N.Z. On Fairburn—

"(He) was a man of tremendous power and versatility—a man who could distinguish himself with grace and deceptive casualness in an astounding number of mediums. He seemed incapable of amateurism in anything he touched. At one and the same time, or at no, or at all times, he could be artist, poet, razorsharp critic, satirist, formidable controversialist and publicist, university lecturer, inimitable clown, tramper and sailorman, and so it goes on. How is such a man to be described?"

(Brian Bell)

"Fairburn is a liberating force, a writer from whom one learns courage."

(James K. Baxter)

"No man better epitomised our faults, our virtues and our people than A. R. D. Fairburn."

(R. A. K. Mason)

Brian Bell has also made the following provocative query:

"How objectively will Fairburn be seen by certain key academic men who were his sparring partners in various disputes? What type of docketing with academic comfort deman before he is passed on to students? How will a rebellious big man fare at the hands of conformist little men? What is stirring at this moment in the echelons of New Zealand's academic mediocrity? What of the unproductive middlemen of literature, the poohbahs, humbugs ano windbags? What liniment is in preparation for the massage of what ego?"