Kiwi

A Curious Case of National Identity

Richard Wolfe

$49.95

Paperback

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English

Oratia Books
10 October 2024

History; Australasian & Pacific history; Social & cultural history; Society & culture: general

Kiwi is a fascinating deep dive into New Zealand's curious national identity.

Cultural author and avid Kiwiana collector Richard Wolfe explores the evolution of 'kiwi' from the Maori name of a secretive bird to its many uses today - renaming a fruit native to China, signifying a New Zealander, and a powerful term in national and international branding.

With extensive colour illustrations, photographs and ephemera, and the author's keen eye for the curious, Kiwi presents some outlandish stories, tales of cultural appropriation and recognition of 'Kiwi' around the world.

A popular study on New Zealand identity, this is an entertaining and important work for fans of all things kiwi and Kiwis themselves.

By: Richard Wolfe
Imprint: Oratia Books
Country of Publication: New Zealand
Dimensions: Height: 250mm, Width: 185mm, Spine: 12mm
ISBN: 9781990042645
ISBN 10: 1990042643
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 10 October 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents Introduction 5 1 A land of birds: From Gondwana to Zealandia 10 2 The hidden bird of Tāne 14 3 ‘A perfectly new genus’: Discovered by science 26 4 Settlement from Europe: The kiwi under threat 44 5 Early symbols of identity: Kiwi in Fernland 54 6 ‘Rara Avis’: A bird of the people 66 7 Kiwi at the Front: The patriotic Apteryx 80 8 Consolidation: The rise of kiwi symbolism in the 1920s and 1930s 92 9 Back to the Front: The kiwi during the Second World War 118 10 Aftermath: The post-Second World War kiwi 134 11 Mid-century: The 1950s kiwi 144 12 Cultural matters: Kiwi to the fore 160 13 The high-flying kiwi(fruit) 178 1 4 In survival mode: Conserving the kiwi 186 Notes 196 Bibliography 204 Index 206

Richard Wolfe is a cultural historian and curator who has written or co-authored some 40 books on themes from the moa to New Zealand art, including Footprints on the Land, Hellhole of the Pacific, and New Zealand's Lost Heritage. He was a display artist at the Auckland and Canterbury museums, and co-curated the first major exhibition of Kiwiana (a term he helped invent). Richard lives with his artist wife Pamela in Auckland.