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Edmund 'Shiner' Slattery (c1839-1927)
A life on the road
Edmund
Slattery was a legendary Otago swagger,
whose cunning ways were celebrated across
the south. He rejected the value placed
on honest toil by his contemporaries. His
aim was to eat, drink and be merry without
ever doing any work himself. Born in County
Clare, Ireland, Slattery emigrated with
his family to Australia. He moved on to
New Zealand in the 1870s, picking up work
on sheep stations or prospecting for gold.
Increasingly he took pride in his ability
to trick people into giving him food, money
and drink.
On the road people took it as an honour
to be taken in by 'The Shiner', as he came
to be called. Slattery loved the attention
and played up to his reputation. Every Sunday
he would attend Mass wherever he was, sitting
at the front so everyone could see his outlandish
clothes. Every New Year's Day he would make
an appearance at the Oamaru sports, where
he danced a jig. Slattery tramped the roads
of Otago until well into the 1920s. When
he became unable to look after himself,
he joined the other old bachelors at Caversham's
Benevolent Institution. He died there in
1927.
(Sketch, Otago Settlers Museum Collection)
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