New Zealand (504)

Forgotten Philanthropist - The Life of Robert McDougall 1860-1942

ISBN: 9780473477202

Author: Jennifer Haworth    Publisher: Translations Worldwide Limited

‘Forgotten Philanthropist’ — these two words summarise this book. Robert McDougall was one of Christchurch’s most generous benefactors. His gift to Chri...


‘Forgotten Philanthropist’ — these two words summarise this book. Robert McDougall was one of Christchurch’s most generous benefactors. His gift to Christchurch in autumn 1928 of the art gallery that bears his name is, in today’s monetary terms, the largest gift ever given to the city, yet today he and that gift are virtually forgotten. Robert McDougall built up his biscuit and confectionery company, Aulsebrooks, to become possibly the largest employer of staff in Christchurch in the early 1900s. It was this success and Robert’s ongoing business acumen that allowed him to exercise his philanthropy to the extent that he did. He was also heavily involved in all aspects of manufacturing and industry in Christchurch and New Zealand, participating in and helping organise trade fairs and exhibitions throughout the country. Although by nature a reserved man, Robert was a man before his time. He cared about his employees’ welfare, building sports facilities for them and helping them when in need, and he was responsible for many other acts of generosity in both Christchurch and beyond. He was also a family man, who spent far more time than a father usually did with his children in those days. This biography provides not only a welcome insight into Robert’s life and the times in which he lived—a time when Christchurch was rapidly developing—but also a return to prominence of one of New Zealand’s most accomplished businessmen and unassuming philanthropists.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 400


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 18-10-2019


Tags: Biography   History   New Zealand
$49.95
Ngaio Marsh's Hamlet - The 1943 Production Script

ISBN: 9781988503134

Authors: Ngaio Marsh, Polly Hoskins    Publisher: Canterbury University Press

Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895–1982), a distinguished University of Canterbury alumna, was one of the greatest crime writers of the twentieth century. Marsh was also ...


Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895–1982), a distinguished University of Canterbury alumna, was one of the greatest crime writers of the twentieth century. Marsh was also a gifted Shakespearean director, establishing her reputation in 1943 with the Canterbury University Drama Society modern-dress production of ‘Hamlet’. Fast-paced, with a deftly-cut script, and featuring especially commissioned incidental music by Douglas Lilburn, Ngaio Marsh’s production of ‘Hamlet’ was a hit with wartime audiences. Marsh’s 1943 ‘Hamlet’ production typescript is reproduced here for the first time, together with Lilburn’s previously unpublished music and a selection of archival photographs. An introductory essay by Polly Hoskins examines the staging of the production and the wartime context in which the play was performed, offering broader reflection on Marsh’s compositional approach, and a note from Robert Hoskins introduces Lilburn’s music. This edition makes the perfect starting point for enriching our understanding of Ngaio Marsh as a Shakespearean director and producer, and presents a fresh perspective on New Zealand’s theatre history.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 134


Dimensions: 148 x 210 mm


Publication Date: 01-09-2019


$29.99
Body-Hopping Hysterics

ISBN: 9780995121003

Author: Tom E Moffatt   

Not all superpowers are a good thing. Especially NOT if your mum has them. Or if they're fuelled by embarrassment. And what if you can't find your way back home...


Not all superpowers are a good thing. Especially NOT if your mum has them. Or if they're fuelled by embarrassment. And what if you can't find your way back home? Jump out of your skin with these hilarious short stories by Tom E. Moffatt. Bu don't leave your body unattended for long!


Bind: paperback


Pages: 266


Dimensions: 127 x 203 mm


Publication Date: 19-07-2019


$18.99
Diamonds and Toads

ISBN: 9780473480424

Author: Jo Paterson    Publisher: P J Paterson

From the original writings of The Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Andersen, Perrault and other master storytellers, this re­envisioned collection of 18 of our f...


From the original writings of The Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Andersen, Perrault and other master storytellers, this re­envisioned collection of 18 of our favourite fairy tales challenges outdated gender stereotypes and creates diverse new tales for every girl and boy - regardless of gender, skin colour or sexual orientation. In Diamonds and Toads, a brave princess fights her way through a forest of thorns to place a kiss on the sleeping Briar Rose. The Frog Prince's curse is ultimately undone by another prince who learns not to judge by outward appearances. And a young woman proves she is more than capable of using her wits to save her betrothed as the gender roles are reversed in Jorinda and Joringel. Richly illustrated by some of New Zealand's best loved illustrators and artists, this treasury is sure to become a favourite for a new generation of readers.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 204


Dimensions: 185 x 250 mm


Publication Date: 01-10-2019


$39.99
Farewell Silent Spring - The New Zealand Apple Story

ISBN: 9780473487300

Author: Howard Wearing    Publisher: NZ Plant Protection Society

Farewell Silent Spring tells the story of how, in the course of 50+ years of dedicated R&D, highly toxic broad-spectrum pesticides were removed from the pipfrui...


