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Lex Cockburn
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TitleLex CockburnDescriptionRolleston has seen substantial changes over the years and few have seen these more than local identity, 82-year-old Alexander ‘Lex’ Cockburn. He was born, raised and lived his whole life in the Rolleston area and is happy to have done so. His focus on life has been his family, farming and giving back to the community.
Lex was born in 1936 and at that time his parents were running a sheep farm on Hoskyns Road, near the intersection with Maddisons Road. His father, Alec, who had emigrated from Scotland and served in the NZ Rifle Brigade during the First World War, had purchased the property from the Marshall family in 1929, which the Cockburn family have owned it ever since.
Lex recalls some of his earliest memories as being when he attended Weedons School on Weedons Ross Road. He started school during the Second World War and at the time there were only 18 children attending there. Life was simple and he remembers the female teacher riding her motorbike all the way from Sheffield at a time when very little of the roading in the district was sealed. His parents had decided to send him to Weedons School instead of Rolleston because they did not want him crossing the railway lines and Main South Road when walking to school. Three generations of Cockburn children have now attended the school.
In the late 1940s there was no secondary school near Rolleston and the students had to travel into Christchurch by train to attend college. Each school day Lex would walk to the old Rolleston railway station and catch either the morning passenger train from Springfield, which had old wooden slat seats, or take the later Timaru train that had more comfortable seating.
Lex attended Christchurch Technical College, which was located on the current site of Ara Polytech and only a short walk from the railway station. He claims he was no scholar, but enjoyed the practical skills he learned in engineering. Quite often he would skip class and spend the day at the ‘pictures.’
Sadly, Lex’s father died suddenly at home in 1951, and as the only child in the family, Lex had to leave school aged 14 to help his mother run the farm. Times were tough and the soil was light, but together they managed to build the business, increase the size of their sheep flock and build a new house on the property. The increasing prices paid for wool during the 1950s helped to achieve this.
One way Lex earned money as a boy was by shooting rabbits, which there were plenty of. He initially borrowed a .22 rifle to shoot them, selling them to the local Postman (who also delivered the bread to the farm gate). Once he had saved enough money he was able to buy his own rifle and a bike.
Lex recalls his father purchasing their first tractor in 1949, an Allis-Chalmers, which he learned to drive around the farm. Before this all the heavy work was done by horses. They bought their first car in the early 1950s but travelled in the farm truck before that. There were regulations restricting imported vehicles during the post-war years but most farmers proved able to negotiate to get the machinery they needed.
He joined the Springston Young Farmers Club in the 1950s and was a regular attender of the local dances that provided an opportunity to meet young ladies. It was at one of these that he met a young nurse originally from Gisborne, Annette Mooney, whom he married in 1962. By that time Lex’s mother had died and Annette became a partner in running the farm. They have been happily married for 56 years.
In 1963 their son, Paul, was born, followed by their daughter, Helen in 1975. Paul and his wife Julie now run the farm, assisted by their three children and Helen. Although primarily a sheep farm, in their years of farming Lex and Annette were able to diversify to counter shifting markets and at one stage had established a sizable deer herd that provided good returns. They also had several house cows that provided them milk.
Lex claims there was not much to Rolleston when he was growing up in the 1940s and 50s. The railway was the main feature of the township and the social heart of the community was the pub. At this time it was run by a Mrs Robinson who would sell ice cream and soft drink to the children from the dining room of the hotel, as initially there was no grocery shop in Rolleston. There was a butchery run by the Willetts family situated on what is now Tennyson Street, with the general store later being established on the same street opposite where KFC is now. There was also a tile factory on Brookside Road (near the site of the current Vet Clinic) that employed about 15 people, which used a traction engine to power its equipment. He also remembered the generosity of Mrs Robinson who had paid for tennis courts to be built on George Holmes Road, near Jones Road, for the children of the township so they had something to do. The 1956 census recorded there were only 230 people living in Rolleston at this time.
Lex claims that there has always been a strong sense of community spirit within the people of Rolleston and Weedons, and it was through this that they got things done. An example of this was the creation of the Weedons Golf Club in the late 1960s. He recalls it began with support from the Paparua County leasing out reserve land, with a small number of foundation members, including himself, using their tractors to prepare the original 6-hole course. Over time the size of the club and the course has increased through the efforts of the community and both he and Annette recall the sporting and social benefits they enjoyed from the club throughout the years.
Even in his golden years Lex continues to enjoy giving his time to the community. He is a life member of the Rolleston Lions Club, and along with Brian Whittington, they are the only foundation members of the club who have been active every year since it was established in 1978.
Humble by nature, Lex is proud of the community projects he has been involved with through Lions, especially the restoration of the water wheel at Cream Can Corner and involvement in the Rolleston 150th Celebration in 2015. He was honoured to be asked to cut the cake at the opening ceremony with local MP, Amy Adams.
Although Rolleston is no longer the small, close-knit community of Lex’s youth, where everyone knew each other, he still enjoys living in the area in his retirement and having an occasional drink with the many friends he has made in the community over the years.
