Comprehensive guide to Canterbury high country

28 February 2007

Comprehensive guide to Canterbury high country released

An in-depth exploration of the geography and natural and human history of central Canterbury’s high country is the topic of the latest book to be released by Canterbury University Press.

From Tussocks to Tourists: the story of the Central Canterbury high country by Auckland-based author David Relph is a survey of the area comprising the catchments of the Waimakariri, Rakaia and Rangitata rivers, as well as the headwaters of the Ashburton and Selwyn rivers.

Divided into two parts, the sumptuously illustrated book looks at the area’s physical environment – land formations, climate, and flora and fauna - and its human history, from early exploration and settlement to tourism developments, conservation and its influence on New Zealand’s artists.

Mr Relph, a former secondary school teacher and University of Canterbury alumnus, said the book was a labour of love.

“Having grown up in the area, worked in it, tramped in it, done a university thesis on part of it and developed a strong passion for it, then having married and obtained work out of the region, I found that I could never get it out of my system. So gradually the idea of writing about it developed and after 45 years I was able to combine the experience of writing with opportunities to return to the area to do research,” he said.

With more than 250 illustrations, including high quality photos and maps, From Tussocks to Tourists offers an attractive and comprehensive guide for those who know and love the Canterbury high country, and for those who would like to know more about the region.

“The Canterbury high country is such an attractive and iconic landscape. I hope my book will help people appreciate how attractive it is and encourage them to visit the area.”

Mr Relph grew up in the late 1930s and 1940s on a high country sheep run in the Rakaia Valley. He graduated from Canterbury University with an MSc in geography in 1953 before embarking on a teaching career in secondary schools, mainly in the Auckland region. He retired from teaching in 1989 while Deputy Principal of Long Bay College.

Over the past 25 years Mr Relph has written 20 secondary school textbooks on science, biology and conservation issues and has also had a number of articles published in a variety of journals and magazines.

From Tussocks to Tourists: the story of the central Canterbury high country
by David Relph, published by Canterbury University Press, March 2007, RRP NZ$35.00, Paperback, 280 x 210 mm, 168 pp, colour throughout, ISBN 978-1-877257-46-9.

ENDS

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