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The Maiden Family History
Commissioned by Sir Colin Maiden, this 200 page A4 book took two Covid-delayed years to research and write, and was eventually produced in a soft-cover version in 2021 and in hardback in early 2022.
The book carefully documents the history of Sir Colin's forebears through the families of his grandparents - the Maiden, Phelan, Richardson and Jones families - and is liberally illustrated with hundreds of photos, maps and family trees.
The Maiden family were the first of the four to emigrate to New Zealand, which they did in 1857. The family have been recorded back to 1540AD to the settlement of Astley Abbots in Shropshire, England. Many family graves can be discovered in the graveyard of the local St Calixtus' Church, which is pictured on the book's cover.
The book is a typical story of resourceful immigrant families, exploring how and why they emigrated to New Zealand from their homes in England and Ireland. It follows the ups and downs of the families' lives the personal tragedies, the business successes and failures as they strived to establish their families in their new homeland.
Sharp Family History
Commissioned for the Sharp family of Auckland and Queenstown, this book took over two Covid-delayed years to research and write. It was finally produced in a softcover version in 2021 and hardback in early 2022.
The book was originally commissioned to investigate the origins of the Kuegler family from Prussia and the Sharp family, one of the first handful of settlers in Chicago when the native Indian tribes still controlled the region. Unfortunately, in both cases, vital records had been lost - in Prussia as a result of WW2 and in Chicago, as a result of the Great Fire of 1871. Both events had resulted in the destruction of the vital municipal records.
The focus of the book turned to the incredible story of the Craig family who emigrated to Otago from Scotland in the 1860s, seeking a better life. Showing tremendous resilience in the face of the extreme weather conditions in isolated areas of Central Otago, the Craig family farmed, mined for coal, owned the Cobb & Co coaches, led the local farming communities and, eventually, they thrived. Many of their hundreds of descendants still farm large properties in Central Otago to this day.
The book contains nearly 400 photos, maps, illustrations and family trees and is a fascinating record of New Zealand immigrant life.
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Wattie's - The First 75 Years
This 90 minute documentary celebrates the history of the history of the iconic New Zealand brand 'Wattie's'.
It took two years to produce and over 3000 copies were made for the staff, contractors and suppliers of Heinz Wattie's Ltd. An edited 55 minute version was purchased by SKY Television who played it a number of times over the 3 years they had exclusive use of the video. A copy has been lodged with the NZ National Film Archives.
It took two years to produce and over 3000 copies were made for the staff, contractors and suppliers of Heinz Wattie's Ltd. An edited 55 minute version was purchased by SKY Television who played it a number of times over the 3 years they had exclusive use of the video. A copy has been lodged with the NZ National Film Archives.
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Chelsea - 125 years and still growing
This 60 minute documentary records the history of another iconic New Zealand brand and the company that manufactures it. About 500 copies were made for staff, customers and suppliers of the Chelsea Sugar Works. A copy has been lodged with the NZ Film Archives.
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Apia to Auckland
This book explores the history of Mike Andrews' family which can be traced right back to King Robert II of Scotland (1316-1390).
It includes the details of Mike's own life and his distinguished career as a civil engineer in New Zealand, Canada and Indonesia.
It includes the details of Mike's own life and his distinguished career as a civil engineer in New Zealand, Canada and Indonesia.
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Cornes Family History
This book records the family history of the New Zealand family descended from Alfred Richard Cornes and his antecedents. It is 70,000+ words and 500 pages long. Copies have been deposited with the Archives of Auckland Museum and Auckland Library Heritage Collections.
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The Butland Story
This 82 minute documentary records the history of the Butland family in New Zealand, their English antecedants, and the family businesses - including Butland Industries Ltd, makers of Chesdale cheese; and Rothmans NZ.
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Nga Uri O Ropata Raua Ko Raina Haronga
A 70 minute documentary of the life and family history of Turoa Haronga, produced for his extensive whanau, now dispersed throughout the World. The documentary traces his whakapapapa back 29 generations to when they arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand and contains many fascinating stories of his family's history.
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The Eight Pioneering Families of Sally Andrews
This 60,000+ word, 450 page book records the history of families of the the eight great-grandparents of Sally Andrews. All of the families emigrated from Britain to New Zealand in the mid to late 1800's and came from a wide variety of backgrounds. The book is a very readable story of great successes, trials and tribulations.