Books

WORDS: MARIANNE TREMAINE

Love is in the air

Books exploring love in its many forms

Because different people care about different things, the books in this column deal with the love and affection felt for places, activities and objects. For example, Tableland: The History Behind Mt Arthur, Kahurangi National Park, by Ray Salisbury (Potton & Burton, $59.99), details the history of the people who have been involved with the dramatic landscape of the Tableland. Ray’s strong family ties to the area have encouraged his thorough overview of people who have been part of the history and his commitment to making the book one that allows the reader to experience the Tableland for themselves.

Ray is a professional photographer and writer and a keen tramper, which explains why the photographs in this book are so exceptional. You can feel the cold of the mountains and imagine yourself standing in the landscape. His historical research has been thorough and his maps show the relationships between the landmarks in different parts of the Tableland as he takes you through changes in tramping huts, fascinating natural features such as the caves, and the varied occupations practised here over the years, such as goldmining, grazing and hunting.

This is an absorbing book – so much so that you feel you should be reading it in your bush shirt because it almost feels like being there.

Sometimes intense commitment to an activity can border on obsession, as it was for New Zealand aviator and horticulturist Oscar Garden. His fascination with flying was so intense that he bought a plane at Selfridges, the London department store – before learning how to fly. As his daughter Dr Annamaria Garden writes in her biography, Oscar Garden: A Tale of One Man’s Love of Flying (Mary Egan Publishing, $45), Garden immediately named his new Gipsy Moth Kia Ora and decided to fly from England to Australia. When he succeeded – after learning to fly – he was the fifth person to navigate the journey solo, and the youngest of the five.

Garden began working for British Airways, later becoming the Chief Pilot for TEAL, the New Zealand airline. He introduced the idea of employing nurses as stewardesses, recognising their competence in dealing with passengers’ health emergencies. However, he resigned later because of a disagreement with management.

A tale of one man’s passion, Oscar Garden’s story also provides information on the way in which aviation developed in New Zealand.

In Me, According to the History of Art (Massey University Press, $65), Dick Frizzell writes about his life in art in a novel way. Dick tries to make sense of himself as an artist by taking readers on a trip through art history at what feels like breakneck speed.

The text is written in a relaxed, conversational tone. Dick copies the artworks he needs to show his readers to illustrate his place in art history and what has influenced him. He considers the history of art to be a serious business because it’s “the story of my life and yours”.

His tone seems irreverent, but this is at least partly because he does not want people to feel distanced from art. He wants them to begin to look and trust their ability to see what is there, rather than feeling awed and ignorant. He says, “The idea that art helps us to keep ‘seeing’ the world anew (and hence continuing to value it) is probably my bottom line.”

After a frenzied trip through the more distant past, Dick shows you some of his own work so you can see where art history has taken him. I was particularly impressed with his 1987 painting, The Magpies Say. The magpies are set against the broken-down farm of Denis Glover’s The Magpies poem.

Going on an art tour with Dick Frizzell is definitely to be recommended. You can always have a coffee break halfway through, or come back for a second or third viewing.

The next book tells the story of a very important teddy bear. My Name is Henry Fanshaw: The True Story of New Zealand’s Bomber Squadron, written by Gillian Torckler and illustrated by Adele Jackson (Bateman Books, $24.99), introduces Henry Fanshaw, the mascot of the RNZAF’s No. 75 Squadron.

Before his retirement to Wigram Air Base, Henry lived a very adventurous life. He remembers the London Blitz and the bombing of Cologne. He also tells the story of a particularly courageous squadron member who crawled out onto the wing

GIVEAWAY

We have one copy of Tableland: The History Behind Mt Arthur, Kahurangi National Park to give away. To enter the draw, send your name and address on the back of an envelope to Book Giveaways, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, PO Box 2629, Wellington 6140, before 30 September 2021. The winner of last issue’s book giveaway (Karl Maughan) was J Irving, Christchurch.

of a plane to put out a fire in the engine and was later awarded the Victoria Cross.

In spite of dealing with the reality of the events of World War II and the loss of life, the book shows the comradeship of the men and the bonds that grew from adversity.

Just as Henry Fanshaw, the teddy bear mascot, symbolised the bonds the men felt with the squadron, a coal range can magically transform a house into a home. Admittedly, as those who have lived with a coal range will know, it can be a love/hate relationship. Coal ranges can have a somewhat malevolent streak.

Nevertheless, having had many years to recover from attempts to bend the Shacklock Orion of my Invercargill family home to my will, I experienced a sense of nostalgia when reading The New Zealand Coal Range Handbook, compiled by Brendan Gaffney (Brendan Gaffney, $50).

Brendan has brought together information on the many different models of coal ranges along with historical notes, old advertisements and memories. Before the electric stove was introduced, coal ranges provided heating for the home and the hot water and an oven for cooking, as well as a stovetop surface for cooking pots of soup, porridge and stew. The coal range was the heart of the home, particularly in the winter, but at some stage the ugly task of cleaning out the flues had to be faced. Those memories are an effective antidote for any excessive nostalgia. Another deep source of nostalgia centres on the car. Many New Zealanders will have allegiances to one or another, or perhaps several models of the Ford motor car. John Stokes has followed his first volume, Ford in New Zealand: Putting the Car Before the Horse with his second volume on the history of Ford in this country, Ford in New Zealand, Volume 2: Driving Ahead – 1936 to 1997 (New Holland, $59.99).

This hardback book has the research, photographs and detail to satisfy even the most besotted enthusiast. The book covers the establishment of the assembly industry in New Zealand, the model launches, the mechanical advances, the competitors and the arrival of cheaper Japanese imports, which brought the end of the Ford assembly plant in New Zealand.

Many of us remember the Anglia, Zephyr, Cortina, Laser, Escort and Falcon, along with the Sunday drives, the family holidays and the thrill of owning one of these cars.

The cars will come alive as you read this book and experience the personal histories that John recounts of people who have lived with and loved one or more of the vehicle models belonging to the Ford family.

Books are chosen for review in Heritage New Zealand magazine at the discretion of the Books Editor. Due to the volume of books received, we cannot guarantee the timing of any reviews that appear and we are unable to return any copies submitted for review. Ngā mihi.