Geoff Chapple | |
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 Chapple with wife Miriam Beatson in 2000 | |
| Born | Geoffrey John Chapple 1944 (age 80–81) |
| Occupation |
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| Language | New Zealand English |
| Nationality |  New Zealand |
| Notable works | Te Araroa: the New Zealand trail (2002) |
| Spouse | Miriam Beatson |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives |
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Geoffrey John ChappleONZM (born 1944)[1] is a New Zealand author and journalist. He conceived and foundedTe Araroa, a walking track the length of New Zealand.
Chapple grew up inWest Auckland and attendedHenderson High School.[2] He began his journalism career writing for student magazineCraccum at theUniversity of Auckland, and was appointed as editor in March 1967 whilst also working as journalist for theAuckland Star.[2][3][4]
In 1974, Chapple was a founding member of the music groupFrom Scratch.[5][6] One of the group's well-known pieces wasPacific 3-2-1-Zero, a percussive piece written in 1981 in protest against nuclear testing and waste dumping in the Pacific Ocean. A 1993 film of the piece won the Grand Prix at theMidem Visual Music Awards in 1994.[7]
Chapple was one of the writers ofGung Ho – Rewi Alley of China, a documentary filmed in 1979 about famous New Zealand writer and political activistRewi Alley, and its companion documentaryThe Humble Force. Chapple subsequently wrote a biography about Alley that was published in 1980.[8][9] In 1997, he co-wrote thelibretto for an opera in two acts calledAlley, with music byJack Body, which premiered at the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts in 1998.[10][11]
Chapple was a leading figure in the anti-apartheid protests surrounding the1981 springbok rugby tour.[12][13] In 1984, Chapple published1981: The Tour, a book chronicling the events from the protesters' perspective.
Chapple co-wrote the script forThe Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey, an acclaimed 1988 fantasy film directed byVincent Ward. In 1989, he shared the award for Best Original Screenplay with Ward and co-writer Kely Lyons at theNew Zealand Film Awards.[14]
In 1990, Chapple received theSargeson Fellowship, one of New Zealand's leading literary awards.[15]
In 1994, in an article in theSunday Star-Times, Chapple proposed the creation of a walking track from New Zealand's northernmost point atCape Reinga to its southernmost point atBluff.[16][17] He began the volunteer movement to put in place a New Zealand-long walking track and foundedTe Araroa Trust, the organisation that began construction of the various links for a continuous off-road track 2,920 kilometres long. He mapped the track, then walked it and wrote the bookTe Araroa – The New Zealand Trail (Random House 2002), which won the Environment category at theMontana Book Awards in 2003.[18]
Chapple was the first resident at theMichael King Writers Centre on the slopes ofMount Victoria when it opened in 2005.[10] While in residence, he wrote a play calledHatch, or the Plight of the Penguins, which was produced by theAuckland Theatre Company and toured New Zealand and Tasmania from 2007 to 2010.[19][20]
In the2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, Chapple was appointed anOfficer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tramping, tourism and literature.[21] In 2013, he won theCLNZ Writers' Award for his projectTerrain.[22][23]
Chapple is a grandson ofJames Chapple, controversialUnitarian minister andpacifist, and a cousin of novelistMaurice Gee.[2]
Chapple and his wife Miriam have three children.[2] His son Amos is a photojournalist,[24] his older daughter Polly is a digital design and transformation manager,[citation needed] and his younger daughter Irene is a journalist and filmmaker.[25]
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