This critical examination of Maoriland literature argues against the former glib dismissals of the period and focuses instead on the era’s importance in the birth of a distinct New Zealand style of writing. By connecting the literature and other cultural forms of Maoriland to the larger realms of empire and contemporary criticism, this study explores the roots of the country’s modern feminism, progressive social legislation, and bicultural relations.

Galleries of Maoriland introduces us to the many ways in which European colonists to New Zealand discovered, created, propagated, and romanticised the Maori world summed up in a popular nickname describing New Zealand; Maoriland. But Blackley shows that Maori were not merely passive victims: they too had a stake in this process of romanticisation. What, this book asks, were some of the Maori purposes that were served by curio displays, portrait collections, and the wider ethnological culture? Galleries of Maoriland looks at Maori prehistory in European art; the enthusiasm of settlers and Maori for portraiture and recreations of ancient life; the trade in Maori curios; and the international exhibition of this colonial culture. By illuminating New Zealand's artistic and ethnographic economy, this book provides a new understanding of our art and our culture.

They left their Southern Lands, They sailed across the sea; They fought the Hun, they fought the Turk For truth and liberty. Now Anzac Day has come to stay, And bring us sacred joy; Though wooden crosses be swept away – We'll never forget our boys. – Jane Morison, ‘We'll never forget our boys', 1917 Be it ‘Tipperary' or ‘Pokarekare', the morning reveille or the bugle's last post, concert parties at the front or patriotic songs at home, music was central to New Zealand's experience of the First World War. In Good-Bye Maoriland, the acclaimed author of Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music introduces us the songs and sounds of World War I in order to take us deep inside the human experience of war.

Sewing Freedom is the first in-depth study of anarchism in New Zealand during the turbulent years of the early 20th century—a time of wildcat strikes, industrial warfare, and a radical working class counter-culture. Interweaving biography, cultural history, and an array of archival sources, this engaging account unravels the anarchist-cum-bomber stereotype by piecing together the life of Philip Josephs—a Latvian-born Jewish tailor, antimilitarist, and founder of the Wellington Freedom Group. Anarchists like Josephs not only existed in the ‘Workingman’s Paradise’ that was New Zealand, but were a lively part of its labour movement and the class struggle that swept through the country, imparting uncredited influence and ideas. Sewing Freedom places this neglected movement within the global anarchist upsurge, and unearths the colourful activities of New Zealand’s most radical advocates for social and economic change. Includes illustrations by Icky from Justseeds and a foreword by Barry Pateman (Kate Sharpley Library Archivist and Associate Editor at the Emma Goldman Papers). “Davidson has produced much more than a soundly researched and very engaging biography... this is an excellent, wide-ranging contribution to our knowledge of the international (and indeed transnational) anarchist movement, and sweeps us along in a fascinating story that takes us from the pogroms in Russian Latvia, to the working-class slums of Victorian Glasgow, to the early struggles of the nascent labour movement in New Zealand.”—Dr David Berry, author of A History of the French Anarchist Movement “Many millions of words have been written on New Zealand history. The labour movement does not feature prominently in this vast corpus; in fact, quite the contrary. And within this relatively sparse coverage, anarchism is almost invariably assigned at best a passing mention. We must be grateful for Davidson’s determination to restore an anarchist voice to the history of the outermost reach of the British Empire.”—Dr Richard Hill, Professor of New Zealand Studies & author of Iron Hand in the Velvet Glove “A ground breaking tale of a rebel life, skillfully unearthed by Jared Davidson. A must read.”—Lucien van der Walt, co-author of Black Flame

Geographically isolated and long regarded as the "quintessential" proletarians, industrial bogeymen and revolutionaries, coal miners occupy an important place in the history of industrial radicalism in New Zealand. Looking behind the stereotypes, this study tells a story about New Zealand's industrial past, with clear identification of the central issues and attention to the colorful personalities involved.