Letters to the Editor
From Tom Roa…
Prof Tom Roa. Photo: Roy Pilott
E te hoa e Roy. I send you this more than just as a letter to the editor but as a thank you for the article ‘Treasuring Tom Roa’ mostly in its tone. You caught in our interview what my wife Robyn describes as the real me! It was clear to her and our children with whom she shared the article that our interview was more than an interview for a newspaper but an intimate chat between friends. You caught a depth that was only glimpsed in national television and radio, and newspapers which serve a larger population base. Profoundly exemplifying the intimacy of your/our newspaper in the smaller rural audience where neighbours are so much more than people who just share a space. Thank you, my friend.
I also want to thank, through this publication, those who dropped in to see us at home, who phoned me or someone in the family, dropped a text or an email, stopped me or my wife in the street, with real joy such that I enjoyed more their joy than anything else to do with this honour!
Tūturu tēnei hõnore hakē I te mea he whakanui noa I ahau … ehara taku toa I te toa takitahi, he toa takimano – this honour is not solely a celebration of me. My strength is not of me as an individual, but that of the collective.
May I wish for all our readership the very best for 2026.
Tom Roa
Horotiu
Letters to Editor. Photo: Pixabay
