Remembering Norman Maclean
On December 11th, 2023, the hall of Gisborne Boys High School was in overflow with those whose lives had been touched by Norman Maclean; teacher of Art and the Classics, artist, writer – Fiction and Non Fiction. In 2009 he won the $10,000 Ashton Wylie Annual award for an unpublished work in the Body, Mind, Spirit genre. As a theatrical director, he brought to Gisborne a memorable feast: not only popular Irish plays but unforgettable Shakespeare. A popular lecturer for U3A; as a travel guide to Greece and the Middle East, his tours were memorable by his having such an outstanding knowledge of history. Despite his fascination with spirituality, Maclean’s outlook was secular and he was a popular marriage celebrant.
Norman was a member of Sea of Faith, contributing articles and speaking at the national conference in Hawkes Bay. We in Gisborne benefitted from his knowledge. In 2017 when the 500 years anniversary of the Protestant Reformation occurred, our group were privileged to have him lead us through the history of the monk Luther. I was riveted learning about his walk through the Swiss Alps to Rome and later viewing a television program about tourists making the same, but a more leisurely trip in the summertime.
I remember his article in the Gisborne Herald when Trump arrived on the world scene and his comparison of this awful man with Nero tied up the situation expertly.
A quote from his ‘A BAD BOY IN PERSPECTIVE………………….’
With the exception of Jesus, possibly the most misunderstood of all Biblical identities is that villain of the Nativity, Herod the Great. But by the standards of his day he was no worse than many another. His close friend in the west, Augustus Caesar, had a worse record in terms of judicial slaughtering and could not blame his ill health for deranged decision making.
When compared with the illustrious Julius Caesar - great uncle of Augustus - Herod was comparatively mild. Caesar managed to win fame for his conquest of Gaul with the slaughter of at least one million. Unknown thousands of Gallic prisoners of war flooded the Roman slave markets thereafter.’
Herod’s legacy was a series of architectural marvels throughout his dominions, chief among them being the temple at Jerusalem, the largest and most spectacular place of worship in the entire empire with its thirty-five acres of glittering courtyards, porticos and the colossal sanctuary that supposedly housed the Holy One of Israel behind its elaborate tapestry.’
Norman who, during his life, made an incredible contribution to Sea of Faith, died on December 1st, 2023. At his funeral the Ombudsman Peter Boshier officiated, while the overheads proclaimed the wisdom of hundreds of sages.
Our gratitude Norman, for your incredible contribution to our lives. As Mark Peters, Reporter for the Gisborne Herald wrote: ‘Beyond his enormous body of work, all his paintings, all of his prints, all of his plays and all of his artwork, all of his books and all of his writing, in one stupendous lifetime I’d say his greatest body of work is us.”
Beverley Smith