hopefully someone will archive the existing Google Earth Street View for Christchurch -

Yes!
Was thinking the same thing meself, while looking for a cobbler in Chch (they've been hard- hit) and after locating "Paragon Shoe Repairs" on google earth, drove past its ruins...
They should also do another run-past…

This section of Waitangi Tribunal report summarises the mainly 19th century history behind the iwi residing in the greater Wellington region in the 1840s – all is clear ;-)

That was a background report before the Tribunal completed its inquiry – you can read some relevant sections of the actual…

One way would be 'augmented reality' tech...

I can't wait till we get the Locative media applications going here... I first read about it in William Gibson's Spook Country (also mentioned again in the new follow up Zero History )

whoaah – Have just felt…

[[http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/doclibrary/public/researchwhanui/district/12/Chapt01.pdf|This…

heritage sites, where complex but really important things happened – how best to bring them to life?

One way would be 'augmented reality' tech, drawing on the myriad of local stories over our history and using drama and story and art to express rich meaning. That means high-potential creative jobs…

Everything changes, at ground level.

So true: a motto for all historiography, eh.

ChrisW, thanks for clarification. I got "Ngati Awa" from here but freely admit to being nothing like an expert. Reading the history though, I think back to walking some of the random bush tracks up behind Naenae…

It's an interesting point you bring up Chris: I personally think the more area/rohe/tribal- and especially hapu- specific stories we bring up, the better.

Everything changes, at…

Edit: Think how much worse it would be trying to write "heritage" texts that really could satisfy all parties! In…

Much to do with muskets . . .

Ewart O'Donnell, in Roderick Allan McDonald's Te Hekenga, 1920:

Incidentally it was always said by the Maoris who fought on the British side against Te Rangihaeata in the Hutt campaign, that they had invariably abstracted the bullets from their cartridges, when firing…

I think a natural date to begin that take/tale would be the "Musket Wars"...

Will the…

It would be really interesting if they can find a way to present all sides of…

The outcome was not just a name but a story to support it, along with a potential future marketing concept for the club.
[...]
It has already been suggested that the first hole be…

it is not just the Tasmania part of the story, nor the Whanganui links that need to be told. Few Wellington and Hutt locals know about the injustices that happened in the Hutt Valley.

True – yet, bizarrely, the fighting that Hohepa Te Umuroa was said to have taken part…

I agree with Ngaire and Craig that it doesn't excuse Penguin not releasing just a tad more information. A respectfully-crafted sentence acknowledging that grief changes priorities and capabilites would…

Jolisa, it is not just the Tasmania part of the story, nor the Whanganui links that need to be told. Few Wellington and Hutt locals know about the injustices that happened in the Hutt Valley.

That's a good point, Hilary. As you say, the novel covered a lot of ground…

I would think Witi is not at all happy all things considered, is feeling vulnerable and without the oomph to do an adequate job of rewriting Trowenna Sea.

Meh... so why didn't Penguin say that? Because it would just be adding offensively crass insult to already considerable injury. Sorry for…

with an understandable lack of explanation.

Honestly, I think if that is the case then it's less understandable that they don't want to make a public statement (couched in more flattering terms of course). Seems like this would be exactly the right time to announce no republish and a stop…

I do find his blurt about being at the cutting edge of 'fiction' so using other people's words was not only fine, it was -um – cutting edge, completely & stupidly desperate.

Interestingly, Nicholas Spicer, in his LRB review of Peter Carey's latest book, pegs that author as having done the…

Ever seen anyone take to a penguin with a chainsaw?

Haha, I totes LOLd. (yes, there is a 12 year old in my house).

This whole story is now fumble upon bumble upon stuff up upon making up a pile of poos.

The plagiarism that wasn't. The "less than 0.4…

As well, a lot of ANZ readers are disappointed when someone says they'll make things right – like, by buying back the books – and then doesnt. Witi Ihimaera has lost a ton of respect from us. And from his peers.

Oh, I agree, but a quick googling to catch…

As well, a lot…

I've also got to ask whether a less high profile author than Ihimaera would have unceremoniously dumped.

