Lynley Dodd: A Retrospective

26 January - 24 March 2013

Free admission

Lynley Dodd’s name is synonymous with that unkempt dog, Hairy Maclary.  He’s mischievous and devious, but loveable all the same.  In fact, he’s quite plain and as Dodd explains, he does quite ordinary things.  It is this characteristic that has made Hairy Maclary such a success story.  He’s international, a megastar amongst pooches. He got a mention on Coronation Street  and Tony Blair once read him aloud on BBC television. Not bad for a backstreet mongrel. 

Lynley Dodd: A Retrospective is a celebration of Dodd’s work to date. The first of these original works dates back to school days and the most recent, Slinky Malinki Early Bird published in July 2012.Dodd works completely by hand, in other words she does not use digital imaging to assist her in any way. 

Hairy Maclary was created in Lower Hutt. Married with two young children, Dodd drew, on a pad of lined shopping paper, an airborne scraggly dog with the words written underneath:

One morning at nine,
on his way to the park,
went Hairy Maclary
 from Donaldson’s Dairy.

These words were penned in 1979 and though slightly different from the words so familiar to us now, the spirit of Hairy Maclary was thus created. These words would change Dodd’s life forever. 

For Dodd, success is measured by the love children have for her books.  More than five million copies of Hairy Maclary books alone have been printed and sold. Trademarked to protect his New Zealand identity, Hairy Maclary has been translated into several languages. This little dog is an international character but it is creator, Lynley Dodd who is the magic behind these stories and this exhibition. 

Events

Lynley Dodd Story Corner

Relax on comfy cushions while our animated storytellers read from Lynley Dodd’s popular titles every Saturday afternoon. Free admission. 2pm every Saturday from 2 February to 23 March 2013.

Meet Dame Lynley Dodd!

Lynley Dodd will visit Waikato Museum on 2 February for a book signing and Q & A session. Find out more here.

Created and toured by: