Bright, eyecatching and durable. A great child size with adjustable straps and a brilliant design with all Teds favourite machines and animals. Front pocket and easy open zips.

Bind: stationery

Publication Date: 13-05-2013

Great machine design filled with six colouring pencils, rubber, sharpener and notepad

Dimensions: 104 x 215 x 25 mm

Publication Date: 01-08-2012

Ripped Apart is Mayor Bob Parker’s personal story about the earthquakes that devastated Christchurch. Bob’s tireless and unflappable communications gained him superstar status around the world.
He so impressed the American TV network, NBC, it broadcast to the world that New York, after 9/11, had Rudy Giuliani. Christchurch, after the earthquakes, had Bob Parker.
A Christchurch mother said: “For eight days I lived in my house under a table with my children because we were so scared. The only thing that calmed us was Bob’s voice on the radio. We trusted him”.
Within a few months of his triumphs the tide turned. The Minister of Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, dubbed him “a clown”; his council was dysfunctional; and Government, not the council, controlled the city’s rebuild.
Ripped Apart reveals the arguments, indecision, petty jealousies, power struggles and policies that occurred before, during, and after the crises. These are balanced with glimpses of dedication, courage, compassion and a unique vision. It is a story about people behind the scenes and events that saw Christchurch Ripped Apart, not just physically, but politically and emotionally.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm

Publication Date: 01-02-1970

On a Saturday Night is a warm and colourful celebration of the strength and spirit of small towns all around New Zealand. From Whakapara in the north to Mossburn in the South, community halls have been the focal point of small towns for as long as the towns have been on the map. These halls have hosted school classrooms, general elections, stag parties, birthday parties, film screenings, Rabbiters’ Balls, flag euchre evenings, farewells and welcome-home parties for servicemen from both world wars, memorial events for those who did not return, farm auctions, clearing sales, weddings, Christmas parties, Civil Defence teams, mayoral celebrations, church services … Some halls have been demolished and rebuilt over the decades, others have been lovingly restored several times and are still going strong. Some halls have been transported on the backs of trucks to new locations as towns have grown and changed. Fires and floods have taken their toll in more than a few cases. Michele Frey and Sara Newman visited these halls with photographers John Maillard (North Island) and John O’Malley (South Island) to talk to the locals and try to capture the essence of what each hall has meant – and means – to its community. In these stories and pictures they have recorded an aspect of New Zealand’s unique culture that seems to be passing into history.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 260

Publication Date: 01-11-2012

Back in print by popular demand! Huts is a celebration of the endurance of New Zealand's back-country huts and the men who built and lived in them. It is a fascinating look at the place of these iconic dwellings in New Zealand’s social and mountain history. There are over 1500 huts in New Zealand – an extraordinarily large number. Mark Pickering focuses on 15 historic huts, but many others besides are referred to. Most of the huts still do the job they were built for, whether it’s a pit-sawn deer cullers’ hut in Urewera National Park or a tiny skiers’ shack in the Craigieburn Range. If huts could talk they could in fact tell the whole history of the back country. Beatifully written, lavishly illustrated – this book is a must-have for outdoor enthusiasts, trampers or anyone interested in New Zealand's early history.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 384

Dimensions: 210 x 252 mm

Publication Date: 01-11-2010

Over six to seven hundred years, Maori burned about one third of New Zealand’s ground cover. In the following 70 years, and at a devastating rate, European settlers burned about another third as they cleared and ‘improved’ the land. All too frequently, burn-offs became uncontrollable conflagrations that swept through thousands of hectares, destroying cattle, fences, homes and livelihoods, and burning mills and much-needed timber. Townsfolk, blanketed in dense, acrid smoke needed lights at midday; ships, unable to pick up landmarks, sat marooned in harbour – yet the burning, as in other frontier societies, remained unabated and largely unquestioned. It is against that background that Helen Beaglehole sets the fascinating and previously unexplored history of how settlers’ random and careless burning led, in 1921, to legislation that still underpins New Zealand’s official policy on wildfire. She explores the huge public education campaign that sought to convince all sectors of the public that mindless burning had to be restrained, and traces how increasingly sophisticated fire-fighting technologies, coupled with developing knowledge of weather and fire behaviour, were used to prevent, contain and extinguish fire. Finally she looks at the early Forest Service employees who in effect became the nation’s first rural firefighters, their skills honed in the vast controlled burns of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, and describes the regime established after the Service’s demise and the issues faced today. As with Helen Beaglehole’s two books on New Zealand’s lighthouses and lighthouse keeping, Fire in the Hills is grounded in detailed and extensive research. Information from historical records is incorporated with material from interviews with past and present rural firefighters and administrators, bringing vividly to light the times, the people and the problems they faced. Some 200 photographs further broaden our historical understanding.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 324

Publication Date: 01-07-2012

There has never been a better time to discover and cherish Canterbury’s historic houses. Seventy more treasures can be found in this book. They are survivors of threats both manmade and natural. Most stood strong during the Canterbury earthquakes. Others are now in need of repair. All deserve to have their story told and enjoyed.
This book is a beautifully illustrated account of 70 country houses located in Canterbury. Fine pen and ink drawings by renowned artist Rodney Wells are complemented by Vicky Heward’s text which is a wonderful insight into the people who have done much to shape the culture of our country.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 144

Dimensions: 270 x 214 mm

Publication Date: 30-10-2012

Everyone in Christchurch has their own story of the quakes. There are heroic and brave stories related to the events themselves, and also longer narratives of endurance over the months of aftershocks. No one will ever forget this year.
In The Quake Year acclaimed author Fiona Farrell interviews people trying to live ordinary lives in extraordinary times. Their stories are moving, poignant, revealing and healing.
This unique book takes the reader beyond the physical damage straight into the hearts of survivors, in stories that will touch a chord with every reader.
Fiona's text is enhanced by beautiful photographs by acclaimed photographer Juliet Nicholas.

Pages: 207

Dimensions: 218 x 247 x 17 mm

Publication Date: 01-04-2012

Distant Thunder details the engrossing experiences of a helicopter pilot's tales of war told through letters that come straight from the heart. Often the author laboured well into the night after a mission still wearing the dusty flight suit which bore witness to the events he penned. Don Harward was torn between two worlds; his loyalty to his family and to his country. Like so many other soldiers, even on leave, he can always hear the dim roar of guns, the distant thunder of war, and is always summoned towards the sound. Pacific Wings, a prestigious New Zealand-based magazine, has previously published some letters which have been praised by a growing readership, both aviator and non flyer alike, for their ability to transport the reader into the world of war. Includes superb action photographs from Don's personal collection. An inspiring read.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 153 x 234 mm

Publication Date: 01-06-2012

Acclaimed worldwide for his eclectic and highly personal interiors that mix style and comfort with adventure and art, Lars Bolander showcases a stunning selection of his compelling interiors, sharing his unique inspirations and giving us privileged glimpses into how his intriguing creative process evolves. Each room truly does tell a fascinating story.

With an international sense of sophistication, his sense of appropriateness and scale are also distinctively Swedish. Inspired by sources such as his extensive travels and an in-depth knowledge of artistic disciplines as diverse as glassblowing, sculpture, and literature, the results are intelligently curated but refreshingly laid-back.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 192

Dimensions: 280 x 360 mm

Publication Date: 23-09-2012