Carving a house from memory
. Tom Bowden grew up on a unique piece of land on the east coast of Northland with his five siblings, revelling in the freedom afforded by the 108-hectare farm that runs along three kilometres of cliffs near Matapouri. But freedom doesn’t always mean easy. Tom’s father Bernard died when the children were young, widowing his wife Katharine at 51. Not long afterwards, Katharine returned to her career in medicine and supported the family as a GP. From her Ngunguru base, she served the larger community, which extended north to Tutukaka, Matapouri and Sandy Bay.
