Waikato Times letter of the month: update

Reader Brian Ougham questions whether the Ian Brougham quoted as writer of the Waikato Times letter of the month can be for real. Yes he can, Brian. Yes he can. Or at least he does exist, which is perhaps not quite the same thing.

Another reader, conspiracy expert Matthew Dentith, confesses himself similarly baffled by Mr Brougham’s revisions of New Zealand history as most of us have always understood it. So I have done some research. Via Kiwipolitico, here is a letter from Mr Brougham to the Wanganui Chronicle published on 8 July 2011:

Taniwha real

 In reply to Dusty Miller (letters, July 1), I’m not one of those experts, but I do believe the taniwha to be real, not imagined, and I’ll tell you why.

Perhaps the ancient Celts of New Zealand may never have known war or possessed weapons, as prior to Maori being brought here by Zheng He New Zealand had never been threatened internally nor externally and there was no need.

However, New Zealand was visited by Viking ships and Scottish birlinns (a birlinn is similar to a Viking ship) which used to trade with resident Celts. The sailors of these vessels were fierce, battle-hardened warriors with far superior weaponry and military discipline compared with Maori.

As the bow and stern design of these ships is similar to the head and tail of the taniwha, I could well imagine that the sight of them would strike paralysing fear into the heart of any Maori confronted by them, and for this reason I believe the taniwha represents these ships.

Believing this to be the truth of the taniwha, I would not think these ships could be found in a small creek or marshland because of their size.

Taniwha artwork is yet another example of Maori following the culture of those who came here before them, the Celts.

IAN BROUGHAM

Wanganui

But wait, there’s more. Mr Brougham stood as a candidate for the OneNZ party in the Whanganui electorate in 2005 and received 214 votes, a fair way behind the successful National candidate, Chester Borrows, who received 15,846. In 2008 he had a bye. In the 2011 election, he stood for NZ First and received 1043 votes, still a fair way behind Chester Borrows who received 16,743.

That’s all I can find, sorry. There is no mention of Mr Brougham on the NZ First website. How odd.

Here is the great Patsy Cline with an early Willie Nelson song: