Hawke's Bay has a remarkable history; like the rest of New Zealand's, short by world standards - for the place was first settled only in the thirteenth century - but filled with colour, life and adventure. This profusely illustrated book tells that story from its beginnings, through the rumbustious nineteenth century when British settlers flooded into the region, on into the twentieth century of provincial life, and finally into the twenty-first with its lifestyles and new vision of district place.The history of Hawke's Bay is a story of people - colourful characters whose lives lent such depth to Hawke's Bay's world. And it is a story of hope in adversity, of ambition, of recovery from disaster, and of success despite all the odds.This revised and updated second edition includes new photographs, further details and additional maps and material.

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.

A slice in the history of New Zealand's colonial development capturing the political economic and social life of Hawke's Bay showing how the first settlers continued to shape developments in the region well into the 1950's.

The Gordon family have a historic woolshed, which was built in 1886. It has been turned into a museum to the sheep industry and has an auditorium, where shearing and dog shows are held for tourists. The idea came to Angus Gordon, one of the owners, to delve deeper into the greater Hawkes Bay area, which has been such a famous sheep farming area for over 160 years. This book is a photographic journey through the valleys and plains and along the dramatic coastline that was the original lifeline of the district. The original settlers were able to purchase large blocks of land because of the undeveloped nature of the country. Many of them became sheep barons, and then as they became wealthier, they began to build large and usually very beautiful woolsheds to shear the increasing numbers of sheep they were acquiring as they developed the land. The sheds were built of timber then, as native timber was still in plentiful supply, and they were very well built. Some had shingle roofs, and the floorboards were always tongue-and-groove Matai or Rimu. Many of these sheds have now disappeared, replaced by modern, rather soulless corrugated-iron sheds, but as the author already knew, there are an awful lot of still very well-maintained historic sheds. This book is a tribute to the farmers who have clung on to their land so tenaciously over the years of diminishing returns and diminished size but have still maintained these sheds, which are now treasures of Hawkes Bay that not many people are aware of.

A stunning book, the history of New Zealand's iconic iconic wine region of Hawke's Bay, as never told before. Brought to life with real stories of its most illustrious players, glorious photographs, extensive archival research, and an insider's guide to Hawke's Bay wine-making in the region.