Ronald Hugh Morrieson

Ronald Hugh Morrieson (29 January 1922 - 26 December 1972) of Hawera, Taranaki was a novelist and short story writer in the New Zealand vernacular.

He wrote four novels: "The Scarecrow" 1963, "Came A Hot Friday" 1964, "The Predicament" 1975 and "Pallet on the Floor" 1976. Three of his novels were adapted for the cinema, "The Predicament" being the odd one out. Two short stories were published posthumously; "Cross My Heart And Cut My Throat" and "The Chimney", both in 1974.

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” [ [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=5M57 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography] ] , only to die in obscurity in his small home town of Hawera, several years before "The Scarecrow" (1982), "Came a Hot Friday" (1984) and "Pallet on the Floor" (1986) became successful movies in the 1980s.

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. [cite web|url=http://www.nzlive.com/en/south-taranaki-district-council|title=South Taranaki District Council|publisher=NZLive.com|accessdate=2007-11-17]

References

External links

* [http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3207 Literary Encyclopaedia]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0606302/ "Ronald Hugh Morrieson" at the IMDb Database]