Long before GPS and digital mapping, Wellington had its own master surveyor Thomas Ward. In 1891, he created a remarkable and detailed map of Wellington, recording the footprint of every building in the city, from Thorndon in the north, across inner-city slums of Te Aro, to Berhampore in the south. Over the next 10 years, the map detailed Māori kāinga, shops, stables, hotels, theatres, oyster saloons, brothels, Parliament, the Town Belt, prisons, the ‘lunatic asylum’, and the hospital. Historian Elizabeth Cox discusses her new book Mr Ward’s Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street with fellow historian Dr Fiona McKergow.
Longlisted in the General Non-Fiction Award category of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Copies of the book will be available for sale through Bruce McKenzie Booksellers.
