The Country 14/05/25: Craig Wiggins talks to Jamie Mackay

Today, we find our resident rural health advocate at the Speight’s Ale House in Palmerston North.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Glove catching up with this bloke on the country because
he's one of the best blokes in the country. How
about that for an intro Craig Wiggy Wiggins Rural and
mental health campaigner. I hear that you're going to be
loitering with intent tonight at the best at the best
get it right spats Ale House in the country, Palming
North tonight.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, made on my guest up here with Tim and
beneath Edwin and of course Enderson's as well, and looking
forward to it. They've got a mental health awareness night
and lean on the Gate night and it's combined with
the food and beverage and tasting as well. And I
see you're a copy of the menu. It's pretty flash.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah, it's flash a right. And also the Kadrona distilleries involved,
so they've got bear and whiskey matches with all five courses.
What is the fundraising what are you raising funds for?

Speaker 2 (00:48):
So the Lean on a Gate campaign made them all
about getting that mental health and awareness around them, strengthening
communities all throughout New Zealand. So Tim's been a great
Tim and Venicea have been great to us when we've
been up here for the Games and they said we
would like to get behind you and then support you
in that space. So I'm really grateful for that year.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
What else are you up to, because leen on a
gate talk to a mate's not your only arm.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Oh yeah, there's a fair but going on. I mean,
I'm a part of the course as well at a
lot of racetracks around the country, and my life's pretty
busy these days away from home. But very shortly we're
heading around the country Slave McFarlane, myself and a representative
Andrew Roland from Foresight Bar and we're doing a lot
of talks throughout New Zealand on the Lean on the
Gate campaign and also from there. Once we've done those

(01:33):
talks at a lot of the clubs, we will be
able to initiate some training for those people that want
to be more involved in supporting their communities and wellness
and well being and maybe even suicide says.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
And if that's not enough, as soon as we finish
this phone conversation, Craig Wiggy Wiggins, you're off to address
the young adults. I won't say the kids at Fielding
Agricultural High although they've dropped the agricultural but it's just
Fielding High It is one of the great schools in
this country.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, definitely, Jamie. I went to Fielding ag Culture High
School back in the eighties and came Dixon and the
crew from where at the rural games during the sharing
and they asked if I'd come back and talk about
career choices and how life can change and stuff like that.
And I've had so many different changes in my life.
Just was the connections that I've had, like yourself, for example,
over the years. And yeah, so it's a bit of

(02:22):
a progress to go back. There's one hundred agriculture and
horticulture students that'll get to listen to me this afternoon,
so that's awesome.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
A whole lot of good rugby players came out of
Fielding egg I think of the White Locks, Aaron Smith
and many others. Too many to mention.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
What happened to you, mate, I was always a horseman,
so I changed shows a different path. But yeah, even
on the women's sidelight, the Hirny, Sarah Herny and some
of those, some of those ladies that came out of
Fielding Eggs school as well. It's been great rugby college
that probably gets under mentioned except for on your.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
Show Great Rugby College, no doubt about it. Before I
let you go. When you're not gallivanting around the county
doing God's work in the space of rural and mental health,
you're living in mid Canterbury. I know that you're sort
of a bit more of a town y a lifestyle
of these days. But how's the Mid Canterbury season going.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
It's so weird there, mate. You never realized just how
much he actually looked forward to a Northwestern until yesterday
where she finally got one. We had one hundred and
eighty mills there one week and then another twenty five
on top of it last Friday. So the place is
pretty drenched to be fair, but there's been plenty of
good grass growth. But the arable guys will tell you,
any of those guys will tell you it's been a
tough season and then getting crops off well.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
At the spates Alehouse in Palmerston, North and I mean
this hand on heart. It is the best spaits alehouse
in the country. And there's a few good ones. There's
a good one in Hamilton, no doubt we'll see them
at field days. You enjoy the potato doughnuts, the tatia tuna,
the boil up, which is the chicken and smoky or dumplings.
I'm not quite sure on that one, WHIGGI. You've got
the pork Valley and then you've got the espresso pannacotta,

(03:58):
all with Emerson's and Kadrona Distillery matches, and it's all
going for a good cause. Saalo to Tim and Berney
at the Alehouse.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
All you mate. We're having a coffee with him now,
so thank you very much.