Many New Zealand families were affected by the 1918 influenza pandemic. In the space of about six weeks, over 6400 Pakeha died and an estimated 2500 Maori. That equals nearly half the total of New Zealand soldiers killed in the First World War. Yet these were civilians, dying in the first month of peace. This was New Zealand's worst-ever public health disaster. The whole country seemed to shut down for several weeks in November 1918. Because the victims' bodies turned black when they died, many believed it was the plague. Could it happen again? The risk of another major influenza pandemic is even greater now, thanks to international jet travel. Global flu surveillance should give us better earning, and we now have anti-viral drugs and antibiotics to deal with the secondary pneumonia that was the real killer in 1918. But do we have the systems in place to deal with another massive health crisis? This book shows how we coped back in 1918 - the response of public health officials, how the sick were nursed, how thousands of convalescents were fed and the lessons learned that may still be useful today. It is an inspiring and fascinating story that all New Zealanders need to know about.

Pages: 96

Dimensions: 210 x 265 mm

Publication Date: 20-09-2017

Now with new cover design jacket. Victoria Square, that green and peaceful oasis in the centre of Christchurch, has a special claim to fame: it is the only city square in the world with a river running through it. And it has a rich and varied history, starting in 1850 when, as Christchurch's Market Place, it was the centre of commerce in the fledgling settlement. Before long it was home to little wooden shops, busy hotels and flourishing businesses, and to the city's law courts. Much later it was the site of the splendid town hall. There have been many changes over the years, by far the most drastic those that followed the major earthquakes of 2010 ad 2011. All the buildings on the square's eastern side, and most of those to the south, were demolished, along with the eye-catching tourist hotel that had occupied its north-west corner from 1988. Until the earthquakes Victoria Square was regarded as the most successful urban space in New Zealand, and even in Australasia, and that admired layout, dating from the 1980s, survives, though it may yet be modified as the city rebuilds. This lively and entertaining book, illustrated with 250 photographs, many never before published, is written by an author with a deep knowledge of and love for his city. It is a fascinating architectural survey of a unique civic space but, much more than that, it is the story of a place and its people, of protests and processions, of concerts and dances, of festivals and fights, of busy department stores, of hotels and tourists, of judges and courtrooms. Geoffrey Rice brings to life many of the stories and events connected with Victoria Square and the colourful personalities who have lived and worked there for over a century and a half.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 328

Dimensions: 210 x 260 mm

Publication Date: 20-11-2014

The Boxing Day Riot of 1879 when a parade of Orange Lodge members was attacked by a mob of Irish Catholic navvies swinging axe-handles, a slander case involving one of the city's richest merchants, the famous Severed Hand Mystery of 1885 ... Following on from his first volume, Christchurch Crimes 1850-1875: SCandal and Skulduggery in Port and Town, historian Geoffrey Rice presents another fascinating collection of Christchurch crimes and scandals drawn from nineteenth-century newspaper court reports, this time covering the later Victorian period from 1876-1899.
We meet some of the city's most notoirous citizens of the period, such as the photographer Eden George, and the preacher-fraudster Arthur Bently Worthington, who caused the one and only reading of the Riot Act in Christchurch. The Opawa axe murder of 1897 includes a rare photograph of the body.
Magistrates and judges had to deal with a procession of society's law-breakers passing through their courts, from apologetic drunks and brazen prostitutes, shifty forgers and brutal thugs, rapists and arsonists, bigamists and embezzlers to desperate women charged with manslaughter or murder. The defence lawyers were often faced with a difficult task, yet Christchurch in this period had several highly skilled courtroom lawyers who knew how to persuade a jury.
The author's easy-to-read story-telling style and genuine enthusiasm for and knowledge of his subject bring to life another rich, colourful and intriguing chapter from the city's past.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 260

Publication Date: 20-11-2013

While researching nineteenth-century Christchurch newspapers for another book, historian Geoff Rice was struck by the diversity of crime in early Christchurch, and the amount of detail in the court reports. Fascinated by what he was reading, he became diverted from the task at hand and set about writing this book instead: about crime and punishment in the first 25 years of Canterbury settlement.
The stories are drawn from newspaper reports, with further detail added from police records and the court minute books. The events are contextualised by Professor Rice's extensive knowledge of the times. It is not an academic study; nor is it a work of fiction. Rather it is an attempt at evidence-based reconstruction of crimes and courtroom proceedings, opening a window on the lives and deeds of ordinary people who lived in this place over 140 years ago.
History is usually written by the winners, and it is rare to hear the voices of ordinary folk from the remote past. Yet such were the shorthand skills of 19th-century newspaper reporters that courtroom testimony and cross-examinations were often captured verbatim, especially in the more sensational murder trials. Reading these reports one can almost hear the voices of the past. We catch glimpses of cabbies, shopkeepers, clerks and housewives going about their daily work, with descriptions of homes or workplaces, and the occasional fight in a pub.
The stories are often dramatic and even sensational, sometimes horrifying, sometimes amusing, often rather sad. Their crimes mirror the difficult realities of colonial life.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 228

Dimensions: 152 x 228 mm

Publication Date: 15-10-2012

The story of Christchurch's main port and one of its oldest boroughs. From the 'Pilgrim Port' of the 1850s, with its single jetty to receive thousands of Canterbury Assocaition settlers to the bustling modern port town of today. This is the story of Canterbury's main port and one of its oldest boroughs. Using many previously unpublished images from the collections of the Canterbury and Lyttelton museums, this book weaves the diverse themes of port and town into a narrative, noting key events and explaining patterns of change across 150 years.

Pages: 200

Dimensions: 285 mm

This lively survey tells the story of a major New Zealand city, the capital of Canterbury province and the South Island's largest metropolitan centre. Why was the city established in the middle of a swamp? What was it like to live in Christchurch in the 1850s, the 1870s or the 1940s? What has changed, what has disappeared, and what has survived from the past? Who were the people who made Christchurch what it is today? What makes Christchurch distinctive among New Zealand's cities? These and many other questions are answered in this highly readable account.

Pages: 192

Dimensions: 210 x 285 mm

John Robert Godley, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, James Edward FitzGerald - these are the names that usually come to mind as the founders of Canterbury. But there was a fourth vitally important individual, arguably equal in importance to FitzGerald, whose story remains largely unknown. William Guise Brittan led the first Canterbury Pilgrims, chaired the Society of Canterbury Colonists and controlled the Land Office in early Christchurch. The 'bell-wether man' of the Canterbury project, he was the first to pay for land land in the settlement, inspiring others to follow his example. William Guise Brittan was also known as 'the Father of Cricket' in Canterbury and established three churches in Christchurch. The city's cathedral was built with stone from his Halswell quarry. His elder brother Joseph, who joined him in 1852, had a significant influence on local politics, as a provincial secretary, and was expected to follow FitzGerald as superintendent, though he lost the 1857 election. A former newspaper owner, he also founded the "Canterbury Standard" in 1854 as a rival to the "Lyttelton Times". He too, was a cricket enthusiast. The Brittan brothers were leading figures in the Canterbury settlement, and made substantial contributions to the province, yet they were unpopular, both their careers ended in failure and disappointment and they have been mostly forgotten. This timely and fascinating account seeks to explain why, exploring their work and family lives (and their bank accounts), and along the way providing a richly detailed panorama of life and politics in early Chistchurch.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 350

Dimensions: 155 x 228 mm

Publication Date: 20-08-2015