Louise Maich has been on a decades-long journey to uncover the story of her uncle Frank as one of New Zealand's most prominent deer hunters of his era.
In 1965, at the age of 30 Frank Erceg had established a reputation as a prominent marksman and mountaineer.
Country Life caught up with Louise to hear about Frank and consequently, the history of the deer culling industry in New Zealand which features in her book, Finding Frank.
Frank Erceg doing what he loved in Godley Valley, Summit Ridge. This photo was first published in The Weekly News, 11 October 1961 Photo: Dave Osmers
"Frank was my uncle, he died when I was a pre-schooler, and my one lasting memory is scant and hazy.
"I grew up knowing very little about his life, he always appeared as a handsome adventurous uncle who died tragically, and of course someone I wished I had known," Louise says.
"He was a part of my family history, someone that I was driven to uncover and write about."
Frank and his fellow hunters had only the most basic equipment, she says.
“They had to know how to get through those mountain passes and get out of difficult situations.
"And they really did learn on their feet, they might have a rudimentary place to sleep, they may have made a little lean-to tent, they may have found what's called a dry rock and slept under that.
“They may have crossed a very trickling stream in the morning to go out for a day's hunt. And then the rain would come down, especially on the West Coast, and so that small stream that they crossed over in the morning ankle deep, was a torrent that they'd had to wade to get back over.
“So, they had nothing, they were on their own.”
Frank and his friend Johnny Cumming were killed in New Zealand’s first helicopter hunting accident, sending shockwaves through the tight-knit hunting community, Louise says.
"While dragging deer carcases to the craft, they came into contact with the rotary blades and both died instantly."
Frank partially buried under snow in his tent while out on a hunt. Photo: Supplied
To listen to the RNZ podcast Deer Wars click here.
