The first comprehensive history of our cities

The first comprehensive history of our cities

The rebuilding of post-earthquake Christchurch and the attempts to grapple with Auckland’s growth and liveability have brought New Zealand’s urban centres into critical focus. The state of our cities and their future development is a pressing national concern.

In this context, the publication of Ben Schrader’sThe Big Smoke: New Zealand Cities 1840-1920could not be more timely – particularly given the minimal attention that has been given to our urban history. Our national mythologies have long preferred to describe the country’s origins as a rugged colonial outpost, a faraway farmland for the Mother Country with a few raggedy towns at the end of the ubiquitous milk run. This is still a surprisingly common perception – even though the country actually is overwhelmingly urban.

In uncovering the vibrant history of New Zealand cities, Schrader delivers a beautifully written and illustrated corrective to such notions, and helps us understand the vital part ‘the Big Smoke’ has played in the formation of the nation and its character. As Philippa Howden-Chapman writes, ‘The Big Smoke impressively fills a large gap in our social economic and cultural history … [making] a convincing case that it is our urban rather than our rural identity that has been central to most New Zealanders.’

This vivid and engaging history considers why this should be so. It asks what did cities look like and how did they change? Why were women especially drawn to live in cities? In what ways did Māori experience and shape cities? How was the street a living and stage for city life? And why did New Zealand so quickly become a nation of townspeople? By uncovering the often forgotten experiences of our urban past, the book foreshadows and echoes contemporary concerns – from urban intensification, to public health, to city vibrancy versus regulation.

Tony Ballantyne, Professor of History at the University of Otago, writes that Schrader’s work is ‘a compelling reminder of the centrality of cities in New Zealand history. This book brings to life a neglected dimension of our collective past.’

More dynamic and entertaining than any closely researched story of a country’s cities has a right to be, Schrader’s scholarship removes the shroud of myth and restores our cities to their rightful place – at the centre of the New Zealand story.

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