We know the answer to this. They had two other plagiarizers, both of them were treated far more harshly. The Victoria guy lost his job (not sure whether he resigned or was fired,…

It leaves the blemished book in the historical record, rather than giving everyone concerned a chance to scrub up and redeem themselves. Sad.

Ah well. Perhaps we all see the moment of our greatness flicker; most of us, luckily, in private.

This is a very generous comment Jolisa. Whatever the…

To me the big question hanging over all of this is the alleged "buying back of the warehoused copies" — the book has remained on sale, apparently, and has been marked down in several places.

To me, the big question is whether Penguin NZ had any intention of following through…

So there is clearly copious stock, and it doesn't seem plausible that all of the…

From where I sit, it wouldn't necessarily have been that hard to rewrite the dodgy bits and/or to add citations to the already copious list of books consulted (esp since we…

He…

I think there is a very fine line between knowing you can write ok, and appreciating that fact, and being lauded because you hold a prestigious academic position (as well as having…

Also, he shares the disbelief that some on this thread have related: that this book could still continue to be the best-selling NZ novel in the country right now, despite everything.

Disbelief? That was THE most predictable aspect of the whole affair.

Witi Ihimaera’s role of cultural ambassador is something worth looking at in more detail. Ever since his first, stunningly simple and eloquent stories emerged he has had what can only be called a very good…

My understanding was that they offered that they would take any books back that booksellers didn't want. Be interesting to find out how widely that was put around the actual booksellers, and how many took it up.

Was down in Palmerston North on Saturday, and did my public duty in…

Contrary to belief of some, Penguin did not issue a recall and book not rare.

My understanding was that they offered that they would take any books back that booksellers didn't want. Be interesting to find out how widely that was put around the actual booksellers, and how many took…

Someone bought TTS on TradeMe at the weekend for $50 plus postage – The Warehouse online has it at $33.

Contrary to belief of some, Penguin did not issue a…

I note the book is still for sale on several overseas websites, and listed as being shipped from NZ; Penguin might want to send an update to its retailers.

Memo would seem to be – still keep selling. Maybe the reprint run will be the new edition. It seems all…

But this review reads sort of like…

In today's ODT, a very gentle thinkpiece by Prof Lawrence Jones.

The key quote:

Theft involves the calculated attempt to deceive,…

From this point, we do not give the Listener permission to quote any further extracts of any kind from The Trowenna Sea by Witi Ihimaera.

Hum... in Listener books editor Guy Somerset position, I'd be replying along these lines (and "accidentally" c.c.-ing it far and wide):

"From this point, __The…

Ignoring criticism and review, surely Penguin can't stop the Listener printing quotes from non-Penguin books that just happen to be also 'quoted' in a Penguin book.

They've only withdrawn permission for the extracts by Witi Ihimaera, doesn't that leave it open some what?

Yes, I believe that technically Penguin only…

I'd have been tempted to say "All right then, just tell us which bits on which pages we are allowed to quote."

It would have saved me an hour or two.

And I'm fairly appalled by Penguin's attempt to withdraw permission.

That's a PR cock up. Who ever thought that the Listener would follow that directive, and who didn't say "this will just draw more attention to us, and not of the good sort"?

Snapped.

So the magazine have listed some more "borrowings". Since it is getting to be more of the book they may be getting to the limits of the "fair dealing provisions" of a certain act.

I'm glad they've done this. If the fair dealing exception for "purposes of criticism and review"…

While you're waiting for that, can I upset you with the news from Booksellers NZ that The Trowenna Sea was the best-selling New Zealand novel for the week ending Nov 21 — that's three weeks at number one now.

Figures now out for week ending Nov 28 – same book…

For those who take their novels more seriously or is it a sport? – November is International Novel Writing Month.

I really think it's the opposite. Getting to the back cover by any means, no matter quality, structure, or polish.

You only have to look at the books published as…

So I heard a "rumour" on the weekend — and it's not the first time that I have heard it, and from sources as reputable as you would want — that Witi Ihimaera "farms out" the grunt work of writing his novels to a collection of minions*.

Witi has been…

Wow. There's news of some more bad — no, appalling — behaviour coming down the pike. Not my place to tell you, but it should be public soon enough.

Dying here.... ;)

(Still waiting for mod privileges that will enable me to time travel more than 15 mins into the past to fix things).

Those who Novel on a daily basis claim to love the challenge of the utility's 140-page minimum...

I'm assuming it has a ReNovel button,…

"It makes me wonder how I ever kept track of my friends and their symbolic prose examinations of universal human experiences before this," user Joyce Carol Oates said. "I'm like, did we really ever actually go to libraries? Weird, right?"

Looking forward to…

Gorgeous promo for the Book Council, ta Kyle. It's lovely to be reminded of nice things about books. I also have a big bag of library books to work my…

Did you end up with up a copy of that book? I tried sending you a message via PAS feedback last week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_jyXJTlrH0

Oh goodness. Didn't mean to tease.

Yeah right – you just slipped and fell into that low cut top and mini skirt.

Carr the Christchurchophobic?

Yeah, and I for one hate that... :-)

Oh goodness. Didn't mean to tease. It's relevant to the topic of this post, and it's not the kind of bad behaviour in which Russell Crowe might be involved. Perhaps better characterised as very poor form.

lazy satire...
Malcolm Evans in his '50s style editorial cartoon in The Press today (sorry, can't find a link) has Witi Ihimaera wishing he'd written a rock opera so he could get name suppression... I don't think Evans (and therefore the Press editor also) gets it, and compounds his once…

noisy goat

rofflenui

Richard Hammond

Rodney Hide surely?

Russell, we all know about R..... H..., the c...r... and the n...y g... already.

Richard Hammond, the cock ring and the noisy goat? Pictures please.

Tropic Thunder comes to mind somehow.

A Lazarus moment?

Witi sold him the film rights! In like Flynn is Our Russ.

Tropic Thunder comes to mind somehow.

I do hope this somehow involves Russell Crowe!

Witi sold him the film rights! In like Flynn is Our Russ.

I just want to know if it's about this topic or some other one, really, so I know what to keep an eye out for.

I think we can safely assume it falls within the context of this text con.

Crime writer Dick Francis is also a "family business" with his son, Felix co-authoring them these days, but is acknowledged as such. Apparently Dick had been doing it for a while, his wife used to help write them from the 1960s, not sure if she got credit, though.

I've always…

Wow. There's news of some more bad — no, appalling — behaviour coming down the pike. Not my place to tell you, but it should be public soon enough.

You tease us so.

Not my place to tell you, but it should be public soon enough.

Not even a vague clue?

An equivalent statement to Prof. Ihimaera would have required him to withdraw the book and correct the "error" and if he didn't he wouldn't be getting his salary.

I suspect that would breach employment law. You can't stop paying someone just because they've broken the rules. You could be warned…

Indeed. And your last sentence is particularly apposite:

Instead it's been presented as some personal misstep, so that inquiry into the details can be framed as either a personal criticism or a privacy issue.

Or an employment issue where Ihimaera and the University of Auckland are being unfairly pilloried…

Sad for him. And sad that people have been so horrible and unforgiving. Whoops – stuff up. Could happen to any of us.

I think on the whole most people have been sad about this also, and were looking for reasons to be forgiving in the hope that this can…

even if you're outsourcing your research the buck still stops with the person whose name is on the cover

Not just the research, but the WRITING. You know, the literary stuff.. the rareified business of stringing words into sentences and so on.

always classy blaming the help

heh, I think…

Through her lawyers, she said she had never read Five Chimneys herself, but that a research assistant she no longer uses may have lifted the passages for her.

Ah yes... always classy blaming the help, especially when they've got no right of reply. Reminds me of some Lady Catherine de…

Is it true? Is this a common practice, does anyone know? Amongst writers of the Historical Fiction genre?

