most significant of these projects was the 1948 removal of overburden at Kopuku Opencast Coal Mine – this project lasted over 39 years. Domestic life at Waikiteroa With the business growing WA bought a homestead and five acres on the cliff at Cockle Bay in 1939 and moved there with the family. This white weatherboard home, with its orange tiled roof and long driveway was surrounded by extensive lawns, orchards, and gardens, with 45 acres of adjacent farmland for grazing cattle and keeping horses. The house had been named Waikiteroa meaning 'long water view'. The boys started school in Howick, often riding ponies there. WA built stables and bred ponies, then as the boys got older, he bred hunters. Later they also got involved in thoroughbreds, breeding horse racers and trotters. WA also built a full-sized boxing ring in an old tennis pavilion that he had obtained from the Takapuna Tank Farm site and each week an ex heavyweight boxing champion, Mack McCarthy, used to come to train the three brothers. At Howick the three boys shared an outside bedroom where a fourth bed was periodically used by Grandpa Stevenson. Grandpa Stevenson unfortunately was later diagnosed with dementia and had to be moved to a care home. Grandpa Ross also lived there in a converted garage and helped with the gardens. Colleen's early childhood was more settled than her brothers as they had moved frequently and by the time Colleen arrived WA and Ruby had moved into the comfortable Howick house, and they never moved again. The house was much admired for its expansive gardens. Ruby's gardening loves were ferns kept in an enclosed verandah, and a rockery planted with bluebells and other traditional plants. WA took care of the vast rose collection and the myriad of fruit trees. In the garden wisteria grew over a pergola to shelter plants that favored dark and damp conditions, in later years this grotto became a favorite place for the grandchildren to play. Even after WA had relinquished much of the gardening work on the property he continued to care for the fruit trees when he was in his 70's. Unfortunately he was on a slope in the orchard when he slipped and fell and wound up having to have hip replacement surgery. This gave him the idea to build a swimming pool at home to help his rehabilitation. The family had a