THE STORY OF MARTINBOROUGH AVAILABLE AGAIN

The Canoes of Kupe: A History of Martinborough District, originally published by Victoria University Press, was out-of-print until a discussion between Roberta McIntyre and Fraser Books’ publisher Ian F. Grant led to the Wairarapa Archive/Fraser Books offer to reprint the history.

“I was very aware that many people in Martinborough, and those interested in the area, hadn’t seen the book and there would be considerable interest in having it available again,” says Ian Grant.
The Canoes of Kupe is a comprehensive account of Martinborough and its personalities from the beginnings of settlement by Maori to the 21st century.

“It’s a story enhanced by Roberta McIntyre’s comprehensive research in private and public archives and her oral history interviews,” he says. “Roberta has also skillfully placed the district’s history within the context of national and international events that had repercussions for life in the town and through its hinterland.”

As Professor Tom Brooking wrote in History Now, “ …. this is a most useful local history which thoroughly deserved its elevation to a Montana history category finalist” The Canoes of Kupe also won the J. M. Sherrard Award for excellence in New Zealand local and regional history.

Roberta McIntyre, an independent Wellington historian, is also the author of Whose high country? A history of the South Island high country of New Zealand published in 2008. 

Roberta McIntyre will be talking about the discoveries she made while researching her award-winning book, The Canoes of Kupe,  at the Wine Centre at 5.30pm on Saturday 25 May.