They may have only been living in Bluff for a short time but Frazer Murdoch and Megan Taylor have made quite an impression in the community.

Frazer moved from Invercargill to Bluff 2½ years ago, while Megan, who first met Frazer at Steampunk events, is a South African, who moved to Auckland 5 years ago before choosing to settle in the south with Frazer.

Since moving south they have become immersed in the community, their fresh ideas and artistic skills complementing each other to create displays, events and now a small business.

Frazer is the self-proclaimed southernmost Dieselpunk in the world and has used his creative talents to come up with many great ideas and several displays, most notably at his local watering hole, the Eagle Hotel, and outside Oyster Allsorts, a quirky kiwiana café, museum and cinema in Bluff.

One of those ideas was to make a fire drum for himself, a drum he decorated with a plasma cutter. The idea has led to a part-time business with 5 drums already sold, orders for 3 more, plus orders for a letterbox and a dive helmet as well. Frazer and Megan have also joined Bluff Promotions and with the backing of the group and working with others in the community will bring together a mid-winter Festival during Matariki with events and activities such as a Ball, Shadow Boxes and other ideas and events taking shape in a Fire & Light seafaring themed festival.

One of the Fire Drums created by Frazer Murdoch and Megan Taylor, this one with a Stag’s head pattern. Photo: Megan Taylor

Frazer is also experimenting with indoor lamps, cutting them out of old fire extinguishers. “I’m the worlds southernmost Diesel Punk creator and becoming an iconic character in Bluff,” he says.

Megan is a trained artist and her talents combine to make the duo a formidable team. “Frazer has terrific ideas and we look at ideas together and I sketch them and he cuts them out. The fire drums are really spectacular.” 

Both Frazer and Megan are busy people. They both work fulltime, while Megan is also studying Health & Safety. “We are a bit of a tag team,” says Megan. “I will get home from work and do a design in the evening and then if Frazer is on night shift he will come home and cut it in the morning. It is an amazing alchemy. My strengths are ink and water colour whereas we are working with metal and fire.”

So much of what Frazer does is for the benefit of Bluff says Megan. “Bluff has been very welcoming and he is keen to give back.”

The couple love Bluff. ‘It is so welcoming and the southern hospitality is wonderful,” says Megan. Frazer says, “even Invercargill seems a bit too big now,” while Megan adds, “the people here are quite lovely. It is a charming, small community whereas in a big city you are quite anonymous.”

Watch out for some of the couple’s creations when the mid-winter Festival takes place in Bluff! Full details of the events and activities of the Festival will be released soon.