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Series: The NZ Series Title: The Treaty of Waitangi Author: Ross Calman ISBN: 978-1-99-004277-5 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, colour Published: 21 January 2025 For Teacher Resource: click here ‘The story of The Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi is one of the greatest in New Zealand history. It marks the moment British and Māori history intersected and a new nation was formed.’ In The Treaty of Waitangi, Ross Calman outlines the impact of the Treaty from early contact between Māori and European settlers and signing around the country through to its revitalisation in the twentieth century, the formation of the Waitangi Tribunal and the present-day debates about its place at the centre of political and cultural life. Extensive illustrations, photos and fact boxes examine New Zealand’s founding document from a range of viewpoints, and highlight the importance of Te Tiriti as a key to understanding the nation’s past, present and future. This eighth book further extends Oratia’s NZ Series, a non-fiction resource for general readers and schools, introducing complex subjects in concise terms. -
Title: Kiwi A Curious Case of National Identity Author: Richard Wolfe ISBN: 978-1-99-004264-5 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 250 x 185 mm, PB, 208 pp, colour Publishing: 10 October 2024 Kiwi is a fascinating deep dive into New Zealand’s curious national identity. Cultural author and avid Kiwiana collector Richard Wolfe explores the evolution of ‘kiwi’ from the Māori name of a secretive bird to its many uses today — renaming a fruit native to China, signifying a New Zealander, and a powerful term in national and international branding. With extensive colour illustrations, photographs and ephemera, and the author’s keen eye for the curious, Kiwi presents some outlandish stories, tales of cultural appropriation and recognition of ‘Kiwi’ around the world. A popular study on New Zealand identity, this is an entertaining and important work for fans of all things kiwi and Kiwis themselves. -
Series: The NZ Series Title: New Zealand Migration Author: Philippa Werry ISBN: 978-1-99-004239-3 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, colour Published: 14 November 2023 For Teacher Resource: click here ‘In a country inhabited for a mere thousand years, everyone is an immigrant or a descendant of an immigrant.’ – Michael King With six books now published, The NZ Series is a valuable non-fiction resource for general readers and schools, introducing complex subjects in simple, concise terms. In this seventh volume, Philippa Werry recounts the stories and experience of migration to Aotearoa — from the first Polynesian arrivals to the Dawn Raids, from the New Zealand Company to ten-pound Poms, from Dutch and Dalmatian refugees to today’s Asian Kiwi communities. Extensive illustrations and shared personal experiences bring to life an immigrant nation from a range of perspectives. New Zealand Migration will make an excellent introduction for understanding our migrant nation. -
Title: Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story Author: Paul Moon ISBN:978-1-99-004235-5 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 360 pp, b&w Published: 5 April 2023 Auckland in 1999 would have been unrecognisable to the city’s residents at the beginning of the twentieth century — the result of dramatic changes in populations, cultures, beliefs, aspirations and senses of itself. Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story journeys through the mosaic of cultures and lifestyles, anxieties and hopes, disasters and triumphs, virtues and vices that led to this transformation. Drawing on diaries, oral history, newspapers and other media, Paul Moon explores themes including housing, gardening, the harbours, tangata whenua struggles, shopping culture, the immigrant experience and the pervading sense that Auckland was simultaneously at the edge of the world yet at its centre. Readers across New Zealand will experience many ‘Where were you when …?’ moments as they explore the changing landscapes of our largest city. Moon’s crisp writing gives readers everywhere a sense of a city that has felt triumph and failure but continues to develop so its citizens can proudly call it home. -
