Obit from the Timaru Herald
Lindsay at his farewell at the Timaru Herald, June 2005.
Lindsay Mutch – journalist, poet, author, comedian, friend and colleague – died in hospital in Wellington yesterday, aged just 42.
Lindsay was a familiar face at The Timaru Herald, beginning his journalism career here in 1988 after successfully badgering the editor of the time for a job – while working behind the counter of a fish and chip shop.
He spent some years working out of the Temuka office, and later in his career became the Herald’s court reporter.
When the opportunity arose to take on the farming round and the Farm Review, Lindsay took on the challenge. His last role here was as editor of the High Country Herald.
Timaru born and bred, Lindsay made the move to Wellington in 2005, and after a period of time spent in contract work he took up a full-time role as a sub-editor at The Dominion Post.
Journalism may have been Lindsay’s day job, but his talent for writing was even more apparent in his spare time, as he produced poems, short stories, and assorted random observations on life that featured most recently on his blog. His latest project was a national writing challenge in which participants try to complete a 50,000-word novel in a month.
His love of language was accompanied by a quirky sense of humour, occasional outstanding karaoke performances, and an encyclopaedic collection of oddball and offbeat information.
Kind-hearted and generous, Lindsay was a much-loved colleague and friend, who will be sadly missed.
