Wairarapa Archive (9)

On The Move Again

ISBN: 9780995123229

Author: Neil Frances    Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

Masterton-born Len Frances joined New Zealand’s war effort when qualifying for service in November 1940 and training became serious with the Pacific War’s o...


Masterton-born Len Frances joined New Zealand’s war effort when qualifying for service in November 1940 and training became serious with the Pacific War’s outbreak in December 1941. He was called into camp immediately, spending the first months of 1942 at Masterton’s Solway Military Camp, training for the infantry. After officer training, he was posted to anti-aircraft guns and helped prepare reinforcements in the Wellington area – and married Jean. Part of the 10th reinforcement, Len left New Zealand in July 1943, reverting to the ranks in Egypt to join 6th Field Regiment as a gunner. He served right through the Italian Campaign, feeding the guns at Sangro River, Cassino, Florence and up the Adriatic coast to Trieste, occasionally taking a little time out to continue accountancy studies. Len kept a diary for 31 months, detailing military and other experiences in the land of his father’s birth, a Kiwi-Italian in the midst of total war. His story is also that of a young husband separated from wife and family half a world away. The Author A lifetime interest in military history led Masterton-born author Neil Frances to write on these aspects of Wairarapa’s past. On the Move Again is his sixth book published by Wairarapa Archive/Fraser Books. While previous volumes examined people, events and places, this new book is more personal, based on the diary of his father, a gunner in Italy during World War Two.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 160


Dimensions: 170 x 245 mm


Publication Date: 24-04-2021


Tags: May 2021   Biography   Military   NZ (History)
$30.00
The Nation Waited - The First Attempt to Fly the Tasman Sea

ISBN: 9780992247591

Author: Bill Conroy    Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

In early 1928, during a time of pioneering, long-distance flights, two New Zealand pilots set off from Australia on the first attempted aerial crossing of the w...


In early 1928, during a time of pioneering, long-distance flights, two New Zealand pilots set off from Australia on the first attempted aerial crossing of the wild Tasman Sea. Amid fervent hope, government interference, a spirit of patriotism, wide newspaper coverage and family pride, John ‘Scotty’ Moncrieff and George Hood, along with their non-flying partner Ivan Kight, dreamed of closer British Empire ties, a safer New Zealand and a shot at aviation glory. The disappearance of their aircraft Aotearoa remains one of Australasia’s great flying mysteries. Bill Conroy has researched this fascinating and tragic story for more than three decades. In the first full-length examination of Moncrieff and Hood’s flight, he recounts the conception, planning, execution and aftermath of the project which enthralled both sides of the Tasman.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 176


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 22-02-2019


Tags: History   New Zealand   Transport
$35.00
A Colonist's Gaze : The Life of Charles Rooking Carter

ISBN: 9780992247584

Author: John E Martin    Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

This fascinating biography of Charles Rooking Carter connects the English Victorian world and colonial New Zealand, particularly Wellington and the Wairarapa. I...


This fascinating biography of Charles Rooking Carter connects the English Victorian world and colonial New Zealand, particularly Wellington and the Wairarapa. It also, through Carter’s colonial ‘gaze’ reflected in his writings, draws out the contrast between the old world of Europe and the new antipodean world.From humble origins in England, Carter emigrated to Wellington in 1850 where he worked as a builder, contractor and architect, becoming a foremost contributor to the town’s development of harbour reclamation and public buildings. In the Wairarapa he promoted the settlement of working settlers on the land, was acknowledged for his work by having the town of Carterton named after him, and founded a large estate on the Taratahi Plain. Elected to political office, he served the province of Wellington and the Wairarapa well, assisting in Wellington becoming the capital of New Zealand in 1865. When he returned to London he continued to promote New Zealand’s interests. Carter’s considerable legacy included his generous philanthropic support of Carterton, in particular the establishment of the Carter Home, his donation of the fabulous Carter Collection of books to the Colonial Museum (Te Papa), and his bequest to the Carter Observatory in Wellington.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 328


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 28-10-2018


Tags: Biography   History   New Zealand
$39.50
A Rifle & A Camera

ISBN: 9780992247553

Author: Neil Frances    Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

Wairarapa soldiers, like thousands of New Zealanders in the Great War, enthusiastically added newly-available small cameras to their personal kit. During their ...


