I was saddened last night to learn of the death of Ron
Palenski. Ron (pictured) was one of the most distinguished, and certainly one
of the best-known, New Zealand print journalists of his generation.
Ron, who was 78, had suffered from cancer for several years and died yesterday in a hospice in Dunedin – the city of his birth, where he moved after his retirement from active journalism and became chief executive of the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife Kathy and one of their two sons.
Ron came to prominence as a reporter for the New Zealand Press Association during the NZPA’s golden era – that is to say, before the long-established co-operative news agency became a casualty of rivalry between the two Australian-owned companies that came to dominate the New Zealand print media. His colleagues included Bruce Kohn, David Barber, Max Lambert, Paul Cavanagh, Chris Turver and the late Mike Robson and Derek Round – bylines once familiar to New Zealand newspaper readers on stories filed from the foreign cities where NZPA maintained offices.
Ron was best known as a sports writer but like most NZPA correspondents, could handle whatever assignment was thrown at him. His many sports books included The Games, the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Rugby, biographies of Graham Mourie and John Walker and, much more recently, Rugby: A New Zealand History (2015) and the aptly titled Brutal (2021), a history of the rugby rivalry between New Zealand and South Africa.
On leaving NZPA in 1984 he moved to the Dominion, where he served as assistant editor. He underwent a late career change after quitting journalism, earning a doctorate in history and writing The Making of New Zealanders, based on his doctoral thesis, in which he examined the origins of New Zealand nationhood. He will be remembered as an “outstanding, talented journalist” (his former colleague Max Lambert’s words) and prolific author.
11 comments:
I'm sorry to see that, Karl.
- Paul Corrigan
A great journo, and mate. We worked together at various olympics and commonwealth games. RIP Ron
An excellent rugby writer - up there with T P McLean, Alex Veysey and Denis? Cameron.
Not a man for the overused hyperbole we see from sports writers these days where every All Black is great.
D J (Don) Cameron of the Herald.
Worked with him at NZPA & Dominion: a fine a decent bloke.
As time passes names familar and famous leave us. I enjoyed Ron sports reporting and writing a lot ... Back in the days when buying a paper in the morning and evening for the train home was a standard thing FOR ME... his columns were read early and thoroughly
Sad to see he has died. RIP Ron
I'm sorry to hear this. I only crossed path with him once but his history work has been really useful to me.
Excellent journalist, Ron.
I have his book on hold at the library. It interests me because post the 1980's those who produce culture have been deconstructing the NZ identity; because it was always a caricature
(think of Marty Feldman: "you've got big hairs up your nose!").
In a text book The Social Psychology of Disharmony we are told: "for multiculturalism to succeed identities need to be transformed" and that this applies especially (100%) to the majority as their identity constitutes the national identity. There is a need to develop a superordinate national identity. What authority is capable of this? Human is competitor of human.
The benefits are going to the property investor, banks, (whatever) and you can see the authoritarian streak "there are people whose ... and ideologies are deeply, deeply toxic" [Dr Spoonley].
Knowing Ron, I would be very surprised if "The Making of New Zealanders" contributed to the "deconstruction" of the national identity or the overturning of traditional ideas about New Zealandness. I haven't read the book, but I would guess the exact reverse replies - as this review tends to confirm: https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/1334
Its true Karl, we may never know what transpired between National and NZ First.
However this is MMP and its not uncommon for a number of smaller parties to unite
against bigger parties. What would be the point of going into a coalition where you
cannot achieve your Party's aims. I would also like to point out that it is the NZ
public who voted in the present neo-marxist government, beguiled by a smile and false kindness, too easily taken in by superficiality and governed by fear. We have to own our mistake so as not to repeat it. Much of the criticisms of Winston Peters are heresay, not borne out by fact. Peters has many notable achievements - think the Wine Box case. It is understandable that Winston would have been distrusting of National after he had refused to sign the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with Helen Clark because it threatened our democracy only to have John Key, David Seymour and Pita Sharples sign it. What about the Foreshore and Seabed claims which Winston put a stop to only to have National reinstate it with consequently many more claims being activated at a cost of $350,000 per claim. I say these things as I do not like anyone being slandered and wrongly attacked. I simply want to know the truth. There is a lot of anger around at present and people always look for someone to blame for all their troubles. Bottom line we need a Nationalist not Globalist to lead our country while the western world is in the throes of this destructive ideology and set to destroy our freedom and democracy.
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