LOCAL LIFE
ONE OF THE HAWKESBURY ’ S FINEST ...
Trevor and Sally Niass with little Gus . Gus is just one of the many animals they care for on their Roseleigh property at North Richmond . Trevor , as they say , has lived a life ! by Greg Martin
There ’ s no way in the world you could call Trevor Niass a “ big noter ”.
Interviewing the 60-year-old for this yarn , I nearly had to hitch up four horses to drag out of him the names of big stars he ’ s worked with on the Idiot Box and the Silver Screen . Trevor laughs when I call him a movie star ! “ Mate , I ’ ve been in my fair share of TV shows and advertisements , and movie productions , but just as a horse wrangler or bit player ,” Mr Modesty exclaimed .
But Trevor ’ s expertise with our equine friends has ensured he is one of the go-to horsemen when wranglers are required on set to control horses , either on horseback or driving a coach-and-four .
Such is his expertise and affable nature , Trevor has rubbed shoulders and become respected for his horsemanship and willingness to work by directors , set crew , star performers and other cast members .
Among the many celebrated movie industry folk he has worked with are Russell Crowe , Geoffrey Rush , Johnny Depp , Javier Bardem , Baz Luhrmann , Leonardo DiCaprio , Joel Egerton and Isla Fisher . His resume begins with his first gig as a wrangler for the 2011 TV Series , Wild Boys , filmed in and around the Wilberforce region .
Since then , he has worked on numerous movie productions including Gods of Egypt , Pirates of the Caribbean ( Dead Men Tell No Tales ), The Great Gatsby and The Nightingale .
Perhaps his favourite times on set were during the multi-award-winning 2014 production of The Water Diviner , starring the great Russell Crowe , who was also making his directorial debut .
The movie was shot in the Turkish cities of Mugla , Kayakoy and Istanbul and in Australia at Port Augusta and Maslin Beach which was depicted as Gallipoli Beach . I asked Trevor how he found Russel Crowe . “ Generally , in front of the camera or in the director ’ s chair ,” Trevor laughed . Gradually – ever so gradually – I extracted how
Trevor and Russell related .
“ Russell ’ s eye for detail is fantastic and I suppose he was impressed with the way I handled the horses and had them ready when required to go before the cameras ,” Trevor said .
“ OK , we got on really well when cast and crew were having a drink after the day ’ s shooting – he always called me over to join his company and yeah , we did develop a friendship .”
“ I ’ ve had a standing invitation to get up to his place at Nana Glen ( inland from Coffs Harbour ) and he ’ s got my ( phone ) number .”
To get that out of Trevor was like extracting a molar without anaesthetic !
However , he was chuffed to talk about his career as a trotting driver .
Such were his talents before he gave it away after the 1990-91 season , aged in his early 20s , he had chalked up over 100 victories , including a good handful at Harold Park , then one of the nation ’ s premier courses .
Such were his driving skills , in 1987 he was selected to represent New South Wales at the Junior ( under 23 years ) Australasian Harness Championships in New Zealand .
In each of the championship races , drivers were matched with their pacers by being drawn out of 6 ISSUE 166 // MARCH 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT