The
Story of a New Zealand Truck Driver
Book review by Trevor Agnew
The Story of a New Zealand Truck Driver (2014) Mary Kelleher, Handmade Histories, fold-out mural, NZ$39.99
This
picture book is an amazing and original achievement. Mary Kelleher has used
embroidery and collage to create a fold-out mural, depicting Bert Williams,
whose regular truck service around the bays of Banks Peninsula earned him the
nickname of ‘Night and Day’ Williams. As well as hauling bales of wool to the
Pigeon Bay wharf, Bert also carried fruit, bags of cocksfoot seed, manure,
drums of petrol and tins of kerosene.
On
one side of the mural is a neatly embroidered (and perfectly readable) verse
account of Bert’s exploits:
‘Day and Night Williams, you’re shifting
honey bees?’I truck anything; bees or rope or cheese.’
The
embroidery and patchwork pictures also carry an array of dinky trucks, meccano,
tools and vintage illustrations, with a line of buttons showing Bert’s route. I
have seen the original collages and the photographic versions in the book do
them full justice.
The
other side of the mural is a more formal but equally lively historical
background, with photos and reminiscences of a truck driver’s life between the
wars. On an accompanying CD, David Parker sings and reads the text.
Trevor
Agnew
Note: This review was first published in Your Weekend magazine (Fairfax NZ) on 7 March 2015.
Full
publishing details:
The Story of a New Zealand Truck Driver (2014) Mary
Kelleher, Handmade Histories, fold-out mural, NZ$39.99 ISBN
978 0 473 28703 0
[Handmade
Histories: 3 Sailrock Drive, Mangawhai Heads 0505, Northland, NZ
Website:
Handmadehistories.com
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