First NameAlexanderLast NameCockburnDate of Birth1936Place of BirthRolleston
Lex was born in 1936 and at that time his parents were running a sheep farm on Hoskyns Road, near the intersection with Maddisons Road. His father, Alec, who had emigrated from Scotland and served in the NZ Rifle Brigade during the First World War, had purchased the property from the Marshall family in 1929, which the Cockburn family have owned it ever since.
Lex recalls some of his earliest memories as being when he attended Weedons School on Weedons Ross Road. He started school during the Second World War and at the time there were only 18 children attending there. Life was simple and he remembers the female teacher riding her motorbike all the way from Sheffield at a time when very little of the roading in the district was sealed. His parents had decided to send him to Weedons School instead of Rolleston because they did not want him crossing the railway lines and Main South Road when walking to school. Three generations of Cockburn children have now attended the school.
In the late 1940s there was no secondary school near Rolleston and the students had to travel into Christchurch by train to attend college. Each school day Lex would walk to the old Rolleston railway station and catch either the morning passenger train from Springfield, which had old wooden slat seats, or take the later Timaru train that had more comfortable seating.
Lex attended Christchurch Technical College, which was located on the current site of Ara Polytech and only a short walk from the railway station. He claims he was no scholar, but enjoyed the practical skills he learned in engineering. Quite often he would skip class and spend the day at the ‘pictures.’
Sadly, Lex’s father died suddenly at home in 1951, and as the only child in the family, Lex had to leave school aged 14 to help his mother run the farm. Times were tough and the soil was light, but together they managed to build the business, increase the size of their sheep flock and build a new house on the property. The increasing prices paid for wool during the 1950s helped to achieve this.
One way Lex earned money as a boy was by shooting rabbits, which there were plenty of. He initially borrowed a .22 rifle to shoot them, selling them to the local Postman (who also delivered the bread to the farm gate). Once he had saved enough money he was able to buy his own rifle and a bike.
Lex recalls his father purchasing their first tractor in 1949, an Allis-Chalmers, which he learned to drive around the farm. Before this all the heavy work was done by horses. They bought their first car in the early 1950s but travelled in the farm truck before that. There were regulations restricting imported vehicles during the post-war years but most farmers proved able to negotiate to get the machinery they needed.
He joined the Springston Young Farmers Club in the 1950s and was a regular attender of the local dances that provided an opportunity to meet young ladies. It was at one of these that he met a young nurse originally from Gisborne, Annette Mooney, whom he married in 1962. By that time Lex’s mother had died and Annette became a partner in running the farm. They have been happily married for 56 years.
In 1963 their son, Paul, was born, followed by their daughter, Helen in 1975. Paul and his wife Julie now run the farm, assisted by their three children and Helen. Although primarily a sheep farm, in their years of farming Lex and Annette were able to diversify to counter shifting markets and at one stage had established a sizable deer herd that provided good returns. They also had several house cows that provided them milk.
Lex claims there was not much to Rolleston when he was growing up in the 1940s and 50s. The railway was the main feature of the township and the social heart of the community was the pub. At this time it was run by a Mrs Robinson who would sell ice cream and soft drink to the children from the dining room of the hotel, as initially there was no grocery shop in Rolleston. There was a butchery run by the Willetts family situated on what is now Tennyson Street, with the general store later being established on the same street opposite where KFC is now. There was also a tile factory on Brookside Road (near the site of the current Vet Clinic) that employed about 15 people, which used a traction engine to power its equipment. He also remembered the generosity of Mrs Robinson who had paid for tennis courts to be built on George Holmes Road, near Jones Road, for the children of the township so they had something to do. The 1956 census recorded there were only 230 people living in Rolleston at this time.
Lex claims that there has always been a strong sense of community spirit within the people of Rolleston and Weedons, and it was through this that they got things done. An example of this was the creation of the Weedons Golf Club in the late 1960s. He recalls it began with support from the Paparua County leasing out reserve land, with a small number of foundation members, including himself, using their tractors to prepare the original 6-hole course. Over time the size of the club and the course has increased through the efforts of the community and both he and Annette recall the sporting and social benefits they enjoyed from the club throughout the years.
Even in his golden years Lex continues to enjoy giving his time to the community. He is a life member of the Rolleston Lions Club, and along with Brian Whittington, they are the only foundation members of the club who have been active every year since it was established in 1978.
Humble by nature, Lex is proud of the community projects he has been involved with through Lions, especially the restoration of the water wheel at Cream Can Corner and involvement in the Rolleston 150th Celebration in 2015. He was honoured to be asked to cut the cake at the opening ceremony with local MP, Amy Adams.
Although Rolleston is no longer the small, close-knit community of Lex’s youth, where everyone knew each other, he still enjoys living in the area in his retirement and having an occasional drink with the many friends he has made in the community over the years.
First NameAlexanderLast NameCockburnDate of Birth1936Place of BirthRolleston
Lex Cockburn. Selwyn Stories, accessed 16/12/2025, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/3334
