A History of New Zealand in 100 Objects

by Jock Phillips

Authored by award-winning historian Jock Phillips, The History of New Zealand in 100 Objects is gripping, inclusive, often revelatory and deeply human. A colourful and characterful retelling of our shared past, relevant to today, particular to all of us.The sewing kete of an unknown 18th-century Maori woman; the Endeavour cannons that fired on waka in 1769; the bagpipes of an Irish publican Paddy Galvin; the school uniform of Harold Pond, a Napier Tech pupil in the Hawke’s Bay quake; the Biko shields that tried to protect protestors during the Springbok tour in 1981; Winston Reynolds’ remarkable home-made Hokitika television set, the oldest working TV in the country; the soccer ball that was a tribute to Tariq Omar, a victim of the Christchurch Mosque shootings, and so many more – these are items of quiet significance and great personal meaning, taonga carrying stories that together represent a dramatic, full-of-life history for everyday New Zealanders.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

Hardcover

Published October 18, 2022

Reviews

[Nick Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book. I read object a day since I picked it up in Petone back in the autumn. Each object tells a social history, we learn about the history of alcohol through two beer bottles and about republicanism (or the lack thereof) and feminism through Helen Clark's trousers.

Some objects offer direct connections to the stories they are used to tell (the history of the wine industry is told through a wine carton), whilst others are more oblique, the story of muslim immigration to New Zealand is illustrated by a football belong to Tariq Omar a 24 year old murdered in the 2019 Christchurch shootings.

There are few objects that don't land. The iPhone 3G as a belated history of telecommunication seems forced and the POLY 1 personal computer is a historical cul-de-sac, but for the most the items are well chosen, opening up a history without demanding too much attention themselves.

It is also hard to tell what will come the be regarded as significant in years to come. A century hence will the Christchurch earthquake and the ensuing sewage problems be regarded as an important historical waypoint or will the inclusion of the Thunder Down Under portable toilet seem like a bizarre vignette?

The Thunder Down Under toilet also highlights to problem with item selection. Phillips has confined himself to items which are held in museums across the country. Indeed, if you fancy a bizarre road trip you can visit everyone of them (although an afternoon in Te Papa would knock off about a third of the list). Yet this approach has its limits. The Australian toilet was not the main commode used in the aftermath of the disaster, but it is probably the only one in a museum. Likewise the emergence of cricket and rugby are attested to by and early jersey and H. B. Lusk's bat, leaving the story of how New Zealand, a country of 5 million people, has emerged to dominate the world in these disciplines largely untold.

But these are foibles. Any such list will always invite gripes of why something or other was not included. This is a great and engaging cultural history of the country.

[Klaas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hundred objects used to tell New Zealand history in bite size pieces - what a great way of making history interesting, entertaining and memorable. I learnt a lot more from this book than Michael King’s History of New Zealand which I read some years ago and can’t remember much of…

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took forever to read because lots of it is a real bummer, and I needed something less depressing to read. It's hard to be confronted again and again with how cruel our country and the people who run it have been to Māori.

[Kyle Somerville · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mid. Some of the stories about the objects were interesting but were sometimes tangentially linked to the historical themes the chapter followed. Some repetition occurred due to the object based structure. Lowkey some content about women and Māori felt condescending despite criticisms of blokey and racist tendencies of Pākehā. Lack of attention to some important events and movements occurred due to the structure as well. Informative though and gives a decent picture of our history.

[Brandon Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cool way to look at the history of NZ. Some weird unexplained items too from early times, which were interesting like the Tamil bell and the carving of the kuri. A few of the modern items felt a bit pointless to include.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to mark this as read, even though I still have a bit to go. I had to return it to the library and will probably get it out again and finish it off.

I enjoyed the stories of the objects selected to tell the story of our history, I liked hearing what it was about the objects that meant they were chosen. Some of them surprised me, and some of them were predictable because of their importance. This is the kind of historical book which is easy to pick up and put down as and when you have time and inclination. I really like that you can learn a lot in a short time. It would be a great addition to a school library, it is nicely produced and Jock Phillips writes in a style that is really accessible. It would be a lovely book to give to a history buff. It gets the 3 stars because I wasn't wowed with it but I thought it was enjoyable, interesting and I'm glad I spent time with it.

[Deirdre E Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well chosen…

As a New Zealander I am impressed by how many of these 100 objects I have seen up close and personal in our museums during my life time.
Thoroughly enjoyable trip down the been there, seen that road, thank you Jock Phillips, very much appreciated. :-)

[Nikki Trowbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to give this book 5 stars because it managed to give a comprehensive overview of nz history from the earliest settlers to the covid lockdown and still kept me interested with its stories and objects. Great stuff!

[The Bibliognost Bampot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little dry but extremely well researched and informative. A wide and interesting variety of objects, clever concept.

[Henry]

Enjoyable and pacey read on NZ.

[Frances Lane Brooker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still reading .... NZ history through object - a memorable way to tackle NZ history. I'm leaning heaps.

[Oskar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A journey through the chronological history of New Zealand, from a diverse collection of backgrounds. Enlightening having barely been taught about our history in school. Essential.