Singing the trail : the story of mapping Aotearoa New Zealand / John McCrystal.

Introduction -- Part one Coast: 1. te ata o Te Mātauranga -- 2. Beached as -- 3. Dutch courage -- 4. Thoroughly cooked -- 5. Sealing the deal -- Part two Interior: 6. Settling down -- 7. Onwards, inwards -- 8. Cadastre vs Ahi kaa. Part three changing views: 9. Greater New Zealand -- 10. Places in the heart -- 11. A moving story -- 12. Scrutiny on the bounty -- Further reading -- Acknowledgements.

The very first maps were oral maps made by early Polynesian and Maori settlers which were waypoints, described as 'survey pegs of memory', lists of places in songs, chants, karakia and stories that showed direction. Hundreds of years later, the Dutch Abel Tasman sailed here and made the first attempt at a physical map; followed more than 100 years later by Cook, whose map was much more detailed as he circumnavigated the country. Once the detail of the coastline was filled in, more detailed maps of the interior were made by those in search of resources to exploit. A clever look at New Zealand history and also at the intriguing tradition of map making.