The Kauri and the Willow

P.D. Hasselberg Government Printer, Wellington, 1984. 205 pages.
Shelf damage to extremities and wear on the jacket.

History, as seen by Elsie Lock, is about people, individually and collectively - people with familiar qualities and defects, but living with the conditions, challenges and conflicts of other times. She finds it fascinating to discover our forbears as they really were, without gloss and glamour. These studies of the past are brief and easy to read, but behind them is a deep probing into what was said and written at the time, often entering fields seldom or never explored by other historians. The Kauri, deeply rooted into our soil over the centuries, and the Willow, now thoroughly acclimatised, symbolise our bicultural heritage over the 140 years covered by this book. Presentation is varied. There are passages from diaries, letters and reminiscences :dialogue, verse and a selection of pictures. There is humour too. The items are arranged chronologically and can be read as a kinaki (relish) to any short history of New Zealand; they can also stand alone. Readers of all ages, from school children to superannuitants, are invited to open these windows on our past.