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Title: Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story Author: Paul Moon ISBN:978-1-99-004235-5 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 360 pp, b&w Published: 5 April 2023 Auckland in 1999 would have been unrecognisable to the city’s residents at the beginning of the twentieth century — the result of dramatic changes in populations, cultures, beliefs, aspirations and senses of itself. Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story journeys through the mosaic of cultures and lifestyles, anxieties and hopes, disasters and triumphs, virtues and vices that led to this transformation. Drawing on diaries, oral history, newspapers and other media, Paul Moon explores themes including housing, gardening, the harbours, tangata whenua struggles, shopping culture, the immigrant experience and the pervading sense that Auckland was simultaneously at the edge of the world yet at its centre. Readers across New Zealand will experience many ‘Where were you when …?’ moments as they explore the changing landscapes of our largest city. Moon’s crisp writing gives readers everywhere a sense of a city that has felt triumph and failure but continues to develop so its citizens can proudly call it home. -
Title: Events in the Life of Phillip Tapsell Editor: Jonathan Adams ISBN: 978-0-947506-92-6 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 252 pp, b&w Published: 6 May 2021 The Book: Hans Falk, born in 1790 in Copenhagen, took to the sea as a lad, changed his name to Phillip Tapsell, and after many adventures settled at Maketū in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. There he became the key trader for local iwi and married into the highest levels of Te Arawa, while helping other tribes to defend themselves against invasion from northern tribes. He was, in other words, one of the original Pākehā-Māori. Yet Tapsell’s life of daring is not well known today, and the memoirs he dictated to Edward Little shortly before his death were only ever published in newspaper form. Brought together, these make an important contribution to the history of the countries of his birth and death. Meticulously researched and edited by Dr Jonathan Adams, this book presents the original manuscript with close editing and annotation. Part 1 discusses Tapsell’s life and identity as a Pākehā-Māori; Part 2 reproduces his reminiscences as recorded by Little; and Part 3 summarises the key events in the story, examines the manuscript as an artefact, and includes accounts of Tapsell’s life and how that has been interpreted in Denmark. -
Title: Footprints on the Land How Humans Changed New Zealand Author: Richard Wolfe ISBN: 978-1-99-004220-1 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 250 x 185 mm, PB, 184 pp, b&w with colour sections Published: 12 October 2022 The Book: Richard Wolfe eloquently summarises this book’s scope in his Introduction: For upwards of 800 years, humans have made New Zealand their home, modifying the landscape to suit their needs. Although there can be no going back to the land’s original pristine condition, an awareness of the history of these changes will provide both a background and surely improve understanding of our present circumstances and challenges. Footprints on the Land tracks those changes — from early settlement and wars through to state building, with railways, species introductions, milling, mining and farming. Later chapters recount the impacts of urbanisation, draining and flooding, and the car, before considering the threats and opportunities that now face New Zealanders as a result. Wolfe’s timely tour of the human place on these islands is distinguished by art and photography that display what we’ve created and what we’ve lost. -
Title: Freyberg A Life's Journey Authors: Matthew Wright ISBN: 978-0-947506-72-8 RRP: $45 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB with flaps, 232 pp, b&w Published: 6 October 2020 The Book: Bernard Freyberg was a legend while alive and is an iconic figure today, commemorated in the naming of schools, squares and swimming pools across the country. But how much do we really know of the man behind the myth? And what enabled a humble immigrant child in Wellington to become a hero in two wars, friend to literary giants and politicians, very private father and husband, and very public governor-general? In this fresh account of one of the 20th-century’s great New Zealanders, Matthew Wright approaches Bernard Freyberg the man rather than the more widely known figure of a military leader. Freyberg: A Life’s Journey is the most accessible biography on ‘Tiny’ Freyberg yet, with numerous black and white photos. -
Title: Gallipoli The New Zealand Story Author: Christopher Pugsley ISBN: 978-0-947506-07-0 RRP: $49.99 Specs: 240 x 170 mm portrait, PB + flaps, 400 pp, b&w Published: October 2014 SIXTH REVISED EDITION OUT ON 8 APRIL 2022 The Book: The definitive account of New Zealand’s role in the disastrous 1915 Gallipoli campaign, when a British-led expeditionary force met the Turkish army in an attempt to wrest control of the Dardanelles, comes alive in an updated edition, liberally illustrated and brilliantly analysed by the doyen of Kiwi military historians.This sixth edition builds on a revision of New Zealand troop numbers at Gallipoli to reassess the campaign, with extensive updates and a new preface. It shows us Gallipoli through the eyes of those who fought there — in their letters and diaries, illustrated with an abundance of original photos.
