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Jean Catherine Watson (28 October 1933 – 28 December 2014) was a New Zealand novelist and humanitarian. She is notable for her first novel Stand in the Rain (1966) and for her work with an orphanage in southern India, which is the subject of the documentary Aunty and the Star People. Stand in the Rain is, in part, about her marriage to New Zealand author Barry Crump.

Early life

Watson was born in New Zealand in 1933 and lived on a farm at Mangapai, near Whangārei, during her childhood. She later became a freelance writer in Wellington, where she also earned a degree in religious studies from Victoria University. From 1962, Watson lived with Barry Crump and they were married for ten years.

India

In the 1980s Watson took a trip to India, where she met a man named Subbiah who was trying to collect funds to open an orphanage. Watson returned home, sold her house, then used most of the funds to support the creation of an orphanage in Nilakottai, Tamil Nadu. Watson also supported the building of a school and community college in the same area. This story, along with the conflicts she had with Subbiah over the ownership of the orphanage, were covered by the documentary Aunty and the Star People in 2014.

Writing

Stand in the Rain (1966) and Three Sea Stories (1994) both received critical acclaim. However, her other novels The Balloon Watchers (1975), The World is an Orange and the Sun (1978), Flowers for Happyever: A Prose Lyric (1980) and Address to a King (1986) were paid little attention. As her writing progressed, she included more elements of Vedanta philosophy. She also wrote Karunai Illam: The Story of an Orphanage (1992), a non-fiction account of her time with the orphanage.

Later life

In the 2002 New Year Honours, Watson was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature and welfare work. Watson died in Wellington of a brain aneurism in December 2014. Her son Harry Watson plans to posthumously publish three of her novels.

Notes

1. 1984, 1987 or 1989

References

1. Anderson, Vicki (15 November 2019). "Good Times: Christchurch events this long weekend and beyond". Stuff. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
2. ^ Anderson, Vicki (8 August 2014). "An extraordinary tale". Stuff. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
3. Tolerton, Jane (1 June 2003). "Girl behind the good keen man". New Zealand Review of Books Pukapuka Aotearoa. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
4. ^ "New Zealand Book Council". www.bookcouncil.org.nz. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
5. ^ Tuckett, Graeme (11 September 2014). "Review: Aunty and the Star People". Stuff. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
6. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Relationships: Barry and Jean". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
7. ^ Otto, Michael (31 August 2014). "Jean Aunty has spent herself for children". NZ Catholic Newspaper. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
8. "Novelist Jean Watson dies". RNZ. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
9. ^ Crombie, Nathan (9 February 2015). "Writer's life journey reaches end". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
10. Croot, James (8 September 2014). "Following Jean Watson's passage to India". Stuff. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
11. "Aunty and the Star People". NZIFF. 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
12. "Stand in the Rain". Kirkus. 1 September 1966. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
13. "Jean Watson: The Story of an Orphanage in India; Three Sea Stories". 30 August 2001. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
14. "Editorial: True reflection of breadth of talent". 30 December 2001. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 12 May 2019.

External links

• Karunai Illam orphanage and school homepage

• 1933 births
• 2014 deaths
• 20th-century New Zealand novelists
• 20th-century New Zealand short story writers
• 20th-century New Zealand women writers
• New Zealand women novelists
• New Zealand women short story writers
• Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
• People from the Northland Region