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Pacific Journey. a Celebration

by Valerie Hunton

HB. 132pp. 250x250. Illus. Full colour.

ISBN: 9780908618132

$31.00
$31.00
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More about the book

This book by the NZ/Pacific artist Valerie Hunton is a celebration of her creative life in the Marshall Islands, in Micronesia and then in Fiji. In it she weaves her experiences with the voices of the Pacific people she met, the land and its history and the painting works that emerged along the journey. It is a creative and powerful tour-de-force. First learning weaving with the women of the Marshall Islands, she wove with weaving groups throughout the Pacific. It is her close relationship with these women that brought her into their everyday lives as they weave their mats, clean their houses, wash their clothes, prepare the food, attend to their families and take care of their sick and dying.Also woven into her journey is the land and sea - the stones and the ancient Lapita shards, the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean and its navigators.
Featured in the book are sixteen of her major painting works, bright and resonant in colour. In these she quietly reveals a fascinating web of life mostly unseen by casual visitors.This book is the story of her Pacific life and her celebration of that journey.
It is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary woman.

  • Table of Contents

    The Waimauku and Muriwai area
    Waimauku Village, 1950s. Where you found people and places
    Chapter 1. Mâori arrive in Kaipara
    ......Ngâti Whâtua o Kaipara
    ......Te Kawerau â Maki
    Chapter 2. Getting around Kaipara in the 1820s
    ......The waka
    ......The travels of Samuel Marsden
    Chapter 3. Kauri and the destruction of the forest
    ......Kauri gum: an ancient treasure
    ......The legacy: No going back
    Chapter 4. The Europeans arrive
    ......Profile: Samuel Frost. Ararimu Valley, 1863
    ......Profile: Robert Annett. Waimauku, 1868
    ......Profile: Allan Kerr-Taylor. Waikoukou Valley, 1869
    ......Profile: Joseph Wilkins. Waikoukou Valley, 1869
    ......Profile: John Foster. Muriwai Falls, 1870
    ......Profile: Stanley Lester-Jonas. Waimauku, 1880
    ......Profile: James Fletcher. Waimauku, 1885
    ......Profile: William Morgan. Ararimu Valley, 1886
    ......Profile: William Moore. Muriwai, 1888
    Chapter 5. Flax
    Chapter 6. Kaipara’s sea of streams
    Chapter 7. The railway arrives, 1875
    ......The Waimauku station
    Chapter 8. Waimauku Village
    ......Foster’s Waimauku general store
    ......Billiards and hairdressing
    ......Bill Good’s pub
    ......The artisan
    ......The Coronation Hall / Waimauku War Memorial Hall
    ......St Martin’s, the little church with a big history
    ......Other denominations at St Martins
    ......The Waimauku Peoples’ Church
    ......The post office and the telephone exchanges
    ......Electric power
    ......Ernie Burns’ garage
    ......Cyril Tong’s bakehouse
    ......The great name change folly
    ......Gossip columns
    ......Victory bonds: Waimauku’s victory
    ......The doctor
    ......The RSA
    ......Bomber Galloway - a tragedy and a tribute
    ......The music makers
    ......Population size
    Chapter 9. The dairy factory
    Chapter 10. The evolution of Waimauku’s roads
    Chapter 11. Waimauku School
    Chapter 12. Sporting life
    Chapter 13. The Kaipara after the Treaty
    ......Wally Wikaira: a local identity in Waimauku
    Chapter 14. Farmers arriving in the 20th century
    ......Profile: The Wightmans, 1912
    ......Profile: The Houghtons, 1919
    ......Profile: The Robbs, 1937
    Chapter 15. Villages apart: Kumeu ascendant
    Chapter 16. Orchards and vineyards
    Chapter 17. Muriwai Beach
    ......Catherine Moore’s story, 1893
    ......Profile: Edwin Mitchelson. Muriwai, 1901
    ......The state of the Muriwai road
    ......Korekore pa
    ......Racing on the beach
    ......Fresh water, changing sheds and other luxuries
    ......Fishing at Muriwai Beach
    ......Muriwai House
    ......The Trans-Tasman cable
    ......Fighting in the dunes
    ......Sewage in the sand
    ......War games
    ......Surf life-saving
    ......The volunteer fire brigade
    ......Carnage on the beach, vehicles in the modern era
    ......Aftermath of the 2023 storm: Two tributes
    Chapter 18. Diary of a country kid
    Chapter 19. Endgame
    Notes