Category: NZ History and Society
New Zealand’s history is peppered with mysterious tales of otherworldly beings, strange sightings, inexplicable disappearances and unusual crimes. While some of these stories have been handed down through generations, many of them hail from more recent times. The one thing they all have in common ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society | Reading Level: very good
'Down a Country Road Volume II is an evocative return to a way of life that has largely disappeared. From the explorer pioneers of the nineteenth century to those who continue to inhabit the harsh inland environment today, the wry humour and staunchness, determination and other admirable qualities of th ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society
The future of New Zealands rural communities is often in the news. Empty shops, depopulation and lack of jobs are offered as signs that many towns are dying. However, the strength of social ties and development of digital technologies, the innovations in rural entrepreneurship and the functioning inform ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society | Reading Level: near fine
This is a book about New Zealanders and their deep connection to swimming in the outdoors. Every neighbourhood has its swimming hole up the river, its local beach, or a back road to the lake. A love of swimming is one of the things that defines Kiwis, and all over the country the start of summer is mark ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society
What makes our isles so shaky? Why was Christchurch not the first of our big quakes? Any why won’t it be our last? This book investigates our turbulent tectonics. It tells us how earthquakes are measured and described, and how scientists predict future shakes. It details New Zealand’s lesser ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society
What happens when a leading New Zealand scientist (and frequent traveler) rules out flying for a year? From overnight buses to epic train journeys, Shaun Hendy's experiences speak to our desire to do something ¿ anything ¿ in the face of growing climate anxiety. #NoFly confronts the hard q ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society
Exploring the terrain between activism and apathy, Sylvia Nissen considers what it means to be a political actor from the perspective of students today. Drawing on in-depth interviews with New Zealand tertiary students, she traces their 'desires' for different types of politics, the 'demands' they exper ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society | Reading Level: near fine
Five years ago, The Spinoff burst onto New Zealand's media scene with smart, screamingly funny and seriously relevant writing. Since then, it has enraged and inspired all the right people, respectably won Website of the Year at the 2019 Voyager Media Awards, and expanded into television, podcasts a ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society
Many commentators say New Zealanders lack ambition, and that aspects of the New Zealandcharacter or our comfortable lives limit our achievements. We are said to be too keen on time off, too concerned about everyone fitting in, suspicious of people who try too hard, enthusiastic about humility, ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society
First published in 1958, this is the classic collection of myths relating to that cradle of Maori culture, Rotorua - with relevance across New Zealand Rotorua is one of New Zealand's most visited cities. It is impossible to avoid the area's Maori history and, in this book, it is easy to learn about the ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society
In 2017, Renee Hollis interviewed 120 people over the age of 100, living in every region of New Zealand. Along the way, she had the privilege of interviewing 23 World War II veterans. Her goal in compiling the book was to preserve New Zealand history by sharing the stories and memories of our eldest cit ...Show more
Category: NZ History and Society
Acclaimed historian Matthew Wright explores the evolution of New Zealand's most historically significant document, the Treaty of Waitangi, from its origins to its place in the present day. From the early cultural collisions between Maori and Pakeha that led to this landmark agreement, to the many reinte ...Show more
