Wise Words of the Maori

$69.95 NZD

Category: NZ

When Darkness Stays: Hohepa Kereopa and a Tuhoe Oral History by Paul Moon

$29.99 NZD

Category: NZ

This extraordinary book – unsettling, harrowing, and ultimately redemptive – is based on the time the author spent with the Tūhoe tohunga, Hōhepa Kereopa. It plunges deep into a cultural landscape that has almost vanished, bringing to light insights that are enriching and sometimes shocking.  The work climaxes with a staggering oral history that has never appeared in print until now, and which reveals one of the most tragic and distressing events in the country's colonial era. ...Show more

Against All Odds by Jillian Rothwell

$34.99 NZD

Category: NZ

This dramatic story of hope and devotion is based entirely on the cache of letters and documents found in an old 1930s leather suitcase. Intrigued by these family letters, Jillian Rothwell travelled half way across the world to trace generations of her family's journey from the Hapsburg Empire's Eastern provinces to occupied Vienna and beyond. Out of the carnage that was engulfing Europe, she uncovered the astonishing story of two courageous and remarkable Viennese who steered the family's miraculous survival, astonishing luck, dramatic departures and last minute getaways, all the way to the safe haven of New Zealand. At first it was not all plain sailing, but eventually their new home provided hope, purpose and abundant opportunities for the family to finally 'make it' with her escapee father becoming a prominent member of the New Zealand medical profession. ...Show more

Stories from Our Back Roads North Island by Ray Stone

$49.99 NZD

Category: NZ

This book is for people who enjoy driving and exploring the stories of our back roads, but most of all it is for people who love New Zealand, whether they choose to do it from behind the wheel of their SUV or the comfort of their sofa. Stories from our Backroads: North Island will introduce you to some fascinating stories of tracks, trails and back roads across the North Island. Many of them cross through forgotten parts of the country, and all of them have their own rich and exciting stories. Whether they follow the route of Maori foot trails or the path of early European settlers, each adds something to our history. For example, the track up the Kauaeranga Valley has seen Maori inhabitants, who named the place after the river in flood – Kauarenga means ‘no crossing here’ – then came the kauri fellers, who were followed by gold miners. All of them adding something new to the valley’s story. ...Show more

Stories from our Back Roads South Island by Ray Stone

$49.99 NZD

Category: NZ

This book is for people who enjoy driving and exploring the stories of our back roads, but most of all it is for people who love New Zealand, whether they choose to do it from behind the wheel of their SUV or the comfort of their sofa. Stories from our Backroads: South lsland will introduce you to some fascinating stories of, tracks, trails and back roads across the South Island. Many of them cross through forgotten parts of the country, and all of them have their own rich and exciting stories. Whether they follow the route of Maori foot trails or the path of early European settlers, each adds something to our history. For example, Ray drives the Danseys Pass Road before heading out onto the trails that cross the Oteake Conservation Park high above the Maniototo Plains. There he explores the huts and diggings left behind by the gold miners who flocked to the place in the 1860s, before heading back down to the old gold town of Naseby. ...Show more

2021 Guide to the Night Sky - Southern Hemisphere by Storm Dunlop; Wil Tirion

$22.99 NZD

Category: NZ

A comprehensive handbook to the planets, stars and constellations visible from the southern hemisphere. 6 pages for each month covering January-December 2021.   Diagrams drawn for the latitude of southern Australia, but including events visible from New Zealand and South Africa.   Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion.   Content includes:   * Advice on where to start looking   * Easy-to-use star maps for each month with descriptions of what to see   * Special, detailed charts for positions of planets, minor planets and comets in 2021   * Seasonal charts   * Details of dark sky sites   * Details of objects and events you might see in 2021   * Diagrams of notable events visible from Australia, and some for New Zealand and South Africa   Also available: A month-by-month guide to exploring the skies above Britain and Ireland and A month-by-month guide to exploring the skies above North America. ...Show more

