Intriguing stories behind the diverse objects in Archives New Zealand. The bizarre jostles with the extremely significant in the almost 100 kilometres of holdings in Archives New Zealand, the official guardian of the record of government. The thousands of boxes contain all sorts of treasures and secrets, including such intriguing items as: * a rare letter written by Captain Cook; * records of secret weapons; * exotic gifts to our Prime Ministers; * the battle-worn flag of the warrior prophet Te Kooti; * grisly exhibits from murder trials; * sightings of UFOs. This book delves into the archives to tell a very human story of New Zealand, a story that involves love, death, war, immigration, disaster, protest, defiance, censorship - and hokey pokey.

Author Biography

Ray Waru has been involved in the television and radio industries for more than 30 years. He joined Television New Zealand in 1977 and directed and produced such local favourites and 'Fair Go' and 'Country Calendar'. In 1980 he established the first dedicated Maori television production unit in TVNZ which created a stream of primetime Maori and Pacifica series and documentaries. In 1989 he was appointed chief executive of the Aotearoa Maori Radio Trust and established a network of Maori radio stations throughout the country. In recent years he has produced documentary projects on many subjects and worked with a diverse range of people including Alan Duff and Kiri Te Kanawa. In 2000, Waru co-produced the six-part history documentary series Our People, Our Century, which won Best Factual Series at the New Zealand Television Awards and in 2005 made the 13-part history of New Zealand, Frontier of Dreams, which won awards at the Houston International Film Festival and the US International Film and Video Festival. Waru has been involved with a range of organisations including the Peace Foundation, has judged the Maori Record of the Year and considers himself an omnivorous and eclectic reader. This is his first book.