The South Pacific is not only our geographic environment, it is also our cultural environment, and many New Zealanders trace their ancestry to Polynesian seafarers. This book is an introduction to the history of the South Pacific. A companion book to Illustrated History of New Zealand, also written by Marcia Stenson, it covers the following topics- geology and geography, the arrival of the first people to the Pacific, European exploration, war in the Pacific, political issues both historic and current.There is also specific information on these island groups- Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and the Polynesian outliers.

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the Nonfiction category by the New Zealand Children's Book Award. It was recognised in the Children's Book of the Year category by the New Zealand Post Book Award. It also was recognised in the Elsie Locke Medal for Nonfiction category by the Lianza Children's Book Award.

There are 112 pages in this book. This book was published 2006 by Random House New Zealand Ltd .

Marcia Stenson is the author of Illustrated History of New Zealand, Illustrated History Of Antarctica and the NZ Post award-winning Book of the Year 2007 Illustrated History of the South Pacific. She has been a secondary school History teacher and a Deputy-Principal, and she has written a number of books including the classic The Story of New Zealand.