Graham Hutchins – författare

For a memorable week in June 1964, the Beatles toured New Zealand, giving concerts in the four main centres and changing life as we knew it for ever. For teenagers of the time, it was the most exciting week of their lives. Teachers were ignored and parents defied as thousands of young people devised ingenious ways of seeing their idols. For this book Graham Hutchins has interviewed dozens of people who were directly affected by the visit, from fans who attended the concerts and people who accompanied the Beatles on tour, to contemporary musicians and John Lennon's Kiwi relations. The visit of the Fab Four is remembered through the reminiscences of these eyewitnesses, and through a mass of photographs and memorabilia that illustrate the text. The author also assesses the long-term impact the Beatles made on New Zealand music and on society at large. Full of memories and nostalgia, this is the ideal souvenir of one of the most remarkable weeks in New Zealand's history.

Graham Hutchins fell in love with trains at an early age. Living in the railway town of Te Kuiti, he often gazed on the steaming monsters as they thundered through the King Country. Before long train travel became more than a pastime, more than a fascination: he was hooked. In his new book he recounts a journey he undertook alone on the night train to Auckland at the tender age of 10. From then on he travelled as much as he could, and later as a young man searched out the smaller forgotten lines to experience what they had to offer.'Stop the Train! I Want To Get On' describes journeys throughout both islands of New Zealand, on regular passenger trains, railcars, freight trains and work trains. The routes covered include the Central Otago line, the Gisborne Railcar, the Southerner to Invercargill, a mixed train through rural Taranaki, a worker's train from Greymouth on the Rewanui Incline, the Endeavour to Hawke's Bay and the Silver Fern Railcar. Many services have now been axed, but Graham Hutchins vividly recalls their delights, from the scenery outside to the often primitive conditions inside, along with memories of the people he met along the way. Sometimes alone, on other occasions with his mate Russell or his wife Jenny, he conveys the unique experience and sheer pleasure of rail travel in every corner of New Zealand, from the 1950s to the present day.

The 30 stories in this book describe some of the most extraordinary events in New Zealand history. Who knew that a fire killed 39 people at Seacliff Mental Hospital in 1942? That 10 people died in a lahar on White Island in 1914? That a yacht race between Lyttelton and Wellington in 1951 resulted in 10 fatalities? That a tornado ripped through 150 houses in Hamilton in 1948? These and many other stories are told in this eye-opening book, which also reveals acts of heroism among the rescuers.

Country folk have their own way of doing things and their own sense of humour too. They are naturally wary of men in suits and university types, and such people have to be put to the test before they can be accepted. They are not too keen on new-fangled ways of doing things either; a meal of mountain oysters is one thing, but washed down with a glass of bull’s semen? What’s the world coming to? ''Once Upon A Cowpat'' is a hugely enjoyable collection of rural yarns, with subjects ranging from the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival, country rugby and encounters with farm machinery, to uppity animals, time in the pub and Mystery Creek. The stories are peopled with a diverse collection of oddball farming types, tough hunter-gatherers, ten-acre blockers and wet-behind-the-ears farm workers. They frequently find themselves in some pretty hair-raising and sometimes downright hilarious predicaments. Tall tales or gospel truth? Well, Graham Hutchins has met some real characters in his time, but he is also a master story-teller, so you’ll have to make up your own mind on that one. One thing’s for sure though: this is a book that men and women of all ages will enjoy, whether in gumboots or fireside slippers.

Country folk have their own way of doing things and their own sense of humour too. They are naturally wary of men in suits and university types, and such people have to be put to the test before they can be accepted. They are not too keen on new-fangled ways of doing things either; a meal of mountain oysters is one thing, but washed down with a glass of bull's semen? What's the world coming to? 'Once Upon A Cowpat' is a hugely enjoyable collection of rural yarns, with subjects ranging from the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival, country rugby and encounters with farm machinery, to uppity animals, time in the pub and Mystery Creek. The stories are peopled with a diverse collection of oddball farming types, tough hunter-gatherers, ten-acre blockers and wet-behind-the-ears farm workers. They frequently find themselves in some pretty hair-raising and sometimes downright hilarious predicaments. Tall tales or gospel truth? Well, Graham Hutchins has met some real characters in his time, but he is also a master story-teller, so you'll have to make up your own mind on that one. One thing's for sure though: this is a book that men and women of all ages will enjoy, whether in gumboots or fireside slippers.