Review – Yvonne Rust: Maverick Spirit by Peter Jackson

Review by Peter Jackson of the Northern Age – published 24 November 2011

Yvonne Rust was undoubtedly a Northland icon.  Prodigiously talented, she was synonymous with artistic expression, particularly as far as the non-arts community was concerned, thanks to the Quarry in Whangarei in her later life. But there was much, much more to this extraordinary woman than met the eye, or at least was publicly known.

Theresa Sjoquist has remedied that with her book, Yvonne Rust: Maverick Spirit (David Ling Publishing), the compelling story of someone who is in many ways shaped by her childhood experiences in the very Far North who grew into an eccentric adult with little regard for social norms and who devoted herself to her work, at the expense of the material comfort and sense of fulfilment it might have brought her.

This is a book of two parts, the first telling the story of a childhood that will ring many bells for older readers, but will portray an unknown New Zealand for younger.

The daughter of Gordon and Annie Rust followed her parents to Te Hapua in 1928, at the age of six, to become “the little white Maori.” The only Pakeha child at the school, she revelled in the freedom enjoyed by youngsters in what was then a remote outpost, but it was not so easy for her parents.

Her teacher father worked under conditions that were little short of appalling, not only as the teacher, but as postmaster, medic, and in numerous other roles, while her mother struggled, deprived of the artistic stimulation she craved, and later as her unfaithful husband added to her misery.

The story of Yvonne’s childhood is a compelling read even for those who have little interest in or knowledge of her life’s work. It reminds us of the deprivations suffered by those who laid the foundations for the New Zealand we know today, perhaps knowing no better (although life at Te Hapua was harsh, even by the standards of the Great Depression) but enduring hardships barely imaginable little more than one lifetime later.

Then there was the art produced and inspired by a woman who cared little for the ‘rules’ of her passion, or the social mores of her time, for whom art was everything, and who almost to the end of her long life inspired others to feed unstintingly off her enormous store of talent.

Her greatest contribution, perhaps, was her determination to see New Zealand art develop its own voice, and more pragmatically to develop the raw materials to be found in this country. That she pursued her passion with scant regard for the manner in which the ladies of her generation were expected to behave makes her all the more fascinating, and further supports the suspicion that many people who think they knew Yvonne Rust did not know her at all.

Sjoquist writes that “by the generally accepted yardstick of wealth, or at least substantial comfort, Yvonne Rust QSM never made it. Late in life she deemed herself a failure, yet throughout her life, many of the people with whom she had contact were enriched beyond measure.  People flocked to bask in her energy and exceptional kindness, and to partake of her immense generosity. Gift without recourse. Give, give. give.”

That sums up Yvonne Rust rather nicely.

As is the way of the enormously talented she was never satisfied, but her true legacy is not the body of work she left behind her, but the people she inspired to follow her path, not with the same single-minded determination perhaps but with a little of her vision of creative expression without boundaries.

Art was a harsh mistress for Yvonne Rust, but she was a truly remarkable woman and this beautifully written and illustrated book tells her extraordinary story well.  Sjoquist has captured the essence of a unique personality, a woman who deserves to be remembered for all that she really was, and for what she achieved.

Yvonne Rust: Maverick Spirit – Fully illustrated e-book