A New Zealand Book of Beasts: Animals in Our Culture, History and Everyday Life

342 Pages·2014·10.968 MB·English

by  Annie Potts, Philip Armstrong, Deidre Brown

A New Zealand Book of Beasts

A New Zealand
Book of Beasts

Animals in our Culture,
History and Everyday Life
Annie Potts
Philip Armstrong
Deidre Brown
First published 2013
Auckland University Press
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland 1142
New Zealand
www.press.auckland.ac.nz
© Annie Potts, Philip Armstrong, Deidre Brown, 2013
ISBN 978 1 86940 772 8
Publication is kindly assisted by the University of Canterbury College of Arts;
the Marsden Fund Council from government funding, administered by the
Royal Society of New Zealand; and Creative New Zealand

National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Potts, Annie, 1965-
A New Zealand book of beasts : animals in our culture, history
and everyday life / Annie Potts, Philip Armstrong, Deidre Brown.
ISBN 978-1-86940-772-8
1. Bestiary—New Zealand. 2. Evolution. I. Armstrong, Philip, 1967-
II. Brown, Deidre (Deidre Sharon), 1970- lll. Title.
398.2450993—dc 23
This book is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study,
research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may
be reproduced by any process without prior permission of the publisher.
Cover design: Kalee Jackson
Cover image: Trevor Lloyd, Te Tangi o te Moa/The Death of a Moa, 1907.
Watercolour, 520 x 380 mm. 1983/17, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.
Printed in China by 1010 Printing International Ltd
We lovingly dedicate this book to Deidre’s father,
Albert (Jim) James Brown (1922–2008), and to
Annie’s mother, Faith Katrina Potts (1933–2011).

Contents
Introduction 1
PART ONE ANIMAL ICONS
Philip Armstrong
One Moa Ghosts 9
Two Sheepishness 33
Three Opo’s Children 61
Four The Whale Road 76
PART TWO COMPANION ANIMALS
Annie Potts
Five Ngā Mōkai 101
Six Exotic Familiars 122
Seven Extended Families 136
PART THREE ART ANIMALS
Deidre Brown
Eight Indigenous Art Animals 159
Nine Contemporary Art Animals 176
PART FOUR CONTROVERSIAL ANIMALS
Annie Potts
Ten Kiwis against Possums 201
Eleven Consuming Animals 226
Notes 246
Bibliography 265
Acknowledgements 277
Index 279