Veteran columnist Garth George calls it day

FINAL DRAFT: Sometimes controversial, Garth George has written his last public column, bowing out of the world of journalism.PHOTO/BEN FRASER

Never been short for an opinion

He's infuriated hundreds of feminists in America, shared his faith by writing Easter editorials and been called all manner of insults - but Garth George says he has loved sharing his views through his columns.

But, since the beginning of this year that love started to disappear and his weekly columns had become a chore and that's why he's decided to put away his pen and focus on enjoying what days he has left.

Mr George, who has terminal cancer, said perhaps it was the pain medication he took, but the writing had stopped flowing like it used to.

He said in the past few months his columns had been a good way of keeping his mind off what was happening to him.

"It wasn't a decision I made easily but it got to the stage it became a chore, and if you're not enjoying it, why do it?"

Mr George said he never imagined his column writing days would last more than 18 years, after first being given the opportunity.

"I found my place, quite frankly, and I found something I enjoy."

Mr George said when he was first asked to write his column he asked the editor why he'd been chosen - and he was told it was because he saw things differently.

"What I see is coloured by my Christian beliefs."

He said one of his most memorable columns was one he wrote for the New Zealand Herald several years back about feminism, where he argued that it had gone too far and become too radical.

After it was picked up by an American website he received more than 100 emails from "furious feminists" in the United States calling him all manner of filthy names.

"I've always said what I think."

He said he'd never been upset or offended by the criticism.

"I have no emotional investment in my writing, it's a purely intellectual exercise. I've got no anger or resentment or bitterness and I don't get upset by sometimes rancid critics."

He also made a pact early on not to respond to critics - "If I did I'd have no time for anything else."

Mr George said he'd only had one column rejected during his time - a column raving about the Jeep after being flown down to National Park to test drive the first of the new vehicles.

"It was thrown out on the basis that it was too commercial."

He said he'd appreciated the free rein to write about whatever he wanted - and realised that the editors of papers often put up with "a lot of crap" because of his columns.

"Part of it is the fact that I have been blatantly Christian. A lot don't like that at all."

It's that Christian message shared through his Christmas and Easter columns in particular that he is most proud of.

While best known of late for his columns, Mr George's journalism career has spanned more than five decades since he started at the Southland Times in 1958. During his career he worked for a variety of papers including the New Zealand Herald, Auckland Star, Dominion Post and Rotorua Daily Post.

Mr George said his journalism highlights included covering the Manapouri Power Scheme and a fire at the Te Anau Hotel.

He said his time working at the New Zealand Herald in charge of editorial pages was the "most enjoyable" of his career.

- The Rotorua Daily Post would like to thank Garth George for all of his hard work and efforts in the past. His contribution to the paper will be missed by many.