Upriver by Colin Heinz

$49.99 NZD

Category: NZ

Upriver will appeal to everyone who loves New Zealand’s South Island/Te Waipounamu and wants to find out more about the formation of its diverse landscapes and the story of human settlement since the very first landings about eight centuries ago. It will also provide all the information needed by those wishing to retrace the author’s footsteps, either in the easily accessible regions of the west or east coasts, or in the more challenging mountainous regions of the South Island/Te Waipounamu. An absorbing blend of trip descriptions laced with background notes about the meaning and significance of places that were encountered, it tells the story of the author’s journeys to the principal sources of each of the 24 rivers that flow down to the sea from the Main Divide of the Southern Alps. Each of the 24 chapters in this book paints a full-length portrait of the water catchment areas of the 24 rivers that flow all the way down to the sea from the Main Divide of the Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, including its highest peaks and lowest Main Divide passes. Those portraits fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to form a comprehensive picture of this unique island. Safe backcountry trips require detailed knowledge of the terrain, situational awareness, teamwork, and contingency plans. The backcountry trips that are described in this book were spread over five decades, mainly in late summer-early autumn when weather conditions are usually more favourable. Only experienced, well-equipped parties should undertake them when they go further than river lowlands. ...Show more

Thomas Potts of Canterbury - Colonist and Conservationist by Paul Star

$39.99 NZD

Category: NZ

"In 1858 Canterbury settler Thomas Potts protested against the destruction of tōtara on the Port Hills near Christchurch. A decade later, as a member of Parliament, he made forest conservation a national issue. Through his writing he raised the then novel idea of protecting native birds on island reserv es, and proposed the creation of national domains or parks. As a pioneering colonist, acclimatist and runholder, however, Potts own actions threatened the very environments he sought to maintain. This makes him a fascinating subject as we confront present-day problems in balancing development and conservation. This book is about, and partly by, Potts, and through him about New Zealand and the course and consequences of colonisation. It describes and interprets his life, from his early years in England through to his 34 years in New Zealand. Excerpts from Potts vivid 1850s diary, written from close to the edge of European settlement, are published here for the first time. Thomas Potts of Canterbury also reproduces 11 long-forgotten essays by him from the 1880s, in which he reflected on the 1850s and what had happened since both to New Zealands natural environment and to Māori and Pākehā. Sixteen pages of contemporary images supplement the text. Thomas Potts of Canterbury will appeal to anyone interested in the early history of Canterbury, in environmental change, and in early efforts in New Zealand towards conservation. It is a story of conflicting goals, magnificently exemplified in the life and writings of a man who strove, 150 years ago, to be both colonist and conservationist." ...Show more

Cohousing for Life by Robin Allison

$49.99 NZD

Category: NZ

 In "Cohousing for Life", architect Robin Allison describes her journey from lonely mother of two in the suburbs to determined driver of the development of New Zealand's first cohousing community. It is a very personal story of a collective endeavour, a heroic journey of despair and triumph, as the obst acles mount and success at times feels far from certain. "Cohousing for Life" is also a distillation of what has been learnt: from formulating an inspiring vision to community governance and decision making; from community design principles to participatory design processes; from legal and financial structures to reflections on power and leadership. Robin details the key elements and structures that were critical to achieving their goal, allowing a group of diverse individuals with ordinary lives and skills to work together over many years to create a large, innovative, housing development. ...Show more

Heart of Flame: Katherine Mansfield's Flowers and Trees by Beverley Randell

$29.99 NZD

Category: NZ

Rock College - An Unofficial History of Mount Eden Prison by Mark Derby

$45.00 NZD

Category: NZ

INSIDE THE FORBIDDING STONE WALLS OF NEW ZEALANDS MOST INFAMOUS GAOL. Mount Eden is this countrys most famous gaol. The forbidding Victorian structure has housed some of the countrys most notorious criminals, and is where many hangings took place, right up until modern times. It has been both the site o f tension and conflict and a driver of prison reform. It has housed political prisoners such as Rua Kenana and Tim Shadbolt and high-profile criminals such as George Wilder, and many times it has been almost destroyed in big riots. In Rock College, highly regarded historian Mark Derby tells the fascinating and sometimes shocking story of the prison, its inmates and its superintendents with verve and compassion. ...Show more

Tough Country by Mike Bellamy

$36.99 NZD

Category: NZ

Mike Bellamy's father Barry is as tough as they come. Widely credited as the inspiration for Barry Crump's back-country character Sam Cash, Barry was a roving worker in rural North Island during the 50s, 60s and 70s. Tough Country is a book about a father by a son, about a bygone era of bushmen, scrub-c utters, hunters and shepherds. It's also a book about the author's own life working the land, and the characters of the 80s and 90s, from tradies and digger-drivers to drain-layers and wharfies. ...Show more