Thesaunderschild
05-09-2025, 09:41 PM
In 1965 Marina Devcich was an apprentice hairdresser in Morrinsville. She finally got the reversible coat she’d been paying off at a local shop and wore it on her first ever flight to Wellington. The song she recorded there, ‘Tumblin’ Down’, won the 1966 Loxene Golden Disc.
By then she had a new name, Maria Dallas. Born in 1946, Dallas is the daughter of a Croatian poultry farmer and his New Zealand born wife. With five sisters and seven brothers, the Devcich family lived in Morrinsville, a small railway junction town in the Waikato with a long main street and population of 5,000. The second youngest child, she was raised with the radio on, taking in the songs of Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Roger Miller and Wayne Newton.
By then she had a new name, Maria Dallas. Born in 1946, Dallas is the daughter of a Croatian poultry farmer and his New Zealand born wife. With five sisters and seven brothers, the Devcich family lived in Morrinsville, a small railway junction town in the Waikato with a long main street and population of 5,000. The second youngest child, she was raised with the radio on, taking in the songs of Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Roger Miller and Wayne Newton.