FOREWORD

PHIL NIXON

MAYOR OF SOUTH TARANAKI

Ronald Hugh Morrieson was a true product of South Taranaki. Having attended primary and secondary school in Hāwera, Morrieson lived his entire life in the house built by his grandfather at the corner of Regent Street and South Road. He excelled in English Literature from a very young age, and this skill, combined with his life experiences in small town, rural South Taranaki created the basis of material for his stories. Morrieson had a unique style from many other New Zealand writers because of his vivid depictions of New Zealand provincial life and colloquial language.

Locals who knew Morrieson have some interesting opinions of the man and he certainly did not go unnoticed in the community. Unfortunately, his fame did not get noticed more widely until he passed away and was, as he predicted “one of those poor buggers who got discovered after they’d died”.

South Taranaki has a wealth of talented and creative people and I admire all of you for demonstrating these skills. COVID-19 has certainly impacted many people within our District and country in a variety of ways and the experience of lockdown has been a clear theme in the entries this year.

Congratulations to all who have submitted entries for the Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards this year, I am sure that Ronald Morrieson would be very proud to know that he has inspired so many to people to continue to share our stories.