The Bill Oliver Prize is a bi-ennial award for the best book on any aspect of New Zealand history, and the 2023 winners were announced at the New Zealand Historians conference in Christchurch recently. Huge congratulations to:
- Paul Diamond (Ngāti Haua, Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi) for Downfall: the destruction of Charles Mackay.
Downfall: the destruction of Charles Mackay / Diamond, Paul
“In 1920 New Zealanders were shocked by the news that the brilliant, well-connected mayor of Whanganui had shot a young gay poet, D’Arcy Cresswell, who was blackmailing him. They were then riveted by the trial that followed. Mackay was sentenced to hard labour and later left the country, only to be shot by a police sniper during street unrest in Berlin during the rise of the Nazis. The outcome of years of digging by historian Paul Diamond, ‘Downfall: The destruction of Charles Mackay’ shines a clear light on the vengeful impulses behind the blackmail and Mackay’s ruination.” (Adapted from catalogue) Also available as an eBook – Downfall, by Paul Diamond.Read reviews of Downfall from RNZ and The SpinOff.
- Rachel Buchanan (Ngāti Haumia, Taranaki, Te Atiawa) for Te Motunui epa
Te Motunui Epa / Buchanan, Rachel
“‘This is a story about the power of art to help us find a way through the darkness. It is about how art can bring out the best in us, and the worst. The artworks in question are five wooden panels carved in the late 1700s by relatives in Taranaki.’ This stunning book examines how five interconnected archival records, Te Motunui Epa, have journeyed across the world and changed international law, practices and understanding on the protection and repatriation of stolen cultural treasures.” (Adapted from catalogue)
What strengths would you say underlie the work ethics and skills of a New Zealand writer aspiring to to two-yearly Bill Oliver Prize award? All I can say is that Paul Diamond and Rachel Buchanan both have exceptional dedication, ability, research and writing skills enhanced by an underlying commitment to kaupapa Māori, whilst working also in a mainstream Pākehā environment.
The work of Paul, recently seconded to Senior Historian, Mātauranga Maori at Manatū Taonga, Ministry for Culture and Heritage is illustrated by a simplest of Google searches throwing up references to over 90 articles. The Kōmako website lists many of his works.
A fire in your belly : Māori leaders speak / Diamond, Paul
“Focusses on six outstanding people who have united, mobilised and led large and diverse groups of Maori through great changes. Sir Tipene O’Regan, Sir Robert Mahuta, Iritana Tawhiwhirangi, Professor Hirini Mead, Professor Whatarangi Winiata and Pita Sharples speak of their lives, their influences and their challenges. Written in a highly accessible style, this book is also a collection of compelling and often entertaining reminiscences about the lives of six remarkable New Zealanders.” (Catalogue)
Makereti : taking Māori to the world / Diamond, Paul
“Makereti was one of New Zealand’s first international media celebrities. The daughter of a Māori mother and a pakeha father, she was brought up by her Māori extended family until she was sent to boarding school. She became well-known (as Guide Maggie or Maggie Papakura) throughout New Zealand and overseas as a guide at Whakarewarewa, particularly after the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York in 1901. This book is a pictorial record of her life with a series of essays.” (Adapted from catalogue)
Savaged to suit : Māori and cartooning in New Zealand / Diamond, Paul
“In the earliest cartoons featuring Māori, they appeared as fearsome savages; today they are likely to be drawn in corporate-world suits. The book concentrates on the period from the 1930s to the 1990s, but also looks back to the first cartoons showing Māori and includes 21st century images. Savaged to Suit looks at how Māori and Māori culture and life were seen by cartoonists in a succession of stereotypes over many decades of changing perceptions and attitudes. The book considers how these stereotypes criticised Māori and their culture – sometimes savagely – to ‘suit’ cartoonists’ agendas.” (Adapted rom catalogue)
Although Rachel Buchanan resides in Melbourne, her heart belongs to Parihaka, and Te Atiawa. A quick google search throws up 80 or so references to her writings. Kōmako lists some biographical details – she has also researched Matiu Island and Te Aro Pā, as well as Orangi Kaupapa- an area of cultivation for our Pipitea tūpuna. Rachel is a descendant of Hemi Parai of Te Aro Pā, and forms part of an informal collective: “Te Aro Pā Poets”.
Ko Taranaki te maunga / Buchanan, Rachel
“In 1881, over 1,500 colonial troops invaded the village of Parihaka near the Taranaki coast. Many people were expelled, buildings destroyed, and chiefs Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi were jailed. Rachel Buchanan tells her own, deeply personal story of Parihaka. Beginning with the death of her father, a man with affiliations to many of Taranaki’s eight iwi, she describes her connection to Taranaki, the land and mountain; and the impact of confiscation. Buchanan discusses the apologies and settlements that have taken place since te pāhuatanga, the invasion of Parihaka”–Publisher information.” (Catalogue)
Stop press : the last days of newspapers / Buchanan, Rachel
“In 2011, Fairfax sacked 82 sub-editors at The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, and outsourced their jobs. Reporter Rachel Buchanan started work at The Age in 1993, as a sub-editor. This book is about what she found there. A unique insider’s account of the rise and slow decline of print, this insightful, passionate book investigates one of the most fundamental transitions in the Australian media today. It exposes the brutal cost-cutting measures of companies intent on squeezing every drop of profit from print before they turn to digital, and examines the consequences for those affected: for it is not only the journalists and editors who are losing their jobs, but printers, paper-makers, and distributors whose livelihood is disappearing.” (Adapted from catalogue)
The Parihaka album : lest we forget / Buchanan, Rachel
“‘A photo album doesn’t tell the whole story of a family and this book doesn’t tell the whole story of Parihaka. Rather, it is a collection of snapshots, a patchwork quilt, a scrapbook, a mongrel record my own efforts to understand one of the most important and disturbing events in New Zealand history – the 1881 invasion of Parihaka – and its powerful, complicated legacy. ‘ Rachel Buchanan. The Parihaka Album: Lest We Forget blends the personal and the historical. It tracks the author Rachel Buchanan’s discovery of her family’s links with Parihaka and her Maori and Pakeha ancestors’ roles in the early days of the city that is now Wellington.”–Publisher description.” (Catalogue)
Village of peace, village of war : Parihaka stories 1881-2004 / Buchanan, Rachel
He autaia rawa atu kōrua.
