John Barrie Crump (15 May 1935 – 3 July 1996) was a New Zealand author of semi-

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

comic novels based on his image as a rugged outdoors man. Taken together his novels have sold more than a million copies domestically. Crump's 1986 work ''Wild Pork and Watercress'' was adapted into the 2016

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at ...

film '' Hunt for the Wilderpeople''.

Biography

Born in

Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland ...

, Auckland, Crump was the second of six children. His parents were share-milkers, and his father was regularly violent towards his wife and children. Crump worked for many years as a government deer-culler in areas of New Zealand native forest (termed "

the bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this a ...

"). He wrote his first novel, ''A Good Keen Man'', in 1960, based on his experiences as a government hunter. It was a fictional account of a young hunter who has to suffer through a series of hunting partners who are often unsuitable for the job. This novel became one of the most popular in New Zealand history, and Crump's success continued with ''Hang on a Minute Mate'' (1961), ''One of Us'' (1962), ''There and Back'' (1963), ''Gulf'' (1964), ''A Good Keen Girl'' (1970), ''Bastards I Have Met'' (1971), and others, which capitalized on the appeal of his good-natured itinerant self-sufficient characters and an idiomatic "blokey" writing style that he developed after his first book. In 1969, five children drowned after driving a car into Lake Matahina at a camp that Crump helped to run. Crump was charged with manslaughter over the deaths, but these charges were dropped.

Fleur Adcock Fleur Adcock (born 10 February 1934) is a New Zealand poet and editor, of English and Northern Irish ancestry, who has lived much of her life in England. She is well-represented in New Zealand poetry anthologies, was awarded an honorary doc ...

, one of Crump's ex-wives, said that it was negligence on his behalf that the children died, (despite Crump not being present at the camp at the time of the accident). Crump travelled throughout Australia (where he hunted crocodiles for two years), Europe, Turkey, and India, the result of which was his conversion to the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

by 1982. In 1988 Crump nearly died from accidentally inhaling cyanide when

trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithi ...

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...

. Towards the end of his life his literary style changed as he wrote children's stories featuring characters he created; vis the Pungapeople. Crump was also well known for appearing in a series of acclaimed New Zealand television advertisements for

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

's four-wheel drive

Hilux The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although th ...

utes, which relied on his image as a stalwart "bushman". The ads aired between 1982 and 1995. He played an archetypal Kiwi bloke in the 1964 New Zealand film '' Runaway''. Crump's song, "Side By Side", featuring his "sidekick" Scotty (broadcaster Lloyd Scott), was used as the theme song for

Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

in the America's Cup. Crump was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal in 1990, and was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

, for services to literature and the community. Crump was featured on a New Zealand $1.00 postage stamp in 1995 as part of the "Famous New Zealanders" issue.

Personal life and death

He married five times. His wives and periods married to them were; (1) Martina (Tina) Anso (1957-60,) (2) poet

(1962,) (3) Vanda Hill (1969-79,) (4) Robin Hughes (later known as Robin Lee-Robinson (1979-91,) and (5) Margaret (Maggie) Nicholson (1993-96.) Additionally he had relationships with

Jean Watson (writer) Jean Catherine Watson (28 October 1933 – 28 December 2014) was a New Zealand novelist and humanitarian. She is notable for her first novel ''Stand in the Rain'' (1966) and for her work with an orphanage in southern India, which is the subject ...

(1962-69,) and photographer

Ans Westra Anna Jacoba Westra (born 28 April 1936), generally known as Ans Westra, is a self-taught New Zealand photographer, with an interest in Māori people, Māori. Her prominence as an artist and author was most amplified by her 1964 piece ''Washday a ...

