View source for Tony Eyre

{{Short description|New Zealand non-fiction writer}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=September 2023}}
'''Tony Eyre''' FCA (born Auckland 1953) is a New Zealand non-fiction writer and accountant with particular interest in the creative sector. He writes journalism and books on historical or literary subjects, focuses on creative nonfiction and essay and feature writing and is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines.<ref name="Smeaton">[https://www.jwsmeaton.co.nz/our-team/ ''JW Smeaton''] (Retrieved 7 September 2023)</ref>
==Personal==
Eyre, whose father's name was Peter and who had four siblings, spent his childhood in [[Avondale, Auckland|Avondale]] and [[Mount Albert, New Zealand|Mount Albert]] in Auckland.<ref name="bookworm">"The Birth of a Bookworm", ''Your Weekend'', 23 September 2023, pp. 12 and 13.</ref> He was educated at Marist School, Mount Albert<ref name="bookworm"/> and [[St Peter's College, Auckland]],<ref name="Smeaton"/> where he studied, particularly, Latin French, History and English in his six years there.<ref name="Eyre">{{harv|Eyre|2023|p=35}}</ref> His childhood home was filled with books often reflecting his father's interest in Auckland marine history and New Zealand art.<ref name="bookworm"/> The artist [[Jane Eyre (New Zealand artist)|Jane Eyre]] was a relative.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018909500/bookworm-tony-eyre-on-his-passion-for-second-hand-books | title=Bookworm Tony Eyre on his passion for second-hand books | website=[[Radio New Zealand]] | date=3 October 2023 }}</ref>
Eyre and his wife Yvonne Fogarty lives in the Dunedin harbour suburb of [[Waverley, Dunedin|Vauxhall]]. They have four adult children.<ref>[https://www.deborahshepardbooks.com/covid-19-stories/covid-lockdown-by-tony-eyre "Covid Lockdown by Tony Eyre", Deborah Shepherd Books] (Retrieved 7 September 2023)</ref>
==Career==
Eyre became an accountant and relocated to [[Dunedin]] in 1978 where he established an accounting practice<ref name="Smeaton"/> in premises once occupied by the publisher [[Alfred Reed|A H Reed]].<ref name="bookworm"/> He merged his practice with JW Smeaton Ltd in 2007 and retired in 2024. His accounting practice largely focussed on the [[Otago]] creative community, with many of his clients being artists, writers, and musicians.
His writing covers a broad range of New Zealand subjects with a particular interest in Dunedin social history and biography.<ref name="Egan">[https://www.maryegan.co.nz/blog/2023/6/20/the-book-collector-tony-eyre"The Book Collector, Tony Eyre", ''Mary Egan Books''] (Retrieved 7 September 2023)</ref> In 2023 he published "The Book Collector" which is a "bibliomemoir" of the writer's reading, the books and authors that have touched him, and how they have shaped his passion for book collecting.<ref name="Egan"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Eyre|first=Tony |title=The Book Collector: Reading and Living with Literature|edition= |publisher=Mary Egan Publishing |location=Dunedin |year=2023 }}</ref> He has also written many articles which have appeared in the ''[[Otago Daily Times]]''.
==Other initiatives==
Eyre is a former member of the [[Ralph Hotere|Ralph Hotere Foundation Trust]] which is the guardian of the legacy and intellectual property of a very significant New Zealand artist.<ref>White, M., "[https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/123231143/bitter-feud-over-ralph-hoteres-legacy Bitter feud over Ralph Hotere's legacy]," ''[[Stuff.co.nz|Stuff]]'', 15 November 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2023.</ref>  He is also the chair of the [[Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute]]<ref name="Smeaton"/><ref>Marshall, A., "[https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/athenaeum-library-not-part-plans Athenaeum library not part of plans]," ''[[Otago Daily Times]]'', 7 June 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2023.</ref> He was a member of the Permanent External Advisory Committee (PEAC) of the [[King Edward Technical College|Dunedin School of Art]] at [[Otago Polytechnic]] from 2004.<ref name="Smeaton"/> He is also a trustee of the [[Archibald Baxter Memorial Trust]].<ref>"[https://www.archibaldbaxtertrust.com/about About]," Archibald Baxter Memorial Trust. Retrieved 11 June 2024.</ref>
==References==
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[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:New Zealand journalists]]
[[Category:People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland]]
[[Category:Writers from Auckland]]
[[Category:Writers from Dunedin]]
[[Category:20th-century New Zealand male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century New Zealand male writers]]
[[Category:New Zealand accountants]]