Peter Attwell | 2018
The Hill of MemoryA minor industrial dispute in the final months of 1913 turns into bitter class warfare with battles raging in the streets of Wellington and shots fired. Seventeen year old Johnnie Hargreaves and his friend Joe Halifax sympathise with the strikers, as does Johnnie’s sister Hetty who is in love with Joe’s older brother Ned. The boys plan their own part in the conflict as it rapidly turns into a town versus country affair when mounted baton-wielding special constables are recruited to crush the strikers. What starts out as boyish enthusiasm on the part of Johnnie and Joe turns into something much more serious, with tragic consequences. The story is told from Johnnie’s recollections half a century after the events and World War One, exploring the relationship between memory and reality, and how a person lives with guilt, coupled with themes of human emotion and the endurance of love in times of conflict.
Peter Attwell is a Wellington historian who while working on the Wellington waterfront became fascinated by the largely forgotten events of 1913. He holds a Master of Arts in Public History from Victoria University of Wellington and has been a Librarian with the Alexander Turnbull Library since 2000.
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Georg Sauer | 2018
The Viennese Visit of Toetoe and Rerehau 1859-1860When the Austrian naval frigate Novara arrived in Auckland in December 1858 on its circumnavigation of the globe, the crew and scientists on board were fascinated by the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. Two adventurous young Maori men,Wiremu Toetoe Tumohe and Te Hemara Rerehau Paraone, took up the invitation to join the crew and sailed with them out of Auckland harbour. Once in Vienna, Toetoe and Rerehau moved in the highest circles of Viennese society, dressed in top hat and gloves, enjoying glittering balls and an audience with the Emperor. While they marvelled at the city, and the fine big cats at the zoo, theyfound that they themselves became a popular attraction, drawing crowds wherever they dined, and stiring excitement in the newspapers. Yet it was not all pleasure and pomp - during their nine months in Vienna they also worked by day in the State Printing House, aquiring the skills of printing and engraving. At the end of their stay, homesick for Aotearoa, the Emperor gifted them with a printing press and type, with which on their return to New Zealand in 1860, they began to print the Maori language newspaper, Te Hookioi." The research underlying this book was originally submitted as a PhD thesis at the University of Vienna in 2002. Since that time the author, Dr Georg Sauer, has made two visits to New Zealand and established personal contact with descendants. Over the years many people have expressed an interest in this work and always said it would be great if it could be made available to English speaking readers in New Zealand. This year we have finally completed what is essentially an English translation of a fully revised and updated thesis.
Dr Georg Sauer was born in Vienna in 1956. After attending night school to gain his university entrance qualification whilst working for the municipality of Vienna, he then went on to study ethnology and history at the University of Vienna. The doctoral thesis topic Der Aufenthalt zweier Māoris aus Neuseeland in Wien 1859-1860 (The Viennese visit of two Māori in 1859-1860) was first suggested to him by Professor Dr Karl Wernhart from the Institute of Ethnology. Sauer graduated with a DPhil from the University of Vienna in 2002.
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