'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.
A subject in the middle of nowhere, this local hall, probably a war memorial, on that wonderful stretch of highway that runs from Gisborne to Opotiki via the Waioeka Gorge, appealed to me by virtue of its colour, simplicity and no-nonsense application of corrugated iron for the public good.
It also appealed as a perfect example of New Zealanders' propensity to spell incorrectly. I wonder whose fault that was? The signwriter? Or the person who handed the signwriter a piece of paper with the name of the hall on it? We'll never know.
Kaitaratahi is listed in Dollimore's 'New Zealand Guide' but was overlooked or ignored by both A.W.Reed's 'A Dictionary of Maori Place Names' and by Reed's later 'A Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names'. Perhaps Reeds couldn't handle the spelling?
© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
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