A Concise History of New Zealand

Philippa Mein Smith

Cambridge University Press, Apr 27, 2005 - History - 302 pages

In this new account of New Zealand's history, Philippa Mein Smith considers the rugged and dynamic land from its break from Gondwana 80 million years ago to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Mein Smith highlights the effects of the country's small size and isolation, from late settlement by Polynesian voyagers, very late colonization and settlement by Europeans, and the interactions that made these people Maori and Pakeha, to struggles over land, and efforts through time to manage global forces. Placing New Zealand in its global and regional context, the book reveals its links to Britain, despite being immersed in the Pacific, and part of Australasia. Distinctively, it reveals key moments contributing to the founding of the country's national myths.

What people are saying

User Review -

I wanted to learn more about NZ history, but unfortunately this book was just too boring.

Review: A Concise History of New Zealand (Cambridge Concise Histories)

User Review  - Anne - Goodreads

I got about halfway through this book, but it was a hard one to get excited about. Maybe I'll finish it someday...

Contents

• Beachcrossers 17691839: 21
• Claiming the land 18401860: 45
• Remoter Australasia 18611890: 70
• Managing globalisation 18911913: 95
• All flesh is as grass 19141929: 123
• Making New Zealand 19301949: 150
• Golden weather 19501973: 176
• Latest experiments 19741996: 207
• Treaty revival 19742003: 226
• Glossary of Maori words: 254
• Sources of quotations: 265
• Guide to further reading: 277
• Index: 295

About the author

Philippa Mein Smith is Associate Professor of History at the University of Canterbury where she researches and teaches New Zealand and Australian history. She is the author of Maternity in Dispute: New Zealand 1920-1939 (1986), Mothers and King Baby: Infant Survival and Welfare in an Imperial World: Australia 1880-1950 (1997) and A History of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific (with Donald Denoon, 2000), for which she had a co-residency at the Rockefeller Foundation Study Centre in Bellagio, Italy.

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Concise History of New Zealand; Cambridge Concise Histories
• Author: Philippa Mein Smith
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2005
• ISBN: 0521542286, 9780521542289
• Length: 302 pages
• Subjects: History / Renaissance; History / Social History; History / World; Juvenile Nonfiction / History / General; Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural