Story: Awards and prizes

Mona McKay, competition winner, 1906

Mona McKay, competition winner, 1906

This photo of young Mona McKay, wearing an expression of quiet triumph, appeared in the Auckland Weekly News in 1906. McKay was the winner of an essay-writing competition sponsored by the organisers of the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral (A & P) Show. Entrants were required to write an essay on the show itself. Small-scale literary competitions like this were the only opportunity for writers to win prizes for their work until the creation of national literary awards in the 1940s.

Using this item

Auckland City Libraries – Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, Sir George Grey Special Collections
Reference: AWNS-19060412-10-6

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Mark Derby, 'Awards and prizes - Awards and their origins', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/44671/mona-mckay-competition-winner-1906 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Mark Derby, published 22 Oct 2014, updated 1 Apr 2020