Geoff Chapple | |
|---|---|
 Chapple with wife Miriam Beatson in 2000 | |
| Born | Geoffrey John Chapple 1944 (age 79–80) |
| Occupation |
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| Language | New Zealand English |
| Nationality |  New Zealand |
| Notable works | Te Araroa: the New Zealand trail (2002) |
| Spouse | Miriam Beatson |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives |
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Geoffrey John Chapple ONZM (born 1944) [1] is a New Zealand author and journalist. He conceived and founded Te Araroa, a walking track the length of New Zealand.
Chapple grew up in West Auckland and attended Henderson High School. [2] He began his journalism career writing for student magazine Craccum at the University of Auckland, and was appointed as editor in March 1967 whilst also working as journalist for the Auckland Star . [2] [3] [4]
In 1974, Chapple was a founding member of the music group From Scratch. [5] [6] One of the group's well-known pieces was Pacific 3-2-1-Zero, a percussive piece written in 1981 in protest against nuclear testing and waste dumping in the Pacific Ocean. A 1993 film of the piece won the Grand Prix at the Midem Visual Music Awards in 1994. [7]
Chapple was one of the writers of Gung Ho – Rewi Alley of China, a documentary filmed in 1979 about famous New Zealand writer and political activist Rewi Alley, and its companion documentary The Humble Force. Chapple subsequently wrote a biography about Alley that was published in 1980. [8] [9] In 1997, he co-wrote the libretto for an opera in two acts called Alley, with music by Jack Body, which premiered at the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts in 1998. [10] [11]
Chapple was a leading figure in the anti-apartheid protests surrounding the 1981 springbok rugby tour. [12] [13] In 1984, Chapple published 1981: The Tour, a book chronicling the events from the protesters' perspective.
Chapple co-wrote the script for The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey , an acclaimed 1988 fantasy film directed by Vincent Ward. In 1989, he shared the award for Best Original Screenplay with Ward and co-writer Kely Lyons at the New Zealand Film Awards. [14]
In 1990, Chapple received the Sargeson Fellowship, one of New Zealand's leading literary awards. [15]
In 1994, in an article in the Sunday Star-Times , Chapple proposed the creation of a walking track from New Zealand's northernmost point at Cape Reinga to its southernmost point at Bluff. [16] [17] He began the volunteer movement to put in place a New Zealand-long walking track and founded Te Araroa Trust, the organisation that began construction of the various links for a continuous off-road track 2,920 kilometres long. He mapped the track, then walked it and wrote the book Te Araroa – The New Zealand Trail (Random House 2002), which won the Environment category at the Montana Book Awards in 2003. [18]
Chapple was the first resident at the Michael King Writers Centre on the slopes of Mount Victoria when it opened in 2005. [10] While in residence, he wrote a play called Hatch, or the Plight of the Penguins, which was produced by the Auckland Theatre Company and toured New Zealand and Tasmania from 2007 to 2010. [19] [20]
In the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, Chapple was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tramping, tourism and literature. [21] In 2013, he won the CLNZ Writers' Award for his project Terrain. [22] [23]
Chapple is a grandson of James Chapple, controversial Unitarian minister and pacifist, and a cousin of novelist Maurice Gee. [2]
Chapple and his wife Miriam have three children. [2] His son Amos is a photojournalist, [24] his older daughter Polly is a digital design and transformation manager,[ citation needed ] and his younger daughter Irene is a journalist and filmmaker. [25]
Janet Paterson Frame was a New Zealand author. She is internationally renowned for her work, which includes novels, short stories, poetry, juvenile fiction, and an autobiography, and received numerous awards including being appointed to the Order of New Zealand, New Zealand's highest civil honour.
Frank Sargeson was a New Zealand short story writer and novelist. Born in Hamilton, Sargeson had a middle-class and puritanical upbringing, and initially worked as a lawyer. After travelling to the United Kingdom for two years and working as a clerk on his return, he was convicted of indecent assault for a homosexual encounter and moved to live on his uncle's farm for a period. Having already written and published some short stories in the late 1920s, he began to focus on his writing and moved into his parents' holiday cottage where he would live for the rest of his life.