(c1964-5). His natural children with these women were; Ivan b 1958 & Martin b 1959 (Anso), Stephen b 1960 & Harry b 1965 (Watson), Lyall b 1970 (Hill), and Erik b 1965 (Westra.) Crump died in 1996 of a suspected aortic aneurysm. At the time of his death he was living at Ohauiti with his wife Maggie. One of his sons, Martin Crump, is now a well-known radio broadcaster. Posthumously, Crump was accused by ex-wife Fleur Adcock of regularly engaging in violence against herself and his subsequent wives, describing him as a "sadist." In 2016, Crump's fourth wife, Robin Lee-Robinson, claimed that she was the one who had come up with the plot outline for Crump's novel ''Wild Pork and Watercress'', because Crump "wasn't getting on with writing the book" after having thought of the basic premise for it. Lee-Robinson made the allegation several days after the New Zealand premiere of the book's film adaptation, '' Hunt for the Wilderpeople''; she stated that she was disappointed "not to be mentioned at all" in the film's credits. She had not previously mentioned any claim of part-authorship while Crump was alive and has not claimed to have actually written any part of the novel itself. Crump's son, Martin, said that Crump often borrowed ideas from people, but denied this instance until Lee-Robinson could provide proof.

Bibliography

The following titles were written by Crump. First year of publication given but excludes later reprints and omnibus collections. *''A Good Keen Man'' (1960) *''Hang on a Minute Mate'' (1961) *''One of Us'' (1962) *''There and Back'' (1963) *''Gulf'' (1964) Later published as "Crocodile Country" (1990) *''Scrapwagon'' (1965) *''The Odd Spot of Bother'' (1967) *''No Reference Intended'' (1968) *''Warm Beer And Other Stories'' (1969) *''A Good Keen Girl'' (1970) *''Bastards I Have Met'' (1971) *''Fred'' (1972) *''Shorty'' (1980) *''Puha Road'' (1982) *''The Adventures of Sam Cash'' (1985). A selection from earlier books (Hang On A Minute Mate) and (There and Back.) *''Wild Pork and Watercress'' (1986); Filmed by

as '' Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' *''Bedtime Yarns'' (1988) *''Bullock Creek'' (1989) *''The Life and Times of a Good Keen Man'' (1992) (autobiography part 1) *''Gold and Greenstone'' (1993) *''Arty and the Fox'' (1994) *''Forty Yarns and a Song'' (1995) (autobiography part 2) *''Mrs Windyflax and the Pungapeople'' (1995) *''Crumpy's Campfire Companion'' (1996) (autobiography part 3) *''As The Saying Goes'' (1996) *''Song of a Drifter'' (1996) *''Back Down The Track'' (1998) *''The Pungapeople of Ninety Mile Beach'' (1999) *''Harry Hobnail and the Pungapeople'' (2002) *''Mr Tanglewood and the Pungapeople'' (2005) *''Tribute to Crumpy'' (1997), selection of his poems and prose, but mostly a tribute by other persons. *''Professor Pingwit and the Pungapeople'' (2009)

Books about Barry Crump

''Stand In The Rain'' is a novel written by

which was in part based on her relationship with Crump, (1965). ''A Tribute To Crumpy; Barry Crump 1935–1996'', Various Authors (1996). ''The Old Dynamite Shack'', by George Johnston, (1999). ''A Life in Loose Strides; The Story of Barry Crump'', by Colin Hogg, (2000). ''The Hermit of Cemetery Island'', by George Johnston, (2002). ''In Endless Fear; A True Story'', by Colin Crump, (2002). ''In Salting the Gravy; A Tale of a Twelve Year Marriage to Barry Crump'', by Robin Lee-Robinson, (2004). ''Sons of a Good Keen Man'', by the six sons of Barry Crump, (2022).

Book connected to Barry Crump

Barry Crump's father, Wally Crump, wrote a book titled "McDunnit Dunnit" which was published in New Zealand in 1964.

References

External links

Official website

"Crump, Barry"
in the

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online ...

Barry Crump
at New Zealand Book Council / ''

Oxford Companion ''Oxford Companions'' is a book series published by Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates ...

to New Zealand Literature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Crump, Barry 1935 births 1996 deaths New Zealand writers New Zealand hunters New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Bahá'ís Converts to the Bahá'í Faith 20th-century Bahá'ís