History

'Elota's Story: The life and times of a Solomon Islands big man by R.M. Keesing

September 1978, no. 4

A virile energetic people inhabits the island of Malaita in the middle Solomons. From the time of first contact Malaitamen were prized for their ability to work, but they had to be handled cautiously, or their inherited pride and confidence would turn them to rebellion. Those who live on the sea-coasts are readily adaptable to innovation when they can see value in it, but they abandon tradition with some misgivings.

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The Advancement of Local Government in New South Wales 1906 to the Present by F.A. Larcombe

by Ian Wynd •

September 1978, no. 4

Anyone who has attempted to write the history of a municipality will have felt the need to consult a history of local government to see how his particular area fits into the general scene. Now there is such a reference work, but only for New South Wales.

This book is subtitled A History of Local Government in New South Wales Volume 3. The other two volumes are The Origins of Local Government in New South Wales

1831-58 and The Stabilization of Local Government in New South Wales 1858-1906. This reviewer has not read these earlier volumes, let alone seen them in the bookshops, but, if they are of the same standard as the third, then they form a very important contribution to our knowledge of the third level of government in this country.

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Amassing Treasures For All Times: Sir George Grey, colonial bookman and collector by Donald Jackson Kerr

by Graeme Powell •

February 2007, no. 288

Graeme Powell reviews 'Amassing Treasures for All Times: Sir George Grey, colonial bookman and collector' Donald Jackson Kerr

Bibliomania is a disease that has afflicted men, and occasionally women, in many walks of life. Some of the most famous cases have been extremely wealthy bachelors, like Richard Heber in England and David Scott Mitchell in Australia, whose only interest in life was collecting books and manuscripts. At the other end of the spectrum have been men who were leaders in business, the professions or politics, yet who still had the time, energy and money to amass huge collections. Sir John Ferguson in Australia, John Pierpont Morgan and Henry Huntington in America, William Gladstone in England and Sir George Grey in New Zealand fall into the latter category.

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