Winning woolshed

Colour the country competition – finalist 1

Bold colours give local landmark a new lease of life.

Farm sheds often become iconic landmarks for local communities. So it is for Paul Frost's bold red woolshed which sits on his 28ha farm near Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty.

The shed, which Paul made over during 2020 Covid lockdowns, is a winner in the Farmlands and Resene Colour the Country competition, showcasing the best painted farm projects around New Zealand.

Having stood, visible from the road, for more than 70 years, Paul's shed, then green, had become a familiar part of the landscape for Paul's neighbours. Though by 2020, it was looking a little worse for wear and weather.

"It's been used as a woolshed since it was built in the 1950s and it was getting pretty ramshackle," Paul says. "You could see daylight through the north and west walls, though the other sides were still pretty solid."

Paul and his wife Delwyn, who passed away in 2009, bought the farm in the 1970s and raised their two, now-adult, children there while they farmed a mix of deer, goat and sheep. Before that Paul had farmed sheep and cattle on another property and worked for more than 20 years at the Tasman pulp and paper mill in nearby Kawerau. He's also a shearer and still works part-time at the local boat builders.

Used to keeping busy, when Covid hit Paul needed a project to keep him occupied during lockdowns, so he took up the challenge of giving his rundown woolshed a new lease of life. The two most weathered walls on the north and west sides were replaced and the roof was replaced with silver long-run iron and black spouting.

"I kept the existing wood on the others. I took out a few windows and painted the others," he says. "It was quite a big job in the end. It kept me pretty busy."

Now made sturdier, Paul water blasted the re-used corrugated iron and opted for a change in colour. For the shed exterior, he chose bold Resene Lumbersider Low Sheen tinted to Resene Pioneer Red. Railings and other wood features including the stock yard were painted in Resene Black with window trims in Resene White.

The colour scheme was inspired by a trip to Finland Paul took with his daughter Nikki. "I'd been thinking about what colour to paint it and while we were in Finland, I saw the red and white sheds there which just looked great against the green rolling paddocks, and I knew straight away that's what I wanted to do here."

The bold choice caused the odd raised eyebrow among friends and neighbours who'd grown used to the shed being a classic rural green and had most likely assumed it would stay that way, laughs Paul, but the new look shed has already become a popular photo spot for passersby, particularly when it's surrounded by blooming dahlias in spring and summer.

And now, rather than being just a landmark for locals it's also a relaxed social gathering spot, where Paul's family and mates stop by for a cool drink and a chat - as well as still being a fully operational woolshed.

"I did still need it to be a working shed where we can shear the few sheep I still have. It still has all the overhead gear and I still keep a small stockyard," he says. "But now, if people see my truck outside the shed on a Thursday or Friday they'll stop by for a chat and a beer. The fridge is always stocked, and they'll usually bring their own as well. There's always someone keen for a chat. We'll put on some Willie Nelson or some other music and catch up. And we had the neighbours over for a bonfire at Guy Fawkes."

Paul says making over the shed and maintaining the property "keeps me fit and out of trouble", though a knee replacement has meant slowing down a little, at least temporarily but he's extremely pleased with how his shed has turned out.

"It looks good and it's given it a whole new lease of life. It's a great place to spend time working or catching up with people."