Henry Piet Drury van Asch

Childhood

Piet van Asch (born Henry Piet Drury van Asch) was born on 4 May 1911 in Waitotara, Whanganui, New Zealand. He was one of six children to William and Mattie van Asch (née Jameson). In 1912, when Piet was an infant, the family relocated to a site called Cave Station, outside Havelock North due to the rocky land at Kapara making it difficult to farm. Piet's mother, Mattie rechristened the farm Craggy Range, of which the property and surrounding area is still known.

Piet and his siblings (4 brothers and 1 sister) were predominantly raised by their mother, as William died during the Depression. All of the son's attended Christ's College in Christchurch, which Piet attended from 1925-1929. When he was not at school, he worked on the family farm with his brothers for an income of £1 per week. He was also a junior member of the Craggy Range Rifle Club alongside his brothers, which his mother helped run on their property.

Other professional accolades and contributions

Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society

Patron of the Hawke's Bay and East Coast Aero Club

Alfred O. Glasse award of the New Zealand Planning Institute (1975)

Council member of the Outward Bound Trust of New Zealand

Van Asch died on 27 October 1996, in Hastings. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. New Zealand Aerial Mapping continued until it was sold in 2005. The Company went into liquidation in 2014.

Van Asch family

The van Asch family was established in 1879 by Piet's grandfather, Gerrit van Asch. Gerrit was born in the Netherlands and migrated to New Zealand after being appointed director of a school to provide free education to those hard of hearing and deaf. Gerrit was trained in Rotterdam in the Oral (German) style of teaching. After the job was advertised, he was the only applicant who applied for the job trained in this method, which appealed to Sir Julius Vogel, then Agent-General for New Zealand in London. Van Asch was determined the best for the New Zealand school, and he established the Sumner School, where he was director until his retirement in 1906. The school was renamed in 1980 to Van Asch College to recognise his contributions.

Gerrit and his wife, Isabella (née Drury) had 9 children. Piet van Asch's father, William was the eldest son. The sons were heavily encouraged to pursue farming, and William attended Lincoln Agricultural College. William began farming with three of his brothers on the banks of Waiotara River, Kapara.

Van Asch married his first wife, Diana (née Wright) in 18 December 1940 at St Luke's Church, Havelock North. They settled in Havelock North and raised three daughters and a son. His son, Hugh van Asch was also involved in New Zealand Aerial Mapping Ltd (NZAM). Outside of work, van Ash enjoyed playing tennis and golf. He was a Rotarian with his membership extending over 50 years. Van Asch's first marriage ended in divorce. On 12 September 1980, he married Dorothy Freda Kennedy (née Ulmer) at Westminster, London before the couple returned to Hawke's Bay.

After having logged over 6700 commercial flying hours van Asch retired in 1980. In 1986, he was involved in the creation of Geoff Conly's book on Aerial Mapping New Zealand; Piet's Eye in the Sky: The story of New Zealand Aerial Mapping.

Van Asch had a keen interest in history, and was a member of the local heritage committee. In 1960, he became director of Hawke's Bay Newspapers, which published the Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune. In August 1975, he was made a life member of MOTAT, where several items belonging to van Asch and NZAM are now housed and displayed. This included the Manu Ruuri and a Stereoplotter used by NZAM, which are displayed at the Sir Keith Park Memorial Aviation Pavillion.