"I paint for myself. That's the only way. For when you paint to please it's not the honest thing and inhibits the chances of discovery, because there's no point in writing or painting unless you make your own discoveries." Olivia Spencer Bower wrote those words near the end of an almost six-decade career as one of New Zealand's finest and best-loved artists. Born in England, she initially came to New Zealand reluctantly but learned to call this country home and to cherish its landscape, particularly in the South Island. She was a superb watercolourist, but worked in a wide variety of media and was always keen to experiment and remained open to new ideas. Outwardly sociable, hospitable and colourful, the friend of artists from Rita Angus to Colin McCahon, she remained a private, thoughtful person. Her conviction that artists should have the freedom and opportunity to make their own discoveries led to the establishment of her art award, an ongoing legacy to subsequent generations in New Zealand. In this, the first book to consider Olivia Spencer Bower's life and work, art historian Julie King offers, through a lively and impeccably researched text and a selection of watercolours, paintings, drawings, prints and illustrations, a superb evocation of one of the most engaging and vital artists this country has produced.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 208

Dimensions: 240 x 265 mm

Publication Date: 01-12-2015

How do health care workers manage disaster on an unprecedented scale? The 2011 Canterbury earthquakes were more challenging to the region’s health system than anyone could have expected. The injured needed immediate treatment, buildings and equipment were badly damaged, aftershocks continued to rock the area, and communities were disrupted by flooding, liquefaction and fear. Despite this, many ordinary people – hospital and laboratory staff, general practitioners (GPs), pharmacists and others – accomplished extraordinary things in the aftermath of such devastation. Rising from the Rubble gives a compelling account of those who rallied to maintain and rebuild essential health services, maintaining continuity of care for the most vulnerable – from older people to those with kidney failure – as well as dealing with the significant ongoing impact on mental health. From the immediate emergency response after the earthquakes to sustaining health services over the following years in highly demanding circumstances, the stories of medical staff joining forces, collaborating and volunteering are infused with sadness, pride and even joy. Based on interviews with those who lived and worked through the Canterbury earthquakes, and the authors’ own experiences, Rising from the Rubble is an inspiring testament to commitment and recovery.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 304

Dimensions: 170 x 230 mm

Publication Date: 23-11-2018

A century and a half now separate us from the founding of Canterbury College, the institution from which the University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha evolved. In ‘A New History: The University of Canterbury 1873–2023’, historian John Wilson offers a fresh interpretation of an institution that has played a central role in shaping the development of research culture and university education in Aotearoa New Zealand and that has been at the forefront of the shift to a postcolonial university world. In examining the University’s development, Wilson highlights how the institution evolved as part of the community it continues to serve, while offering city, province and Aotearoa as a whole leadership and, on occasion, challenging expectations.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 520

Dimensions: 200 x 260 mm

Publication Date: 01-12-2023

A narrative history of the Burgess Gang and their greatest crime In the winter of 1866 New Zealand’s most notoriousbushranger, Richard Burgess, knelt at a small desk in his Nelson prison cell, took up his quill pen and began to write. His life, he knew, was beyond salvation but words were the last weapon at his disposal to consign his mortal enemy, gang turncoat Joseph Sullivan, to the gallows. The blood-soaked confession that followed was described by Mark Twain as ‘without its peer in the literature of murder’. Five bodies had been recovered from Maungatapu Mountain in the upper South Island, and another from the West Coast. But who had done the killing,and how many other victims were there? What had brought the ruthless Burgess Gang to this point? Drawing on a wealth of primary sources, including little-known original accounts by Sullivan, ‘Murder on the Maungatapu’ tells the fascinating full story of a dark episode in this country’s history. This is a superbly written tale of blood and gold, ofbetrayal and vengeance, and it draws some startlingconclusions about New Zealand’s crime of thenineteenth century.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 150 x 225 mm

Publication Date: 24-06-2016

Soon after the introduction of cocksfoot to Banks Peninsula in the mid-19th century, Akaroa cocksfoot grass seed conquered the market - first in New Zealand, then in Australia, and finally in Europe. At the height of the industry, Akaroa cocksfoot was one of the most significant industries in Canterbury, with annual earnings for Banks Peninsula of more than $10 million per annum. It was responsible for the loss of almost all the Peninsula's unmillable forest. And yet, a generation or two later, the Akaroa cocksfoot seed industry has almost entirely disappeared. More than a century after the industry reached its peak, Vaughan Wood celebrates its remarkable story. The history of Akaroa cocksfoot is one that embodies many facets of Canterbury life: the farmers and harvesters, the seed merchants, and the engineering and transport firms. It was shaped by the science, politics and world-trade patterns of the time and is thus a story with more than just local interest, This fascinating narrative includes: * The history of the Akaroa cocksfoot seed industry, from the introduction of cocksfoot seed into New Zealand, through the start of its international success in the early 1880s and its peak around the turn of the 20th century, to the end of the industry in the 1950s and 1960s. * A detailed look at the industry in its heyday, following the journey taken by the seed from the growing crop to the traded commodity. * Recognition of the lasting legacy Akaroa cocksfoot has left on both the landscape and the local seed industry in New Zealand.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 148

