NZ History

The story of the country's prehistory, reconstructing from archeological evidence a picture of how the first people lived and died. The emphasis is on food and clothing, work, burial customs and disease and death.

Government Print, Wellington, 1989. Hardback with dust jacket. 128 pages. SECONDHAND

THE PENGUIN FIELD GUIDE TO NEW ZEALAND ARCHAEOLOGY. Begins with a general history of archaeology in New Zealand, and description of sites such as pa, pits, middens, umu, redoubts and mines. Part two is divided into regions, covering sites of Maori origin to later nineteenth-century industrial archaeology including coal and goldmining.

Penguin. Softback, illustrated, 262 pages. NEW

Discusses the likely nature of the 'Fleet' that brought the first Polynesians and also provides facinating insights into the nature of the European missionaries, scientists, surveyors and farmers who came next.

Century Hutchinson NZ Ltd., Auckland, 1988. Hardback with dust jacket. 315 pages. SECONDHAND

Draws on the work of archaeologists, historians, economists, sociologists and critics to provide a challenging account of New Zealand society from the first Polynesian settlement onwards. Well researched, well written and authoritive.

Oxford University Press, Wellington, 1981. Hardback with dust jacket. 572 pages. SECONDHAND

A lively account of pre-1840 New Zealand that exposes the darker aspects of colonial life as escapees from Australia joined ex-convict whalers, sealers and others in a lawless fronteer.

Penguin Books NZ, Auckland, 2012. Softback. 253 pages. NEW

A critically acclaimed, far reaching revisionist history of New Zealand to the end of Nineteenth Century confronting many established historical ideas. First published in 1996.

Penguin Books NZ, Auckland, 2007. Softback. 497 pages. NEW

The companion volume to the aclaimed 'Making Peoples' completes this ground breaking history of New Zealand. It is the story of the New Zealander's from 1880 to 2000. First edition.

Penguin Books NZ Ltd., Auckland, 2001. Hardback with dust jacket. 606 pages. SECONDHAND

Early modern New Zealand was a turbulent place and this history shows how both sdes developed ways to manage their political, religious, economic and sexual relationships. Illustrated.

Auckland University Press, 2012. Softback. 284 pages. NEW

A fine illustrated history of the area from earliest times, through first contacts between Maori and European, culminating in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

Cosmos Publications, Napier, 1992. Hardback with dust jacket. 96 pages. SECONDHAND

A comprensive and illustrated study of racial tension and social attitudes, 1839-1852, the early Victorian European mind adapting to the shocks of a new environment, and of Maori adapting to the challenge of invasion.

Oxford University Press, London, 1958. Hardback with dust jacket. 217 pages. SECONDHAND

The interesting and varied recollections of early north island settler Morton who arrived at Auckland in 1863. Includes several chapters concerning the Land Wars of the .1860s. Illustrated. Scarce.

Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd., Christchurch, 1925. Hardback, no dust jacket. 176 pages. SECONDHAND

Considers a little known period in New Zealand history. The lead up to the Treaty of Waitangi, post 1840 Colonial Office policy and its interpretation on the ground by Hobson, Fitzroy and Grey, and the constitution act of 1852 which gave the country a Parlimentary system of government. Illustrations and folding map.

Government Printer, Wellington, 1958. Hardback with dust jacket. 475 pages. SECONDHAND

An account of how transplanted Britons and others turned themselved into New Zealanders, a distinct group of people whith their own unique sense of self.

Auckland University Press, 2012. 382 pages. NEW

A lively history of the South Island, a colourful world of gold and wool, of social climbers, would be aristocrats and ambitious ne'er-do-wells.

Penguin NZ, Auckland, 2009. Softback. 344 pages. NEW

How settlers learned about their new world as the South Island environment threw up surprise after surprise. Those who succeded were those most attuned to the environment.

Auckland University Press, 2013. Softback. 254 pages. NEW

Over the past 150 years, people, objects and ideas have gone back and forth, defining and redefining the relationship between NZ and the imperial centre that many New Zealanders called 'Home'. A illustrated study of the construction of colonial and national identities.

