Reading Age: 19+ Years

They cut his thick beard from his face a few days ago and now the rope will have to do its work around the stubble on his neck. It's early on the morning of 20 January 1880 as Andrew George Scott, one of Australia's last genuine bushrangers, is led to the gallows. Nosey Bob, the ...Sydney hangman, has been told Scott's weight and height. He's also measured the drop and checked the rope a dozen times. A man can't be too sure these days. He's botched a few hangings over the years, has Bob, his victims writhing and squirming for ages at the end of the rope. This one he needs to get right. Can't have the tabloids and the public saying he stuffed up when it came to stretching the neck of Captain Moonlite. Scott, the self-declared Captain Moonlite, is a shadow of the man who, along with his gang, had held up the Wantabadgery station, 30 miles out of Gundagai, just a few months earlier. He is gaunt and lean and there is fear in his eyes. Around one of his fingers he wears a ring woven from the hair of the true love of his life, James Nesbitt, a young man he had met in prison a few years earlier. The business at Wantabadgery where Moonlite's gang had held up to 40 people hostage ended with a shootout with the police - a bad one - and Nesbitt had been gunned down during the firefight. No-one could quite believe what happened next. That was the end of Moonlite. He fell to his knees and cradled Nesbitt in his arms, weeping inconsolably and kissing him passionately. In prison Moonlite has penned a letter that will not be found for more than a century. My dying wish is to be buried beside my beloved James Nesbitt, the man with whom I was united by every tie which could bind human friendship, he writes. We were one in hopes, in heart and soul and this unity lasted until he died in my arms. The story of Captain Moonlite is largely unknown in Australia. Yet it is one of the most incredible tales to emerge out of the 19th century when a young and largely lawless nation was held to rans
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'In less than a day I had been harassed, enchanted, shouted at, cried on, and clawed. I'd been cold, scared, dirty, exhausted, hungry, and miserable. And up until now, I'd been mildly impressed with my ability to cope.'A gripping fantasy set on the shifting boundary between what ...is real and what is legend.
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This book is a concise introduction to Maori philosophy, covering the symbolic systems and worldviews of the indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand. This book addresses core philosophical issues including Maori notions of the self, the world, epistemology, the form in which M...aori philosophy is conveyed, and whether or not Maori philosophy has a teleological agenda. The book introduces key texts, thinkers and themes and includes pedagogical features including: - A Maori-to-English glossary; - Accessible English translations of primary source material; - Teaching notes, and reflections on how the studied material engages with contemporary debates - End-of-chapter discussion questions that can be used in teaching - Comprehensive bibliographies and guided suggestions for further reading. Knowledge, Self and World in Maori Philosophy is an ideal text for students studying World Philosophies, or anyone who wishes to use indigenous philosophies or methodologies in their own research and scholarship.
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One of the British Empire's most troubling colonial exports in the 19th-century, James Busby is known as the father of the Australian wine industry, the author of New Zealand's Declaration of Independence and a central figure in the early history of independent New Zealand as its... British Resident from 1833 to 1840. Officially the man on the ground for the British government in the volatile society of New Zealand in the 1830s, Busby endeavoured to create his own parliament and act independently of his superiors in London. This put him on a collision course with the British Government, and ultimately destroyed his career. With a reputation as an inept, conceited and increasingly embittered person, this caricature of Busby's character has slipped into the historical bloodstream where it remains to the present day. This book draws on an extensive range of previously-unused archival records to reconstruct Busby's life in much more intimate form, and exposes the back-room plotting that ultimately destroyed his plans for New Zealand. It will alter the way that Britain's colonisation of New Zealand is understood, and will leave readers with an appreciation of how individuals, more than policies, shaped the Empire and its rule.
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Geoff Tristram's book Mr Maori Goes Home tells the comedic story of a road trip across New Zealand, filled with many real life parallels including the author's obsession with anything to do with the Finn brothers. The novel spans the entire depth and breadth of New Zealand, but i...ncludes Te Awamutu as an important stop-off point. Mr Tristram, a British artist, illustrator, cartoonist and author wrote the book based on his own experiences travelling the country a few years ago. The book details a British man's adventures across the country in a motor home after his dead uncle's will requires him to return a stolen Maori carving in order to receive a large inheritance
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