Wairarapa soldiers, like thousands of New Zealanders in the Great War, enthusiastically added newly-available small cameras to their personal kit. During their service at home and overseas, they took large numbers of photographs to record the years which, for many, would be the most dramatic and dangerous of their lives. A Rifle and a Camera shows, for the first time, 300 photographs from eight private collections held at Wairarapa Archive, giving a new perspective to a world war which shaped the 20th century.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 128


Dimensions: 260 x 210 mm


Publication Date: 09-04-2017


$29.50
The Memoirs of Joseph Masters

ISBN: 9780958205399

Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

Bind: paperback


Pages: 219


Tag:
$24.95
Fearless and Outspoken : The larger-than-life Alfred W Renall

ISBN: 9780995123205

Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

As A.W. Renall’s 1902 obituary noted: “For a quarter of a century he was the most notable personage in Masterton; and on the public platform swayed people a...


As A.W. Renall’s 1902 obituary noted: “For a quarter of a century he was the most notable personage in Masterton; and on the public platform swayed people as no other man could move them”. Alfred Renall, an early settler in the Hutt Valley and then in the Wairarapa, was a successful miller, father of 16 children and at various times a Provincial Council member, elected to the first Parliament, he was also a Masterton borough councillor and twice the mayor as well as a leading figure in the Small Farms Association and subsequent Masterton Trust Lands Trust. As his friend Alexander Hogg M.P. said: “An energetic and industrious settler, a public man, fearless and outspoken for over a half century he made his influence felt in the wider Wellington province”. Fearless and Outspoken is the story of Alfred W. Renall from his birth in Heybridge, Essex, England in 1813 to his and his family’s voyage to Port Nicholson aboard the Martha Ridgway late in 1840, followed by his rich, varied and sometimes controversial life during the next six decades. It provides a fascinating portrait of one pioneer and how he and his family succeeded in a very different land at the bottom of the world.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 146


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 03-06-2019


Tags: Biography   History   New Zealand
$30.00
A Very Publick Reserve: The Story of a Community's Parks

ISBN: 9780958261746

Author: Gareth Winter    Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

DoP 2009, NZ Masterton's Queen Elizabeth Park sits on a 'publick reserve' set aside when the town was first surveyed in 1854. It has hosted the town's stockade...


DoP 2009, NZ Masterton's Queen Elizabeth Park sits on a 'publick reserve' set aside when the town was first surveyed in 1854. It has hosted the town's stockade, the district's first Pastoral Show and, for a period in the 1920s, the world's fastest time for a mile run on a grass track. Gareth Winter, archivist and garden writer, traces the development of the park and its associated reserves, including the town cemetry, from its days as a rough paddock leased for grazing to today's expansive reserve. Along the way he tells of the man who dug his own grave, of the hunt for the corpse with a missing hand, the town's near-fatal fling with early ballooning and the thousands who gathered in the park for the many civic ceremonies held there. It tells how the park has developed and changed over the years, to meet the changing leisure needs of the community, while retaining the sense of a Victorian park, complete with towering trees.


Pages: 312


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 30-11-2008


Tags: New Zealand   History
$30.00
Things Have Been Pretty Lively: The Great War Diary of Melve King

ISBN: 9780958261739

Author: Neil Frances    Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

DoP - November 2008, NZ Private Melville King of Carterton was a tiny part of New Zealand's huge manpower contribution to the Allied armies in World War One. Hi...


DoP - November 2008, NZ Private Melville King of Carterton was a tiny part of New Zealand's huge manpower contribution to the Allied armies in World War One. His diary, recording what he did and what he saw, reflects the military service of an ordinary young man half the globe away from home and in extraordinary circumstances. His perceptive and detailed view of the Great War adds an important 'voice' to the New Zealand understanding of that tragic and crucial event. Melve King's words are supported by additional text explaining facets of his army life and the major campaigns and battles of the New Zealand Division on the Western Front. Melve faithfully recorded many of the Wairarapa men he served with and these are detailed in an extensive personnel index.


Pages: 232


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 09-11-2008


Tags: Biography   New Zealand   Military
$30.00
The Look of Carterton: the First 150 Years, 1857-2007

ISBN: 9780958261722

Author: Gareth Winter    Publisher: Wairarapa Archive

The Three Mile Bush straddled the road between Greytown and Masterton, settled in 1854. In 1856 the Wellington Provincial Council decided to establish a new set...


The Three Mile Bush straddled the road between Greytown and Masterton, settled in 1854. In 1856 the Wellington Provincial Council decided to establish a new settlement on the road through the area, soon to be renamed Caterton. The Look Of Caterton tells of the town's and district's beginnings and progress over the last 150 years. The informative text marks the milestones along the decades from the early sawmilling era to today's bustling service town, but the story is principally told through a collection of photographs that instantly capture the look and ethos of each period. 108 pages 171 x 241 mm


Pages: 112


Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm


Publication Date: 01-07-2007


Tags: History   New Zealand
$20.00
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