NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18275, 16 December 1922, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE

CLOSE OF THE REVIEW. BTH. J, FLETCHER. NO. XII. One of the reprints yet to be dealt ■with before this review of New Zealand literature is complete is "Old New Zealand," a tale of the good old times, by a Pakeha Maori, with an introduction by the Earl of Pembroke. It was published by Richard Bentley and Son, London, in 1893. The text is a reprint of the original edition of Old New Zealand, and also of the original text of "A History of the War in the North Against the Chief Heke, in the Year 1845," told by an old chief of the Ngapuhi tribe. Another edition of the hook was published by Whitcombo and Tombs in 1906, with an introduction by Dr. Hocken, F.L.S. It contains both reprints of the above with some additional matter and many illustrations. The additional-matter is " Notes on the Extinction of the Moa," Hinemoa and Maori traditions. There is also a. bibliography of the various editions. I do not know if Dr. Hocken is in error in attributing the edition of 1893 to Macmillan, or whether both Bentley and Macmillan published an edition the same year. My edition of 1893 is the Australian edition of Bentley. A reprint of Sir George Grey's "Polynesian Mythology" was published by George Routledgo and Sons, London, in 1906. It is a reprint without the illustrations of the original edition of 1855. A reprint of Augustus Earle's " Nine Months Residence in New Zealand in 1827," was published by Whitcombe and Tombs in 1909. Mr. Earle was an artist by profession, and many of the illustrations are reproduced from his original sketches. Missionary Stories. One of the missionary stories omitted from its proper place is called "'rne Southern Cross and Southern Crown, or the Gospel in New Zealand," by Miss Tucker, published by James Nisbet and Co., London, 1855. It is a story of the Church Missionary Society's mission in New Zealand from the earliest times up to the date of publication. My copy has a history if it could be traced. It has the imprint of Dalziel Free Church .Library. It was presented to me by the late Dr. McNab a short time before his death. He got it through a second-hand dealer in Scotknd. A correspondent, who has another copy, writes:—"There is a history regarding this book. It was one of a library on a ship leaving London in one of the fifties. The ship was unfortunately wrecked soon after leaving port on its way to New Zealand. A large number of books were saved, although considerably damaged with water. My father purchased a number, this little book being one of them. He rebound it, and it is intact." " The Rebel Chief," by Hume Nisbet, is a romance of New Zealand, published by F. V. White and Co., London, 1896. The writer says; "While trying to be true and faithful in my delineation of the Mao<ri in his original state, I havo purposely avoided giving any record of actual facts and kept away from real localities. " Birds of the Water, Wood, and Waste," is another masterpiece of bird life, by H. Guthrie-Smith. It is an account of the birds and their habits gathered from close observation of them on the Tutira run. Illustrated with a large number of photographs taken by the writer under every conceivable difficulty. It was published by Whitcombe and Tombs, 1910. Museum Bulletins. The first of the Museum Bulletins was printed at the Government Printing Works in Wellington in 1906. It was edited by Augustus Hamilton. It gives a good bit of information about the nistory of the New Zealand geological survey, New Zealand Institute and Colonial Museum, an account of s?ew Zealand's marine mollusca, New Zealand tokens and photographs of some fine carvings. Museum Bulletin No. 2 was published in 1908. It is devoted to the subject of fishing as practised by the Maori people in Inke and stream and sea. There are 7b photographic illustrations of fishing appliances, and some of the Maori ideas about the " harvest " of the sea are given. Museum Bulletin No. 3 vvas published in 1911- It has " The Maori Pa at the New Zealand Exhibition, Christchurcb," " The Maori Pa, Scenes of Ancient Maoridom." " On the Maori Art of Weaving Cloaks, Capes, and Kilts." There are notes on outrigger canoes of Niue Fekai, tattoo patterns from Mangaia., AitutakT Moko and many other items, all profusely illustrated. Museum Bulletin No. 4 is " The Stone Implements of the Maori," by Elsdon Best. It is illustrated with 51 plates, containing upwards of 200 figures. It is a complete history of the manufacture and use of the different stone implements used by the old Maori people. "Sixty Years in New Zealand," by A. Hope Blake, is the story of the writer's own experiences in New Zealand. There are 32 chapters, and each chapter is a short yarn of some aspect of New Zealand life. It is dedicated to the memory of, and has a frontiepiece of, Sir Donald McLean.

The last book on mv list for these notes has the title of " With the Lost Legion in New Zealand," by Colonel G. Hamil-ton-Browne, yiublished by Warner Laurie, London. It is not dated. It is supposed to tell the story of the various engagements between pakeha and Maori between 1860 and 1870. Instead of being classified as a sober history, in which the writer gives his own experiences, as one would infer from the context, the book is really composed of matter collected from some of those who actually took an active part in the events narrated. The wrrter did not join the Armed Constabulary Forces until some months after the last shot had been fired. The book conveys a fairly accurate impression of these stirring troublous times.