Bub Bridger

Ngāti Kahungunu

1924 - 2009

Bub Bridger was born and raised in Napier and attended Greenmeadows School, Taradale School, Napier Central, Te Awa, Napier Intermediate and Napier Girls High School for one year. After leaving school she worked in a hat factory in Napier and a tobacco factory at Ahuriri. She moved to Wellington where she worked in social security, married and had four children, then fled with the children. Bub’s interest in writing began when she was very young and she excelled in writing and reading while at school. In 1974 she attended a creative writing course which was taught by Michael King at Victoria University. She states: "Michael was the one who showed me the way. When he read my first short story he said: ‘You are going to be a writer.’" After a visit to Ireland Bub began writing poetry; she states "I started to think poetry. It was the most incredible experience. I came home to New Zealand and I couldn’t get it down fast enough and I haven’t stopped." Bub has subsequently written for television and radio, also acted in television, and has read her work at a number of Writers’ Conferences, including the New Zealand Writers’ Week in 1991, and Listener Book Weeks in 1993 and 1994. She has read her work many times in Australian venues since 1981 including at the Women and Arts Festival in Sydney in October 1982 and at all the universities in Sydney. In 1984 Bub was invited to Britain for a Festival of Women Writers and toured England and Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. She worked in secondary schools around the country tutoring in creative writing and poetry. In 1989 Bub became a foundation member of Hen’s Teeth which has toured throughout New Zealand. She travelled through the country performing one-woman shows where she read her comedy poems which she would not allow to be published because they were for stage only. Bub read her own work on radio on many occasions and was interviewed by Kim Hill and Fergus occasions and was interviewed by Kim Hill and Fergus Dick.

Bub wrote: “I always wanted to [write], but there were 4 kids and no D.P.B. before that and I was too busy being mother, father and sole provider to do anything as indulgent as ‘my own thing’. Then at last they all grew up and when I was about 50 I was able to begin writing. I write about ordinary people who lead ordinary lives. I try to write honestly and I try to make myself laugh. When I can do that, writing becomes a joy.” She also stated: “I’m part Māori, part English, half Irish. I don’t know anything about the English bit, but I feel Māori, and I feel Irish, and that feeling sings in me like the wind.”



Biographical sources

  • Interview and phone conversation with Bridger August 1992 and 23 June, 1998.
  • Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989.
  • "In Memoriam – Bub Bridger." 9 Dec 2009. http://www.booksellers.co.nz/book-news/trade-news/memoriam-bub-bridger

    Biography

  • "Bub Bridger." Spring in My Heels: Stories about Women and Change. Ed. Alison Gray. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991. 177-193.
  • Bridger describes her childhood, a brief interlude at Napier High School, and the long hard years as a solo mother raising four children. She writes of her introduction into writing after attending writing classes led by Michael King.
  • "Napier 1931." Alpha 79. Wellington, N.Z.: SIR Publishing, 1992.
  • Bridger writes of her time in Napier when an earthquake measuring 7.75 on the Richter scale struck in 1931.
  • "Ko Wai Ahau?" Mana: The Māori News Magazine for All New Zealanders 3 (1993): 83-84.
  • Bridger writes of her life in Wellington.

    • Children's literature

  • "My Brother Benjamin and the Eels. A True Story by Bub Bridger." School Journal 1.2 (1992): 12-15.
  • The narrator tells of her brother’s special relationship with the eels in the Opawa River.

    • Fiction

  • "The Stallion." Listener 3 May 1975: 15. Rpt in Shirley Temple is a Wife and Mother: 34 Stories by 22 New Zealanders. Ed. Christine Cole Catley. Whatamongo Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, N.Z.: Cape Catley, 1977. 124-127. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 191-195.
  • A story exploring the implications of a young girl’s feelings concerning a great black stallion. The author contrasts the childlike naivety and fragility of the narrator with the raw untrammelled strength of the stallion.
  • "Girl in the River." Shirley Temple is a Wife and Mother: 34 Stories by 22 New Zealanders. Ed. Christine Cole Catley. Whatamongo Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, N.Z.: Cape Catley, 1977. 28-31. Rpt in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 184-187. Rpt. in Woman-sight: A Collection of Stories. Ed. and introd. Suzann Olsson. Palmerston North, N.Z.: Nagare Press, 1989. 64-68. Rpt. in In Deadly Earnest: A Collection of Fiction by New Zealand Women 1870s-1980s. Comp. and introd. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Century Hutchinson, 1989. 139-142.
  • As a young mother creates a garden amidst her rambling backyard and frees the nearby river of its putrefying mass of branches and weeds, the writer exposes another entanglement in the life of the woman’s self-righteous neighbour across the river.
  • "A Domestic Incident." Listener 1980s. No details. Rpt. in Span 27 (Oct. 1988): 21-26. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 68-72.
  • A story exploring the difficult life of solo parenting where the needs of children have to be juggled with the needs of the parent. The story portrays the fluctuating affections of familial and romantic relationships.
  • "The Wheeler’s Jewel." National Short Story and Poetry Awards. [Te Awamutu], N.Z.: Te Awamutu Arts Festival, 1981. 11-15. Rpt. in Landfall 39.4 (1985): 494-500. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 1996. 72-77.
  • When sixteen-year-old Topaz becomes pregnant to Bob Wheeler, the pie-cart proprietor, Bob’s wife Phyllis takes command and devises a solution that will permanently remind her husband of his infidelity, provide shelter for Topaz and forever rid Phyllis of her own childless state. This story won second prize in Te Awamutu Arts Festival in 1981.
  • "The Circus." Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 187-191. Rpt. in Span 27 (1988): 27-31.
  • A study of the complex mechanisms and codependancies of Jeremy Schaffer and Nora Shannon’s romantic relationship. Ginette MacDonald read this story on radio.
  • "A Wedding." Spiral 5 (1982): 13-16. Rpt. in Short Stories From New Zealand. Comp. Alistair Paterson. Petone, N.Z.: Highgate/ Price Milburn, 1988: 9-16. Rpt. in Goodbye to Romance: Stories by New Zealand and Australian Women Writers 1930-1988. Ed. Elizabeth Webby and Lydia Wevers. Wellington, N.Z.: Allen & Unwin in association with the Port Nicholson Press, 1989. 256-263.
  • Twelve-year-old Hazel tells the story of her "quiet and ordinary and selfless" Aunty Prue who is marrying late in life after years of being overshadowed by Hazel’s beautiful mother.
  • "Thirteenth Summer." NZ Listener 30 May 1987: 38-39. Rpt. in Tabasco Sauce and Ice Cream: Stories by New Zealanders. Ed. Lydia Wevers. Auckland, N.Z.: Macmillan, 1990. 90- 93.
  • In this story, a twelve year old is heartbroken when her hero film star, Tyrone Power, is wed to French star Annabella.
  • "Once Upon A Time." Span 27 (1988): 18-20. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 78-79.
  • Bridger writes that this radio monologue is based on a six-month episode in her life when her children were young. The monologue contrasts two lifestyles - reality and fantasy.

    • Other

  • "Māori Voice at Book Fair." Evening Post 6 June 1984.
  • McGaw, William. "Interview with Bub Bridger." Span 27 (1988): 1-20.
  • Gray, Alison. "Bub Bridger." Spring in My Heels: Stories about Women and Change. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991. 177-193.
  • Booth, Pat et al. "New Zealand Made Me." North and South Jan 1992. 64-123.
  • Some forty New Zealanders talk about their influences and response to living in New Zealand.
  • Vincent, Rosemary. "A Helping Hand, a Listening Ear." New Zealand Woman’s Weekly 6 Jan. 1992: 32-33.
  • Howells, Shelley. "Many Happy Returns." More 123 (1993): 54-61.
  • Bridger is one of a number of women commenting on fear of aging.
  • "NZ Writer Moves To Westport." News (Westport) 29 June 1995: 1.
  • Scanlon, Lee. "A Bub With No Peer." News (Westport) 30 Jul. 1998: 5.
  • Evans, Kate. "Postcard from Granity." Listener 30 June 2001: 64-65.
  • "Three Coasters Receive Honours." News (Westport) 30 May 2002: 1.
  • Ansley, Bruce. "Granity Fair." Listener 22 Oct. 2005: 34-36.
  • Photos by Jane Ussher.