Gallipoli does justice to the reality of this epic campaign, and deserves a place on the shelves of any history enthusiast.
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Title: Heke Tangata: Māori in Markets and Cities Author: Brian Easton ISBN: 978-0-947506-43-8 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 130 pp, b&w Publishing: 15 May 2018 The Book: Heke Tangata can broadly be translated as ‘migration of the people’, and in this book economist Brian Easton tracks the major relocations Māori have made into the cities and market economy since 1945. The book’s first part provides a narrative of the post-war Māori experience while the second part gives the statistical basis, covering areas including criminal justice, demography, education, employment, health, housing, incomes and wealth. The picture that emerges is stark: Māori remain a generation behind Pākehā in economic well-being. Commissioned by Te Whānau o Waipareira, Heke Tangata is a concise, clear overview for policy discussion and general understanding of Māori economic participation in contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand. -
Title: Kiwi A Curious Case of National Identity Author: Richard Wolfe ISBN: 978-1-99-004264-5 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 250 x 185 mm, PB, 208 pp, colour Publishing: 10 October 2024 Kiwi is a fascinating deep dive into New Zealand’s curious national identity. Cultural author and avid Kiwiana collector Richard Wolfe explores the evolution of ‘kiwi’ from the Māori name of a secretive bird to its many uses today — renaming a fruit native to China, signifying a New Zealander, and a powerful term in national and international branding. With extensive colour illustrations, photographs and ephemera, and the author’s keen eye for the curious, Kiwi presents some outlandish stories, tales of cultural appropriation and recognition of ‘Kiwi’ around the world. A popular study on New Zealand identity, this is an entertaining and important work for fans of all things kiwi and Kiwis themselves. -
Title: Le Quesnoy 1918: New Zealand's Last Battle Author: Christopher Pugsley ISBN: 978-0-947506-49-0 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 297 x 210 mm portrait, PB, 168 pp (b&w with 8-pp colour) Publishing: 25 October 2018 UPDATED EDITION PUBLISHED 18 March 2020 REPRINTED WITH UPDATES 20 November 2022 The Book: The New Zealand Division’s capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy was its last and most successful action in the First World War. Breaking through defensive lines and scaling the town walls by ladder, the New Zealanders overwhelmed the defenders, freeing the town after years of German occupation.It was a victory that resounded around the world, and helped convince German high command they could no longer hold the front. Based on his intimate knowledge of the landscape and those involved, Dr Christopher Pugsley puts together the story with his mastery of drama and detail — producing a book that is thrilling at the same time as a tribute to the New Zealanders who died (and whose details are fully recorded here for the first time).
Updated with additional information received from descendants since the first publication in October 2018, and with a new red cover to match, Le Quesnoy 1918 is an inspiring read of relevance to all New Zealanders.
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Title: Polynesian Navigation and the Discovery of New Zealand Author: Jeff Evans ISBN: 978-0-947506-40-7 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 245 x 175 mm portrait, PB, 128 pp, b&w with photos & maps Published by Oratia Books: April 2017 The Book: The Polynesian navigator Kupe is credited with the discovery of the land his expedition named Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. How did he and the many canoes that followed find their way without modern navigational techniques through perilous seas in wooden canoes? By examining myth, star charts and contemporary Polynesian seafaring, Jeff Evans traces the methods by which the early explorers made their epic voyages in Part One. The book’s second part travels with Maori canoe expert Matahi Brightwell and navigator Frances Cowan aboard the traditional canoe Hawaiki-nui following traditional navigation – with no modern aids – on its historic voyage from Tahiti down to New Zealand.E-book Available from
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Title: Ratana the Prophet Author: Keith Newman ISBN: 978-1-99-004258-4 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 230 x 153 mm portrait, PB, 284 pp, colour and b&w Published: 7 May 2024‘A life-changing vision in 1918 inspired an ordinary man to accept an extraordinary challenge. In championing a deep cultural shift among the decimated Māori people of New Zealand, Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana helped rechart the course of a nation.’ T.W. Ratana is a tōtara of modern history — the visionary founder of New Zealand’s largest homegrown religion, the Ratana Church and movement. Ratana the Prophet te
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