Gisborne-based Ange McEwan is known for her chilled, down-to earth demeanor. She’s worked alongside husband Wayne at Blackstump Logging since they started in 2010 and says backing Wayne and working together as a team has made it a success.
Husband-and-wife team Ange and Wayne McEwan have been working together since 2010.
“At the time, Wayne was working as a contract faller when he had the opportunity to go into partnership as Blackstump Groundbase with David Joll,” says Ange.
“About a year later we bought out David. It was a lot easier back then than it is now. Health and safety wasn’t as stringent and it was just a lot simpler to go out on your own.”
“At first we had a pole hauler, which then increased to 2 pole haulers before we decided it was safer to have a swing yarder and not have any guys on the ground,” she says.
Blackstump Logging now runs two crews in the Gisborne area – the swing yarder crew and a ground base crew with a total team of 15.
Son Jack operates one of the self-levelling falling machines, and daughter Brooke was doing the on-site Health and Safety, auditing and general day to day running around for the crews but has just taken up a new role as a supervisor working for Ernslaw One.
“It’s been good to have the kids involved,” says Ange.
“Brooke worked closer with Wayne than I did, she was a good sounding board for him – she knows a bit more about the working side of things than I do so that’s been cool for Wayne.”
Ange runs the finances and payroll, focusing on the back-office side of the business.
“I handle the finances, Wayne leaves that up to me. I let him run the jobs and I worry about the books,” she says.
“There are a lot of women who don’t have anything to do with the business. The men have got a lot of stress in their lives, so you’ve got to be there, and you’ve got to back your partner.”
That support from Ange extends into the crew as well. She says you’re not just their boss, you’re family.
“The guys have a lot on their minds so you’ve got to be there to support them and help them where you can.”
Ange says that while they have ‘robust’ conversations as a couple at times, she and Wayne share a similar approach to stay calm and just keep their heads down. They try not to get involved in any of the drama that can come with logging.
“We’re steady as she goes people. Wayne has never been one to go in and lose his shit. He’s had conversations about things, but he’s never completely lost it, we’re just not like that,” she says.
Ange says logging has been good to them overall, but it’s also had its ups and downs.
“I’ve been able to do things and been a lot more active in our kids’ lives than if I’d had a 9-5 job,” she says.
“But, it’s come with a lot of headaches as well and a lot of debt. A lot of people only see the shiny stuff, but they don’t see the debt and the wondering whether you’re going to be able to pay the bills each month.”
She says working on the East Coast has had its challenges, especially in recent years.
“The Council has made it hard – the wait time for consents seems to be so much longer than other areas of the country. Having two major weather events in the last few years hasn’t been good for this area either.”
“A lot of crews have left the East Coast or closed down in the last few years which is sad. Everyone’s struggled and people have disappeared which has been hard for so many,” says Ange.
“You’ve just got to try to keep on going.”
“Having things like FICA and WIF helps – you know you’ve got that support network. We’ve made a lot of friends through FICA and WIF with people in all parts of the country,” says Ange.
“That networking certainly helps a lot and it’s good to get outside of the business when you can.”
Overall, the experience has been positive.
“We’ve had a good lifestyle with it, and we’d like to think our kids can take it over one day if they want to.”
