SINGING THE TRAIL: JOHN McCRYSTAL
The allure of maps rests not only in their beauty but in the ways they make sense of things, revealing patterns and capturing complex information. In Singing the Trail: The Story of
SINGING THE TRAIL: JOHN McCRYSTAL
The allure of maps rests not only in their beauty but in the ways they make sense of things, revealing patterns and capturing complex information. In Singing the Trail: The Story of Mapping Aotearoa New Zealand John McCrystal shows and tells how we have gone about visually determining our place in the world: Polynesian and Māori settlers referred to waypoints in chants, waiata, karakia, and stories; centuries later Abel Tasman drew a map, then James Cook drew another as he circumnavigated the country with the Ra’iātea navigator and priest Tupaia, who also produced a map of the vast Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Surveyors, explorers, and politicians were soon plotting the country’s internal cartography, often alienating land from Māori in the process. He presents a visual history.
Supported by Friends of the Turnbull Library.