Congratulations to authors Jared Davidson, Ryan Bodman and Jeffrey Sissons whose work was recognised at the 2025 NZHA conference.
Jared Davidson’s Blood and Dirt: Prison Labour and the Making of New Zealand received the W.H. Oliver prize, awarded biennially for the best book on any aspect of New Zealand history. The judges noted that Davidson’s book ‘comes as an almost shocking reminder of how the administration of justice and punishment used to be and offers to the thoughtful, a startling comparison between the administration of justice then and now.’
Ryan Bodman’s Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History was awarded the Erik Olssen prize, which acknowledges early career historians who have published their first book. The judges wrote, ‘Bodman’s analysis tells us much about the attraction of a particular sporting code and about the changes wrought in wider New Zealand society leading to the professionalisation of the game.’
Jeffrey Sissons’s The Forgotten Prophet: Tamati Te Ito and His Kaingārara Movement was shortlisted for the W.H. Oliver prize.
The full citations and winners of the other NZHA prizes can be accessed through the NZHA website here.