Alfred Hamish Reed (1875–1975)

I was prompted to read this classic while researching for my blog post Intriguing Maryhill, seeing as my walk started and ended with what once was the home of this pioneer of New Zealand publishing.

I felt this was a must-read in the annals of New Zealand adventuring as it is the account of the first person to walk the length of New Zealand (well, from North Cape to Bluff, though he does include a visit to Stewart Island). His famous walk would be the precursor to our Te Araroa trail.

Not only that, but the author managed this feat at the at of 85.

However, I found this book to be - dare I say it - a boring read. Alfred makes his way down the country in a series of cups of tea and visits with friends old and new. It's a lovely peek into the friendly New Zealand of yesterday, and I wonder if when I reach 85 I'll be able to wander from friend to friend down the whole of the country. But the name-dropping gets somewhat tiresome after the first hundred times, and I really wished that the book would focus more on the narrative of the journey and the places the author saw on his way. I'd been hoping for a bit of history and some new ideas but those came only occasionally between tea with Mr So-and-so and visits with Mrs Bla-bla.

Still, I'm glad I read it, and Mr Reed's personality does shine through. It was nice to get to know him a little.… (mere)

I'm not sure whether to rate this as a two or a three, but honestly, I have to say I scanned my way through. A.H. Reed is dear old fellow who loves to chat about everyone he meets on his epic walk, who loves to stop at every school along the way to visit the children, and who never faces a night in the cold.

Apparently, he was a well-known figure in New Zealand before he started the walk and had written several books already, all about New Zealand. He was founder of a press that published books about New Zealand as well as Sunday School religious materials. Press and radio came out to see him whenever he arrived in their neck of the woods and pretty soon his walk was known about all over NZ.

Folks come out to bring him a cup of tea as he walks by, that sort of thing. And, like an old-fashioned small-town news reporter, he makes sure to give the full name and complementary remark about every single on of them. The plan used to sell papers and I guess in 1961 New Zealand it sold books.

The writing is shallow but the walking is amazing and inspiring to an old walker like me. That's one reason for the three, a non-literary one. The second reason is it does provide a picture sort of a charming and long gone provincial society where everybody knew everybody else and everyone had time for a chat wit a friendly old bugger who's hopping it down the road for 1700 miles.… (mere)