Arthur Rex Dugard Fairburn (2 February 1904 – 25 March 1957), commonly known by his initials A. R. D. Fairburn and otherwise as Rex, was a New Zealand

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

who was born and died in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. Fairburn was born in Auckland in 1904. His grandfather, the surveyor, thinker and traveller Edwin Fairburn, was one of the first

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New Z ...

born in New Zealand in 1827. His great-grandfather,

William Thomas Fairburn William Thomas Fairburn (3 September 1795 – 10 January 1859) was a carpenter and a lay preacher or catechist for the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.) in the early days of European settlement of New Zealand. Early life He was born in England ...

, had come to New Zealand as a missionary for the

New Zealand Church Missionary Society The New Zealand Church Missionary Society is a mission society working within the Anglican Communion and Protestant, Evangelical Anglicanism. The parent organisation was founded in England in 1799. The Church Missionary Society (CMS) sent missiona ...

in 1819. Fairburn attended

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, where he first met

R. A. K. Mason Ronald Allison Kells Mason (10 January 1905 – 13 July 1971) was a New Zealand poet. Described by Allen Curnow as New Zealand's "first wholly original, unmistakably gifted poet", he was born in Penrose, New Zealand, Penrose, Auckland on 10 ...

, and worked at various jobs, including relief work on the roads. Later he tutored in English and lectured on the history and theory of Art at

Elam School of Art The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. His poetry was initially influenced by the (then unfashionable) Georgian poets.

Works

*''He Shall Not Rise'' 930*''

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...

'' (1938) *''Poems 1929–41'' *''Walking on My Feet'' (1945) *''Strange Rendezview'' (1952) *''Three Poems'' including ''Dominion, The Voyage, To a Friend in the Wilderness'' (1952) :plus satirical and light verse including: *''The Sky is a Limpet (A Polytickle Parrotty)'' *''How to Ride a Bicycle (In Seventeen Lovely Colours)'' *''The Rakehelly Man'' *''Poetry Harbinger'' "Reverie on the Rat" "Rhyme of the Dead Self"

References

External links

Biography in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New ZealandInterview with A.R.D Fairburn's daughters
Dinah Holman and Janis Fairburn about their father fo
Cultural Icons
project. Audio.

1883 births 1957 deaths People educated at Auckland Grammar School New Zealand male poets University of Auckland faculty 20th-century New Zealand poets 20th-century New Zealand male writers Fairburn–Newman family {{NewZealand-poet-stub