Peter Gossage
Born22 October 1946
Remuera, Auckland
Died30 July 2016
OccupationWriter, illustrator
LanguageEnglish
CitizenshipNew Zealand
GenreFiction books
SubjectMāori mythology
Years active1974-2016
Notable worksHow Maui slowed the Sun
Notable awardsStorylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book for How Maui Slowed the Sun.
SpouseJosephine (Tilly) Gossage
ChildrenMarama, Ra, Tahu, Aroha and Star Gossage

Peter Gossage (22 October 1946 – 30 July 2016) was a New Zealand author and illustrator. Known for his children's picture books based on Māori mythology, Peter published over 20 books with deceptively simple storytelling popular inside and outside of classrooms. He is best known for his book How Maui Slowed the Sun. Peter had worked on travelling displays outside of his books and also worked in television as a graphic and scenic artist on the TV2 show Happen Inn.

RNZ called Peter: "An author and illustrator responsible for helping popularise Māori tales in schools and homes."[1]

Early childhood

Peter was born in Remuera, Auckland, on 22 October 1946.[2] As a child he was always interested in art, spent most of his leisure time building rafts down in Hobson Bay play fighting and mimicking military scenes. Peter despised math. His nickname amongst his friends was Mekon, a reference from The Eagle comic of the 1950s and its antagonist, the Mighty Mekon. Peter recalls in an interview: "My mates called me Mekon because I had a broad general knowledge, academically, and we all got the Eagle." Peter was born to a piano tuner father and artist mother. His mother, Rita and sister, Nola were both graduates of Auckland University's Elam School of Fine Arts. His family inspired and encouraged his desire to make art, something that was passed on through to his own kids. His daughter, Star, would go own to create $15,000 paintings incorporating Māori concepts such as whānau and whakapapa.

Education

Peter attended Victoria Avenue Primary school as a young boy then Remuera Intermediate as a teen before settling at Auckland Boy' Grammar as a young adult where he would graduate in 1962. It's at this last school that he was taught by Terry McNamara, his English and Drama teacher who aided him later in his writing career. After an ultimatum from his mother, Peter ditched Elam to take up his first job as an office boy. Peter would also study Graphics part-time at Auckland University of Technology where he "...did everything from brochures to advertisements: illustrations, typesetting, a variety of things..."

Early career

Peter's first job after graduating from school was at an advertisement agency where he drew motifs for programmes. In 1964, Peter would travel to Canada to study silk screening before returning home to work as a scenic artist and graphic designer at TV2.

‘We used to do television programme summary captions, a graphic on a bit of cardboard, twelve inches by nine inches, to show what programmes were on that night. I’d try to have a good range of styles and illustrations. We used a lot of Māori graphics.’

Peter would work in this role for the next 10 years before catching the eye of publisher, Charles Strachan, who suggested Peter try creating a picture book. This suggestion was the birth of the Kiwi favourite, How Maui Found His Mother, published by Lansdowne in 1975. Peter would release five more titles by 1985.

In March 1980, Gossage began working at the Auckland War Memorial Museum as a display artist.[3][4] In 1987, Peter would channel his inner child, who loved to play with model soldiers and make war dioramas, to illustrate Kathryn Rountree's New Zealand Warriors series.

Writing career

Peter's first book published in 1975 was How Maui Found His Mother.[5][6][4] The character, Maui, would appear in many more books of his and would be remembered as a quick-witted, mischievous trickster. Alongside his writing, Peter is renowned for his very distinctive illustration style which drew kids in and kept them enamored at each turn of a page. Peter's books were published under the Penguin Random House New Zealand with 12 being successfully published and 10 still in print,[7] 8 of which were put together to be published in a hardback edition. The first official copy of this edition arrived just after Peter's death. His legacy lives on even after death as many Kiwis remember him as a trailblazer in the 70s, when very few picture books were successful in communities. He was one of the first to try tackle the unique brief locals were after but did so wonderfully. John Huria, senior editor at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research said Peter's books were:

"...a gateway for many children “to the Māori visual interpretation of the stories of Aotearoa[8].”

Despite his death in 2016, Peter is still celebrated and talked about these days. Peter's books sold tens of thousands of copies around New Zealand and continue to be popular sellers.[8] Bookshops around the country are still reordering them and even shipping them outside the country, some going to Kiwis overseas who want the books for their kids. Peter's audience isn't just kids however, as everyone – teachers, tourists and adults – love them just as much.

