In Wanaka, Marjorie Cook needs no introduction. If you don’t know her personally, you certainly know her writing.

Marjorie has been reporting local news since 2003, when she made the move here in order to take a job with the Otago Daily Times (ODT). Her role with weekly newspaper The Mirror, which began in 2014, finished on Friday as part of Fairfax’s closure or sale of 28 rural newspapers. The change follows many years of Marjorie digging out the best ‘good’ news in town, and having the unenviable task of reporting the ‘bad’ too.

If the typical reporting persona to you is someone tough and insensitive, you might be surprised to learn that Marjorie is none of these things. The ups to reporting have made the downs worthwhile, Marjorie told the Wanaka App, but it’s digging out the interesting, heartwarming stories that has sustained her amid the challenges of reporting local tragedies.

Her knack for finding the curious, charming and funny news in Wanaka and sharing it with humor has set her apart.

But writing wasn’t Marjorie’s first love, or even her second. At school in Timaru, swimming and music defined her. She still swims regularly, but music is something that slowly drifted from her life, although she’s picking it up again now.

Having studied music and english at university in Dunedin - her instrument was piano, and she sang in choirs - it’s been somewhat intimidating going back to music. But singing lessons are the first step, she said, in rediscovering something that was an important part of her early years.

The way she ended up here is "that classic Wanaka story,” Marjorie said. "I came here every year for my holidays. From a very early age I was visiting Wanaka four or five times a year.”

Her understanding of Wanaka and the mechanisms that make it tick didn’t come to her completely until she moved here in 2003.

"When you’ve only visited a few times a year you really notice the changes,” Marjorie said. "But it’s not until you live here full time that you really understand the town, the people and the environment.”

It was after completing her diploma in journalism through Aoraki Polytechnic that Marjorie began writing for newspapers. First in Dunedin at the ODT, followed by a stint at the Timaru Herald. It was a job in Wanaka with the ODT that caught her eye while she was living in Timaru, and eventually led to a move down here.

"I started at the beginning of 2003,” Marjorie said. "At the time the ODT office was in a grotty little office where Urban Grind now is. It was a cubby hole, really.”

Marjorie shared her office with Mark Thomas (a former reporter better known as Curly the chimney sweep), and Basil, a very old dog of some acclaim, who had at least one article written about him.

A visit from Dunedin-based ODT staff, who were shocked by the size of the "office”, led to the purchase of the newspaper’s existing office on Brownston Street, where Marjorie worked until 2012.

"I went on my big OE,” Marjorie said. "I went to Europe.” While away she visited Cork and Jersey, two of the top open water swimming clubs, where she had the opportunity to learn from some of the best gurus of open water swimming. Her experience swimming mainly in Wanaka felt amateurish in comparison, Marjorie said, but it was a huge learning opportunity.

After the trip away, Marjorie was drawn back to Wanaka but not straight back into reporting. After 18 months at Mitre 10, Marjorie took on her role at the Mirror in September 2014. She is candid about the difficulty of the decision to return to journalism.

"I didn’t think I’d want to be a journalist again and then I did some research again and decided I could give it another go. There were a whole lot of reasons why, partly because of all the good stuff that was going on.”

The deaths and tragedies that Marjorie has had to report on have been difficult for her. "I found myself getting more sensitive to reporting on grief,” she said. The old premonition - that bad things come in threes - has rung true to Marjorie. "Without being superstitious I do think you get clumps of things,” she said.

The sense of responsibility when reporting on tragedies can be huge. "It is a privilege to report those sorts of stories, and it’s so important to get the information right that it’s one of the hardest parts of the job.”

And the best part?

"All those lovely times when people have gifted you the time and the energy to explain their passions, and how they feel about where they live and what they do, those are the stories that have sustained me.”

The change in her situation doesn’t mean a move away from Wanaka. Adventure and sports are a big part of Marjorie’s life, which is one of the reasons Wanaka is such an important place to her.

"You keep coming back for the fun things,” Marjorie said. "Swimming in the lake has been incredibly fun, with biking I’ve had some adventures - there are stories where you think ‘did we really do that?’ Things like cycling in blizzards and snow… There have been all sorts of adventures.”

On the writing front, Marjorie plans to keep on writing - mainly for herself - "just to keep the creative impetus going”. Her next opportunity, while just around the corner, is still unclear, but Marjorie is looking forward to - at least briefly - having more time for her hobbies, while she figures out what comes next. What seems certain is that it will be here.

"I feel so hooked for the town now that when I go away it’s Wanaka that I pine for,” Marjorie said. "What Wanaka takes out of you it also gives back.”

PHOTO: Wanaka App