Whakaaetanga:
Acceptance
Marlene Bennetts (2022)
Emjay Publishing, 2/B Lascelles St, Christchurch 8022
Paperback 206 pages, NZ$40
‘Has Mum had the
baby? Is it a girl?’
Grandma shook her
head sadly. ‘No. The baby’s dead and your mother’s dying. You’re not to tell
your brothers though, hear?’
Award-winning author Marlene J. Bennetts (Te Āti Awa) has written her autobiography Whakaaetanga:
Acceptance. It begins with a vivid picture of backblocks childhood in the 1940s and 50s. Marlene had a semi-nomadic life because her father worked in sawmills. Born in Westport in 1938, Marlene attended fifteen different schools.
‘You certainly have
changed schools a lot, Marlene,’ said her Standard Five teacher.
Despite this, Marlene did well at school, especially
Maths because of her father getting her to check his timber tallies. She also
discovered that she was good at telling stories, because of making up yarns
that persuaded her lively younger brothers to do what they were told.
Marlene had to face adversity from an early age. Because
of a congenital hip condition, she was in Christchurch Hospital from 18 months
until she was three. She spent a year of that time in bed with her leg in
traction. Not unnaturally she decided that the Matron was her mother, which
caused difficulty when her real mother arrived to take her back home.
Marlene’s story contains vivid accounts of childhood
activities including games of bullrush, marching girl competitions and swimming
in the river. At Endeans sawmill camp in the King Country, she and her brother
had to sleep with their clothes on in the winter; their father heated stones in
a fire, then wrapped them in sugar bags to keep his children warm on their
morning bus ride. ‘We cuddled them all
the way to school.’
This book brings back the world of the copper, the
meatsafe, the party line, house-cows, long-drops, sledges, treadle sewing
machines and ‘Portia Faces life’ on the wireless. Marlene’s account of her
adult life is equally entertaining. The first young man to invite her to the
pictures irritated her so much that their evening out ended with her giving him
a black eye. Married with three children, she developed her interest in
writing. Her first published work was a 1985 item, Just Mum, in the NZ Women’s
Weekly, for which she received $3.
Marlene gives her husband, Hec Bennetts, credit for encouraging her writing interest and giving her the
confidence to persevere.
The most intriguing part of her life story comes when she
and Hec abandoned their plans to retire in Auckland and decided, on impulse, to
buy a house in Blackball. Their account of travelling to the West Coast and
re-adjusting to a different speed of life provides a fascinating slice of New
Zealand social history.
They also found that the West Coast weather gave Marlene
plenty of ‘wet hours’ for writing,
and the ‘majestic atmosphere’
inspired her to write more, especially her poetry.
Marlene Bennett’s books for young readers include the
moving YA novel The Aroha Pendant (1999) and picture books such as No Ordinary
Flowergirl (2006)
Marlene has also produced a series of books about aspects
of wildlife conservation, all illustrated by Trish Bowles. These books
introduced young readers to such endangered wildlife as the godwits (Yolaska
the Godwit, Skalaska’s New Home), Archey’s frog (No Ordinary Frog) and
Canterbury’s own mudfish (Waikaka Grows Up).
One of the
Dambusters (2008) a picture book illustrated by Trish Bowles tells the story of
her Uncle Len (who also appears in Whakaaetanga: Acceptance). She told his
story in more detail in The Forgotten Dambuster (2016).
In 2003 Marlene was made a Member of the New Zealand
Order of Merit (MNZM) in recognition of her services to literature.
95% of the proceeds of this book go to support disabled
Māori through Whānau Ora initiative Hei Whakapiki Mauri.
Trevor Agnew
22 July 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment