Photo: Dean Kozanic for Stuff.co.nz
David Bain was a master cooper (barrel-maker) from Christchurch, New Zealand. He learned the skill of cooperage in the 1960s in Scotland, and started a business in Ferrymead Historic Park after moving to New Zealand. As the local wineries flourished, so did his business.
In due course, he was hired as a cooper by filmmakers for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Underworld, The Lion, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Witch and The Wardrobe, and The Hobbit.
Bain is not to be confused with another famous New Zealander of the same name. That David Bain was convicted in 1995 of the murder of his parents and siblings. He was acquitted of all charges in 2009.
Bain said he had “heard it all.” When working as bar manager at the Court Theatre, “People would order two shots, then laugh.” But he maintained, “I don’t care. It was my name long before it was his.”
Bain was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor on February 24, 2012. He and his wife Maureen had hoped he had at least another six months, allowing him to sell his business and attend his daughter’s wedding. Tragically, he passed away on Thursday, April 26, just days short of his daughter’s wedding.
Maureen Bain said, “We will be having two celebrations this week; one of David’s life at his funeral tomorrow and one for the start of our daughter’s new life.”
She described her husband as, “everything to all people. He could be serious, funny, infuriating even. He was full of surprises. We’d been married nearly 30 years and he would always come out with something unexpected.”
“He was cheated of a couple of decades or so, but what he managed to pack into [his life] was amazing.”
In remembrance of Bain, I suggest you re-watch Peter Jackson’s 6th Production Video in which Bain’s dwarf-laden barrels are floating down the Pelorus River. It is an iconic scene from the novel, and Bain’s contribution to its portrayal in the Hobbit film should be remembered.
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