Well, not as rare as you might think. Patrick O'Brian dedicated The Mauritius Command, the fourth Aubery/Maturin novel, to friend, fan and fellow historical novelist Mary Renault. He did that, in large…

Um this makes me really uncomfortable. If it's true then we need facts not rumour. Leave rumour and innuendo for the MSM we should have higher standards.

What about "rumour", though. As differentiated by quote marks, often performed with fingers on hands of the speaker.

I heard a "rumour" on the weekend

Um this makes me really uncomfortable. If it's true then we need facts not rumour. Leave rumour and innuendo for the MSM we should have higher standards.

For the purposes of the PBRF, research is original investigation undertaken in order to contribute to knowledge and understanding and, in the case of some disciplines, cultural innovation or aesthetic refinement.
It typically involves enquiry of an experimental or critical nature driven by hypotheses or intellectual positions capable of rigorous…

And sad that people have been so horrible and unforgiving. Whoops – stuff up.

Tania I accept that people make mistakes. What I am uncomfortable (and a bit angry) about is that instead of admitting the failure and doing everything in their power to rectify it, both the University and…

Fiona Kidman's A Captive Wife (about Betty Guard) and Annemarie Jagose's Slow Water (the doomed career of a gay missionary) are also based on real people and events and have relied heavily on letters and diaries.

There's also the famous example of Maurice Gee and Plumb, which drew on the…

I take your point that there is some separation of private activities from University.

However, if a plant biologist does some woodwork then his homemade cabinet (a poor Krenov copy) is not really of interest to the Uni. If on the other hand he does some private consulting for…

I'm eager to hear examples — mostly novels, because it seems to me that poetry makes different rules for itself, and that they work just fine — of contemporary literature that cites or incorporates other material, and does it well and productively.

I'm a fan of how Kate Grenville has…

In Mr. Ihimaera’s case it appears that, upon hearing that news of the plagarism was about to go public, the University rapidly pushed through an “investigation” of the matter apparently involving…

Duff was…

Anyone had a squizz at Duffs new book "Who sings for lu"?

George Harrison was sued for over £3 million for using an old song by the Ronettes ( He's So Fine )...

Not the Ronettes; the Chiffons.

But George Harrison's use was more than thinly veiled.

They made him pay for that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf9IYBTpmxA

The inclusion of Lee Tamahori by McLeod is just wrong.

Weird innit? Just more of McLeod's prurient fixation with such things.
There's an uncomfortably patronising tone about the piece, as if all creative endeavours by Maori are somehow subsidised by a patronising establishment liberalism. The silly stretched comparison with Alan…

George Harrison was sued for over £3 million for using an old song by the Ronettes ( He's So Fine )...

Not the Ronettes; the Chiffons.

But George Harrison's use was more than thinly veiled.

Wouldn't a "I made a mistake. I am sorry. Here is a corrigendum with ALL…

He was made a Distinguished Companion in the New Zealand Order of Merit (equivalent to a knighthood in the old honours system) in 2004 for services to literature.[1][3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witi_Ihimaera

It is definately a case of "One Knight out Stealing" – well…

(despite being highly opinionated)

But my latest novel is my 23rd published book.

Well, I think that qualifies you for the high opinion :)

Very much looking forward to reading Banquo's Son. (I had this crazy plan of translating Ophelia Thinks Harder into Italian once, but things fell through. Different author, I know, but it's an intriguing genre.)

And Peter Carey's . . . Ned Kelly book.

Just subjectively, there are occasional speeches delivered by Carey's characters that struck me at the time of reading True History of the Kelly Gang as rather inadequately masticated slabs of anthropology. For example, Mary Hearn's account of the ritual killing of…

Yeh, and I think…

(Although I will spoil it by adding that the inclusion of Alan Duff in the story makes me think that it is just as well Witi never became Sir Witi, so there is no opportunity for the headline "One Knight…

And sad that people have been so horrible and unforgiving.

That seems an extraordinarily poor characterisation of the tenor of the conversation in this thread.

