Geoff Chapple (writer)
Geoffrey John Chapple is a New Zealand author and journalist. His article in a Sunday newspaper began the volunteer movement to put in place a New Zealand-long walking track. He mapped the track, then walked it and wrote the book 'Te Araroa – The New Zealand Trail'. He founded Te Araroa Trust, the organisation that began construction of the various links for a continuous off-road track 2,920 kilometres long. Chapple was also a member of the music group From Scratch. Chapple was a leading figure in the anti-apartheid protests surrounding the 1981 springbok rugby tour. In 1984, Chapple published 1981: The Tour, a book chronicling the above events from the protesters' perspective.
In the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, Chapple was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tramping, tourism and literature. In 2013, he won the CLNZ Writers' Award for his project Terrain.