Auckland University Press, 2012. Softback. 336 pages. NEW

Official Year-Book for 1906, fifteenth year of issue. A digest of official and statistical information, with maps and diagrams.

Government Printer, Wellington, 1906. Hardback, no dust jacket as issued. 779 pages. SECONDHAND

A series of papers written by the United States Consul at Auckland, later edited by Dr. J. Hector. An interesting ousiders view of the colonial economy of the time. Bound in full leather with embossed decorative devices and gilt lettering, bright and clean. Very small portion of spine absent at head. Unusual.

Government Printer, Wellington, 1884. Hardback, full leather binding. 178 pages, folding map to rear. SECONDHAND

Missionary letters of Marsden who was senior Chaplin in the Colony of New South Wales and Superintendent of the mission of the Church Missionary Society in New Zealand. Important historical source for the founding period of modern New Zealand.

Coulls Somerville Wilkie Ltd., Dunedin, 1932. Hardback with dust jacket. 580 pages. SECONDHAND

An excellent fully illustrated addition to the literature on New Zealand goldfield history. This book places the rushes in their international context and systematically examines the various New Zealand goldfields, and their social history.  

Random House , Auckland, 2008. Hardback, with dust jacket. 544 pages. AS NEW

A history of a little known aspect of New Zealand social history with a stylish text and illustrations by David Elliot. The last NZ duel occured in 1935.

Random House NZ, Auckland, 2006. Softback. 160 pages. SECONDHAND

The Romance of a Pro Consul being the Personal Life and Memoirs of the Right Hon Sir George Grey. Special edition for sale only in the British Colonies. Published by Chatto and Windus, 1899.

Chatto & Windus. Hardback, illustrated, 214 pages. SECONDHAND

Helen Beaglehole's Lighting the Coast is the first comprehensive history of New Zealand's system of 'well placed and effective' lighthouses that were essential for 'the great maritime future' the government envisaged. It also reveals much about the lives of the lighthouse keepers and their families who chose to live in the most remote parts of the country.

Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. Hardback. 352 pages. NEW.

ALWAYS THE SOUND OF THE SEA. The Daily Lives of New Zealand's Lighthouse Keepers. Drawing on a rich and intriguing mix of letters, diary extracts, official correspondence and interviews, from an 1872 diary to interviews with the last of the lighghouse keepers themselves, Helen Beaglehole brings together accounts of the life and work of these resourceful New Zealanders. Illustrated.

Craig Potton Publishing. Softback. 264 pages. NEW. 

Traces the way in which electricity has completely changed the way people live and work, also the story of of the men and women who through 100 years, planned and worked to bring power to the people.

Electricity Supply Association of New Zealand, Wellington, 1989. Hardback with dust jacket. 256 pages. SECONDHAND

Tells the story of the development of the national grid from the earliest days and the engineers, surveyors, linemen and operators who made it possible, with their commitment to 'keep the lights on'.

Steele Roberts Publishers, Wellington, 2008. Hardback with dust jacket. 376 pages. NEW

A unique historical and technical account in the form of twenty six essays concerning the dedication and skill of NZ chemists and chemical engineers and their contribution to the country's industrial and agricultural sucess.

Clerestory Press, Christchurch, 1999. Softback. 308 pages. SECONDHAND

Personal studies of the colonial lives of 54 women of the Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay areas including Maori and pakeha, British and Scandanavian, married and single and well off and poor. A sminal work of colonial history. 

W. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1973. Hardback with dust jacket. 264 pages. SECONDHAND

The personal stories of 40 pioneer women of the south island from Nelson to the Bluff. Third volume in the Petticoat Pioneer series.

A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1980. Hardback with dust jacket. 248 pages. SECONDHAND 

A.H. Reed made extensive journeys on foot to remote parts of the country that were published as separate volumes. Here they are gathered together in one volume of unusual interest, Northland, The East Cape, Southland and Fiordland. A Kiwi classic. First published 1954.

A.H. and A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1959. Hardback with dust jacket. 416 pages. SECONDHAND

Nineteenth century South Island, a land of opportunity, or province of a rich and powerful elite who carefully nurtured an order of startling social inequality? The story of the landed gentry.

