Ronald Hugh Morrieson

Ronald Hugh Morrieson of Hawera, Taranaki was a novelist and short story writer in the New Zealand vernacular. He earned his living as a musician and music teacher and played in dance bands throughout south Taranaki. He lived in Hawera all his life and this town appears (under other names) in his novels. He was a heavy drinker throughout his life and this contributed to his early death.

He wrote four novels, all of which have been adapted for the cinema: The Scarecrow 1963 (The Scarecrow 1982), Came A Hot Friday 1964 (Came A Hot Friday 1985), Predicament 1975 (Predicament 2010) and Pallet on the Floor 1976 (Pallet on the Floor 1984).
Two short stories were published posthumously; Cross My Heart And Cut My Throat and The Chimney, both in 1974.

Morrieson enjoyed some success with his first novel which received good reviews in Australia but he struggled to publish his later novels. He lamented to Maurice Shadbolt in early 1972, “I hope I’m not another one of these poor buggers who get discovered when they’re dead”, only to die in obscurity in his small home town of Hawera.

During the early 1990s, Morrieson's house on the corner of Regent St and South Road, Hawera was pulled down to make way for a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet. A protest group from within Hawera who called themselves 'The Scarecrow Committee' after the name of one of Morrieson's novels tried in vain to prevent the author's house being pulled down. However there was little support from townsfolk, local identities or the town council to have Morrieson's historic house stand in the way of KFC.

Following the unsuccessful campaign to save Morrieson's house, one of the 'Scarecrow Committee's supporters, Mark Burt, created a cafe/bar in Hawera in honour of Morrieson and fittingly named it 'Morriesons' The instigator of the 'Scarecrow Committee', Hawera artist and writer Tim Chadwick along with author and friend of Morrieson, Maurice Shadbolt officially cut the ribbon at the official opening of Morrieson's bar on Victoria Street, Hawera.

The annual Ronald Hugh Morrieson Literary Awards take place during the third school term each year. This is open to secondary school students whose parents are South Taranaki District Council ratepayers. Since 2009, the short story competition also included an open section for persons over the age of 15 and living in Taranaki.

-adapted from wikipedia