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Title: Vikings of the Sunrise Author: Te Rangi Hīroa (Sir Peter Buck) Foreword by Paora Tapsell ISBN: 978-1-99-004249-2 RRP: $49.99 Specs: PB with flaps, 210 x 140 mm portrait, 392 pp, b/w with 2 photo sections of 16 pp Published: 18 October 2023 Vikings of the Sunrise ranks as a masterpiece of Pacific studies. From the pen of one of the greatest Māori thinkers and writers of his generation, the settlement of the Pacific Ocean comes to life. The book ranges across the Pacific Ocean and the people who populated it, considering their physical and spiritual origins, and the ships they built to conquer this vast territory. It weighs evidence for different routes, retells myths of migration including the Māui series, recounts the author’s visits to islands and atolls across the South Pacific, and overall establishes the ‘vikings’ of the Pacific among the greatestever ocean voyagers. First published in 1938, Vikings of the Sunrise is here reproduced in an enhanced facsimile edition, including photos and maps compiled by the author on his voyages, and a new foreword by anthropologist Paora (Paul) Tapsell. Oratia Books is pleased to bring Vikings of the Sunrise back into print for modern readers as part of our NZ Classics series. -
Title: Urban Māori: The Second Great Migration Author: Bradford Haami ISBN: 978-0-947506-28-5 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 304 pp, b&w Publishing: 1 February 2018 The Book: The post-1945 migration to the cities by Māori transformed Aotearoa New Zealand forever. Before the Second World War 90% of Māori lived in rural tribal communities; by the mid-1970s almost 80% lived in the cities —perhaps the fastest movement of any population from traditional homelands to the cities. Economic opportunity improved the lot of many but created huge disruption and challenges, making this a story of expectation, need, loss, isolation and revival. Exploring what being Māori means today, Bradford Haami looks back to the experience of the first migrants, and traces the development of an urban Māori identity over the following years. Commissioned by Te Whānau o Waipareira, Urban Māori intersperses first-person accounts of migrants with readable history and numerous photos, covering the full spectrum of the migration experience — including ground-breaking accounts of urban marae, social deprivation, trade training schemes and the Māori experience in Australia. -
Title: Titirangi Fringe of Heaven Author: Marc Bonny ISBN: 978-1-877514-13-5 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 248 x 192 mm portrait, trade paperback + flaps, 276 pp (includes 4 x 8 pp colour sections) Published: April 2011 The Book: Titirangi, probably Auckland’s most beautiful suburb and on the edge of the dramatic Waitakere Ranges, is truly the ‘fringe of heaven’. This richly illustrated book, compiled over many years by the West Auckland Historical Society, tracks the area’s evolution from successive Maori settlements, the first European arrivals, forest clearings and the beginnings of Titirangi village through to the post-war era when artists and writers began gravitating to the community as its regenerating forest reached for the sky. Titirangi: Fringe of Heaven collects specialist accounts of Maori history, prominent settlers, architecture, the arts and the environment with personal recollections of Titirangi life. A must for anyone with a connection to this beautiful area or with an interest in the arts and environment. -
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Title: Those Who Have the Courage The History of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps Author: Matthew Wright ISBN: 978-1-99-004255-3 RRP: $95.00 Specs: Jacketed hardback, 280 x 215 mm portrait, 648 pp, colour and b&w Published: 3 April 2024 EBOOK AVAILABLE NOW! PRINT EDITION HAS SOLD OUT.‘Those Who Have the Courage will be a valuable resource for anyone who is interested in the military and social history of New Zealand. It is a comprehensive history of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps, the Mounted Rifles and predecessor units ...’ — Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, from the Foreword The product of painstaking, multi-year research by esteemed historian and author Matthew Wright, this richly illustrated hardback is a must-have for the history reader. Part 1 covers the colonial cavalry that fought in the NZ Wars and Anglo-Boer War, then Part 2 moves to the Mounted Rifles distinguishing themselves in the First World War, at the end of which the tank came into play. Part 3 describes the Armoured Corps’ varied roles in the Second World War; Part 4 details what Wright calls an ‘armoured evolution’, through actions from the Korean War to Vietnam and Part 5 records action in East Timor and Afghanistan, and modern challenges, rounding out this readable story. The appendices include rolls of honour, lists of vehicles and organisational charts.E-book Available from