Series: The NZ Series Title: Weather and Climate New Zealand Author: Sandra Carrod ISBN: 978-1-99-004226-3 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 100 pp, colour Published: 17 October 2022 For Teacher Resource: click here The Book: Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions; climate is the weather of a region averaged over a long period. In this info-packed addition to The NZ Series, Sandra Carrod explores the main elements of New Zealand’s climate and weather in global, regional and local terms. Weather and Climate New Zealand answers questions such as: What’s in a weather system? How do you read a weather chart? In what ways does our weather and climate differ from other parts of the world? And what are the indicators of climate change in New Zealand? Alongside explanations of all kinds of weather events — including rain, snow, thunderstorms and tornadoes — are extensive graphics, photographs and data from agencies like Niwa and the MetService. After reading this book, reading the weather will become easy. Highly Commended in the Storylines Notable Book Awards 2022, Non-fiction category -
Title: Footprints on the Land How Humans Changed New Zealand Author: Richard Wolfe ISBN: 978-1-99-004220-1 RRP: $45.00 Specs: 250 x 185 mm, PB, 184 pp, b&w with colour sections Published: 12 October 2022 The Book: Richard Wolfe eloquently summarises this book’s scope in his Introduction: For upwards of 800 years, humans have made New Zealand their home, modifying the landscape to suit their needs. Although there can be no going back to the land’s original pristine condition, an awareness of the history of these changes will provide both a background and surely improve understanding of our present circumstances and challenges. Footprints on the Land tracks those changes — from early settlement and wars through to state building, with railways, species introductions, milling, mining and farming. Later chapters recount the impacts of urbanisation, draining and flooding, and the car, before considering the threats and opportunities that now face New Zealanders as a result. Wolfe’s timely tour of the human place on these islands is distinguished by art and photography that display what we’ve created and what we’ve lost. -
Title: Freyberg A Life's Journey Authors: Matthew Wright ISBN: 978-0-947506-72-8 RRP: $45 Specs: 234 x 153 mm portrait, PB with flaps, 232 pp, b&w Published: 6 October 2020 The Book: Bernard Freyberg was a legend while alive and is an iconic figure today, commemorated in the naming of schools, squares and swimming pools across the country. But how much do we really know of the man behind the myth? And what enabled a humble immigrant child in Wellington to become a hero in two wars, friend to literary giants and politicians, very private father and husband, and very public governor-general? In this fresh account of one of the 20th-century’s great New Zealanders, Matthew Wright approaches Bernard Freyberg the man rather than the more widely known figure of a military leader. Freyberg: A Life’s Journey is the most accessible biography on ‘Tiny’ Freyberg yet, with numerous black and white photos. -
Favourite Māori Legends Author: A.W. Reed; edited by Ross Calman ISBN: 978-0-947506-22-3 RRP: $29.99 Specs: 210 x 148 mm portrait, PB, 160 pp, b&w Published: June 2013 The Book: Māori myths and legends have an important role in transmitting and regenerating traditional knowledge. Yet as Ross Calman points out in his introduction to this new edition, they are also simply great yarns – reflective of a time when telling and listening to stories was a key leisure activity in Māori society. Favourite Māori Legends is an invitation to enjoy over 30 of the most memorable legends, grouped into themes of the spirit world, patupaiarehe (ghosts), taniwha, supernatural creatures, heroes and deeds of daring. Concise yet complete, these stories are enlivened by the fine illustrations of Roger Hart.E-book available from
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Title: Polynesian Navigation and the Discovery of New Zealand Author: Jeff Evans ISBN: 978-0-947506-40-7 RRP: $39.99 Specs: 245 x 175 mm portrait, PB, 128 pp, b&w with photos & maps Published by Oratia Books: April 2017 The Book: The Polynesian navigator Kupe is credited with the discovery of the land his expedition named Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. How did he and the many canoes that followed find their way without modern navigational techniques through perilous seas in wooden canoes? By examining myth, star charts and contemporary Polynesian seafaring, Jeff Evans traces the methods by which the early explorers made their epic voyages in Part One. The book’s second part travels with Maori canoe expert Matahi Brightwell and navigator Frances Cowan aboard the traditional canoe Hawaiki-nui following traditional navigation – with no modern aids – on its historic voyage from Tahiti down to New Zealand.E-book available from
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