He congratulated Paul on his research and writing, thanked him for the book, outlined the programme and introduced Nicola Legat ONZM, founding publisher of Massey University Press, the book’s publisher.
She spoke about Charles Mackay as an extraordinary mayor and a remarkable man whose tragedy is that he was gay in a time when it was illegal and extremely improper to be so. She talked about the book as an outstanding contribution to history and hoped it would encourage tolerance and changed attitudes.
Paul Diamond acknowledged all who helped bring this “shared endeavour” to fruition. The list was long and many of the people being thanked were present at the launch. Some were not, like the late Whanganui historian Wendy Pettigrew. Paul acknowledged her influence.
He spoke to slides of important places that feature in the book, thanked the photographers whose work appears in the book, and talked about the relevance of the story to us today.
He tied the origin and development of the Sarjeant Gallery into the life and work of Charles Mackay as mayor of Whanganui.
The book begins with Charles Mackay’s death in 1929, shot by German police in Berlin. Paul showed a modern photograph of the spot where he died, marred by roadworks.
Paul thanked those who had made earlier research on his topic and had made it available to him for Downfall.
His talk was interesting, informative, enlightening and amusing, drawing threads from the book, his research, multiple coincidences and “sliding doors” to illustrate his long ride from the beginnings of his research to the publication of the book.
The final speaker was Dr Bronwyn Labrum, Whanganui Regional Museum director, who gave the book its official launch.
She admitted that, as a young person growing up in Whanganui, she had never heard the story of Charles Mackay, but not many people had. She praised Paul Diamond’s book, calling it a work of social history, and she had questions she posed to the crowd at large, all of which served to inspire people to start reading immediately.
