No Other Home Than This: A History of European New Zealanders

Description

When Europeans landed in New Zealand in the nineteenth century, they brought with them a culture that had been shaped over thousands of years - a culture that determined their values and attitudes, their food and dwellings, their occupations and recreation. In the crates and portmanteaus carried off the ships were the material trappings of that culture. While many excellent general histories begin with the arrival of Maori and Europeans in New Zealand, this epic and fascinating book goes back to the beginning to address some fundamental questions about European New Zealanders: Where did they come from? What sort of people were they? What does the heritage of Europe mean to New Zealanders? How did the Europeans become 'Pakeha' and gain a sense of place? Starting with the ancient journey of proto-Europeans from Africa to the Middle East some 160,000 years ago, No Other Home Than This then describes the development of Europe and the eventual expansion of settlement, through exploration and migration, to the farthest parts of the earth. He looks at the adaptations and changes made by Europeans after their arrival in New Zealand and how, in time, these remote islands became the only place they called home.

John Andrews was head of the School of Biological Sciences at Victoria University before retiring in 2000. He has had a long interest in history that has largely been expressed in works relating to zoological history. He is the author of The Southern Ark (1988) and other works on early naturalists and biological illustrators. John Andrews lives in Auckland.