A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1980. Hardback with dust jacket. 192 pages, SECONDHAND

The Chinese have been the largest non-European and non-Polynesian ethnic group in New Zealand since the 1860s. This collection of essays provides an overview of the history and experience of the Chinese in New Zealand to the present day.

Auckland University Press, 2003. Softback. 304 pages. SECONDHAND

A classic work providing a who was who in New Zealand engineering of the pioneer period. It is the result of many years research and contains illustrations of engineers and their projects. Superb condition with a fine dust jacket.

A. H. and A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1953. Hardback with dust jacket. 306 pages. SECONDHAND

A vivid insight into the lives, work and leisure of the frontier workers and their towns in the first century of pakeha settlement in an often inhospitable and shifting world. Illustrated with many remarkable early photographs.

Harper Collins NZ Ltd., Auckland, 1992. Softback. 159 pages. SECONDHAND

Professor Salmon's definitive text, includes goldmining in the Coromandel, Collingwood, Buller, Otago, Dunstan, Wakatipu, Taieri, Wakamarina and the West Coast, Waihi and Thames. This is a facsimile edition, (originally published by the Government Printer, 1963).

Cadsonbury Publications, Christchurch, 1996. Softback. 315 pages. NEW

Bushranging was a type of crime especially associated with life on the goldfields in New Zealand and elsewhere. The story is told here along with that of the pioneers and the goldrushes.

Blackie and Son Ltd., London, 1930. Hardback, no dust jacket. 206 pages. SECONDHAND

Gold for the Taking by Sandy and Judy Fairservice. A practical guide to finding and keeping gold in New Zealand.

Halcyon Press. Softcovers, illustrated, 112 pages. NEW

The story of the boom and bust industries and the towns that sprang up overnight to service them. Usually with too may pubs and newspapers they were towns of whaling, gold, kauri, coal and gum and also railhead towns, flax towns and others; all are no more.

A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1980. Hardback with dust jacket. 248 pages. SECONDHAND

The Southern Cross and the Southern Crown or The Gospel in New Zealand by Miss Tucker. A history of the Church Missionary Society and other missionaries in New Zealand. 2nd edition, London, James Nisbet and Co, 1855. Frontispeace of a Maori chief lying in state at Waikanae. Spine bumped and previous owner's name clipped from front endpaper.

James Nisbet & Co. Hardback, illustrated, map, 263 pages. SECONDHAND

The private and public lives of Charlotte Brown, Anne Wilson, Elizabeth Colenso and Kate Hadfield are brought into fresh historical focus.

Penguin Books NZ, Auckland, 2006. Softback. 208 pages. SECONDHAND

An account of the doings of 12 young New Zealanders in China there to help the people during a tumultuous period of war and civil war. Based on interviews with surviving members of the group.

Beechtree Press, Wellington, 1996. Softback. 247 pages. SECONDHAND

Being a Record of His Experiences, of His Shipwreck, and of His Many Escapes From Death During Fortyfour Years of Wandering Adventures by Land and Sea. Includes his description of colonial life 1887 to 1932 in the Pacific, Australia and Ngaruawahia, Waikato River, North Cape, Lake Wairarapa, Auckland Islands, Koputaroa, Manawatu, Rangitane, Dunedin, Russell, Dargaville, Greymouth, Waikaremoana and New Plymouth.

Hodder and Stoughton. Hardback with worn dustjacket. 254 Pages. SECONDHAND

Commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Dominion Sawmillers' Federation, 1917 to 1967, this history describes the pioneering days of the sawmill industry through to wartime demands, and everything from insect control to industrial relations. Cover stained but intact.

Sawmillers Federation. Softcovers. Illustrated. 195 Pages. SECONDHAND.

An account of the development of the major Agricultural and Pastoral industries since the beginning of colonisation. Illustrated. Scarce.

Keeling and Mundy Ltd., Palmerston North, 1969. Softback. 243 pages. SECONDHAND

A tribute to the sheep, to the farmers and their working dogs, and to those who process and market the fine end-products-prime meat, and spendid wool. A great story and one well told by a shrewd observer.