Dimensions: 148 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 30-11-2014

Edmonds is one of New Zealand’s best-known brands - its radiant sun and 'Sure to Rise' promise have embellished baking powder labels and the much-loved Edmonds Cookery Book for over a hundred years and are now embedded in our popular culture. The man behind the company, Thomas Edmonds, came to New Zealand with his wife Jane in 1879. While running a modest grocery store in Christchurch, he expanded into making baking powder. As his most famous product took off, he built new premises, the last of them the Art Deco factory with its nationally admired gardens. Thomas embraced new advertising and marketing techniques and ensured progressive working conditions for his loyal staff. A generous benefactor, he gave his city some of its landmark buildings. This is the story of a man from humble beginnings who, thanks to hard work, creativity and persistence, and with considerable support from his wife, created an iconic business. Richly illustrated, Sure to Rise is a fascinating slice of New Zealand’s social and culinary history.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 304

Dimensions: 210 x 250 mm

Publication Date: 01-05-2023

The 2019 re-opening of the Christchurch Town Hall is celebrated in this richly illustrated volume. Threatened with demolition following earthquake damage in 2011, the building has been renewed through seismic strengthening, restoration and repair. With contributions from those who shaped its original design, along with accounts of the renewal project and the story of the hall’s Rieger organ, this book explains why the Christchurch Town Hall is of both national and international significance. It will appeal to a diverse range of readers, from architects and acousticians, to musicians and those who seek a better understanding of what makes it such an outstanding performance venue, as well as to citizens who take pride in their town hall. Opened in 1972, the Christchurch Town Hall was acclaimed for its architectural excellence and established the national reputation of its designers, Warren & Mahoney. Harold Marshall’s acoustic design brought international recognition and helped to transform the way concert halls were designed around the world. Serving as the city’s leading concert venue for almost forty years, the Christchurch Town Hall has been acclaimed by performers as diverse as Leonard Bernstein, Kiri Te Kanawa and Carlos Santana. Yet it was always more than just a performance venue, becoming the focus for many of the city’s civic, social, cultural and educational rituals. In 2019 the renewed town hall became, once more, Christchurch’s ‘public living room’.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 248

Dimensions: 220 x 250 mm

Publication Date: 05-12-2019

Calls for changes to the trial process in rape cases, including removing the jury as decision-maker, have been consistent over time and across jurisdictions. Victims and survivors of sexual violence, their supporters, law reformers, researchers and academics from many disciplines have advocated for the removal of the jury from rape trials for many years. Some claim it is indeed the panacea for all that is unacceptably brutal in the current trial process, with the jury being described as ‘the cause of most of the damage done’. Anecdotal evidence, and some research, suggests that in judge-alone trials cross-examination is shorter, there is less reliance on the ‘real rape’ schema, and the issues at trial are more focussed. It is also likely that judge-alone trials involve fewer delays and pre-trial appeals, and that the hearings are not as disrupted (for example, by the need for legal argument in the absence of the jury). Research also indicates a difference in verdict choices between judges and juries in the specific context of cases involving allegations of sexual violence, with the behaviour of the complainant being seen as ‘contributory fault’. Further, the way counsel conducts their case may vary when the judge is the decision-maker, which may impact on trial outcome. Due to the continued widely-held view that replacing the jury with ‘some other entity’ will have the effect of decreasing the negative impact on the complainant as a witness in the trial process (along with other desired effects such as reducing the decision-maker’s reliance on rape myths and misconceptions), it is important that empirical research is available to inform future public debate. This book records the results of such research. Elisabeth McDonald MNZM is an independent legal researcher and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Canterbury. She has taught and published in the areas of sexual and family violence, law and sexuality, criminal law and the law of evidence for over 30 years, as an academic and as the Policy Manager for the evidence law reference at the New Zealand Law Commission. Elisabeth is the author of a number of evidence law textbooks and online legal resources, including ‘Rape Myths as Barriers to Fair Trial Process’ (2020), and is co-editor of From ‘”Real Rape” to Real Justice’ (2011) and ‘Feminist Judgments Aotearoa: Te Rino, the Two-Stranded Rope’ (2017).

Bind: paperback

Pages: 376

Dimensions: 210 x 297 mm

Publication Date: 13-04-2022

"There Are No Horses In Heaven" is a warm, delightful collection from poet Frankie McMillan, full of vivid phrasing, eerie moments, and a colourful cast of characters. Readers will keep recalling and revisiting these poems: they tingle with the same sense of the ineffable, like certain chords in musical pieces. Gorgeous, haunting and beautifully strange, they seem to have a ripple effect. One poem causes another, they glint and glance off each other depicting a world of real emotion and psychological mystery: how strange we are to ourselves and to each other, even when we have such depth of feeling for each other. "There Are No Horses In Heaven" has been designed and printed in a limited edition in collaboration with Ilam Press, Ilam School of Fine Arts. Original artwork for cover design by Lyttelton artist Nichola Shanley.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 102

Dimensions: 125 x 200 mm

Publication Date: 20-03-2015

Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895–1982), a distinguished University of Canterbury alumna, was one of the greatest crime writers of the twentieth century. Marsh was also a gifted Shakespearean director, establishing her reputation in 1943 with the Canterbury University Drama Society modern-dress production of ‘Hamlet’. Fast-paced, with a deftly-cut script, and featuring especially commissioned incidental music by Douglas Lilburn, Ngaio Marsh’s production of ‘Hamlet’ was a hit with wartime audiences. Marsh’s 1943 ‘Hamlet’ production typescript is reproduced here for the first time, together with Lilburn’s previously unpublished music and a selection of archival photographs. An introductory essay by Polly Hoskins examines the staging of the production and the wartime context in which the play was performed, offering broader reflection on Marsh’s compositional approach, and a note from Robert Hoskins introduces Lilburn’s music. This edition makes the perfect starting point for enriching our understanding of Ngaio Marsh as a Shakespearean director and producer, and presents a fresh perspective on New Zealand’s theatre history.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 134

Dimensions: 148 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-09-2019