Hedley Colwill "Peter" Hooper (19 May 1919 – 3 April 1991) was a New Zealand teacher, writer, bookseller and conservationist. He was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England and emigrated to New Zealand at the age of four, growing up in the

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and West Coast districts. Hooper is a first cousin to

Elric Hooper Elric James Hooper (born 1936) is a New Zealand director and actor. He was the artistic director of the Court Theatre in Christchurch from 1979 to 2000. Education Hooper was educated at Wharenui Primary School, followed by Christchurch Boys' ...

, a former director of

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 Rive ...

's Court Theatre.

Professional career

Hooper taught at

Greymouth High School Greymouth High School is one of two post-primary schools in Greymouth, New Zealand. The other is John Paul II High School. It is the largest school on the West Coast of New Zealand with a roll of students. As of 2021 the principal is Samantha ...

and

Westland High School Westland High School is a public high school located in Galloway, Ohio. It is one of 4 high schools in the South-Western City Schools District. SWCS is located in the southwestern portion of Franklin County in Columbus, Ohio. Westland High Sch ...

. For a number of years he owned and ran a bookshop called

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published in 1854 as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part ...

Books in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

, named after

Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and hi ...

's book which was a major influence on his views on nature and simple living.

Publications

Hooper published a number of poetry books and non-fiction and fiction titles. His most notable poetry titles are ''A Map of Morning'' (1964), ''Journey Towards an Elegy'' (1969), Earth Marriage (1972) and ''Selected Poems'' (1977). He also published a collection of short stories entitled ''The Goat Paddock and other stories'' (1981). New Zealand artist

Colin McCahon Colin John McCahon (; 1August 191927May 1987) was a prominent New Zealand artist whose work over 45 years consisted of various styles, including landscape, figuration, abstraction, and the overlay of painted text. Along with Toss Woollaston an ...

painted a series of works based on Hooper's poem 'Notes in the Margin' from ''Journey Towards an Elegy''. Hooper wrote a futuristic trilogy with a conservation message consisting of ''A Song in the Forest'' (1979), ''People of the Long Water'' (1985) and ''Time and the Forest'' (1986). His two most notable non-fiction titles were a family history entitled ''The Seas Between'' (1990) and ''Shade of the Mugumo Tree: a Kenyan Journey'' (1990), about a visit he made to Kenya to visit a young man who he had sponsored.

Environmentalism

Hooper was actively involved in the early conservation movement in New Zealand, publishing ''Our Forests Ourselves'' in (1981). He was also a member of the

Forest and Bird Forest & Bird ( mi, Te Reo o te Taiao), also known by its formal name as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation of New Zealand's indigenous f ...

Society and the

Maruia Society The Ecologic Foundation is an environmental organisation in New Zealand. The Society had its origins in the Beech Forest Action Committee and the Native Forest Action Council (NFAC). In 1989 the NFAC changed its name to the ''Maruia Society'': "M ...

. In 1990, Hooper was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

Legacy

Hooper was a great influence on a number of New Zealand writers, including Brian Turner and

Jeffrey Paparoa Holman Jeffrey Paparoa Holman (born 1947) is a New Zealand poet, writer, and retired academic. He has published ten poetry collections, a historical non-fiction book and two memoirs, and has received several writing awards and residencies. He returned ...

. A former pupil, Pat White, wrote a biography of Hooper, ''Notes from the Margins: The West Coast's Peter Hooper'' (2017).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Peter 1919 births 1991 deaths New Zealand male poets New Zealand male novelists New Zealand male short story writers New Zealand non-fiction writers People from Greymouth British emigrants to New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand novelists 20th-century New Zealand poets 20th-century New Zealand male writers 20th-century New Zealand short story writers New Zealand booksellers 20th-century non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers