Hirini Kaa's Te Hāhi Mihinare and Ian Smith's Pākehā Settlements in a Māori World have both made the 2021 Ernest Scott Prize shortlist!
The shortlisting is a wonderful acknowledgement of both projects, which speak to the rich histories of people and place in Aotearoa.
The Ernest Scott Prize for History is awarded annually to the book judged to be the most distinguished contribution to the history of Australia and New Zealand or to the history of colonisation published in the previous year.
From the judges:
'Engagingly and dramatically written, Hirini Kaa carries the reader with him as he traces the complexities of Māori history as well as the intricacies of Anglican structure and liturgy. Hirini Kaa’s book demands that the agency of colonised peoples is recognised as central to the emergence of new ways to understand faith.'
'In this important book, Ian Smith combines his long and intensive involvement in archaeological research with his thoughtful, well-informed historical analyses to bring to life the first decades of interaction between Māori and Pākehā New Zealanders. The material evidence from these early decades, brought vividly into view in Smith’s writing and maps and his use of paintings and photographs, shows that Māori and Pākehā interacted and reshaped each other. '
View the judges' comments and full shortlist online.
Pākehā Settlements in a Māori World by the late Ian Smith previously won the prestigious Graham Connah Award for best archaeological publication in Australasia.