Bee's Books
Otari
О̄tari tells the story of О̄tari-Wilton’s Bush, the only botanic garden dedicated solely to the collection and conservation of the plants unique to Aotearoa New Zealand and a native bush reserve with over a hundred hectares of regenerating forest, including some of Wellington’s oldest trees.
A History of Gardening in New Zealand
Bee Dawson traces the development of gardening in New Zealand, from the Maori gardens of pre – and early contact times through the optimistic efforts of missionaries and the other early settlers, the magnificence and productivity of the Victorians and Edwardians and the Dig for Victory campaigns of the 1940s.
Lady Painters
Flower painting is the elegant thread that connects the stories of nine extraordinary women – diverse in background but all artists. Some were New Zealand-born, but most came from across the seas; new immigrants unlikely ever to return ‘Home’. In the raw colony of New Zealand these lady painters took great solace in their art. Some painted to support themselves or their families, others largely for pleasure; all were fascinated and stimulated by the beautiful, strange flora of this new land.
Manston
From the depths of rural Dorset in the south of England to the Kawhatau Valley in the Rangitikei area of the central North Island, this book charts the course of the Gorringe family over a 180-year period. Starting in 1840s Nelson, colourful diversions along the way include stories of pioneering in outback Australia.
The Plimmer Legacy
A family story from early Wellington to modern farming in the Rangitikei. From Wellington’s Plimmer Steps to the green hills of Motukawa. This is the story of a family – several generations of influential people — starting with ‘the father of Wellington’, John Plimmer, whose statue stands at the bottom of Plimmer Steps on Lambton Quay.
Puketiti Station
The story of Puketiti Station, the 180-year-old Williams family legacy and how an airline pilot and his wife from Auckland inherited a new life farming on the East Cape. Puketiti Station, the Category 1 historic homestead, cobbled stables, and covenanted gardens at its heart lie hidden above the sands and breakers of the east coast, 100 kilometres north of Gisborne, on the road to Ruatoria.
Snow On The Lindis
From the Lindis to the Clyde, Morven Hills Station once covered 400,000 acres of tussock-clad hills. It takes a special family to farm there. Join Madge Snow as she recounts farm life in a bygone era, and historian Bee Dawson as she unearths the fascinating early years of an iconic Central Otago station where 100,000 sheep once roamed.
Mighty Moves
Heavy Haulage and House Moving in New Zealand. This is a story of larger-than-life personalities, big machinery, immense loads and some of the trickiest roads in New Zealand: the tale of an extraordinary breed of creative problem-solvers who revel in the challenge of moving the impossible over the impassable.
Laucala Bay
When a Pacific war became likely in the late 1930s, New Zealand was given responsibility for air reconnaissance centred around Fiji. As a result, airfields were built at Nadi and Nausori, while a flying-boat station was developed at Laucala Bay, near Suva. This book tells of the RNZAF’s operations in Fiji during the war and the subsequent two decades until the station finally closed in 1967.
A Career Less Ordinary
75 Years of Women in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The trail-blazing women who joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1941 quickly made their mark. Sceptical looks gave way to significant respect as the WAAFs (members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) snapped to attention, rolled up their sleeves and excelled at everything.
High Flyers
They fly fighter planes and helicopters; they jump out of aircraft 1000 feet up in the sky; they are engineers, mechanics, navigators and mothers. They are the intrepid women of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, who have broken sound barriers and stereotypes with equanimity. It hasn’t always been this way. Bee Dawson’s profiles reveal a group of extraordinary women, in jobs that are anything but ordinary.
Spreading Their Wings
When World War II broke out in 1939, the idea of women working in the Armed Forces was considered quite radical, in spite of a long tradition of Army nurses. The first women of the WAAF were greeted with opposition and disapproval, but by the end of the war they had become respected members of the Armed Forces.
Wigram
The Birthplace of Military Aviation in New Zealand.From fledgling flight school to the location of the Air Force Museum, the Wigram Air Base has played a large part in shaping the Royal New Zealand Air Force.In this book, social historian Bee Dawson brings the history of Wigram to life by interweaving stories of early aviators, influential people and ordinary air force personnel with the key events of military aviation in the Canterbury region.
Hobsonville
This lively social history describes the early history of the Hobsonville area and the different phases of development of the Air Force base there – the initial establishment of the station and its expansion through the 1930s, the war years, and the Sunderland flying boat era through the 1950s and ’60s.
With You
The Mary Potter Hospice Story. This book is a story book. It brings together the lives of the people who established Mary Potter Hospice: their colourful personalities, vision, creativity, energy and commitment. It recounts the numerous miracles, big and small, that occurred when inspiration bonded with sheer hard work.
No Journey Made Alone
In 1978 the parents of any New Zealand child diagnosed with cancer were presented with a bleak reality: there was seldom hope of a cure and there was little or no assistance for the family during their child’s cancer journey. It wasn’t just the families who had to struggle – the medical professionals who worked with the children also had minimal support as they tried to improve the lot of their young parents.
Dedicated to Diabetes
This book profiles some of the people who have helped shape the Diabetes New Zealand of today. From diabetes physicians to employed staff, to the many volunteers, these inspirational stories are a fitting testimony to dedication and progress over four decades.
The New Zealand Woman
80 glorious years of fashion, food and friendship from the pages of the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. Since the first issue hit the news-stands in 1932 the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly has provided a rich mix of inspirational advice (on family, health, relationships, beauty and fashion), fine recipes (often thrifty, always tasty) and entertaining articles.
Lady Travellers
The Tourists of Early New Zealand. Nineteenth century New Zealand: land of Maori, mountains, fiords, forests and geysers – an exotic, far-flung frontier of the British Empire. It was irresistibly attractive to the intrepid Victorians. Explorers, missionaries, naturalists and settlers braved long journeys in small ships to go there. New Zealand was an alluring destination for those with the money and freedom to travel.
Sir Brother Patrick Lynch
A Life in Education and New Zealand’s Integrated Schools 1976-2016When young Pat Lynch was growing up in south Auckland, helping his father in the garden and enjoying the beach with his siblings, little did he know that in his future he’d be influencing politicians of all persuasions, and even a prime minister or two.
A University For The Pacific
To mark the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of The University of the South Pacific this commemorative book, rich with stories and photographs from throughout the 50 year life of USP, has been produced. It is a must for anyone who has studied, worked or visited the University at any point in its long and fascinating history.