The 1981 South African rugby tour polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, where the South African rugby team continued their tour after departing New Zealand.
John Stanley Body was a New Zealand composer, ethnomusicologist, photographer, teacher, and arts producer. As a composer, his work comprised concert music, music theatre, electronic music, music for film and dance, and audio-visual gallery installations. A deep and long-standing interest in the music of non-Western cultures – particularly South-East Asian – influenced much of his composing work, particularly his technique of transcribing field recordings. As an organiser of musical events and projects, Body had a significant impact on the promotion of Asian music in New Zealand, as well as the promotion of New Zealand music within the country and abroad.
Rewi Alley was a New Zealand-born writer and political activist. A member of the Chinese Communist Party, he dedicated 60 years of his life to the cause and was a key figure in the establishment of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives and technical training schools, including the Peili Vocational Institute. Alley was a prolific writer about 20th century China, and especially the communist revolution. He also translated numerous Chinese poems.
Michael King was a New Zealand historian, author, and biographer. He wrote or edited over 30 books on New Zealand topics, including the best-selling Penguin History of New Zealand, which was the most popular New Zealand book of 2004.
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion, it also has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi with an estimated 92,349 people according to the 2018 census. The traditional rohe or tribal area of Ngāti Porou extends from Pōtikirua and Lottin Point in the north to Te Toka-a-Taiau in the south. The Ngāti Porou iwi also comprises 58 hapū (sub-tribes) and 48 mārae.
Craccum is the weekly magazine produced by the Auckland University Students' Association of the University of Auckland, New Zealand. It was founded in 1927. The name originated from the scrambled acronym of "Auckland University College Men's Common Room Committee".
Te Araroa is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Officially opened in 2011, it is made up of a mixture of previously made tracks and walkways, new tracks, and link sections alongside roads. Tramping the full length of the trail generally takes three to six months.
Thomas Oliver Newnham was a New Zealand political activist and educationalist. He was involved in several left wing causes: attacking institutional racism in New Zealand, and opposing the 1981 Springbok Tour and apartheid in general.
Robyn Jane Malcolm is a New Zealand actress, who first gained recognition for her role as nurse Ellen Crozier on the soap opera Shortland Street. She is best known for playing Cheryl West, matriarch to a sometimes criminal working-class family, in the television series Outrageous Fortune. She has also worked in Australia, including roles in the TV series Rake and Upper Middle Bogan. She plays the lead role in the six-part 2023 NZ drama After the Party.
Wi Kuki Kaa was a New Zealand actor in film, theatre and television.
Martin van Beynen is a New Zealand writer, print journalist, and former columnist for The Press in Christchurch.
Elspeth Somerville Sandys is a New Zealand author and script writer.
Edward Te Rangihiwinui Tauroa, known as Hiwi Tauroa, was a New Zealand rugby union player and coach, school principal, and civil servant of Māori descent.
The CLNZ Writers’ Award is made annually with the support of the Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) Cultural Fund. It is open to New Zealand writers of non-fiction, including educational material.
Shirley Frances Whitley Maddock was a New Zealand producer, television presenter, author and actress. After early work in theatre and radio, she became a pioneering figure in early New Zealand television. She produced and presented a number of award-winning documentaries, including New Zealand's first ever locally produced television documentary series, Islands of the Gulf (1964). Later in her career she wrote a number of non-fiction books about New Zealand's history and landscapes, worked as a book reviewer, and continued to make appearances on television and radio throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Elisabeth Easther is a New Zealand actor, broadcaster, journalist and playwright. She played Carla Crozier on New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street from May 1995 to July 1996, and has since had a varied career in television, radio, journalism and playwriting. Her play Seed won the Adam NZ Play Award for Best Play in 2014.
Michèle Edith A'Court is a New Zealand comedian, writer and feminist. She has toured New Zealand and international venues with her standup comedy shows and in 2010 was awarded the Female Comedian of the Decade at the NZ Comedy Guild Awards. A'Court has appeared in many TV shows since the late 1980s including What Now, 7Days and The Project. She is a regular columnist with The Spinoff and the author of two books. She was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the entertainment and comedy industries, in the 2023 New Year Honours.
