Wellington prelude: Katherine Mansfield's memory lives on within the walls of her Thorndon birthplace

摘要

Luck and love saved the house in Wellington's historic suburb of Thorndon where writer Katherine Mansfield was born. In the 1960s it had narrowly escaped demolition when the motorway was pushed through. The next stroke of luck came twenty years laterwhen art historian Oroya Day, realising the significance of the house, the earliest home of arguably this country's best known writer, became the driving force behind a campaign to buy and restore the property. A passionate advocate for Mansfield, Oroyabelieves that her true brilliance has never been recognised in New Zealand: "She's much belter known overseas. The trench even claim her as their own, asserting that it is merely an accident ot birth that she wasn't born in France."