Dick Scott (historian)

Dick Scott
ONZM
Born Richard George Scott
1923
Palmerston North, New Zealand
Language English
Alma mater Massey College
Genre Non-fiction
Subject New Zealand and Pacific history
Notable awards Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement
Relatives Rosie Scott (daughter)

Richard George Scott ONZM (born 1923) is an influential New Zealand historian and journalist.

Work

His first book, 151 Days, an account of the 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute, was published in 1952.[1]

Scott's most well-known work is Ask That Mountain (1975), which recounts the events of the non-violent Māori resistance to European occupation at Parihaka. The story had largely been forgotten by non-Māori New Zealanders until the book's publication. It has been reprinted nine times, and former New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, called it "one of New Zealand's most influential books".[2][3] Scott also published an earlier, briefer account of the events in 1954, The Parihaka Story.[1]

Scott has written several histories related to the Auckland region, such as In Old Mount Albert: Being a History of the District (1961), Fire on the Clay: The Pakeha Comes to West Auckland (1979) and Seven Lives on Salt River (1979), which won the New Zealand Book Award for Non-fiction. He has also written more general New Zealand works, including Inheritors of a Dream: A Pictorial History of New Zealand (1962) and Winemakers of New Zealand (1964), and Pacific histories such as Years of the Pooh-Bah: A Cook Islands History (1991) and Would a Good Man Die? Niue Island, New Zealand, and the late Mr Larsen (1993).[1]

In 2004, Scott published his autobiography, Dick Scott: A Radical Writer's Life, which recounts his early years in the Communist Party, as well as his writing approach and career.[3][4]

Scott has stated that he no longer writes, and hasn't re-read any of his books for "as long as I can remember ... You don't re-read old history".[5]

Awards

Scott was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to historical research in the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Julbilee Honours,[6] and in 2007 he received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Non-fiction.[3]

Personal life

Scott has five children, and lives with his second wife in the suburb of Mount Eden, in Auckland, New Zealand. One of his children is the novelist Rosie Scott.[5]

In 2011, Scott made headlines when he auctioned a Don Binney painting that he had owned for almost 50 years, and donated the NZD $300,000 proceeds to the Christchurch earthquake appeal.[5][7]

Selected works

References

  1. 1 2 3 Robinson, Roger; Wattie, Nelson, eds. (1998). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. Oxford University Press.
  2. ↑ "Dick Scott - The New Word". Creative New Zealand. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Scott, Dick". New Zealand Book Council. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Stone, Russell (6 December 2004). "Dick Scott: A Radical Writer's Life (review)". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Hewitson, Michele (2 April 2011). "Michele Hewitson Interview: Dick Scott". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee honours list 2002". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Lot 26: Kotare Over Ratana Church, Te Kao". Webb's. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
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