Secrets and Treasures - Our Stories Told Through the Objects at Archives New Zealand

Random House, 2012.

Bizarre objects jostle with extremely significant ones in the 70 kilometres of holdings in Archives New Zealand, the official guardian of the record of government. The thousands of boxes contain all sorts of treasures and secrets, including such intriguing items as: * a rare letter written by Captain Cook; * more than one Treaty of Waitangi; * records of secret weapons; * exotic gifts to our Prime Ministers; * the battle-worn flag of the warrior prophet Te Kooti; * grisly exhibits from murder trials; * recordings of UFOs. This book delves into the archives to tell a very human story of New Zealand, a story that involves love, death, war, immigration, disaster, protest, defiance, censorship and hokey pokey.