Sawdust Makers, The

- Blurb -

The Sawdust Makers is to the King Country as The Deniston Rose is to the West Coast. The Sawdust Makers describes one year (Sept 1938 - Sept 1939) in the life of Sarah Grant, a young English woman, who goes to stay with her distant cousins in the rugged world of sawmilling in the beautiful but challenging King Country environment of mountain, forest and river. Sarah is caught up in the dynamics of a family in which her uncle Bob Hansen's life revolves around his mill's stationary steam engine. Bob is unwilling to acknowledge that traditional sawmilling is on the point of change and his son James is frustrated by his father's assumption that he will follow in the family tradition. With this family live Nana and her 18 year old son, Tipene. Through Nana's experiences of colonial life Sarah discovers a different way of seeing things and eventually has to decide between her love for James and her love for Tipene. The Sawdust Makers is a story of young love, family dynamics, change and adaptation. It is a celebration of the lives of ordinary New Zealanders in sawmilling communities in the first half of the twentieth century before the advent of chainsaws, bulldozers and the widespread use of electricity changed it all for ever.