Recommended Reads
The IPENZ Engineering Heritage Chapter and Board members recommend the following books as a starting point for those interested in exploring New Zealand's engineering heritage. To check the availability of these resources, and other publications on similar topics, we suggest that you check the online catalogue of the National Library of New Zealand, or your local public library.
| Auckland Engineering Heritage Book | |||||||
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Evolving Auckland - The City's Engineering Heritage This book is the result of five years voluntary effort by members of the IPENZ Engineering Heritage, Auckland Chapter. They describe the engineering achievements that have provided the infrastructure & facilities that serve our region. The political debates and the technical achievements, often forgotten once these services become standard infrastructure, are described by the authors who have often been involved in these works.
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| GENERAL | ||
| Author | Title | Publishing details |
Diana Neutze |
Design for a century : A history of the School of Engineering, University of Canterbury, 1887-1987 |
Canterbury University, Christchurch, 1987 |
W. L. Newnham |
Learning Service Achievement : Fifty years of engineering in New Zealand |
New Zealand Institution of Engineers, Wellington, 1971 |
Rosslyn J. Noonan |
By Design: A brief history of the Public Works Department, Ministry of Works, 1870-1970 |
Government Printer, Wellington, 1975 |
Nigel Smith |
Heritage of Industry : discovering New Zealand’s industrial history |
Reed, Auckland, 2001 |
Geoffrey G. Thornton |
Cast in Concrete: Concrete construction in New Zealand, 1850-1939 |
Reed, Auckland, 1996 |
Geoffrey G. Thornton |
New Zealand's Industrial Heritage |
Reed, Wellington, 1982 |
Matthew Wright |
New Zealand’s Engineering Heritage, 1870-2000 |
Reed, Auckland, 1999 |
| CHEMICAL ENGINEERING | ||
| Author | Title | Publishing details |
Dennis Hogan & Bryce Williamson |
New Zealand is Different: Chemical milestones in New Zealand history |
Clerestory Press, Christchurch, 1999 |
| ELECTRICITY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS | ||
| Author | Title | Publishing details |
Percy Dunsheath |
A History of Electrical Engineering |
Faber & Faber, London, 1962 |
R. E. Offer |
Walls For Water: Pioneer dam building in New Zealand |
Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 1997 |
A. C. Wilson |
Wire and Wireless: A history of telecommunications in New Zealand, 1860-1987 |
Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 1994 |
| ENGINEERS | ||
| Author | Title | Publishing details |
| F. W. Furkert | Early New Zealand Engineers | Reed, Wellington, 1953 |
Colin Maiden |
An Energetic Life: Sir Colin Maiden an autobiography |
Dunmore Press, Wellington, 2008 |
Stephen Utick |
Captain Charles, engineer of charity : the remarkable life of Charles Gordon O’Neill |
Allen and Unwin, 2008 |
| TRANSPORTATION - GENERAL | ||
| Author | Title | Publishing details |
Malcolm Douglass |
A Wheel on Each Corner: history of the IPENZ Transportation Group : transportation engineering in New Zealand, 1956-2006 |
IPENZ Transportation Group, Wellington, 2007 |
| TRANSPORTATION - RAILWAYS, ROADS AND TRAMWAYS | ||
| Author | Title | Publishing details |
Feilding and Districts Historical Society |
The Last Spike: a pictorial essay celebrating the centenary of the completion of the North Island main trunk line |
Feilding and Districts Historical Society, Feilding, 2008 |
Mike Johnstone |
Nelson's First Railway |
Nikau Press, Nelson, 1996 |
Paul Mahoney |
The Era of the Bush Tram in New Zealand |
Transpress, Wellington, 2004 |
Gordon Ogilvie |
From gigs to rigs : Steel Bros and 120 years of road transport in New Zealand |
Hazard Press, Christchurch, 1997 |
F. K. Roberts |
A Compendium of Railway Construction: Part Two - North Island Main Trunk |
New Zealand Railway & Locomotive Society, Wellington, 1990 |
W. W. Stewart |
Grand Old Days of Steam |
Reed, Wellington, 1975 |
Ivan D. Taylor |
Road to the West Coast: A history of the road over Arthur's Pass |
Heritage Press, Palmerston North, 2005 |
Geoffrey G. Thornton |
Bridging the Gap: Early bridges in New Zealand, 1839-1940 |
Reed, Auckland, 2001 |
| TRANSPORTATION - SHIPPING | ||
| Author | Title | Publishing details |
Jack Churchouse |
Sailing Ships of the Tasman Sea |
Millwood Press, Wellington, 1984 |
David Macintyre |
Cook's Wild Strait: The interisland story |
Reed, Wellington, 1983 |
| WATER SUPPLY AND TREATMENT | ||
| Author | Title | Publishing details |
C. W. Firth |
A Century of Water Supply for Auckland, New Zealand |
Auckland Regional Authority, Auckland, 1967 |
Des Peate |
Water treatment in New Zealand from 1910 : company records, photographs, personal accounts |
D. Peate, Warkworth, N.Z., 2001 |
