Bob Calkin

Bob Calkin was born into a working-class family in Whanganui in 1935 and attended Whanganui Technical College between 1948 and 1952. He graduated with a law degree in 1957 from Victoria University and became a partner at just 25 in an Invercargil law firm. He married Claire in 1959 and they had two children of their own and fostered two. After moving to Palmerston North, Bob practised law and began following business interests. In 1979 he was convicted of a number of fraud-related charges and served a term of imprisonment between 1979 and 1983. While in prison he studied extramurally through Massey University and achieved a BA in sociology and religious studies. Upon his release from prison Bob completed a doctorate in sociology related to the emergence of the criminogenic nature of New Zealand society and the crime/imprisonment cycle. During this period he was active in the community, working with a number of organisations supporting former prisoners, as well as playing a leading role in a community housing venture. He also carried out a number of research projects dealing with experiences of people who were struggling on the margins of society. After the death of his wife, Bob moved to the Kāpiti Coast in 2017 to be with his son and daughter-in-law, reflect on his rise, fall and redemption as a member of what he terms the Lucky Generation, and to write his memoir.