FOREWORD

PHIL NIXON

MAYOR OF SOUTH TARANAKI

The Ronald Hugh Morrieson awards are a very important part of the South Taranaki Literary calendar.

Ronald Hugh Morrieson was a true product of Hāwera and South Taranaki. Apart from a short time living in Auckland, he spent his whole life in our district. This makes him unique and different from many other New Zealand writers. He was an indigenous author of this area. His stories are moulded from the life he lived in our District.

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

There are so many talented and creative people in our community, I congratulate all of you. It is great to see entries continuing to increase indicating how valuable this local competition is. Many entries are first timers so that is good for the ongoing future of the competition.

Congratulations to all who have submitted an entry for the Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards this year, I am sure that Ronald would be very proud to know that he has inspired so many to participate in the wonderful art of story writing.

Comment from the former Mayor - Ross Dunlop

Over the last 12 years as Mayor I have really enjoyed being involved in these awards. There have been many changes and improvements. I would particularly like to thank Council staff member, Pam Jones, for her dedication and commitment to making these awards such a success. I wish the awards all the very best for the future and I’m sure that the new Mayor Phil Nixon and the Council will continue to support the awards.