NZ$45.00 + delivery.

Lying in the middle of a vast ocean, Aotearoa New Zealand was the last habitable land mass in the world to be settled by humans. Our history represents the powerful coming-together of two great seafaring traditions, Polynesian and European.

Ocean tells the tales of pioneers and trailblazers, from the big names who left their mark on our history to everyday folk whose fates were dictated by time and tide. There are chancers and entrepreneurs, exploiters and environmentalists, war-makers and lifesavers. From myth and migration to exploitation and industry; from the word of God and the pursuit of money to summer carnivals, and the oldest sporting trophy in the world, these stories of ships, sailors and seekers show how our relationship with the sea has been pivotal throughout our history, while the contemporary accounts of those whose lives are deeply connected to the ocean bring our maritime past into the now.

Magnificently illustrated with diverse imagery, Ocean is a spirited collection of historical tales, a landmark book about how the ocean has shaped New Zealand and its people.

NZ$70.00 + Delivery

Two special commissioners were sent to either close the venture down or move it elsewhere, and a bitter struggle developed, with Charles Enderby refusing to admit defeat and Governor Sir George Grey reluctantly becoming involved. Nevertheless, the settlement collapsed and the few Maori settlers on the islands, who had preceded and benefited from the colonists' presence, left soon after.

Little trace of the colony remains, and the Auckland Islands are much as they were before Charles Enderby's arrival: uninhabited, isolated, wild, and beautiful, and now of World Heritage status.

NZ$50.00 + delivery.

Set against a broad sweep of European and Pacific history, this comprehensive new biography of explorer Jules Sébastien César Dumont d’Urville (1790–1842) reveals his life and times as never before. Dumont d’Urville (1790–1842) is one of the most famous explorers of the age of sail, an exceptionally erudite navigator who has been called France’s Captain Cook. D’Urville cultivated a profound engagement not only with maritime exploration but also with botany, entomology, ethnography and the diverse languages of the world. He lived through a tumultuous period of revolution, territorial expansion and scientific discovery. As a young ensign he was decorated for his pivotal part in the acquisition of the famous Vénus de Milo.

This book also surveys d’Urville’s scientific contribution and the plant and animal species he collected. And it discusses his conceptualisation of the peoples of Pacific—it was d’Urville who coined the terms ‘Melanesia’ and ‘Micronesia’. D’Urville made an invaluable contribution to Pacific exploration as well as to the ethnography and natural history of Australia and New Zealand.

Using primary documents that have long been overlooked by other historians, including D'Urville's personal journal, author Edward Duyker charts the multiple facets of d’Urville: his passionate but emotionally fraught marriage; his scientific legacy in the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica and his secret orders to search for the site for a French penal colony in the Antipodes.

This is an unrivalled biographical work, fully encompassing the private and public world of this indubitably larger than life figure.

NZ$70.00 + delivery.

NZ$90.00 + delivery.

The arrival of the Polynesian people in Aotearoa was the final step in a series of remarkable voyages which saw them touch every spot of land through out the South Pacific.

Much information has been passed down about the waka and their journeys, but this knowledge has never before been combined into onbe book. Nga waka o Nehera fills a major gap in New Zealand historical reference literature by bringing together for the first time the written traditions of those waka remembered as having voyaged to Aotearoa.

This book features:

NZ$48.00 + delivery.

The sublime accomplishments of James Cook have cast a long shadow over the period of Global seafaring and exploration by the French in the 18th Century, during which time Europeans first visited and charted (most) of the islands of the South Pacific, but as historian James Belich put it: ‘There is little doubt that Cook has been emphasised to the unfair exclusion of the massive French contribution to European knowledge of New Zealand.’

This book seeks to redress this balance, drawing in the main on primary sources (both here and in France, and including primary research from original French documents never before translated into English) and scholarship from key researchers in this field.

As well as fascinating descriptions of what the French saw when they travelled around NZ’s coast, Lee focuses on the key characters of this age of French exploration (names such as de Surville, du Fresne, La Perouse, D’Entrecasteaux, Duperrey, Freycinet, D’Urville and Lesson), their relationships with Maori and the desire of France to complete with the British in the Pacific.