Criticism

Peter mentioned in an interview with a Kiwi blogger that he'd never really garnered any massive criticism for his books or his retellings of Māori mythology however on one occasion he approached Selwyn Muru from TV2 and asked, “Can you give us any advice?” to which Selwyn then replied with, “Why don’t you Pakeha leave our culture alone?” He wasn't a fan of a Pakeha's entire catalogue being based on Māori culture.[9]

Publications

  • 1975 - How Maui Found His Father and the Magic Jawbone, 36pp., ISBN 1869485785[10]
  • 1981 - The Fish of Maui, 32pp., ISBN 1869431340[11]
  • 1982 - How Maui Slowed the Sun, 36pp., ISBN 1869485734[12]
  • 1984 - How Maui Found the Secret of Fire, 35pp., ISBN 0143503790[13]
  • 1985 - How Maui defied the Goddess of Death, 36pp., ISBN 1869485742[14]
  • 1985 - The Black Knight, 32pp., ISBN 0864811101[15]
  • 1992 - Tahu, Ra and the Taniwha, 32pp., ISBN 1869480635[16]
  • 2001 - In the Beginning/I Te Timatanga, 32pp., ISBN 1869436121[17]
  • 2003 - Pania of the Reef, 32pp., ISBN 0143503553[18]
  • 2004 - Puhi-Huia and Pong, 40pp., ISBN 1869485025[19]
  • 2005 - Battle of Mountains, 32pp., ISBN 0143505637[20]
  • 2007 - Rona and the Moon, ISBN 1869780337[21]
  • 2012 - The Giant of Lake Wakatipu, 32pp., ISBN 0143505602[22]
  • 2016 - Maui and other Māori Legends, 208pp., ISBN 0143309293[23]

Personal Life

Peter was married to Josephine, more commonly known as Tilly with her friends and family, who mothered his five wonderful children: Marama, Ra, Tahu, Aroha and Star Gossage. Josephine was from Pakiri. The two of them got married in a 1971 Ratana wedding in St Mary's Bay where they wore purple, honouring each other's beautiful spirits. The pair were known to their loved ones as an eccentric couple[8] and were adored by many. The couple met in an Auckland Hospital ward where they were both fighting their own battles with mental health issues. In a 2002 interview, Peter was asked "If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?" to which he answered: "A demi-god. A happy husband."

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Māori legends storyteller Peter Gossage dies". RNZ. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Interview with Peter Gossage". my.christchurchcitylibraries.com.
  3. ↑ "Auckland Museum News Number One" (PDF). Museum Quarterly. Auckland: Auckland War Memorial Museum. 1. March 1980. ISSN 0111-2252. Wikidata Q115749458.
  4. 1 2 Morris, Paula (8 August 2016). "Rhymes with sausage: A tribute to Peter Gossage, by Paula Morris". The Spinoff.
  5. ↑ "Maui author Peter Gossage dies". NZ Herald.
  6. ↑ "Māori legends storyteller Peter Gossage dies". RNZ. 2 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Maui author Peter Gossage dies". NZ Herald. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Morris, Paula (8 August 2016). "Rhymes with sausage: A tribute to Peter Gossage, by Paula Morris". The Spinoff. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Agnew, Trevor (25 October 2016). "Peter Gossage: A Talent for Communication". Agnew Reading. 897 – via Blogspot.
  10. ↑ Gossage, Peter (30 November 2011). How Maui Found His Father and the Magic Jawbone. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-350519-8.
  11. ↑ Gossage, Peter (2005). The Fish of Maui. Reed. ISBN 978-1-86948-576-4.
  12. ↑ Gossage, Peter (30 October 2017). How Maui Slowed the Sun. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-377158-6.
  13. ↑ Gossage, Peter (12 April 2009). How Maui Found the Secret of Fire. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-350379-8.
  14. ↑ Gossage, Peter (2005). How Maui Defied the Goddess of Death. Reed. ISBN 978-1-86948-574-0.
  15. ↑ "The Black Knight by Peter GOSSAGE - 1985". Biblio.co.nz. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Tahu, Ra and the taniwha / Peter Gossage". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  17. ↑ Gossage, Peter (21 January 2004). I Te Timatanga. Scholastic New Zealand Limited. ISBN 978-1-86943-612-4.
  18. ↑ Gossage, Peter (24 November 2008). Pania of the Reef. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-350355-2.
  19. ↑ Gossage, Peter (3 November 2004). Puhi-Huia and Ponga. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-1-86948-502-3.
  20. ↑ Gossage, Peter (21 November 2012). Battle of the Mountains. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-350563-1.
  21. ↑ Gossage, Peter (2007). Rona and the Moon. Reed. ISBN 978-1-86978-033-3.
  22. ↑ Gossage, Peter (2012). The Giant of Lake Wakatipu. Puffin. ISBN 978-0-14-350560-0.
  23. ↑ Gossage, Peter (3 October 2016). Maui and Other Maori Legends: 8 Classic Tales of Aotearoa. Penguin Group New Zealand, Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-330929-1.
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