Alex Dobbins

Alex  was born in  Napier in 1927 and  went  to  school there. He  left  high  school  after  one  and a half years without his parents knowing. He worked at various trades: furniture shop, mortuary, farm hand,  building services,  Napier Harbour Board,  went  into the army and served  in  Korea.  He  picks  up  the  story…

 I went on to the Ministry of Works in the transport section for a start that’s in Napier, and then on to building services, central heating, air-conditioning and that sort of thing. After that I was offered a job on the Napier Harbour Board as radio operator and boatman. I did that for 18 months to 2 years I think and I was asked if I would be interested in going over to Australia to have a look at the idea of setting up a Marineland so I went over with some of the councilors and the mayor and I went up to Coolangatta to have a look at a dolphin pool up there then checked out the Taronga Park Zoo and came back with ideas on filtration and pumping and that sort of thing. It was then called Marineland of New Zealand - I think it still is although the aquarium now is a national aquarium. I was 7 years at Marineland, and I got out of that, spent a few months in the woodstores again and somebody said why don’t you go into National Parks. I went and had an interview in Wellington with Gordon Nicholls, Ben Thorpe was his second in command then. I was told there was a possibility at Trounson Kauri Park, but Pat McConnell had been told more or less that he’d have the job and Pat said he didn’t want it - he wanted to come up to Ahipara so I got the job at Trounson.

Alex  transferred to Little Barrier Island with his wife Mike.