Good Bastards Hall of Fame

Peter and Elizabeth McCormack

In the book Good Bastards I wrote the statement that Peter McCormack is the greatest man who ever lived. I meant it then and I mean it now.

Peter had more influence on me as a boy than any other person. So if you don’t like the way I have turned out blame him.

Peter and Elizabeth are now retired and live in Christchurch, it is always a great pleasure to catch up with them and hear stories about South Westland and particularly about my Dad and Mum.

Peter spent most of his life as a mountain guide at the Franz Josef Glacier. He has walked literally thousands of miles of ice and mountains and as a boy in the school holidays he would let me tramp along some of his guided tours up the glacier.

He would fill my mind with some of the wildest possibilities and I would live them out in various ways over the ensuing days. Oh, what great times they were.

Peter, while never claiming the title or even knowing that he was, was also one of the best salesmen I have ever seen in action.

Man could he sell the story about the Glacier and the Mountains. He even knew the names of all the mountains and used to teach me what they were. Didn’t do much good, I could never remember them. If a tourist would ask me what the names were, I would make them up. My names were better, Mount Condon, Mount Sweeney, even called one Mount Tony after my dog.

Every boy needs a hero, Peter McCormack was mine, still is.

Paddy and Pete and Elizabeth McCormack