' The investigation was dropped because they couldn't identify which twin was responsible. Bob's quick footwork earned him the nickname 'The Hare', while Rolly's fondness for champagne earned him 'Bubbles'. However, there were occasions when the mischievous pair came unstuck. 'One of our instructors was a corporal called Digby Bentley. One night we both snuck off the base into town and got t-shirts made up saying 'Digby Bentley: Public Enemy Number One'. We got into a lot of trouble for that,' Rolly said. The twins had to clean toilets and scrub floors for two weeks as punishment, Bob said. Rolly was posted to RNZAF Base Ohakea after completing his military police training, while Bob remained at Wigram. Three years later, Bob was transferred to the air force base at Ohakea, only to find Rolly had just been posted to Whenuapai. 'We were never allowed to be on the same base together. I think we were too much trouble,' Rolly said. Even when they did catch up, things didn't always go smoothly. Said Bob: 'I was visiting the base at Whenuapai where Rolly was stationed, and he was on gate duty instructing all the vehicles to reverse into the car parks. 'I told Rolly to f*** off and parked nose first.' Rolly said Bob just wanted to be stubborn. 'He thought because I was his brother, he could push it, but I was a corporal and he was still a trainee. 'Bob kept mouthing off so I threw him in the back of the Morris Minor police van, and bounced him around in the back a bit as we drove to the cells where he cooled off overnight,' Rolly said. When the military police disbanded in the late 1980s, Bob suggested Rolly join him in the Crash, Fire, Rescue Unit. 'But they still never let us serve together,' Bob said. Over two decades in the RNZAF, Bob responded to 17 plane crashes, some of them fatal. 'I saw some pretty bad stuff. To deal with it, I just (mentally) put it in a bag, and froze it.' After his stint with the air force, Rolly joined the firefighting crew at Hamilton Airport, before becoming maintenance co-ordinator at Waikato University. Bob retired from the air force in 1996 and shifted to Christchurch where he spent nine years loading aircraft for Air New Zealand before becoming a steward. However, his aviation career was halted when he was badly hurt in the February 2011 earthquake. Bob now volunteers as a guide at the Air Force Museum in Wigram. He works alongside Chris Checketts, the son of World War 2 fighter ace Johnny Checketts, who also flew in Europe during the war. 'We haven't been able to find any records of my dad's forced service with the Germans. But it's possible our dads may have met each other in combat,' Bob said. Every Easter, Bob spends about $1200 buying 600 chocolate Easter bunnies to give to children and staff at Christchurch Hospital's cancer ward. 'I'll never stop doing that. They shouldn't be in there, us oldies should be,' Bob said. He said he has always tried to give back. 'When we came to New Zealand we didn't know anybody, and people helped us.' With Rolly living in Hamilton and Bob in Christchurch, the twins try to meet up every month, but claim their mischievous, trouble-making days are over. 'We're good boys now.'
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
The Hare and Bubbles' prankish air force days
Identical twins Bob (left) and Rolly Janek have led a story-stacked life, like their Hungarian father, Joseph, a pilot who was forced to fi ght for the Germans in World War 2, including over the skies of Stalingrad. Photo: Geoff Sloan After their family fled Europe to escape the Russians after World War 2, identical 67-year-old twins Robert 'Bob' and Roland 'Rolly' Janek were determined to serve their new country, enlisting in the air force as soon as they could despite what their father had been through. Their Hungarian father, Joseph Zolten Janek, had been a pilot before the war and was conscripted into the Luftwaffe, Germany's air force, serving in France, Germany and Russia. 'He had no choice. He would have been shot otherwise, and his family taken away,' Bob said. Janek flew Junkers Ju 88 bombers and Ju 87 Stukas before switching to the Messerschmitt ME109 fighter plane. 'He did a lot of his fighting in Stalingrad as a 109 fighter pilot and was shot down twice. The first time was from anti-aircraft guns fired by his own side.' The second time Janek was shot down, he was captured by the Russians and imprisoned for six months before escaping. 'He flew from the start of the war right through until the end. He was very lucky to survive,' Bob said. Joseph and Maria Janek were married in 1957 and Bob Janek with fellow firefighters during a formal Operation Wise Owl evening function in 1985. PHOTO: RNZAF When the war ended, Janek was one of about 2000 men rounded up by the Russians and forced to clear minefields, digging up the explosives by hand. 'He had to do that for five years. A lot of his friends got blown up – he was one of about 700 who survived,' Bob said. After being released, Janek took part in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to free the country from Soviet control. The 15-day uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops, killing or wounding thousands of Hungarians. After the revolution failed, the Janeks joined the 250 million Hungarians fleeing the country. 'Unfortunately my dad's brother was shot and killed by the Russians as they made their escape through swamps to reach the Austrian border,' Bob said. Joseph and Maria Janek successfully made it to Austria where Bob and Rolly were born. Bob said his dad never felt safe, always looking over his shoulder for the Russians, so in 1961 the construction engineer and his family were accepted by New Zealand as refugees. 'It would have been hard for mum and dad when they arrived in Auckland with two three-year-olds, two suitcases and only £6. 'I honour him for doing what he had to do to survive, and look after his family,' Bob said. Growing up in Point Chevalier, Auckland, the twins watched military aircraft coming and going from the airbase at Whenuapai, both deciding to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force when they turned 18. Bob, who had always wanted to be a firefighter, joined the Crash, Fire, Rescue Unit, while Rolly became a military police officer. The pair said their father was upset when they enlisted in 1976. 'He didn't talk to us for a year. He didn't want us to go through what he did, but eventually he came around,' Rolly said. The new recruits were flown to RNZAF Base Wigram to start their training. 