Bryan James reviews Beneath the Reflections, Robbie, and Capturing Port
Handsomely illustrated, and published in a handy, deep-pocket-sized format, it is intended for all users of the marine environment of the southwest coast of the South Island, including surface and underwater fishers, coastal trampers, hunters and fossickers, as well as general visitors.
The environment above and below water is thoroughly described, the region's history summarised, maps depicting various areas of particular interest are detailed, the prohibitions and regulations listed and identified - and all packed into a most attractive and useful publication.
My copy will soon be heading back into the region in the hands of a user who certainly would have welcomed its material 40 years ago. I hope the format of Beneath the Reflections is replicated in others of our parks and marine reserves.
It bears remembering that by no means all of the Dunedin of the 1880s was in favour of erecting a statue to this "fornicator, adulterer, pornographer, intemperate drinker" who happened also to be one of the greatest of poets.
This, after all, was a Scottish town founded by the strictest of Presbyterians and Burns' sins could still upset his Dunedin descendants when aired in public.
Still, once a few of the leading lights - Thomas Bracken, the ODT, one or two others - had thrown their weight behind the idea, the statue became an inevitability.
At times, the debate and the fund-raising obtained farcical characteristics that would have gladdened the witty heart of the bard himself; 8000 or so gathered to watch the foundation-stone laying procession; no less a personage than Sir George Grey had the duty of unveiling the completed "brazen" statue in 1897 in a chaotic ceremony followed by a dinner whose boisterous qualities are, alas, all too rare today.
Drawn from mostly contemporary sources, Robbie is a grand effort.
Their significance may be readily discerned in this useful publication, for De Maus was a professional photographer by trade and some of his work provides an excellent visual account of the port in the days of sail.
His versifying was of the musical-hall standard and he was much in demand in this role, especially as he could also compose music.
Capturing Port charmingly includes a CD of 11 of his songs, including his unsuccessful entry in Bracken's national song competition, from which God Defend New Zealand emerged.
Given the dearth of critical writing and information about writers and writing available to the general reading public, it's good to see the New Zealand Book Council is continuing with its informative magazine, Booknotes, and that it has been attractively redesigned.
There's plenty of variety and enough material to appeal to the widest tastes - and to keep reading groups busy for weeks. Three issues will be published this year, with a return to quarterly publication in 2010. Contact can be made through their website, www.bookcouncil.org.nz
