A hedgehog says to his mate, Next year I want to be run over by a Porsche.
By Roger Childs
Graphing natural phenomena
One of the great wonders at this time of the year is the flowering of the pohutukawa. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern – a tree will be covered in flowers by Christmas and the one next to it will be flowerless. When did the flowering start? Who cares? Bob Brockie did, and 2025 will be the first year this century in which the approximate date will not be recorded and graphed.
Bob was a great researcher, map drawer and data analyst. Into his nineties he was still graphing and mapping all manner of things – the flowering of cabbage trees, road-kill casualties, the distribution of albino hedgehogs in Taranaki, to name a few.
A significant legacy
Many Kiwis who died this year will have left a significant legacy. One of the greatest is that of the multi-talented Bob Brockie. He packed a huge amount into his 93 years and even in the last few months he remained inquisitive and active.
I would visit him on Tuesday afternoons at Sevenoaks and we would chat about a wide range of topics. He had an incredible knowledge on a great range of subjects such as the sciences, politics, the arts, geography, current affairs and history.
His friend the computer
In his last years when he was bed-ridden, the computer was his friend and on it he:
- communicated with hundreds of people in the nation and around the globe
- did research on a wide variety of subjects
- composed music and listened to many classical pieces
- learnt some Mandarin
- watched armies of the world on parade
- drew cartoons, but struggled with Luxon’s bald head
- created files on many subjects, including breasts!
His illustrating skill was obvious from his paintings, drawings and cartooning. He was crafting cartoons to the very end and sent them to papers around the world. In the last few years he produced 400 wonderful illustrations of living things from amoebas to mammoths but couldn’t find a publisher! It was designed to be a colouring book for all ages. Hopefully it will eventually get into print.
Scientist, cartoonist, journalist, author, linguist – the world has lost a great man and I have lost a very good friend who was multi-talented, witty, irreverent, fearless and humble. What a life!
