Maori History and Place Names of Hawke's Bay is a well-regarded regional history made available once more in this new edition. It represents a valuable study of Maori culture and a permanent record of people and place names in the Hawke's Bay that have always been known – but not always located – since early times. In the late 1940s J.D.H. Buchanan began studying, collecting and recording local traditions, conversations with district elders, family genealogies, early survey maps and Maori Land Court proceedings in the Hawke's Bay area. Following his death in 1961, Buchanan's notes were edited by David Simmons. Beginning form the moment Maori arrived in the area on the Takitimu, the book traces the history of local iwi including Ngati Kahungungu, Rangitane and Ngati Awa. Also featured are meticulous plans of pa sites, aerial photographs of the countryside, and a comprehensive gazetteer of place names.

Fascinating list of place names used in New Zealand with explanations of their derivations and meanings where these things are known.

Tangata Whenua: A History presents a rich narrative of the Māori past from ancient origins in South China to the twenty-first century, in a handy paperback format. The authoritative text is drawn directly from the award-winning Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History; the full text of the big hardback is available in a reader-friendly edition, ideal for students and for bedtime reading, and a perfect gift for those whose budgets do not stretch to the illustrated edition. Maps and diagrams complement the text, along with a full set of references and the important statistical appendix. Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History was published to widespread acclaim in late 2014. This magnificent history has featured regularly in the award lists: winner of the 2015 Royal Society Science Book Prize, shortlisted for the international Ernest Scott Prize, winner of the Te Kōrero o Mua (History) Award at the Ngā Kupu ora Aotearoa Māori Book Awards, and Gold in the Pride in Print Awards. The importance of this history to New Zealand cannot be overstated. Māori leaders emphatically endorsed the book, as have reviewers and younger commentators. They speak of the way Tangata Whenua draws together different strands of knowledge – from historical research through archaeology and science to oral tradition. They remark on the contribution this book makes to evolving knowledge, describing it as ‘a canvas to paint the future on’. And many comment on the contribution it makes to the growth of understanding between the people of this country.

'So they went forth, and they were given over to death by the guns.' -Rangipito, of Ngati Rahiri In the two decades before the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand was ripped asunder by island-spanning waves of warfare, extreme violence and cannibalism. Great war parties surged the length of the land to avenge historic grievances, killing and burning as they went. Whole peoples were uprooted and found new homes. Despite the name given them by history, one thing we can be certain about is that these dramatic conflicts were not simply 'musket' wars. This was an age of courage, of heroism, of great character and of astonishing deeds. And they are not dead history. Twenty-first-century New Zealand has been profoundly shaped by them, not least in the location of most of the major cities. In Guns and Utu, historian Matthew Wright disputes the many mythologies of these wars, examining some of the whys and wherefores of this generation-long culture collision. 'A spectacular book.' -Don Rood, Radio New Zealand National

"The aim of this book is to show how our pakeha place names are linked with our history. It is not intended to be a dictionary of all the place names of New Zealand ... Purely descriptive names whose origins are obvious have been ignored unless circumstances connected with the giving of the name made their inclusion desirable"--Jacket.

Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History charts the sweep of Māori history from ancient origins through to the twenty-first century. Through narrative and images, it offers a striking overview of the past, grounded in specific localities and histories. The story begins with the migration of ancestral peoples out of South China, some 5,000 years ago. Moving through the Pacific, these early voyagers arrived in Aotearoa early in the second millennium AD, establishing themselves as tangata whenua in the place that would become New Zealand. By the nineteenth century, another wave of settlers brought new technology, ideas and trading opportunities – and a struggle for control of the land. Survival and resilience shape the history as it extends into the twentieth century, through two world wars, the growth of an urban culture, rising protest, and Treaty settlements. Today, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, Māori are drawing on both international connections and their ancestral place in Aotearoa. Fifteen stunning chapters bring together scholarship in history, archaeology, traditional narratives and oral sources. A parallel commentary is offered through more than 500 images, ranging from the elegant shapes of ancient taonga and artefacts to impressions of Māori in the sketchbooks and paintings of early European observers, through the shifting focus of the photographer’s lens to the response of contemporary Māori artists to all that has gone before. The many threads of history are entwined in this compelling narrative of the people and the land, the story of a rich past that illuminates the present and will inform the future.