NZ$70.00 + delivery.

AWARDS AND COMMENDATIONS:

Congratulations Andrew. What a fantastic achievement.

The Voyaging Achievements of Maori and their Polynesian Ancestors.

Pathway of the Birds explores a neglected epoch of world history, one that saw Polynesians expand their territory across the world's largest ocean in one of the most expansive and rapid phases of human migration in prehistory.

Were Polynesians adept at navigating return voyages or had they settled the Pacific in a more random fashion? In an effort to find out, Crowe surveys a wealth of evidence from surprisingly diverse sources, including archaeology, palaeoecology, genetics, ethnology and linguistics, and presents it here in the context of Polynesian poetry, the long-distance migration of birds, non-instrument navigation, and wind tunnel experiments. From this, a spell-binding picture emerges of a people who have been deprived of recognition for some of their most illustrious achievements.

With an engaging narrative, integrating a diversity of research and viewpoints, and over 400 maps, diagrams, photographs and illustrations, Crowe conveys the skills, innovation, resourcefulness and courage of the people that drove this extraordinary feat of maritime expansion

NZ$50.00 + delivery.

From a variety of sources, including the diaries of passengers on a number of emigrant ships - mostly sailing vessels but also a few steamships - the author has told the story largely in the words of the participants themselves, thus giving a unique insight into what life was like during the long voyage (up to five months) down the Atlantic, around the Cape of Good Hope and through the storms of the southern ocean to New Zealand.

The reasons for emigrating, the tearful farewells, the onslaught of seasickness, quarrels , epidemics, storms, fires, shipwrecks, shipboard activities, the fun of "crossing the line" into the southern hemisphere, and finally the excitement of viewing for the first time the land that they had gone through so much discomfort to reach - all are told in highly readable, if not entertaining, way that exposes the reality of life on an emigrant ship in the days of sail.

NZ$45.00 + delivery.

This book offers a straightforward account of how and why Polynesian seafarer's made their journey south to New Zealand. The first part of the book discusses the origins of the voyages, legends of the homeland and the explorer Kupe, traditional Polynesian navigation techniques, and the preservation of seafaring knowledge by Maori. The second part of the book presents a gripping account of the canoe Hawaiki-nui retracing the route from Tahiti to New Zealand in 1985 using traditional voyaging methods.

Richly illustrated with photos, maps and drawings, this is an essential guide to a great story of discovery.

NZ$40.00 + delivery.

A Maori war canoe being paddled at full speed is an awesome sight. Thanks to the renaissance in canoe building, more and more traditional waka taua are on the waterways, and feature in major events like the Queen's Jubilee. Waka Taua gives a concise introduction to all aspects of the war canoe: its history, recent revival, types and variants, phase of building, parts of the waka, crew responsibilities and paddling techniques. With numerous historical and contemporary photographs and drawings, this easy-to-read book is the perfect reference for these amazing craft.

NZ$38.00 + delivery.

The first immigrants sailed to New Zealand from the Central Pacific in large double hulled waka built without any metal, using only natural materials and stone tools. It was the longest of all the Polynesian voyages, and the greatest test of their seafaring skills. The people who made the journey carried no navigational instruments at all. They relied entirely on the skill of their navigator who used his observations of the sun, stars, ocean, birds and clouds to carry them safely to land. They risked the voyage to New Zealand to escape warfare, death or starvation.

Abel Tasman sailed up the West Coast of New Zealand in 1642. He was not exploring for the fame or glory; he was an employee of a multinational trading company. His quest was to discover new lands with goods to trade back to Europe. The motivation behind Abel Tasman’s voyage was profit. This book follows two voyages; that of Abel Tasman in the Heemskerck and Zeehaen, and the Polynesians in the waka Kurahaupo. It describes the journeys to their dramatic point of coincidence in Golden Bay.

There are many books about the history of New Zealand that begin with the arrival of the Europeans; this one ends there.

NZ$45.00 + delivery.

NEW ZEALAND HISTORY. Page Two. See also: New Zealand Cruising & Travel Guides, New Zealand Yachting & Boating History, New Zealand Naval History, and NZ Nautical Tales

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