A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1966. Hardback with dust jacket. 223 pages. SECONDHAND

The fourth and final of Newton's regional surveys recording the great New Zealand farm properties and the men and women who farm them. This volume tours through mid amd south Canterbury, Westland, Otago and Southland. Illustrated.

A.H. and A.W. Reed Ltd., Wellington, 1975. Hardback with dust jacket. 260 pages. SECONDHAND

This is a history of amateur radio in New Zealand from spark transmitters and crystal sets to space communications.

NZ Association of Radio Transmitters, Wellington, 1997. Softback. 297 pages. SECONDHAND

A substantial history that draws heavily on New Zealand Post Office records to tell the interesting and engaging story of the development of postal and other services in the country. Illustrated.

Government Printer, Wellington, 1964. Hardback with dust jacket. 280 pages. SECONDHAND

A social history of the formative years in New Zealand 1890-1976. The author describes this period as the country's real nineteenth century.

Beaux Arts Ltd., Auckland, 1976. Softback. 155 pages. SECONDHAND

A lively, well researched, and interesting text presents the story of hot springs and spas throughout the country. Many of them were popular over 100 years ago but are now all but forgotten.

Government Printing Office, Wellington, 1986. Softback. 195 pages. SECONDHAND

The story of tourism in New Zealand from 1870 through to the end of the twentieth century. Government was the prime mover in the development of the main sites, Rotorua, the Hermitage, the Chateau and Milford.

Auckland University Press, 2004. Softback. 318 pages. SECONDHAND

Recounts and assesses an emblematic moment in New Zealand history, the 1940 Centennial was celebrated as a national comming of age with a popular exhibition held in Wellington and much pride shown in achievements since 1840, summed up as a hundred crowded years.

Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2004. Softback. 294 pages. SECONDHAND

A whimsical lucky-dip into New Zealand's popular culture. Gathering together some of the threads that go to form the fabric of Kiwi national character. Loaded with nostalgia and wry fun. First published in 1989.

A nostalgic look at the 1900-1919s from the glossy pages of the much loved Weekly News. One of a series of publications that together present a unique documentory social history of New Zealand.

Moa Publications Ltd., Auckland, 1989. Hardback with dust jacket. 175 pages. SECONDHAND

A nostalgic look at the 1920s from the glossy pages of the much loved Weekly News. One of a series of publications that together present a unique documentory social history of New Zealand.

Moa Publications Ltd., Auckland, 1988. Hardback with dust jacket. 175 pages. SECONDHAND

A nostalgic look at the 1940s from the glossy pages of the much loved Weekly News. One of a series of publications that together present a unique documentory social history of New Zealand.

Moa Publications Ltd., Auckland, 1988. Hardback with dust jacket. 175 pages. SECONDHAND

A nostalgic look at the 1940s from the glossy pages of the much loved Weekly News. One of a series of publications that together present a unique documentory social history of New Zealand.

Moa Publications Ltd., Auckland, 1988. Hardback with dust jacket. 175 pages. SECONDHAND

A nostalgic look at the 1950s from the glossy pages of the much loved Weekly News. One of a series of publications that together present a unique documentory social history of New Zealand.

Moa Publications Ltd., Auckland, 1987. Hardback with dust jacket. 175 pages. SECONDHAND

A nostalgic look at the 1960s from the glossy pages of the much loved Weekly News. One of a series of publications that together present a unique documentory social history of New Zealand.

Moa Publications Ltd., Auckland, 1988. Hardback with dust jacket. 175 pages. SECONDHAND

A wide ranging view of New Zealand in a state of societal flux, when many young Kiwis developed value systems that have survived into the 21st century.

Harper Collins NZ Ltd., Auckland, 2008. Softback. 256 pages. NEW

The Fulbright agreement between the United States and New Zealand governments was signed in 1948 and this is a history of the programme of cultural and educational exchange drawing on the reminiscences of more than 600 participants.

New Zealand United States Educational Foundation, Wellington, 1988. Hardback with dust jacket. 126 pages. SECONDHAND