Donald F (Don) Bell

Don Bell was born in Southland in 1937. His family moved around and Don attended 13 schools. A shift to Christchurch saw him at Papanui High School-he left after sitting School Certificate. Don was apprenticed to Christchurch City’s Parks and Reserves doing nursery work and planting on the Port Hills. There he met Lance McCaskill, who asked him to work with Robin Gay on the new Hermitage garden replanting at Mt Cook.

"In 1967 I got another invitation to an interview. The Chairman at the time was Noel Coad, I thoroughly enjoyed his governance, he was one of the best people I ever worked with or for. Would I consider going to Mt Cook as Chief Ranger, Merv Burke had gone to Mt Aspiring and Boz (Philip Boswell) had gone to the Forest Service. They weren’t satisfied with the results from an advertised vacancy, so I was asked to take this job on. We thought about it a lot. I knew the area pretty well, also members of our family were involved in farming in the McKenzie Basin, and I’d spent many years at the end of the war there, it would be a bit of a coming home. We turned up and were met by members of the Board and I was given a task sheet which shocked me somewhat and it was made clear to me that there was a change occurring at Mt Cook."

Don was at Mt Cook for 12 months. He was then asked if he was interested in working at Arthur's Pass NP. He was there for a few months, then did his Army training. After an interview in Christchurch he was appointed Assistant Ranger at Arthur's Pass in January 1959. He worked there until January 1967.