Bernard Deiderich

A lifetime achievement award was presented recently at a Wellington Press Club function organised by Peter Isaac at the Martinborough Hotel. The recipient was Bernard Diederich, a journalist and author well known and respected overseas but not so well known here in his homeland.  

With the encouragement of his Haitian family, Bernard eventually wrote ‘The Ghosts of Makara’ about his happy, carefree childhood in the wilds of Makara, amongst a large extended family. 

After leaving New Zealand in 1942 as a youngster in the merchant navy and travelling the world, he fell in love with Haiti and a Haitian and they married and had three children.

Because of his subsequent deep knowledge of Central America, he became a valuable correspondent for Time Magazine and is the author of at least four books regarding the politics of the region and leaders such as Papa Doc and Fidel Castro (a personal friend). … Continue Reading