Can't say I'm terribly impressed with the "asthetics is the only metre" argument in Scott Hamilton's post either. The Eliot analogy is just so unfit…

What I’m saying here, I think, and as I said on Beattie’s Blog, I am disinclined to join the others who have so quickly rallied to throw stones at a man who’s novel Whanau was the first ever non children’s book I read as a child. (My step-brother won…

Apologies…

So if you're a university lecturer, your work must be of "academic" standard? You wouldn't be allowed to write a semi-pornographic scurrilous novel, for instance?

It appears that Ihimaera himself asked the university to adjudicate this issue, and the university accepted jurisdiction — and since he is paid to…

Auckland Uni gets Witi's royalties and pays him a salary in return?

I have never heard of academic contracts that would garnish book royalties (although very few academic books earn enough royalties for this to be an issue). Most (all?) places in the US do require you to assign patents…

Whoops – stuff up. Could happen to any of us. All writers of historical fiction could get caught out.

I see what you're trying to say here, Tania. I imagine that it's possible to make a genuine mistake in your field.

One mistake — or possibly two (if you're terribly…

Also, if universities are responsible for their staff's work, can I raise a complaint about the barista at [redacted] who served me a mochachino that…

So Auckland Uni gets Witi's royalties and pays him a salary in return?

I shouldn't think. The formula my university works (and I suspect others do the same) is that you can earn up to 10% of your salary from other income sources. Not that there is any way of…

What isn't teaching is research – or publication, really.

So Auckland Uni gets Witi's royalties and pays him a salary in return?

What isn't teaching is research – or publication, really.

Precisely. After Jolisa asked the question here I asked a friend at Victoria, and that's pretty much what he said.

"Guidelines for the Conduct of Research"

Hang on, how is a novel "research"? Indeed, what is the university's standing in any of this? I'm assuming that Prof. I's contract probably allows him to write books in his own time, and that isn't part of the teaching and research he does…

Why do authors like Ihimaera and McEwan have to write books that require research and the use of other people's writing? Had they stuck to writing contemporary fiction they would have done so in their own words and not become plagiarists.

McEwan's novel after Atonement was the contemporary novel Saturday,…

So Prof I. is seen as making amends – it's not his fault that the distributor is making the recall voluntary. The plus is that he is likely to sell more books due to the publicity and the perceived rarity value. Can ship it again with an errata…

The last phrasing I'd heard was that he was "planning to buy back unsold copies". It was still available at The Warehouse yesterday – Fishpond has it though Whitcoulls and PaperPlus now list as unavailable on their websites. Biblioz has it but very expensive.

I think technically he's buying back…

Appropriation absolves all sins

really?
finders keepers, huh?
the final absolution is here...

there does seem to be an element
of technology enabling people...
but just 'cause we can
doesn't mean we should

and analogies to drug cheats
might really be more
grand theft organ...

yrs
the laughing genome

one of New Zealand's master storytellers at the height of his powers

Craig prompted this response yesterday from Margaret Soltan:

The pathetic plagiarist has no faith in his ability to write well. At his core is a deep self-doubt; and the more success the pathetic plagiarist enjoys, the deeper his…

"planning to buy back unsold copies".

Cynically, I'm wondering if these copies will count towards the Premier Bestsellers, which get gold/silver/bronze stickers on the front cover...

The book has been withdrawn from sale at considerable financial cost to Professor Ihimaera.

The last phrasing I'd heard was that he was "planning to buy back unsold copies". It was still available at The Warehouse yesterday – Fishpond has it though Whitcoulls and PaperPlus now list as unavailable on…

Retwiti

Word o year?

It is also being said that different standards would have applied to a student in the same position. These claims are patently untrue.

Judging by those passages we were quoted earlier from the student handbook saying that "inadvertent" was no defense, the Chancellor of Vice is talking through another orifice.…

Jolisa actually explained that dimension quite nicely in this morning's radio interview.

Which still languishes unlinked? Here, then: streaming 5m18, MP3 1.9MB.

