THE FORGOTTEN COAST

A powerful memoir about racism, the Catholic church, and fathers.

‘You approach family stories with caution and care, especially when a thing long forgotten is uncovered in the telling.’

In this deft memoir, Richard Shaw unpacks a generations-old family story he was never told: that his ancestors once farmed land in Taranaki which had been confiscated from its owners and sold to his great-grandfather, who had been with the Armed Constabulary when it invaded Parihaka on 5 November 1881.

Honest, and intertwined with an examination of Shaw’s relationship with his father and of his family’s Catholicism, this book’s key focus is urgent: how, in a decolonising world, Pākehā New Zealanders wrestle with, and own, the privilege of their colonial pasts.

ISBN: 9780995143142
Imprint: Massey University Press
Publication Date: 11 November 2021
Dimensions: 186mm x 125mm
Weight: 290g
No. Of Pages: 256