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Title: The Treaty of Waitangi Author: Ross Calman ISBN: 978-0-947506-16-2 RRP: $25.99 Specs: 230 x 210 mm portrait, PB, 32 pp b&w Published: November 2011 The Book: The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand, a subject of endless discussion and controversy, and is at the centre of many of this nation’s major events, including the annual Waitangi Day celebrations and protests. Yet many New Zealanders lack the basic information on the details about the Treaty. Ross Calman’s book provides a brief, balanced introduction to the treaty’s contents and signing, and how it has played a key role in the shaping of New Zealand/Aotearoa.E-book Available from
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Title: The New Zealand Wars Series: The NZ Series Author: Matthew Wright ISBN: : 978-0-947506-93-3 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 108 pp, colour Published: 8 July 2021 For Teacher Resource: click here Why did the New Zealand Wars occur? Who fought them and how did they proceed? And where were these battles fought? In The New Zealand Wars, Matthew Wright answers these questions in probing text supported by fact boxes and illustrations that make navigating these protracted wars easy. Building on his 2014 book on the same subject, Wright covers all of the wars’ major incidents, movements and people, including the Battle of Gate Pa, Pai Marire, and figures such as Colonel G.S. Whitmore and Te Kooti. He shows that the wars, which pitted British settlers and allied Māori against other Māori over a 30-year period, really ended up as a civil war fanning flames in many regions. The book features glossaries that explain military terms, and sidebars that explore subjects like ‘Did Māori invent trench warfare?’, and ‘Food, horrible food’. There are over 70 colour images, including of battle sites that we can visit today. -
Title: Rush to Riches Kauri and Gold Series: The NZ Series Author: Gordon Ell ISBN: 978-0-947506-70-4 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, 2 colour Published: 8 May 2020 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: The discovery of gold in New Zealand in the 1800s led thousands of people to rush to overnight tent towns set among isolated mountains and rivers. In the north, vast forests of giant kauri trees cloaked the land. Yet now only a tiny fraction of the trees survive in threatened forests, and many goldmining settlements are just ghost towns. Rush to Riches tells the story of how mining for gold and felling the kauri forests helped found New Zealand, with both Māori and new immigrants involved in these new industries. The tales in this book reveal how exploiting these resources changed the face of the land and its people. The third in The NZ Series brings these important forces in history and the environment to readers from young adults on, with plentiful illustrations and information boxes. -
Title: Pioneer Women Series: The NZ Series Editor: Sarah Ell ISBN: 978-0-947506-59-9 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, 2 colour Published: 10 July 2019 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: Get ready for a new take on New Zealand society, history and geography in one of the first two books in The NZ Series, a snappily designed and fact-packed collection for intermediate and high-school age readers. This fascinating collection of writings and reflections by some of the pioneer women who came to New Zealand in the nineteenth century reveals the challenges they faced and overcame when they arrived in their new country. Pioneer Women presents extracts from diaries and letters by women who emigrated to New Zealand from Europe in the nineteenth century. These tales of hardship and happiness are accompanied by portraits, newspaper clippings, and markers like the Women’s Suffrage Petition, creating an easily digested record of these adventurous pioneers. -
Title: First Encounters Series: The NZ Series Author: Gordon Ell and Sarah Ell ISBN: 978-0-947506-90-2 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 108 pp, 2 colour Published: 8 April 2021 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: Europeans had no idea what they would find when they first set eyes on Aotearoa. First Encounters selects some of the key writings from these early traders, missionaries, explorers and surveyors — covering nearly 200 years from Abel Tasman in 1642 and Joseph Banks in 1769, through to early settlers such as John Logan Campbell in 1840. Their records of encounters with this new land and its Māori inhabitants reveal stories of wonder, curiosity, misunderstanding and adventure — all with maximum interest and impact for modern readers. The text is liberally illustrated with two-colour imagery and historical photos, alongside fact boxes explaining historical language and events. -
Title: The New Zealand Experience at Gallipoli and the Western Front Author: Matthew Wright ISBN: 978-0-947506-19-3 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 240 x 170 mm portrait, PB with flaps, 392 pp, black & white Publishing: 6 Apr
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