    • Poetry

  • "Gossip." Listener 29 Mar. 1986: 15. Rpt. in Span 27 (1988): 11-12. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 10. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 66-67.
  • A poem about the seasons.
  • "Up Here on the Hill." Listener 2 Aug. 1986: 8. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 36.
  • A poem about a Wellington Southerly.
  • "The Swans." Listener 15 Nov. 1986: 8. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 12. Rpt. in Dangerous Landscapes: An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry. Comp. Rangi Faith. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1994. 37.
  • "Summers Coming." Listener 13 Dec. 1986: 8. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 20. Rpt. in Dangerous Landscapes: An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry. Comp. Rangi Faith. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1994. 46.
  • After languishing through winter the writer revels in the return of the sun.
  • "Confession." NZ Listener 18 Apr. 1987: 8. Rpt. in Kings’ Cross Pub Poets II. Ed. Anne England. Lower Hutt, N.Z.: Hutt Valley Community Arts Council, 1988. 43. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 22-23.
  • The writer confesses to a flirtation with the handsome young man at the bus stop and how his smile takes her back to the age of seventeen when "beautiful young men/Smiled/By the dozen."
  • "In the City." NZ Listener 27 Jun. 1987: 8. Rpt. in Span 27 (1988): 18. Rpt. in Kings’ Cross Pub Poets II. Ed. Anne England. Lower Hutt, N.Z.: Hutt Valley Community Arts Council, 1988. 42. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 13.
  • A celebration of rain.
  • "Overcast." NZ Listener 15 Aug. 1987: 12. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 25.
  • "To Perth by Rail." NZ Listener 28 Nov. 1987: 13. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 24.
  • "Johnny Come Dancing." NZ Listener 16 Jan. 1988: 36. Rpt. in Kiwi & Emu: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by Australian and New Zealand Women. Ed. Barbara Petrie. Springwood, Austral.: Butterfly Books, 1989. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 26-30. Rpt. in My Father And Me: New Zealand Women Remember. Auckland, N.Z.: Tandem, 1992. 91-95. Rpt. in 100 New Zealand Poems. Comp. Bill Manhire. Auckland, N.Z.: Godwit Press, 1993. 32-35.
  • This poem, in the form of a ballad, tells the story of Long John Montgomery, who was captivated by the fairyfolk on Douglas Bridge in County Tyrone. This has been set to music for a choral performance by Anthony Ritchie.
  • "Shannagh." NZ Listener 9 Apr. 1988: 13. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 14-15.
  • In this poem a grandmother sees her grand-daughter seeking to slip out of the innocence of childhood
  • "Blatant Resistance." NZ Listener 23 July 1988: 9. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 8. Rpt. in Springs in My Heels: Stories about Women and Change. Ed. Alison Grey. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991. n.p. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 65-66.
  • This poem is about an old woman refusing to accept her age.
  • "At the Conference." [Sydney University, August 1988.]" NZ Listener 10 Dec. 1988: 17. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 17. Rpt. in Occupation: Journal of the Otago Polytechnic Department of Occupational Therapy 3.1 (1995): 13.
  • A tribute to a woman at a conference who could knit "Two thousand stiches/Into a dinner cloth!" without missing a word of the learned academic discourse.
  • "From The Terrace." NZ Listener 18 Mar. 1989: 6. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 16.
  • A poem about the sadness of the skyscrapers blocking the view of Wellington Harbour from the Terrace.
  • "Chele." NZ Listener 1 Jul. 1989: 7. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 31.
  • A mother’s poem for a daughter whom she has not seen for year.
  • "Winter." NZ Listener 5 Aug. 1989: 6. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 35.
  • A poem mourning the loss of summer and a lover.
  • "Long John Montgomery." Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 7. Rpt. in Spring in My Heels: Stories about Women and Change. Ed. Alison Gray. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991. 188. Rpt. in My Father and Me: New Zealand Women Remember. Auckland, N.Z.: Tandem, 1992. 15. Rpt. in Occupation: Journal of the Otago Polytechnic Department of Occupational Therapy 4.1 (1996): 32.
  • The poet writes of her father dying at the age seventy-two after "Dancing an Irish jig."
  • "Wild Daisies." Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 9. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 66. Rpt. in My Garden My Paradise: The Garden in New Zealand Literature. Ed. Christina Stachurski. Photography by Sally Mason. Christchurch, N.Z.: Hazard, 2003. 44.
  • A poem of the writer’s love of daisies.
  • "Christmas Gift." Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 21. Rpt. in Occupation: Journal of the Otago Polytechnic Department of Occupational Therapy 3.2 (1995): 65.
  • "Withdrawal." Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 32.
  • "Happy Birthday Connie Birchfield." Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 33.
  • A tribute to Connie Birchfield on the occasion of her ninety-first birthday.
  • "For Athena." Listener 9 Sept. 1989: 6. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 18-19.
  • A poem about a love affair with Sydney.
  • "Love Poem." Listener 7 Oct. 1989: 7. Rpt. in Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989. 34. Rpt. in Te Ara Hou: The New Path: An Approach to Teaching English which Draws on Māori Tradition. Ed. Jenny Lee, Ngaire Pohatu, Kathleen Quinlivan, Pauline Scanlan, Ra Smith. Christchurch, N.Z.: The Christchurch College of Education, 1990. 87.
  • A love poem for Suzy.
  • Up Here on the Hill. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 1989.
  • This first collection of poetry by Bridger contains twenty-two poems which explore her Irish ancestry, her love for her children, fleeting memories, mild flirtations, the impact of the passing seasons and her celebration of life.
  • "David." Listener & TV Times 19 Mar. 1990: 114. Rpt. in Vital Writing 1: New Zealand Stories and Poems, 1989-1990. Ed. Andrew Mason. Auckland, N.Z.: Godwit, 1990. 93.
  • A poem of the birth of an only son.
  • "Coming Back down to Earth." Listener & TV Times 10 Sept. 1990: 114.
  • A poem written for Ry Cooder.
  • "Priorities." Listener & TV Times 11 Feb. 1991: 85. Rpt. in Vital Writing 2: New Zealand Stories & Poems 1990-1991. Ed. Andrew Mason. Auckland, N.Z.: Godwit, 1991: 138. Rpt. in Toi Wāhine: The Worlds of Māori Women. Ed. Kathie Irwin and Irihapeti Ramsden. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1995. 40. Illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 5: Te Torino: The Spiral. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1996. 67-68.
  • A celebration of the supremacy of music in the poet’s life.
  • "Ruth." Toi Wāhine: The Worlds of Māori Women. Ed. Kathie Irwin and Irihapeti Ramsden. Illus. Robyn Kahukiwa. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1995. 39.
  • A tribute to the parting of Ruth.
  • Wild Daisies: The Best Of Bub Bridger. Wellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel, 2005.
  • Accompanied by compact disc.

