The Country 16/03/26: John Fagan talks to Jamie Mackay

This agrarian “Double All Black” was inducted as the first member of the New Zealand Rural Sports Hall of Fame.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, let's welcome on to the country. John Fagan, Agrarian
double All Black, became the first inductee into the New
Zealand Rural Sports Hall of Fame on Friday night at
the Rural Sports Awards in Palmerston, North and honor accompanied
by the Lifetime Legacy Award, which was also awarded to
the legendary harness racing trainer Harry Perdin. John Fagan, it

(00:24):
was great to catch up with you at the Golden Shears.
You've had many honors bestowed upon you in your long
career in sharing and fencing at administration. This must be
the icing on the.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Cake for you. Yes, hi, Jamie. Look, it's pretty humbling,
all right, very very honored, you know, with all the
other great people out there to be selected and get this,
it's really humbling.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Well, you you're sort of the Jeff Wilson, if you
don't mind me saying so, of a rural sports because
I don't think we'll ever see another double all black,
I'm not sure or whether we'll ever see another double
agrarian All black because sharing you were in all black
and obviously in fencing as well. Here's the question for
your John Fagan, which were you better at fencing or sharing?

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well, austrangy enough. I won the fencing twice before I
ended the show.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah, before you entered a sharing show. You mean yes, yeah,
because I'm just reading off the pr blurb that came
with your appointment. You started sharing and shows at the
age of twenty six, which is relatively old compared to,
for instance, your younger brother, Sir David Fagan, who was
into the minner's teens.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yes, exactly all of those days we were in the
sharing gang in the local area, and sharing competitions ever
even came on my radar. But between haggard cheering and
seeking cheer or main cheer we call it, we used
to fence, and then I became part of a three

(02:05):
man fencing gang and it took you know, it took
president over everything else except that sharing was done seasonally.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
It's an amazing record. I mean, you've got so many records.
You've held world records, You've won the Golden Shares. Interestingly, though,
I think this is a good one. You were the
first sharer to share in terms of world record attempts
seven hundred, and then you were the first to break
the eight hundred Bear era as well, and I was
looking at your world a lot of your world sharing records,

(02:35):
John Fagan, they came. They came all at once. You
must have been breaking them literally every fortnight at one stage.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah. Well, what happened, Jamie was that I wasn't a
ten stand record of Eddie Ready's and that I caught
the bug and I was sharing in a shed in
the back of Bennidale and I just about eat called
the single Lamb record I think at that time was

(03:04):
six fifty four. So I decided to have a go
at the record and did seven seven o two, and
Sampson came back with seven I think seven o eight,
and then I came back with seven forty and then
Sampson came back with seven forty three, and then I

(03:27):
came back with the eight hundred.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
Yeah, well you did what did you do? Let me
have a look. Helped me out here someone eight hundred
and where was it?

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Eight o four?

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Eight o four because I reckon and correct me if
I'm wrong. That Alan McDonald, another great King Country shareer,
he got eight o five. And then David, your younger brother,
had eighteen down on Riversdale and I was there that
day one of the great days of sport.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah, yep, that's correct. And we had a great day
with David down there.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Well you did, you gave him the biggest strum up
I've ever heard at halftime.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Yeah, oh no, that was just a family talk. Yep.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
Yes, I'd imagine there's no shirkers in the in the
Fagan family. So like, who's the most competitive? Here's a
good another good question for you, David, David or you
who's the most competitive? Man?

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Oh? Look, look, we grew up in a family of competitors,
you know, with with six six kids one one sister.
We competed with everything as youngsters, so I think we
probably inherited it.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Okay, yes, sorry, competing.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
With David goes in the latter years he was way
more competitive than me.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
Well he was a bit younger, that was why.

Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yeah, probably, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
All right, So, and you were a four times winner
of the Golden Pliers at field Days and the other
The other part of the reason you were recognized, John
Fagan was because of your administer stuation, not only in fencing,
but also in sharing. You were the co founder of
the news was I think it was originally the Tikiwity
Shares but it's the New Zealand Shares now and that
has gone on to be as just as big a

(05:12):
title as the Golden Shares. You must be very proud
of what you've created there.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Oh, very very proud. And you know what we were
part of with Tiquity were building the statue as well.
That was a copy of the Mary carving and that's
a real tourist attraction now.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
On tiguity absolutely. Hey listen, John Fagan, congratulations, so wonderful
that you were recognized along with Barry Purdin and I
and I know apparently you enjoyed a few oysters, a
good feed of oysters over the weekend at the spates
Ale House and Palmei North, one of the great pubs
in the country.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yes, we had a magnificent host and he shoutows a
few oysters and it made my night.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Thank you. Good on you, John Fagan. Yes he should,
he's got an MV. Probably would be a sur like
his brother. Anyhow, what a fantastic recipient. He was the
first inductee into the New Zealand Rural Sports Hall of Fame.