New Releases by Gordon Ell

The discovery of gold in New Zealand in the 1800s led thousands of people to rush to overnight tent towns set among isolated mountains and rivers. In the north, vast forests of giant kauri trees cloaked the land. Yet now only a tiny fraction of the trees survive in threatened forests, and many goldmining settlements are just ghost towns. Rush to Riches tells the story of how mining for gold and felling the kauri forests helped found New Zealand, with both Māori and new immigrants involved in these new industries. The tales in this book reveal how exploiting these resources changed the face of the land and its people.-back cover.

Get ready for a new take on New Zealand society, history and geography in one of the first two books in The NZ Series, a snappily designed and fact-packed collection for intermediate and high-school age readers. Here in striking and clear terms are the earth movements above and below New Zealand - with investigation into the history of volcanic and earthquake activity, leading to the present-day status for the country. The informative, easy-to-understand text is accompanied by numerous explanatory diagrams, historical and modern-day photographs and `Fact File' boxes. Ours is a physically small country but it packs a powerful amount of geological portraiture into its landscape, as does the keen design of Volcanoes and Earthquakes in New Zealand.

New Zealand is world famous for its natural environment: its changeable and unique landscape, its strange and wonderful flora and fauna. This book is both guidebook and celebration, a handbook outlining the most significant features of our wilderness and introducing the key species and where they can easily be observed and experienced. As the title suggests, the book is about easily accessible nature experiences: viewing areas and hides from which rare birds can be observed, short bush walks and even what can be seen directly from the car as the Kiwi or international tourist drives through this magnificent country of ours. It covers such highlights as dolphins in the Bay of Islands, godwits on the Thames Coast and near Christchurch, the flora and fauna of the Southern Alps, and penguins and seals in Otago. Fully illustrated with beautiful colour photographs, it can be enjoyed at home to plan a trip or taken on the road to entertain and inform.

A brand new, fully revised edition of the best-selling New Zealand Traditions & Folkore, first published in 1993. This new edition covers more than 700 updated anecdotes, ideas and traditions that we share as New Zealanders, and which make us different from Australia, England, the United States or any other part of the English-speaking world. Some traditions date back to early colonial times while others reflect our technical innovation as well as our rapidly changing urban life. All in all, A-Z of Kiwi Fact & Folklore provides a fascinating journey back to the roots of our Kiwi culture.

An account of the great kauri forests of New Zealand, the vanished kauri industries and the protected trees of today. Suggested level: intermediate, junior secondary.

This is the story of the Friday night adventures of a group of young New Zealanders in the city centre of Auckland. It is based on the children's own reminiscenced, it is alternately exciting, funny and sad. Set in the 1980's.

"Introduced wildflowers, New Zealand weeds, is both a 'discovery' of our wildflowers and an illustrated guide. The essays introduce the plants in general while the photographs comprise a pictorial guide to the major or more interesting species. Each photograph is accompanied by the basic facts about the flower, its names, habits and something of its folk history..."--Publisher description.