One of the oldest direct descendants among the first European families in Aotearoa celebrated his centenary last Sunday.
Nelsonian Allan Guard sliced his 100th birthday cake with the same sword his whaler great grandfather, John Guard, had used in the late 1820s at Kakapo Bay in Port Underwood to finally draw a line in the sand with tribal leader Te Rauparaha following turmoil between the pair.
One of his five grandchildren, Dion Mant, says Allan, who was born in Havelock on 11 February, 1924, was the last of 14 children, and although he never attended school or learned to swim, and pneumonia prevented war service, he hid out on fishing boats from when he was five or six.
“He fished for over 70 years… he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Sounds and Tasman Bay,” he says.
His family home was in Te Pukatea Bay and then later he moved to Nelson, where he would head out into the bay catching snapper and scallops.
“He came back to land and sold them, and he retired when quota came in, in the 1980s.”
Dion says Allan still loves witnessing Nelson’s boats from his Victoria Heights residence, which he shares with his son-in-law Fred Mant, who also regularly takes him to Nelson Marina to recall his glory days.
He says his grandfather had also been a devoted vegetable grower which stemmed from his working days where everything he ate was seasonal, and he currently spent his days listening to national radio, watching live rugby, and enjoying a 10am cup of tea with Fred.
Allan had one daughter, and has five grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.
About 100 guests, who had travelled from as far away as Australia, attended his 100th birthday celebrations at Founders Heritage Park. Dion says his longevity could be due to his independence and routine from a young age, and eating smaller portions.
“When he was at sea, he was by himself or with one person for a lot of the time, and if you go round [to his house] now after an hour it would be like, ‘right, I need to go and do my washing or do a vacuum’,” he says.
“He would have a block of chocolate and he would divide it all up so it would be two squares a day,” he says.
Allan also received birthday cards from King Charles III, Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, and the Minister for Seniors, Casey Costello.
