Yorkshire lass Downunder

It’s a long way from Sheffield, Yorkshire, to Matamata, but Caroline Baker has not only set up home in New Zealand, she has the distinction of being one of the few women in the industry to hold B- and A-grade quarry manager’s certificates.   By ALAN TITCHALL.

Caroline Baker’s South Yorkshire accent has faded a little after 12 years raising a family in New Zealand, but not her passion for the quarry industry or for her adopted country.

“I love the Kiwi approach to life, the hot long summers, the freedom of life, the beautiful mountains and starry nights – and so much space,” enthuses the production manager at Hinuera Natural Stone in the southern Waikato.

Hinuera is not your average quarry. It’s the only one of its kind in the country, carving into the northern side of the ignimbrite bluffs that flank the path the Waikato River once followed as it flowed its way to the Firth of Thames – before the main Taupo eruption (Oruanui) some 26,000 years ago changed its course. Ignimbrites are made of solidified volcanic ash and may be white, grey, pink, beige, brown or black, depending on their composition and density.

The cut stone walls inside the quarry are cathedral-like, even gothic, in their sheer height while, at the entrance, the office site and factory are surrounded by some of the greenest and most valuable farmland in the country. A rural setting more sculptural and even Yorkshire dales-esque than industrial.

Our interview took place on a mid winter day under a bright azure sky in the central North Island – a far cry from the bleak, leaden-sky winters Caroline Baker grew up with in central England, where the days are so short you go to work in the dark and go home in the dark.

When Baker finished her business management degree at Hull University, quarrying, or even New Zealand, was far from her mind, “I arrived here without knowing a single thing about New Zealand,” she says. “I looked for a job and saw a position in administration at Hinuera Natural Stone.”

A role she carried out for two years before she decided to head back to Sheffield to be close to her family and friends again. She got a plum job back home with a large exhibition company organising staff travel to such international events as the Cannes Film Festival and the Chelsea Flower Show.

“It was nice being back with my family but my heart was still at the quarry and I missed New Zealand. I felt in limbo.”

Some years later she got a call from her old boss Mike Green, the manager at Hinuera. 

“Mike rang me and said they were restructuring all the administration and production planning and asked would I come back and set everything up.”

The year was 1998 and Baker found herself back in the lush green of the Waikato.

“I came back with the intention of putting the new production schedules into place and then returning to the UK, then I met my husband.”

She met John Simpson, a Kiwi from Matamata, at the quarry where he’s the sales and marketing manager for all territories outside of Auckland and Northland.

“People often ask how we can live together and work in the same company but because our roles are quite different we don’t see that much of each other on site!”

A decade on and the pair have two boys aged four and eight. And if you can’t be with your family on the other side of the world, bring them here. Baker’s sister and her corporate husband moved to Matamata with their family a few years ago. 

A tough challenge

Under Mike Green’s encouragement, Baker started training towards her B and A quarry certificates. 

“I took a bit of time off to have my children. But when Harry Toa took over as quarry manager he really encouraged me to continue, and as the children were older I was able to finish my training. Harry was a real inspiration to me he is so knowledgeable and I was like his shadow for a while.”

She obtained her B and A grade quarry manager’s certificates between 2007-2008, although is difficult to imagine this petite and softly spoken woman handling eight tonne stones in a loader bucket.

“My role had always been in the office so going out and physically operating a loader, excavator and other equipment was a challenge to start with,” she admits.

“However, if you find something interesting it makes it much easier.”

As production manager, Baker is involved in the quarry planning, from where the cuts will be made at the stone face to the output of the factory.

In the past it has been a balancing act between quarry production and factory demand with the quarry struggling to keep up. 

Of the 12 different levels of ignimbrite in the quarry (from two separate volcanic eruptions)  the hard-grain middle levels (dura) is used for paving and special products, while the top (vitric) and bottom levels (statuary) are used for building veneers and supplied either natural or kiln fired.

In the past the quarry used two Italian-made rock chainsaws (and airbags) to do the stone cutting. Now they use a high- speed rock saw from Australia – a single three metre blade with tungsten carbide tips that is attached to the arm of a 30 tonne Hyundai excavator.

The chainsaws used to cut between 30 to 40 lineal metres of stone a week, while the rock saw can cut 400-450 lineal metres in that time, and there is now a four-month stockpile of stone waiting for the factory. During full summer production the factory can chew through 80 blocks every week that range between six and eight tonnes.

There have also been efficiencies in manpower. There used to be seven staff working in the quarry, now there’s only two – one on the rock saw and the other on a loader which is used to break the stone along its facture lines and haul the pieces to the stockpile outside of the quarry.

“With the new saw we can cut and break out a whole level in a week – which before took four or five weeks,” says Baker.

There’s also huge ongoing savings with the rock saw. The two chainsaws each needed new chains every quarter. The rock saw blade only needs 77 segments replaced three to four times a year a saving of over 98 percent.

“We have also been trialling new segment sets for the 2.7 metre cutting blade in the factory.  Normally we wear through two segment sets every 12 months but the new one has lasted over a year now.”

Costs have also been cut in packaging with a new ‘palletising’ machine,” she adds.

“It used to take five to 10 minutes to wrap each the pallet manually. The machine now does it in seconds.”

Hinuera Natural Stone has another couple of centuries of resource left, enough to employ the services of at least another six generations of quarrymen.

In the past, the market for this natural stone has been domestic. Now the sights are also on overseas markets, particularly Japan where the porous stone is valued for its thermal properties as much as for its aesthetics.

“There are signs the domestic building and landscaping markets are picking up,” says Baker. “Our sales team has been busy, which will mean good results for four to six months down the track.”

Meantime, does Hinuera Natural Stone’s production manager think of herself as a Yorkshire lass Downunder or a Kiwi?

“I consider myself a bit of both,” she says empathetically with one important qualifier. “I am still particular about Sunday roast beef with Yorkshire pudding – that’s a must in our house.”

And there’s a Kiwi passion Baker probably won’t be embracing.

“I get a lot of stick from my Kiwi family about this but when my husband and my boys all sit down to watch the rugby together, I sit with them and read a book. Although I have been known to get involved and cheer and shout occasionally when it gets exciting. I will probably be more involved in 2011 when the Poms come down under!”

Which leaves us with the question – is the book usually about quarrying?