Barry Lafferty has a well established background in the journalism industry having worked initially as a copywriter/advertising salesman for the Waikato Weekender in 1979.
In 1988 Barry launched his own newspapers The Westsider, along with The Eastsider, and later combined the two publications under the title The Riversider. In 1993 The Riversider was sold and Barry worked freelance for the next ten years.
Barry commenced writing this book in 2003, soon after the death of his mother who had suggested the concept of compiling a history of Frankton.
However, Barry became daunted by the task after twelve months of research and put the book aside to pursue a new career in Australia.
“After returning to Hamilton in 2012, I decided to finish the book project in a different format than I had originally intended. Instead of a history textbook, I decided on a “coffee table” book including many historical photos. I then worked on this concept intermittently until realising 2014 is a historical milestone for Hamilton, being the 150th birthday of the city. This gave me the deadline I needed to impose in order to complete the project,” said Barry.
Barry has since completed another coffee table book titled Hamilton East : Foundation for a Future City.