Statue inside the National War MemorialLast week saw the launch of Pukeahu: an Explor­at­ory Antho­logy, an online col­lec­tion of writ­ing and pho­to­graphy explor­ing Pukeahu/Mt Cook from his­tor­ic­al, cul­tur­al, geo­graph­ic and ima­gin­at­ive per­spect­ives. Col­lated and pub­lished by staff and stu­dents of Mas­sey Uni­ver­sity, it explores a part of Wel­ling­ton that’s seen more than its share of anguish, con­flict and grandeur.

It fea­tures work from Kath­er­ine Mans­field, Bill Man­hire, Witi Ihi­maera, Laurence Aber­hart, Alis­on Wong, Hinemoana Baker, and many oth­er names both famil­i­ar and new. It even includes an excerpt from my Notion­al Sig­ni­fic­ance series, from where the State High­way slices across the flank of this much-dam­aged hill. Tales of dis­lo­ca­tion mingle with mus­ings on domest­icity; ter­ri­fy­ing stuffed more­porks mix with vis­ions of bur­ied streams; tram crashes and hate crimes give way to dawn bless­ings and bells of peace.