Founder Lecture: The ‘Kāwai’ series: Conveying history through fiction

Description: As an historian Dr Soutar has consistently sought to engage audiences by making New Zealand’s history more captivating. Through his bestselling Kāwai novel series, he has reached a broader audience.

In this lecture Monty will comment on the art and challenges of presenting historical material in a fiction format.

Monty Soutar will speak at 6.00 pm with light refreshments to follow.

Registration: The event location is now at capacity. On-line and emailed ticketing have closed. However, there will be an overflow space – and the possibility that some auditorium seats will become vacant on the night. If you wish to join a priority shortlist please email the Friends of the Turnbull Library at: turnbullfriends@gmail.com

About the speaker: Dr. Monty Soutar has been a teacher, a soldier, an historian and has worked for the New Zealand government, museums and his iwi runanga organisations. He has a research background that spans almost 40 years, in which time he led one of the largest oral history projects in New Zealand, interviewing Māori elders about their WWII experiences abroad and at home.

He has held a number of appointments on national advisory boards, including the Archives NZ Council, the Guardians of the Alexander Turnbull Library and the First World War Centenary Panel. Dr Soutar was appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2002. In 2015 he was awarded the NZ Order of Merit for services to Māori and historical research. And, in 2024 he was presented with the prestigious Manakura Award for his 15 years of work compiling the 28th Māori Battalion’s history- as part of the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion scholarship ceremony held at the C Company Memorial House in Gisborne. He continues to serve on the Waitangi Tribunal.

Dr Soutar is the author of Whitiki Whiti Whiti E! Māori in the First World War and Ngā Tama Toa: The Price of Citizenship: C Company 28 (Māori Battalion 1939-1945). Whitiki is a major publication about Māori participation in the First World War and the award-winning Ngā Tama Toa focussed on Māori participation in the Second World War. In 2021 he was awarded the Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer’s Fellowship to write the Kāwai series.