Throughout many homes, especially on the Kāpiti Coast, you will likely find one of Chris Maclean’s books sitting on a coffee table or tucked into a bookshelf.
The Waikanae Beach resident has written 15 authoritative books including Waikanae, Tararua and Kapiti, as well as co-authoring Tramping: A New Zealand History.
And he has been very active in conservation and environmental activities, with dune restoration work at Waikanae Beach and wetland restoration work in Queen Elizabeth Park.
Maclean has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours 2023, for services to conservation and publishing.
He was delighted with the honour, describing it as “both gratifying and humbling” but noted any personal satisfaction needed to be tempered “with the understanding that in both publishing and conservation an individual’s achievements are built on the contribution of others”.
“For instance, the 15 books I have produced since the 1980s have benefitted from other people’s expertise. At the first-draft stage, fellow authors Shaun Barnett and Graham Langton have reviewed and improved my work; then, editor Anna Rogers has enhanced my words with her professional skills, while designer Geoff Norman has helped me with the more challenging technical aspects - while also making an important creative contribution in laying out the books. I have worked with this pair for the past 46 years and I am enormously grateful for their talents and friendship,” Maclean said.
“I used to publish my own books such as Waikanae, Tararua and Kapiti, but since 2000 I have worked with publisher Robbie Burton of Potton & Burton in Nelson, and have been rewarded by his greater experience. At the same time Louise Belcher has scrutinised each book before publication to eliminate inconsistencies. Just one or two errors or typos can undermine a book’s credibility. Booksellers are important contributors too. Locals Rob and Kaye Clarke, who ran PaperPlus Coastlands for more than 40 years, always supported me, selling - for example - more than 2500 copies of Kapiti.”
Maclean is finishing what could be his last book. Between the Covers is a history of his mother’s family firm, the booksellers and printers, Whitcombe & Tombs.
He said conservation was an equally collective activity.
"Dad's Army" (from left): Derek Fry, Roger Steele, Alistair Williams (bending), Alan Wehipeihana and Chris Maclean. Absent is Mike Bradstock. Photo / Paul Bradshaw
“Since 2017, the Maclean Trust has been restoring 25 hectares at the northern end of Queen Elizabeth Park, previously pasture, to its former glory as a mixture of wetlands and podocarp forest. This could not have been achieved without the help of many other people. The idea to restore this area came from my old friend, the local artist Alan Wehipeihana, who also worked beside me in the first few years to nurture the thousands of small plants in the face of many threats. We were greatly helped by the park’s chief ranger, Wayne Boness, who did more than anyone to get this project going. At the same time, scientist Mike Bradstock mapped the remains of the ancient kahikitea forest which once flourished here, then organised expert botanical analysis of the stump samples to conclusively prove the nature of the original vegetation.”
More recently Maclean has been “greatly assisted by a ‘Dad’s Army’ of volunteers who each week give their time to control weeds on the park”.
“This has included laying waste to more than a kilometre of three-metre-high gorse bushes lining the North Whareroa, a demanding job involving the grungiest of work - down on your knees, sometimes even lying down among the prickles, with loppers or a saw in hand, and poison paste nearby. Blackberry is another perennial pest plant and the volunteers cut that down too, braving its barbs to cut it apart, then paste the stumps to deter regrowth. Such physical work is unfashionable today when most rely on machines, but there is no substitute for the hard graft in weed control work. Physical labour is inherently satisfying and makes us all happier too, I think. I am so grateful to my core supporters, Derek Fry, Alister Williams and Roger Steele for their dedication and commitment to enhancing the restoration of the northern ‘lungs’ of the park, two big blocks which are now showing the benefits of their labour. Roger’s partner, Christine Roberts, has done much to support us,” Maclean said.
“My son Sam, who is a co-trustee, has also contributed to the success of the park restoration, and hopefully will continue our family’s interest in the future. We have also benefitted from the support of regional councillor Penny Gaylor, who has been a stalwart supporter.”
Maclean said he had always tried to follow his passions and make them work.
“If it has helped my community then that makes it all the more rewarding. But the greatest joy has been from the friendships I have made along the way while telling stories in print, or restoring the local landscape.
“To be involved with both conservation and publishing for a lifetime has been both a privilege and an enduring pleasure.”
