Outdoor Literature: Kahurangi Stories and Kahurangi Calling

 Stories about Kahurangi National Park....

I brought myself an new outdoor themed book during my recent visit to Golden Bay. Karen and I were having lunch and a peruse of the shops in Takaka on a rainy day and we went into the Paper Plus to have a look at their wares. They had some books on sale by Gerald Hindmarsh...he is one of my favored authors with an interest in the social history of the top half of the South Island. 

 

Gerald Hindmarsh, author of the Kahurangi Calling series of books

Gerald Hindmarsh is an tramper, author, conservationist and tramper from Takaka and he has written a number of books about the Nelson and Golden Bay area. some of his areas of interest is the geography, flora/fauna and social history of Kahurangi National Park and Golden Bay. I have also seen him on TV several times talking about different aspects of the region including in the Coast series and Wild Coasts and Rivers with Craig Potton  series.

His new book is titled Kahurangi Stories: More tales from northwest Nelson which is a follow up to Kahurangi Calling: Stories from the backcountry of Northwest Nelson. 

Lets have a look at both of these books...

Kahurangi Calling:

Kahurangi Calling was published first in 2010 and is a collection of stories about the people, geology, history and natural world of the northwest corner of the South Island centered on Golden Bay. the book is currently out of print but there are still copies of it in book shops and online. 

Cover of Kahurangi Calling by Gerald Hindmarsh (2010)

Here is the publishers blurb about this book:

Kahurangi National Park gathers in a huge area of wilderness in the northwest corner of the South Island, stretching west from Nelson in a maze of forested mountains and valleys to the rugged and wild West Coast, and from Golden Bay south to Karamea. An area of astonishing ecological complexity, this landscape has generated a wonderfully rich and colourful human history.

Golden Bay author Gerard Hindmarsh has been collecting stories from Kahurangi for well over 20 years, and this book weaves the best of them into a compelling blend of natural and social history. Kahurangi Calling describes many of the geological, botanical and ecological treasures that are found in Kahurangi and tells the stories of the fascinating characters who have travelled and lived here: explorers, miners, graziers, eelers, hermits, trampers and other adventurers.

There are a number of chapters about the social and natural history of the region including chapters on the foundation of Northwest Nelson Forest Park/Kahurangi NP, local huts, conservation battles in the region, asbestos mining, the effects of earthquakes on the topography and colorful characters who have made the park and surrounds their home. 

Contents page from Kahurangi Calling, Gerald Hindmarsh (2010)

 My favorite chapters were the ones about the way earthquakes have molded this area, Kahurangi Point Lighthouse (K4236), the forgotten huts in the area and the fight to save the wild Mokihinui River from being dammed for hydro electric power in the 1990's. The chapter about the commercial eel industry was also interesting. 

There are stories from the whole Tasman/Golden Bay area

It is a great book and Hindmarsh's writing style reminds me a lot of Bill Bryson. It has that same conversational tone and is illuminating, entertaining and informative in equal measure. I liked reading the book so much that I found myself a secondhand copy at Adventure Books down in Oamaru. If you can find a copy somewhere give it a read as the area has a fascinating history.

Kahurangi Stories:

Kahurangi Stories is Hindmarsh's follow up book to Kahurangi Calling and is another excellent collection of stories from the region. The Paper Plus bookshop in Takaka was selling copies for only $25 dollars so I brought myself one for the tramping collection. I read the whole book while we were on holiday and it was just as good as the original. 

Kahurangi Stories, Gerald Hindmarsh (2020)

Again...here is the publishers blurb about the material contained in the book...

Building on the success of Kahurangi Calling, this new volume of stories from the Northwest Nelson backcountry, is a compelling blend of natural and social history. An area of astonishing ecological complexity, the area has generated a wonderfully rich and colourful human history. 

Gerard Hindmarsh tells the stories of the fascinating characters who have travelled and lived here, including early explorers, gold miners, flying crayfishers, early forest rangers, trampers and other adventurers. His stories are skillfully told and woven into the natural history of this captivating region, including geological, botanical and ecological treasures. For anyone who enjoys stories of New Zealand’s backcountry, or social history, this new title is a must-read.

There is a lot in information in this collection that I had absolutely no knowledge of...the mining of magnesite for cement manufacture, the history of iron ore mining in the region and the discover of the Anaweka Waka after a large storm washed the sand off the well preserved remains. Really fascinating stuff and right up my alley for weird and wonderful factoids. 

There is a real focus on the development of industry in the area including iron mining, gold mining, cement/paint manufacture, fisheries and the development of tourism in Golden Bay. 

Contents page for Kahurangi Stories, Gerald Hindmarsh (2020)

My favorite chapters were about Little Biddy a famous female Irish gold miner in these parts. She sounds like a character with her flouting of Edwardian mores...trouser wearing, hard drinking, clay pipe smoking and the three way love triangle she was involved in. I enjoyed the chapter about all the people who have become hopelessly lost in the park and also the chapter on iron mining. The chapters have a central theme but then draw in different streams of information related to the subject. 

A photo of the Anaweka Waka recovery from Chapter 1

This is another cracker of a book and I would not hesitate recommending it to anyone who is interested in social history and the history of early industrial New Zealand. I should really have brought a copy for the Library I work at as this is not the kind of book we have money for anymore. 

Either or both of these books would be a great addition to your personal collection of tramping books (if you still have one) and while Kaharangi Calling is now out of print good quality second hand copies can be found from time to time.