Oh, and look, the subsequent discussion featuring Prof Sorrenson, Sophia Blair of NZUSA and Simon Bowden from the Arts Foundation – streaming 21m27, MP3 7.4MB.

Were a small amount of unattributed material to be discovered in a doctoral thesis, for example, the student would be required to rewrite the thesis with appropriate attribution – precisely the action Professor Ihimaera will be taking of his own volition...

As Gio said

A decision he took several days…

Those pesky media. Just won't listen.

To be fair, it's fucking hard to listen to someone who won't show up and say anything. "No comment" is a perfectly legitimate response to media enquiries, but don't come back afterwards and bitch that your side of the story ("the facts", as McCutcheon…

I am communicating directly with staff and students on the matter concerning Professor Witi Ihimaera which has received considerable media publicity. Much of the public comment has been ill-informed and made in ignorance of the facts. This is notwithstanding our explanations to the media of how this matter was handled…

Waiter! There are dark purple spheres in my soup!

Shh! Everyone will want some!

So, I just illuminated the issues for listeners to the ZB network, and will be discussing the story on Checkpoint this evening, on Radio NZ (not sure what time exactly).

And it's official, at least according…

Were a small amount of unattributed material to be discovered in a doctoral thesis, for example, the student would be required to rewrite the thesis with appropriate attribution – precisely the action Professor Ihimaera will be taking of his own volition...

A decision he took several days after the university…

I am communicating directly with staff and students on the matter concerning Professor Witi Ihimaera which has received considerable media publicity. Much of the public comment has been ill-informed…

I think it's more like going to a flash restaurant with a…

Regarding the "drug cheat" analogy, I got the impression from the way the article was worded that the journalist actually put that analogy to O'Sullivan and he agreed – rather than O'Sullivan volunteering it as an analogy.

Ngaire: Fair point, but I still think O'Sullivan had some damn good points…

I read on another thread that it can't be theft, nothing was actually taken, just copied ;)

I'd suggest you tell Karen Walker that you're just "borrowing" the patterns for her next collection. I've always wanted to see what death by high end accessories looks like. :)

I still think kleptomania is a better analogy than drug cheating.

I read on another thread that it can't be theft, nothing was actually taken, just copied ;)

George Harrison was sued for over £3 million for using an old song by the Ronettes ( He's So Fine )...

Not the Ronettes; the Chiffons.

From…

Interestingly, you get The Matriarch cited in a University of Canterbury English Dept essay writing guide, written in 1990.

I own this. Odd to realise it might be the origin of my some of my attitudes on the issue.

It also contains an explanation of the origins of the term…

Award-winning author and poet Vincent O'Sullivan, an emeritus professor of English at Victoria University, was reluctant to comment directly on the "Witi Ihimaera situation" but said the drugs analogy was fair.

"It's a performance-enhancing technique that works at someone…

I wonder what the UoA wil think of the quote from American academic Margaret Soltan, "Pretending it didn't happen is the sort of thing a very provincial university wiill do"

Soltan's been blogging this fairly extensively, and has this to say:

It wasn’t really, as Gracewood graciously claims, Google Books…

1.5. WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO: PLAGIARISM
It was different in the old days, when there was no such concept as cultural or intellectual "property". Bach and Handel could appropriate themes from…

The little I could find Googling before breakfast suggested that text Sorrenson wrote for the 1966 Te Ara encyclopedia of New Zealand entry about native land tenure had been used, unattributed.

You get a summary here:

http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Whi06Kota-t1-g1-t2.html

Key quote:

The history of the area in question in the two novels…

All of this could have been avoided if he'd just put a "RT" in front of each passage.

Aaaaand... brilliant.

Be interesting to learn more about that incident, see if it's similar.

The little I could find Googling before breakfast suggested that text Sorrenson wrote for the 1966 Te Ara encyclopedia of New Zealand entry about native land tenure had been used, unattributed.

If my recollection is correct on Mark Twain, I wonder how his writing could stand up to the scrutiny of the internet?

While I take your point, Twain was far from the only 19th century author who tore out a lot of hair over pirated editions of his work he…