from tussocks to tourists: the story of the central canterbury high country

Book Reviews

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© 2008 The AuthorsJournal compilation

© 2008 The New Zealand Geographical Society

important for the living and the dead, andespecially important for the well-being andprosperity of their descendents. Locationsand orientations can be auspicious, but fengshuiis not fixed and static: there is a waxing andwaning of vital energy in any site. The task ofthe geomancer is to interpret the ‘now’, and toanticipate ‘what might be’.

Hong-key Yoon describes the history, theconcepts, the practicalities and the contem-porary applications of fengshui in a clear,comprehensive and understandable manner.He writes for a western, English language,audience and does so in a very effective manner.His work is enriched by maps and visuals. Thisis a book which will be of interest to architects,landscape architects, suppliers of gardenmaterials, and planners, as well as geographers.He moves from foundation chapters whichwill appeal to the wider audience, to chapterswhich are especially interesting to geographers.The foundation chapters deal with: the natureand historical background of geomancy; anidentification of geomantic principles includingthe interplay between yin and yang, and theimportance for the five elements – wood, fire,earth, metal and water; a discussion of the waysin which these are applied in the selection ofsites, the positioning of graves and houses,and the design and layout of buildings andgardens. There are thoughtful chapters on theinterplay between Buddhism and fengshui,and between the Confucian ethic and fengshui.Given that a large proportion of Koreansabroad are now Christian, there is a chapterstill to be written on the mutualities of insightbetween Christian creation theology andfengshui. Is this a task for Professor Yoon?

Chapters of particular interest to geo-graphers include Chapter 9, which illustratesthe cartography of geomancy, and Chapter 12,which reflects on the use of geomantic ideas inChinese, Japanese and Korean cities. Chapter13 is about the city of Seoul. The site wasfirst selected as an auspicious one for a newdynasty: recent expansion has not, however,shown respect for the foundation insights;the geomantic balance is being destroyed asthe downtown is filled with tall buildings, thesmall streams are concreted over and thesacred mountains covered with apartments.Some of Hong-key Yoon’s most insightful

writing is found in Chapter 14 on the socialconstruction of the city of Kaesong; and inChapter 15 on the iconographic warfare thatoccurred when the Japanese invaded Korea,read the geomantic landscape, and engaged ina massive and phased mutilation and replace-ment of public buildings.

The book recognizes the adjustments thatneed to be made by Southern Hemispherepractitioners. Houses here must face north,not south, to get maximum sunlight. NewZealand readers would welcome an expandeddiscussion of fengshui applications in asouthern context: Professor Yoon is ideallyplaced to provide this. That small point made,this book is an excellent one, for practitionersand academics alike.

Hong-key Yoon’s return to the fengshuiarena in 2006 prompts questions about changesin the interplay between the personal andthe academic. In his preface, he separateshimself from his subject matter, reflecting theethos of geography in the 1970s. He presentshimself as the careful observer, not a believerin fengshui: a spectator watching the football,not a player in the game. Since then, he hasabsorbed M

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ori world views from the EastCoast and from the Hokianga. Do these providea gentle disruption, an invitation for the authorto come down from the stand, and join in thegame? Where might the next Yoon home belocated, how might the house be aligned, thesection shaped and planted? Can the impartialacademic become a believing practitioner?

Garth Cant

Department of GeographyUniversity of Canterbury

From tussocks to tourists: The story of the

central Canterbury high country

David Relph. Canterbury University Press,Christchurch, 2007. 167 pp. ISBN 978-1-877257-46-9.

The author of this book about the centralCanterbury high country, a region boundedby the catchments of the Rangitata andWaimakariri rivers, quotes from a report of

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Book Reviews

© 2008 The Authors Journal compilation

© 2008 The New Zealand Geographical Society

the Forest and Bird Society: ‘The high countryof the South Island has a special place in thepsyche of New Zealand ... it blends into aniconic landscape of shingle riverbeds, tussock-floored basins, lakes, wetlands, and the rangesthemselves’ (p. 143). Those words will resonatein the minds of all who have lived in or visitedthe Canterbury high country, and are elaboratedin the text. For a century, this region wasgrazed by large flocks of sheep on about 45properties. More recently, the values of thecentral Canterbury high country have increasedin number to take in conservation of speciesand environments, recreation and tourism. Innine chapters, a bibliography, and an index,the author notes the area’s landforms, climate,natural ecosystems, naturalized plants andanimals, history of human settlement, road andrail links, sheep stations, opportunities forrecreation, tourism, conservation and landtenure, as well as the inspiration it has providedseveral generations of artists and writers.

The range of topics covered in this book isbroad, and while none are dealt with in depth,the author handles them in ways that non-specialist readers will appreciate. One innovativeapproach involves presentation of informationby subregions. Another uses one templatefor maps to show the maximum extent of iceduring the late glacial period, routes followedby M

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ori to and from the West Coast as wellas those taken by European explorers, andprincipal recreational areas. Tim Nolan’s finecartography is notable for conveying animpressive amount of information in a visuallyattractive way. Also of value are the sequencesof photographs to show landscape change:Enys homestead in 1882, 1953 and 2005; andHigh Peak homestead about 1879, immediatelyafter the 1939 snow storm, and in 2005. These,the many very well printed colour photographsand paintings, poetry, and quotations fromarchival sources all enhance this book’s value.

What is not clear is the intended readership.Anyone looking for a reasonably comprehen-sive survey of the region’s wildlife should go toKnox’s 1969

The Natural History of Canterbury

while the area’s environmental features aremore fully discussed in a recent textbook(Sturman and Spronken-Smith,

The PhysicalEnvironment: A New Zealand Perspective

,2001). The author might also have referred to

the research findings of Kevin O’Connor andAlan Mark, two acknowledged authoritiesabout the conservation status of and threats tohigh country ecosystems. In the boxed blocksof text the author could have probed deeperinto such matters as everyday life in an earlyhomestead and the lives of early explorers andrun holders. The list of high country birds onpage 59 is useful but would benefit from refer-ence to a published bird guide. And while thetwo-page bibliography includes classics likeL. G. D. Acland’s

The Early Canterbury Runs

,it excludes Kenneth Cumberland’s pioneeringaccount of

Soil Erosion in New Zealand: AGeographical Reconnaissance

(1944), Pascoe’spowerful evocation of high country landscapesin the

New Zealand Geographer

in 1945, andMichele Dominy’s

Calling the Station Home:Place and Identity in New Zealand’s HighCountry

, 2001, a fine sociological analysis ofsheep station life.

Recent historical research has cast doubt onthe belief that early run holders were addictedto the fire stick and failed to treat their pro-perties with care, but that is not evident here.Gaps such as this may, however, be inevitablein a book that covers rather more topics thaneven a committed advocate like David Relphcan do justice to, but the general reader whois looking for an interesting, very well written,and abundantly illustrated book about a notableNew Zealand landscape will find the author aninformed and passionate guide. This book isakin to regional guidebooks written for visitorsto areas of significant natural beauty in NorthAmerica, Western Europe and South Africa,and is better than many of them.

Peter Holland

Department of GeographyUniversity of Otago

Glacier science and environmental change

Peter Knight (ed.). Blackwell Publishing,Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 2006. 527 pp.ISBN 1-4051-0018-4.

This fine book is edited by Peter Knight, aleading glacier scientist at Keele University,