Little Shirley entranced little Shirley Brake

Shirley Brake could be Rotorua's biggest Shirley Temple fan and laments the former child star's passing. Photo/Stephen Parker

It's not just Shirley Temple's name that a local resident loves about the late actress.

Rotorua's Shirley Brake is feeling "a bit sad" this week after the death of the former, much-loved child actress - a star Mrs Brake described as someone who had always been part of her childhood.

Temple died this week in California from natural causes, aged 85. She found fame as a child star in 1930s classics such as Bright Eyes (famed for the song On The Good Ship Lollipop), Heidi and Curly Top.

Mrs Brake is possibly Rotorua's biggest Shirley Temple fan.

Her small Rotorua flat is packed with Temple memorabilia - including all her movies, three pictures on the walls, crockery and books.

"My great grandson rang me at 7am [yesterday] to say 'Nana, Shirley Temple has just died' ... It's hard to say how I felt, as she was a big part of my childhood."

Mrs Brake remembers trotting off to Shirley Temple movies as a 6-year-old with her parents, something she kept doing until she was old enough to go to the cinema by herself.

"She was a year older than me ... I just loved her singing and dancing." Temple started her career at the tender age of 3 and won the Juvenile Academy Award in 1935.She remains the youngest person to have won an Oscar.

Her image inspired a various range of merchandise, including dolls and clothing in her early years - but she quit the film industry at just 21 and later went into politics. The American Film Institute ranks her as the 18th-greatest US female movie star.

Although Mrs Brake was feeling sad about Temple's death, she had no time yesterday to dwell on it.

"I've got a friend here today playing Scrabble, so I've got to be on to it to beat her."