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Drew Marshall defied diagnosis, hanging on two days longer than the nurses said was possible, passing away with family at his side at Warkworth Hospital last month.
Born in 1945, at the end of World War II, Brian Andrew Marshall was named after his uncle who had fought in Crete, but was always known as “Drew”.
He attended Southwell School in Hamilton and later St Kentigern College, where he developed his love of cricket and rugby.
Things changed for the Marshall family in 1960 when his father Bill Marshall passed away, in the middle of the Nordmeyer black budget, which introduced a 60 per cent death duty.
Two family farms had to be sold and it was decided that Drew should leave school and help his mother on the remaining farm.
Eventually Drew and brother Rod set up the Marshall Brothers company and bought farms in Howick and Kaipara Hills, and leased more farmland in Glendowie and Bastion Point.
Bastion Point threw up a few curve balls for Drew. His cows once featured on the front page of the New Zealand Herald drinking water out of the fountain at Mission Bay. When the land was passed over to local iwi, Drew negotiated with then Prime Minister Robert Muldoon until he was fairly compensated for all the fencing he had built.
Drew learned to sail at the family holiday home in Manly. In the early 1970s, he and Rod decided to have an ocean racing boat built to have a crack at the Sydney to Hobart race. They sailed the boat to Sydney and took ten dozen bottles of Coruba Rum, which was highly sought after and expensive in Australia due to import tax, but cheap in New Zealand. The contraband they snuck past Customs paid for plush accommodation for the sailing team, which went on to win the small boat division. In 1974, Drew was part of the New Zealand One Ton yachting team that competed in the World Series in Torquay, in the United Kingdom. They came third in their division.
Drew met his wife Kate at a 21st party in Whitford in 1965. They shared an on-and-off romance for eight years before Drew proposed to Kate from a red phone box on Great South Road, Auckland. At the time, Kate was working in Edinburgh and travelling around Europe. She accepted, and they went on to share 47 years of marriage and four children – William, James, Hamish and Susannah. The newlyweds moved to Warkworth in 1978. Livestock farming was replaced by kiwifruit orchards, and the couple built up a large-scale operation, employing more than a 100 people a year.
Around 1995, Drew joined United Real Estate and worked in rural property for 20 years.
Soon cricket was taking priority, as twin sons Hamish and James Marshall’s professional careers took off. Early in their Northern Districts career, the twins were playing at Seddon Park against South Africa and Drew was invited to watch from the commentary box.
Commentators Bryan Waddle and Kevin Hart asked Drew which of the twins had made a catch. His reply: “I wouldn’t have a clue – ask their mother.”
Drew had time for everyone and gave a lot to the Warkworth community. He served as chairman of the Warkworth A&P Show for 25 years, was on the Vestry at the Anglican Church, coached rugby at Kaipara and Mahurangi clubs and supported cricket, netball and the odd ballet recital. He will be remembered for his cheerful laugh and sense of humour.
