Rolland McKellar with his new biography A Towering Talent. Photo/ Alyssa Smith
When Rolland Mckellar entered a Hāwera cafe, he had no idea the visit would lead to him publishing a biography on a famous South Taranaki author.
Last year Rolland self-published a biography on novelist and short story writer Ronald Hugh Morrieson titled A Towering Talent. After selling out on the limited 200 copies, the book had another print run, to celebrate Ronald’s centennial.
“I’ve had a lot of positive feedback about the book, with people saying I’ve brought Ronald Hugh Morrieson back to life through the pages.”
Rolland says his interest in Ronald started when he, his mother Paula, and sister Bernice visited Morrieson’s Cafe Bar on Victoria St in Hāwera.
The cafe featured items rescued from the demolition of the author’s homestead, at the corner of Regent St and South Rd, a home where Morrieson had lived most of his life. The home was demolished in April 1993 to make way for a fast-food restaurant, but Rolland says the Morrieson cafe has done well to keep the author’s memory alive.
“It had the staircase, fire surrounds, and the tables and bar constructed from the timber saved from the homestead. There was also memorabilia on display including pictures of Ronald with his band, as well as Tim Chadwick’s collage featuring aspects of Ronald’s life.
“When the KFC was upgraded in 2018, the plaque that had been placed there ended up in the skip. The mayor at the time, Ross Dunlop, and the KFC chief executive put a replica plaque in the restaurant again, with the help of Tawhiti Museum’s Nigel Ogle, who made sure the wording on the plaque was right. That was quite good, a wrong put right.”
Rolland says he discovered Ronald had written four novels, two published during his lifetime, the other two after his death, but all had been adapted into films.
“He’s the only New Zealand writer to have this distinction. The first paragraph of his novel The Scarecrow features the best-known line in New Zealand literature.”
Rolland isn’t the only person impressed by Ronald’s work, with two New Zealand writers also agreeing.
“Maurice Shadbolt, Ron’s closest literacy friend, said the two novels Ronald published in his lifetime should have been New Zealand’s best-ever sellers. The first person to write a biography on Ronald, Peter Simpson, said Ronald is a novelist of unusual distinction and originality with an unusually broad appeal which is potentially wider than any previous New Zealand writers. I’d like for there to be a bit of a renaissance to put Ronald where he belongs and I hope my biography helps to do that.”
Initially, Rolland planned to produce a pamphlet with information about places associated with the novelist, but after reading the only other two biographies written about Ronald, his plan changed.
“The last biography written by Julia Millen was published in 1996. Nothing had been produced on Ronald since. I felt the need to do something, to bring things up to date and rescue precious memories. There’s a 25-year gap between my book and the last biography published on Ronald. I like to think that I’ve brought everyone back up to speed about Ron. My book has around 83 photos of him as well so while people read, they can also look at images of South Taranaki’s famous author.”
Rolland spent 12 years compiling information and interviewing around 40 people with a connection to Ronald.
“Of those people I interviewed, most of them are now deceased. I’d like to think that I’ve preserved their memories. I’m pleased I wrote this book. I like to think that I’ve captured the memories of those who knew Ronald. I feel very privileged that they shared all those memories with me.”
The biography was a team effort, Rolland says, not just from the interviewees but from his family members as well.
“My sister Bernice created the cover image for this book. I wanted the cover to have an image of Ronald in his younger years, in front of the Hawera water tower. Bernice created such a wonderful cover, and also the back cover featuring Billy T James, as his character in Came A Hot Friday.”
Rolland’s wish is that more people recognise Ronald’s talent.
“He was such a great writer, he shouldn’t just be a notable figure in Taranaki, he should be recognised worldwide.”
A Towering Talent is available for purchase from Stratford and Hāwera Paper Plus stores, Tawhiti Museum, Past Times in Opunake, and Poppies and Book Stop Gallery in New Plymouth or by emailing Rolland directly: rtdmckellar@xtra.co.nz.