Memories of Early Years and Other Writings

Abstract

Douglas Lilburn’s Scottish-born father, a successful settler farmer, said of his son’s chosen profession, ‘If it had to be music, couldn’t it have been bagpipes?’[i] Lilburn, described by a memorial plaque in Christchurch as ‘the father of New Zealand music’, contemplated becoming a writer if his musical compositions had fallen on deaf ears. He showed early promise when a Christmas poem written for a Wanganui Chronicle competition won second prize and 10 shillings, just after his 12th birthday. With a child’s delight, ‘Christmas Day’ describes the comforting annual ritual as celebrated on his parents’ farm, Drysdale: ‘At dinner time you eat your fill / Of turkey and green peas, / And then you lie upon the lawn / In attitudes of ease’ (p. 39).

[i]Douglas Lilburn, interviewed by Chris Bourke, Thorndon, Wellington, 3 October 1985, douglaslilburn.org/interviews.html