DIARY OF A PLANTER - III. DAVERASHOLA ESTATErNILGIRI WYNAAD

摘要

Rockwood Hill, rising to over 5,000', dominated the district with the Nilgiris forming a background of blue hills. On the West of the hill was Rockwood Estate, a Brooke Bond property, with John Nicholls, who was Johnny's younger son, as manager and Harty (Arthur Neville Scott Hart) as his assistant. John was married to Edith and they had a small family, It was to this estate some six months after my arrival in the district that John Body was sent as the second assistant. Going clockwise round the hill following the road round came Nellakotta, a small and thriving village where the road to Sultan's Battery joined in. North and adjoining the village was the Mayfield Estate, which was owned by the Malayalam. Company-the manager was a rather reclusive and tough Australian called Bissett. Pat Dove was his assistant and his full name was Patrick Harry de Carne Dove, which has a nice lilt about it. North again and behind Mayfield, through which the access road then ran, was Devon Estate, one more of Brooke Bond's properties, where the manager was 'Lightening' Wright, who was the drowsiest thing on two legs-he was Edith Nicholls' brother. Quite soon after my arrival he was sent by Brooke Bond to East Africa where many new tea estates were being opened up.On the North Eastern slopes of the hill was the privately owned Woodbriar Estate where George and Gladys Fulcher then lived, He was the owner and later retired home and left a series of managers on the estate, In the small enclave below Woodbriar on about twenty acres of tea was the Tea Experimental Station manned by two scientists- a Dr. Shaw and wife in one bungalow and a Mr., later Dr., Jones in the other. Finally and facing towards the East from the hill was Daverashola. When I got there there wasa crowd-if four assistants and a manager and his wife can be called a crowd. Bob Nicholls was a rather over plump youngish man who was a very good linguist and a keen mechanic-he really enjoyed the smell of oil and life under the sump. He ended up with a petrol pump somewhere down in the West Country I was told.