Fiordland Documented

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31832, 9 November 1968, Page 4

Fiordland Documented

(Rtvitwtd bv SX.CJ Early Fiordland. By John Hall-Jone*. A. H. and A. W. Reed. 199 pp. In this book Dr Hall-Jones records in summary outline the history of a region ho has come to know intimately. He has steeped himself thoroughly in the literature pertaining to Fiordland, and the sources he has drawn upon include not only books long out of print, but also unpublished manuscripts, university theses, files of old newspapers and Government archives. Furthermore, he has made good use of information supplied to him by living descendants of early settlers in the area; so that his book presents a really compact, and at the same time comprehensive, treatment of his subject

Explorers, sealers and whalers, prospectors, mountaineers, scientists and surveyors—all find a place in the cavalcade of noteworthies that people Dr Hall-Jones's narrative. He Ms a keen eye for the relics and ruins of a bygone time. Thus, the remains of a water-butt, “an old spade, a billy hook and a trail of bottles through the forest, all help" (he writes on page 173) to bring to life the scene of William Docherty's prospecting from about 1875 onwards. Another interest the author has found in Fiordland is in its placenames. The origins of over 80 are given.

The fact that the author has carefully listed his sources should render Ms book a really useful guide for future writers on this region. (When citing earlier authors, however, the standard practice is to give their full initials—not merely one as is almost invariably done in the work under review.)

The short epilogue dealing with Fiordland in the twentieth century might wall have included some reference to the discovery of the glowworm caves on the southern

short of Lak* T* Anau 21 year* ago. Appendix A contains the author** anatomical description of the skeleton of a Maori which he examined when visiting Lake Hauroko last year in company with Dr Roger Duff, Director of the Canterbury Museum. The skeleton, evidently that of a woman, was found in a burial cave and “seated upright on a raised platform.” The book is copiously illustrated. The map on the endpaper* indicates such features as camping grounds, huts, air strips and amphibian water landings. The following errors in the text should be noted: In th* footnote on page 70, “Taylor, Mis* N.” should read “Taylor, Mrs N. M.” Then in the quotation from Thomson on the next page, “destroyer” should reed “deeoyer.”