Farewell Silent Spring tells the story of how, in the course of 50+ years of dedicated R&D, highly toxic broad-spectrum pesticides were removed from the pipfruit orchards of New Zealand. It shows how spraying by the calendar, regardless of need, has been replaced by pest monitoring, biological control, and sophisticated techniques like mating disruption and selective chemicals that are toxic to pests and safe to beneficial species. Integrated fruit production, and then Apple Futures, as the new programme became known, is shown to be on par with organic production in terms of biodiversity and safety to the environment and human health, while maintaining the premium fruit quality required by export markets. New Zealand apple growers can say farewell to the "Silent Spring" predicted by Rachel Carson in her landmark book of 1962. Written by distinguished fruit entomologist and scientist Howard Wearing, this book is a must-read for all involved in the fruit industry and anyone with an interest in safe sustainable food production. Professionals and students of horticulture, entomology, and pest management will find this book an essential gold-mine of information that they will turn to again and again. Link to book review by George Follas …. https://nzpps.org/a-compelling-read/


Bind: paperback


Pages: 278


Dimensions: 170 x 242 mm


Publication Date: 24-08-2019


$92.00
An Illustrated Guide to Common Grasses Sedges and Rushes of New Zealand

ISBN: 9780473216603

Author: Paul Champion    Publisher: NZ Plant Protection Society

For many years those of us who have to identify grasses as part of our jobs or who just want to find out what plants are called have had to make do with tattere...


For many years those of us who have to identify grasses as part of our jobs or who just want to find out what plants are called have had to make do with tattered old copies of Lambrechsten's What grass is that? or imported works on British or Australian grasses, like Hubbard's Grasses of the British Isles. None of these books fully described the grasses now common in New Zealand, whose numbers have been boosted by the dramatic southward spread of sub-tropical grasses like Kikuyu, paspalum and the bristle grasses. This is the book that bridges the gap. Here at last is a full colour identification guide to grasses, sedges and rushes, groups of plants that are often confused and commonly put in the 'too hard' basket . 'Too hard' is no longer a valid excuse! This guide to grasses and grass-like plants is written for a wide audience, and features outstanding pictures of flowering plants as well as of the critical details needed for accurate identification. Features include an easy-to-follow format, with keys for each category (grass, sedge, rush) to aid identification, excellent colour photographs throughout, and a fully illustrated colour glossary. The authors are Paul Champion from NIWA, expert on plants of wet places; Trevor James of AgResearch, weed wizard and photographer; Ian Popay, formerly of both AgResearch and DOC and now of Landcare Research; and Kerry Ford of Landcare Research, professional agrostologist (look it up). An Illustrated Guide to Common Grasses, Sedges and Rushes of New Zealand covers both native and introduced species and therefore appeals to a wide audience from field professionals to keen amateurs.


$59.99
An Illustrated Guide to Weed Seeds of New Zealand

ISBN: 9780473224103

Author: Trevor James    Publisher: NZ Plant Protection Society

Now for something completely different! How many of you have ever looked closely at the details of the seeds of weeds? Some, we admit, are rather boring but the...


Now for something completely different! How many of you have ever looked closely at the details of the seeds of weeds? Some, we admit, are rather boring but then again, some of them are absolutely stunning. A glance at the front cover of this book reveals some of huge variation in the size and shape of seeds. Most of the seeds described and pictured are of weedy species, and the pictures show clearly the adaptations that have evolved to ensure they thrive as weeds: hooks and spines to attach the seed to wool, fleece or socks to help spread; awns that twist with wetting and drying to help bury the seed and anchor it in the soil during germination; seeds so tiny they blow like dust in the wind, or larger ones with wings or parachutes so they float on air; corky seed coats that act as life jackets in streams and lakes. This book will be useful for all workers in ecological research, pest plant management or, indeed, for everybody involved in agriculture or horticultural production. It is also of importance to anyone with a general interest in plants and the incredibly different forms that evolution has wrought. The book covers native and introduced species, and also includes seeds of species that have not, as yet, established in New Zealand but which have been intercepted in imported seed or other agricultural products (like cocopeat). The pictures and their descriptions are often not of the seeds as such, but of the form in which they are usually seen, surrounded by remains of flower structures that help in their survival or dispersal. The Introduction, Identification aid and Glossary are followed by 116 pages with 696 superb photographs of 623 different species, all with a brief description and distribution information. The book is spiral bound, 144 pp, with full colour photographs. The authors are Trevor James of AgResearch, Ian Popay from Landcare Research and Paul Champion from NIWA, all weed wizards; Nik Grbavac, seed specialist from Agriquality, Lincoln; and Birgit Rhode of Landcare Research. To find out how Birgit took those amazing photographs you have to buy this book!


Bind: paperback


Pages: 126


Dimensions: 182 x 245 mm


$49.99 $30.00
The Father of Octopus Wrestling and other small fictions

ISBN: 9781988503127

Author: Frankie McMillan    Publisher: Canterbury University Press

Darkly comic, surreal and full of perceptiveness about human vulnerability and eccentricity, Frankie McMillan’s small fictions often duck and dive away from t...


Darkly comic, surreal and full of perceptiveness about human vulnerability and eccentricity, Frankie McMillan’s small fictions often duck and dive away from the reader’s expectations. With a poet’s sense of how single words or phrases ripple out with alternate meanings, and a dramatist’s feeling for how apparently small gestures reveal character, and how sudden, cataclysmic change can wrench us out of comfort, routine and unthinking assumptions, the author leaves us ransacking the language for finer genre definitions. This collection teems with both the animal world and a vivid circus of quirky human individuals. The pieces globe-trot all over the planet: from Russia to America to New Zealand; and yet often their piquant wisdom comes from how they bear down into ‘micro-geography’ of intimate relationships: the troughs, peaks, cliff-sides, the warm, still pools of recognition. Frankie McMillan is like a quietly outrageous Zen master, showing us human folly and idiocy, steering us carefully over the dark river of vulnerability that swells under it all. "The Father of Octopus Wrestling, and other small fictions" is an artisan production, designed and printed by Ilam Press, Ilam School of Fine Arts and is published with the support of Creative New Zealand.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 146


Dimensions: 165 x 230 mm


Publication Date: 23-08-2019


$27.99
Hudson & Halls The Food of Love

ISBN: 9781988531267

Publisher: Otago University Press

Hudson & Halls: The food of love is more than just a love story, though a love story it certainly is. It is a tale of two television chefs who helped change the...


Hudson & Halls: The food of love is more than just a love story, though a love story it certainly is. It is a tale of two television chefs who helped change the bedrock bad attitudes of a nation in the 1970s and 80s to that unspoken thing – homosexuality. Peter Hudson and David Halls became reluctant role models for a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ generation of gay men and women who lived by omission. They were also captains of a culinary revolution that saw the overthrow of Aunty Daisy and Betty Crocker and the beginnings of Pacific-rich, Asian-styled international cuisine. Their drinking, bitching and bickering on screen, their spontaneous unchoreographed movements across the stage that left cameras and startled production staff exposed broke taboos and melted formalities. They captivated an unlikely bunch of viewers, from middle-aged matrons to bush-shirted blokes. Hudson and Halls were pioneers of celebrity television as we know it today: the naughty, not-quite-normal boys next door who rocketed to stardom on untrained talent and a dream. When Peter Hudson became seriously ill with prostate cancer, David Halls was inconsolable. What remained unchanged through it all was their abiding love for each other. In this riveting, fast-paced and meticulously researched book, New York Times bestselling author Joanne Drayton celebrates the legacy of the unforgettable Hudson and Halls.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 304


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 19-10-2018


$49.95
Water Rights for Ngai Tahu A discussion paper

ISBN: 9781988503035

Author: Te Maire Tau    Publisher: Canterbury University Press

There is perhaps no issue in New Zealand today more contentious than water rights. The Crown claims that no one owns water, but its use, irrigation and treatmen...


There is perhaps no issue in New Zealand today more contentious than water rights. The Crown claims that no one owns water, but its use, irrigation and treatment are controlled by local governments empowered by the Crown. Since the 1990s resource consents for the taking of water, in Canterbury and Southland especially, have increased dramatically and the environmental situation is reaching a breaking point. After years of discussion some kind of system regarding the ownership of water is inevitable. In Water Rights for Ngāi Tahu, Te Maire Tau considers the historical and political framework that has contributed to the current state of water rights in the Ngāi Tahu takiwā. He explores the customary, legal and Treaty frameworks that feed into the debate regarding the ownership of water. From 1844 to 1864 the Crown purchased more than 34.5 million acres of land from Ngāi Tahu, but in most purchase deeds water is not mentioned. How does this play into claims to water? Should the Treaty be relied upon? How far can kaitiakitanga take us if the goal is mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga? In this short book Te Maire Tau lays out the historical background and context to water rights, and opens a discussion about where to proceed next in determining a Ngāi Tahu position on water.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 74


Dimensions: 148 x 210 mm


Publication Date: 17-11-2017


Tags: History   New Zealand
$25.00
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