William Colenso His Life and Journeys.

A.G. Bagnall and G.C. Petersen.

An important biography and study of one of the most interesting figures in nineteenth century New Zealand. Colenso was a Missionary and pioneer printer, a politician, an explorer and, most importantly, a significant botanist. He was to spend much time in the company of Maori and became a fluent speaker of the language and a translator of religious texts into that language. He first arrived at Paihia on the last day of the year 1834 and in 1835 he met Charles Darwin who was briefly in the Bay of Islands. After meeting visiting Sydney botanist Allan Cunningham in 1838 he was persuaded to take up botany seriously. From then on he collected plants widely on his Missionary journeys, made many interesting botanical discoveries and was the first to collect alpine species on his way over the Ruahine Mountains. He was a correspondent of both William and later Joseph Hooker at Kew to whom he sent New Zealand herbarium specimens. In 1851 he was one of the founders of the New Zealand Society that was to evolve into the Royal Society of New Zealand. A very scarce title.

A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1948.

Hardback. Green cloth boards, no dust jacket. 439 pages.

SECONDHAND. Fine condition.