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Robert Ogilvie Rodger
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1852 - 1915
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Blue Mountain Rhymes, Grave and Gay
by R. Ogilvie Rodger,
published by Quin & Rodger, Tapanui 1914
Inside Cover
Dedicated: to David Dickison, my friend, I dedicate this book.
For to his goodness there's no end,
Whichever way you look;
And what I like of him is while
He benefits bestow
With the right hand in lavish style,
The left will never know.
R.O.R.
Tapanui June 4, 1914
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R. O. Rodger had an accident in Scotland during the 1870's. Doctors suggested he venture to New Zealand to visit his brothers, James and John Rodger at Tapanui. Travelling with his sister Janet and brother Alexander he found the district desirable. He built a hairdresser premises in Northumberland Street that was later run by his niece Eliza Ann (third child of James and Isabella nee Dickison). Eliza and her husband Peter Hay started the "Busy Bee" that became an icon in the town for years.
R. O., as he was known, was also a teacher. He had another serious accident in 1902 while attending a volunteer camp at Brooksdale with the Tapanui Rifles. He somehow fell from his daisy cart and had to be conveyed home by express, receiving care from the doctor. His pain is reflected in his writing.
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There by the bonny Mountain Blue,
Where silvery tussocks wave,
Let Mother Nature have her due,
And I will have my grave.
from: Blue Mountain Rhymes, Grave and Gay
by R. Ogilvie Rodger,
published by Quin & Rodger, Tapanui 1914, p. 5
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