NZ history comes to life in Tom Clarke’s ‘Untold Stories’

Taupō-based author Tom Clarke has collated some of New Zealand's quirkier history in Our Untold Stories.

Some parts of New Zealand’s history are well documented – the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, becoming the first country to grant women the right to vote and the extinction of the huia among them.

But what happens to the forgotten parts of our past, like the reports of a ghostly waka on the shores of Rotorua just before Tarawera’s eruption? Or the burlesque girls so enraged by a poor newspaper review that they horse-whipped the editor and trashed his Dunedin office?

Taupō author Tom Clarke wanted to shine a light on the nooks and crannies of New Zealand history that were otherwise just gathering dust, and the result is his book, Our Untold Stories.

The research wasn’t the hard part, Clarke said – he’s been sitting on a treasure trove of Kiwi history, gathered over nearly 40 years.

“It started off as Today in History New Zealand, which I started doing for the radio in the 80s.

“There was no local [version], so I started doing a local one for the radio stations.

“It’s become a bit of an obsession since then, I’ve been doing it ever since. It’s a never-ending thing to research.”

The former journalist was unsure of what to do with the repository of the nation’s past and eventually hit upon the idea of compiling the information into a book.

The result is a compendium of 30 short stories, each detailing a moment in history, from the first fatal railway accident in New Zealand to the time a waka, rowed entirely by women, accidentally became the first female whaling crew thanks to a chance encounter with a whale on a short journey.

The latter story came thanks to the typical two degrees of separation in Aotearoa: Clarke’s wife is a descendent of Captain John Howell, the waka’s sole male traveller.

A book detailing Howell’s life helped to fill in gaps in the family’s account.

Other tales recounted in Our Untold Stories called for more traditional research methods, with online tools such as newspaper archives providing invaluable sources.

Some stories tell forgotten aspects of more well-known events, such as the remarkable survival of a small group of passengers from the wreck of the sailing ship General Grant in 1866.

The featured stories are grouped by loose themes, such as “Firsts”, “Human Nature” and “Religion”, rather than chronologically.

This meant the book was easy to pick up at any time to read a story or two, Clarke said.

He hoped the stories would provide a window into the lives of Kiwis from generations past.

“That’s what I’ve tried to do. It’s not an historic tome, it’s a societal history.”

He said it was great to see interest in his book, as well as in New Zealand history more generally.

“There was a really good reaction to it.

“When the book was launched a couple of weeks ago, I went in to have a look and I couldn’t believe the number of New Zealand books.

“I think that’s great. "

Our Untold Stories is available from major bookshops now.

Stay up to date with the Waikato Herald

Get the latest Waikato headlines straight to your inbox Monday to Saturday. Register for free today - click here and choose Local News.