1960 Barry Crump's novel A good keen man published

Barry Crump had a long-established reputation as an iconic ‘Kiwi bloke’ when he died from a heart attack in 1996. His 25 books captured the humour and personalities of rural New Zealand. Crump appealed to many Kiwi males as a man’s man who could tell a great yarn.

Crump’s down-to-earth style was recognised by Toyota when the company used him in a series of TV advertisements in the 1980s promoting four-wheel-drive utility vehicles. Crump, with his rugged ‘she’ll be right’ attitude, had a foil in city slicker Lloyd Scott as he pulled off implausible feats of driving.

While he inspired many Kiwi blokes, others criticised Crump for what they saw as less endearing aspects of a ‘good keen man’. He married five times but had little to do with most of the nine children he fathered with four different women. He converted to the Baha’i faith some years after the death by drowning of five boys at a camp he had organised. 

Image: cover of A good keen man (Te Ara )