Peter Robert Hawes (30 September 1947 – 29 October 2018) was a New Zealand playwright, novelist, and scriptwriter.

Biography

Born in Westport, Hawes earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. Whilst living in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, he wrote—in Spanish—a best-selling novel about the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

: ''La Hoguera'' (''The Bonfire''), published in 1974. After returning to New Zealand in 1975, he worked for television, as a researcher and journalist, and as a scriptwriter for various series, including ''Fraggle Rock'', and ''Against the Law''. Several of his plays remain unperformed; for example, ''A Higher Form of Killing''. Hawes died on 29 October 2018.

Selected works

Novels

*''La Hoguera'' (in Spanish) (''The Bonfire''), 1974 *''Tasman's Lay'', 1995 *''Leapfrog with Unicorns'', 1996

Plays

*''Alf's General Theory of Relativity'', 1981 *''Ptolemy's Dip'', 1982 *''Armageddon Revisited'', 1983 *''Goldie: A Good Joke'', a portrait of the early New Zealand painter

C. F. Goldie Charles Frederick Goldie (20 October 187011 July 1947) was a New Zealand artist, best known for his portrayal of Māori dignitaries. Early life Goldie was born in Auckland on 20 October 1870. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Charle ...

, 1987 *''1946 The Boat Train'', which examines the effect of the World War 2 on the lives of four women, 1991 *''Aunt Daisy'', 1989 *''The 1944 Olympic Games'', one-act play *''A Higher Form of Killing'', about physicist

Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' considers him to be the greatest ...

*''The Inquisition Dies'', developed from material in ''La Hoguera''

Other

, a history of

Centrepoint Theatre Centrepoint Theatre is a theatre and theatre company in Palmerston North in New Zealand. Established in 1973, the theatre has employed more than 2500 actors and produced more New Zealand plays than any other theatre. History The theatre open ...

in Palmerston North

References

External links

New Zealand Book Council

Trove, National Library of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawes, Peter 1947 births 2018 deaths People from Westport, New Zealand University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand male novelists