    • Sound recordings

  • "Bub Bridger Showcase: Five Readings on National Radio" 6 Feb. 1988.
  • In these readings others are reading Bridger’s work

    Other

  • Kitchin, Peter. "Free Spirit Who Tamed Words." The Dominion Post 14 Dec. 2009.http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/national/obituaries/3156858/Free-spirit-who-tamed-words
  • "In Memoriam – Bub Bridger." 9 Dec. 2009. http://www.booksellers.co.nz/book-news/trade-news/memoriam-bub-bridger
  • "Writer Bub Bridger dies at 85." 8 Dec. 2009. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/12/08/1245d952a04f
  • Erai, Michelle, Fuli, Everdina, Irwin, Kathie and Wilcox, Lenaire. Māori Women: An Annotated Bibliography. [Wellington, N.Z.]: Michelle Erai, Everdina Fuli, Kathie Irwin and Lenaire Wilcox, 1991. 4.

  • Reviews

    Up Here on the Hill
  • Dale, Lawrence. "Reviews." Landfall 44 (1990): 379-383.
  • Ensing, Riemke. "Grinning at us." Listener 28 May 1990: 110.
  • Guy, Allan. "Volume Reflects Range of Decade." New Zealand Herald 9 Dec. 1989: 9.
  • Jenkins, Bobbie et al. Rev. of Up Here on the Hill. New and Notable: Books for the Secondary School Library 7.1 (Mar. 1990): 21-22.
  • Mintrom, Michael. "Limited Lyrics." Dominion 4 Nov. 1989: 9.
  • Pettis, Dianne, "Daisies Bright." Otago Daily Times 23 Dec. 1989: 18.
  • Whiteford, Peter. "Landscapes of New Zealand - Imagined, Real and Surreal." Evening Post 3 Feb 1990: 29.
  • Wild Daisies: the Best of Bub Bridger.
  • Welch, Denis. "Fire and Joy." Listener 22 Oct. 2005: 36.
  • McQueen, Harvey. "Book Reviews." Bravado 6 (2006): 50-55.
  • Neale, Emma. "Tousled and Tart." New Zealand Books 16.3 (2006): 6.