James BeattieUniversity of Waikato Welcome to the first issue of 2009. Much of this issue is given over to a special edition of selected papers from Developing Trans-Tasman Perspectives: Historical…
Greener Pastures? Future Research Topics on New Zealand’s Environment
James Beattie Introduction Mountains of valuable material lies in archives, newspapers, art galleries and private holdings waiting for eagle-eyed and enthusiastic scholars of New Zealand’s environment to use! The following…
“Nature’s Trump Card”: Confronting the Rabbit Problem in Southern New Zealand, 1867-1897
Paul Star Australian scholar Stephen Dovers claims that “the point of environmental history … [is] to examine the past as it relates to environmental and resource issues in the present”.[1]…
Appreciating the indigenous: An examination of changing European perceptions of the environment and peoples of New Britain, 1930–1950
Matthew D. Polson Portuguese explorers Antonio d’Abreu and Francisco Serrano reportedly first saw New Guinea in 1512, although the Spaniard Don Jorge de Meneses is credited with the actual discovery…
Mountain magic: Mountaineering in North-West Otago, 1882-1940
Lee Davidson The advent of mountaineering is a very recent phenomenon, one which is not undertaken in the spirit of economic exploitation. A study of its development and its context…
Valuable ally or invading army? The ambivalence of gorse in New Zealand, 1835-1900
Michael L.S. Bagge The myth that Carl Linnaeus fell on his knees at his first sight of gorse growing in England ‘thanking heaven for having created a flower so beautiful’…