'As soon as we got off the aircraft we heard one of the general service instructors say 'Oh no, f***ing twins'.' Rolly said they gave the instructors hell. 'We got away with blue murder. They couldn't tell us apart, and we also had the same initials – RJ,' he said. Bob said one night he was spotted visiting a 'wee lassie' in the women's barracks. 'I jumped out of a second-storey window and escaped. The instructors tried to charge me but I said no, it was my brother. But he denied it and said it was me.' The investigation was dropped because they couldn't identify which twin was responsible. Rolly (left) and Bob Janek served for 20 years in the RNZAF. PHOTO: RNZAF Bob's quick footwork earned him the nickname 'The Hare', while Rolly's fondness for champagne earned him 'Bubbles'. However, there were occasions when the mischievous pair came unstuck. 'One of our instructors was a corporal called Digby Bentley. One night we both snuck off the base into town and got t-shirts made up saying 'Digby Bentley: Public Enemy Number One'. We got into a lot of trouble for that,' Rolly said. The twins had to clean toilets and scrub floors for two weeks as punishment, Bob said. Rolly was posted to RNZAF Base Ohakea after completing his military police training, while Bob remained at Wigram. Three years later, Bob was transferred to the air force base at Ohakea, only to find Rolly had just been posted to Whenuapai. 'We were never allowed to be on the same base together. I think we were too much trouble,' Rolly said. Even when they did catch up, things didn't always go smoothly. Said Bob: 'I was visiting the base at Whenuapai where Rolly was stationed, and he was on gate duty instructing all the vehicles to reverse into the car parks. 'I told Rolly to f*** off and parked nose first.' Rolly said Bob just wanted to be stubborn. 'He thought because I was his brother, he could push it, but I was a corporal and he was still a trainee. 'Bob kept mouthing off so I threw him in the back of the Morris Minor police van, and bounced him around in the back a bit as we drove to the cells where he cooled off overnight,' Rolly said. When the military police disbanded in the late 1980s, Bob suggested Rolly join him in the Crash, Fire, Rescue Unit. 'But they still never let us serve together,' Bob said. Over two decades in the RNZAF, Bob responded to 17 plane crashes, some of them fatal. 'I saw some pretty bad stuff. To deal with it, I just (mentally) put it in a bag, and froze it.' After his stint with the air force, Rolly joined the firefighting crew at Hamilton Airport, before becoming maintenance co-ordinator at Waikato University. Rolly (left) and Bob Janek both served in RNZAF but were never stationed together. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN Bob retired from the air force in 1996 and shifted to Christchurch where he spent nine years loading aircraft for Air New Zealand before becoming a steward. However, his aviation career was halted when he was badly hurt in the February 2011 earthquake. Bob now volunteers as a guide at the Air Force Museum in Wigram. He works alongside Chris Checketts, the son of World War 2 fighter ace Johnny Checketts, who also flew in Europe during the war. 'We haven't been able to find any records of my dad's forced service with the Germans. But it's possible our dads may have met each other in combat,' Bob said. Every Easter, Bob spends about $1200 buying 600 chocolate Easter bunnies to give to children and staff at Christchurch Hospital's cancer ward. 'I'll never stop doing that. They shouldn't be in there, us oldies should be,' Bob said. He said he has always tried to give back. 'When we came to New Zealand we didn't know anybody, and people helped us.' With Rolly living in Hamilton and Bob in Christchurch, the twins try to meet up every month, but claim their mischievous, trouble-making days are over. 'We're good boys now.'
Otago Daily Times
21-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Tireless dedication to animal welfare 'nothing short of extraordinary'
Carole Worley has devoted 14 years to championing the cause of animals in Christchurch. The SPCA volunteer driver said they see some sad sights on the job. "Animals are vulnerable. They've got no one to speak up for them," she says. "It's unbelievable what some people can do to their animals. "It just breaks your heart to see the unloved and abused ones." While that was distressing, it was great to animals recover after treatment and gain their confidence. "The best part is when you see them adopted and going to a lovely family." Carole's tireless dedication to animal welfare earned her the devoted volunteer award at the SPCA's National Volunteer Awards in June. Said the judges: "Carole's dedication to SPCA Christchurch is nothing short of extraordinary. "For longer than most can remember, she has been a rock for both the team and the animals in their care. "Rain or shine, she faithfully arrives ready to get stuck in and make a difference." Carole said it was a big surprise to receive the award. "When you think of all the fabulous volunteers we have at the centre and all over, it was nice to be recognised." The self-confessed dog lover drives and does a wide range of other tasks for the SPCA. "There's always something to do, even if it's pulling weeds in the garden." Her husband Leon passed away four years ago. She said since then the staff and volunteers at the SPCA have become her second family. "I really enjoy their company." Carole does not have her own pet at home as she likes to travel but she does foster dogs. She has provided a temporary home to about 20 dogs since she started volunteering for the SPCA when she retired. "It takes strong will-power not to adopt them myself." Carole was a blind/low vision guide dog puppy raiser for more than a year. She enjoys working with dogs and wanted to do something outdoors with a bit of variety so she approached the SPCA. Carole was recruited into the dog squad at the time, which meant walking them and training puppies. After turning her hand to driving, her duties now include picking up and dropping off the animals, collecting supplies, taking samples to labs, and picking up SPCA collection boxes. "My favourite job is taking dogs out to a Rolleston dog swim spa once a week, which is great for dogs rehabilitating after injuries and burning off energy.' The best part of volunteering was seeing dogs adopted into a "lovely family". "I'll keep volunteering until I can't drive anymore, and as long as my health allows me." Anyone who wants to volunteer at the SPCA can apply here
