This is a book of stunning scenery – a photographic celebration of some of New Zealand’s best natural beauty.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 48

Dimensions: 245 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-12-2016

A story about a cheeky Pukeko, Red Band gumboots and cow poo! Stuck in poo What to do? is a delightful kiwi tale about Red Band gumboots and cow poo - a winning combination for kiwi kids. Follow Luke the Pook, a cheeky young pukeko, in his adventure over the farm wearing his 'borrowed' Red Band gumboots. With its easy rhyme, kiwiana storyline and bright, colourful illustrations, this book is sure to delight children and parents alike.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 28

Dimensions: 210 x 270 mm

The previously untold story of New Zealand’s iconic railway houses, of which more than 3,700 are dotted around the New Zealand landscape. As New Zealand Railways pushed the rail network about New Zealand, opening new country for development, a challenge presented itself to house railwaymen in country areas where infrastructure didn’t exist or was newly formed. Railways only alternative was to construct houses for their employees. Initially part of the Public Works Department responsibilities, eventually an Architectural Branch within New Zealand Railways was formed under George Troup. This development lead to new designs of railway houses, a design that was to become symbolic in the New Zealand landscape. To manufacture these houses, Railways set up a sawmill and special factory in Frankton, kit-setting houses, delivering them by rail as parts packs and ultimately erecting them about the country. As well as far-flung reaches of the railway system, Railways ended up developing “model” railway settlements at places as diverse as Otahuhu, Newmarket, Frankton, TeKuiti, Taumarunui, Ohakune, Taihape, Palmerston North, Napier, Eastown, Kaiwharawhara, Christchurch, Arthur’s Pass, Otira, Dunedin and other places around the country. These houses were supplemented in later years by newer designs. This book covers the housing scheme, sawmill and house factory, the railway settlements, the maintenance programme, the house numbering system, and as a railwayman and his family, what it was like living in a railway house, and how railway families interacted socially, often located in distant isolation from towns and cities. The book closes with Government’s exit from railway house ownership in the 1990s and a chapter on the railway house survivors that have been lovingly restored by current owners. Complementing the text is a lavish selection of black and white and colour images from the era and current day. Railway houses and the nearby railway environment where they were located are extensively featured.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 142

Dimensions: 273 x 213 x 20 mm

Publication Date: 04-09-2017

'We float – we’re not based in one place – we’re floating Islanders. I always come back to theatre, theatre is my first home.’ – Makerita Urale This book celebrates 30 years of Pasifika theatre in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Pacific Underground, Pacific Theatre, The Laughing Samoans, The Conch, The Naked Samoans, Kila Kokonut Krew – the distinctive style and themes of Pasifika theatre have been developed by many individuals and theatre companies in New Zealand. Authors Lisa Warrington and David O’Donnell have interviewed over 30 theatre practitioners to tell the story of Pasifika theatre in Aotearoa from 1984 to 2015. This lively book showcases playwrights, directors and performers whose heritage lies in Samoa, Niue, Fiji, Tonga, Tokelau and the Cook Islands. Extracts from the interviews are threaded throughout the book, providing often entertaining insights into their history and creative practice. While the immigrant experience of living in two worlds is often seen as troubled, the authors suggest that this ‘in-between-ness’ has been turned to advantage in Pasifika theatre to create a unique and often subversive performance phenomenon. Not only is Pasifika theatre a success story within the performing arts in New Zealand, it is also an intriguing case study of migrant theatre that has international resonance.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 284

Dimensions: 155 x 235 mm

Publication Date: 01-11-2017

Bounded by the wild waves of the Pacific on the east, and the more sheltered harbour on the west, the Otago Peninsula is a remarkable landscape. Today a habitat for a diverse array of wildlife including albatrosses, penguins and seals, the Peninsula has undergone dramatic changes since it first attracted human settlement. In The Face of Nature: An environmental history of the Otago Peninsula Jonathan West explores what people and place made of one another from the arrival of the first Polynesians until the end of the nineteenth century. The Peninsula has always been one of the places in Otago most important to Māori. In 1844 they reluctantly agreed to split it with the British, but the land Māori retained has remained at the core of their history in the region. The British settlers divided their part of the Peninsula into small farms whose owners transformed it from native forest into cow country that fed a booming Dunedin – at that point New Zealand’s leading commercial city. This rigorously researched, beautifully illustrated local history documents the rapid environmental change that ensued, which went far beyond the transformation from forest to farm, to the loss of birds, the exhaustion of inshore fisheries, eruptions of pests and weeds, enormous sand-blows, and huge and sometimes sudden landslides. The speed and scope of change driven by human occupation of the Peninsula were summed up in 1901 by George Malcolm Thomson, natural scientist and historian. In just 50 years, he said, ‘the whole face of Nature is altered’. Already, alongside pride in what they had made of the Peninsula, settlers felt remorse for the losses they had caused. The Face of Nature incorporates a rich array of maps, paintings and photographs to illustrate the making – and unmaking – of this unique landscape. In doing so it illustrates why the Otago Peninsula is an ideal location through which to understand the larger environmental history of these islands.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 388

Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 05-12-2017

Licensing Trusts are a uniquely New Zealand concept now over 70 years old. Sometimes maligned, they have quietly pursued enhancing and supporting their communities with annual donations of many millions; and generated through their businesses, community assets worth $350million. They have achieved much. A Great Social Experiment tells the story of their achievements and failures: why in communities like Invercargill, Mataura, Masterton, West Auckland and Flaxmere they are greatly valued, and why in others they have withered. It explains how two remarkable men in the 1940s, Peter Fraser, Prime Minister, and Rex Mason, Minister of Justice, conceived how communities may take control of the sale of alcohol, generate profits to provide much needed hotel accommodation; and through community support donations, a dividend to enhance their community’s well-being. This is a story told from the inside. Bernard Teahan worked for many years amongst Licensing Trusts and does not gloss over the inglorious failures. Yet, for all these, the success rate has been remarkable compared to the alternative structure of private enterprise. Outstanding people dedicated extraordinary time and commitment to making their Licensing Trust successful, thus proving the spirit of community continues to endure and endear throughout the ages. A Great Social Experiment’s extensive research lays a challenge: community ownership of trading enterprises provides an alternative to globalisation, and are an important vehicle for the 21st century. The Author Bernard Teahan worked for 30 years as Chief Executive of Licensing Trusts, primarily Masterton and Trust House Limited, but also at one time managed eight Trusts. Qualified as a chartered accountant, he holds two Masters degrees from Massey University and a PhD from Victoria University. During his time managing Trusts, they earned respect as innovators and prudent generators of community wealth.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 300

Dimensions: 163 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 14-07-2017

Many New Zealand families were affected by the 1918 influenza pandemic. In the space of about six weeks, over 6400 Pakeha died and an estimated 2500 Maori. That equals nearly half the total of New Zealand soldiers killed in the First World War. Yet these were civilians, dying in the first month of peace. This was New Zealand's worst-ever public health disaster. The whole country seemed to shut down for several weeks in November 1918. Because the victims' bodies turned black when they died, many believed it was the plague. Could it happen again? The risk of another major influenza pandemic is even greater now, thanks to international jet travel. Global flu surveillance should give us better earning, and we now have anti-viral drugs and antibiotics to deal with the secondary pneumonia that was the real killer in 1918. But do we have the systems in place to deal with another massive health crisis? This book shows how we coped back in 1918 - the response of public health officials, how the sick were nursed, how thousands of convalescents were fed and the lessons learned that may still be useful today. It is an inspiring and fascinating story that all New Zealanders need to know about.

Pages: 96

Dimensions: 210 x 265 mm

Publication Date: 20-09-2017

Native Birds of New Zealand is a photographic book of New Zealand native birds that will appeal to the casual bird-watcher as well as the ornithologist. Many books in the past have been aimed at the serious ornithologist, with illustrations designed to show distinct feather patterns but not to create an image that is also pleasing to the eye. The photographs in this book have been taken by David Hallett, one of New Zealand’s leading wildlife photographers, who captured the beauty of New Zealand’s native birds in their natural environment, from the subtropical north to the Sub-Antarctic Islands, and from the oceans to the alpine meadows of the Southern Alps. The text is kept short and avoids the in-depth academic material found in some of the very good reference books on the market. It does include all the interesting facts that set our native birds apart, presented in a short, concise format that makes the book ideal for browsing. With the advent of digital photography, many more birders are now equipping themselves with cameras as well as binoculars when they go into the field, creating an increasing awareness of wildlife photography. This trend, combined with the affection New Zealanders have for their native birds, makes Native Birds of New Zealand a book that will have wide-spread appeal. Native birds of New Zealand was a labour of love over many years. David’s bird photographs enthralled many people, though few knew the hours he spent hidden among the rushes to catch each perfect image. Sadly, David died suddenly and unexpectedly in August 2016. This book is part of his legacy.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 207

Dimensions: 310 x 218 mm

Publication Date: 01-08-2017

Who is whimsical, witty and wonderfully weird? Kiwicorn! A ridiculously cute and funny story about being unique. Gorgeous illustrations and writing, help children to understand their emotions and to open a light-hearted dialogue about diversity. The Kiwicorn story can help parents and teachers to convey the important message that we're all different from each other, and being different is awesome!

Bind: hardback

Pages: 28

Dimensions: 216 x 216 mm

Publication Date: 01-10-2017

Recognised internationally as one of the twentieth century's great modernist innovators, New Zealand artist Len Lye is most famous for his avant-garde experimental films and for his astonishing and playful kinetic sculptures. Always fascinated by the interplay of movement and light, this extraordinary artist also expressed himself in photography, drawing, painting and poetry. During his lifetime he was better known in the art capitals of North America and Europe than in the country of his birth, but that has changed since the establishment of the foundation dedicated to his works at New Plymouth’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and particularly following the opening, in 2015, of the impressive and much-admired Len Lye Centre. In this timely collection of essays, New Zealand and overseas writers consider Lye’s assured place in modern art from a variety of fascinating and thought-provoking angles. He thought of his creations as emerging from ‘the long dream of waking’. And thanks to this richly illustrated collection of essays, we too can be drawn into his long dream and come to see his remarkable achievements through fresh eyes.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 10-10-2017