Notes

Only a century and a half ago, the Manawatu was a heavily forested hinterland : the floodplains were a sea of swamps and lagoons, teeming with birdlife, eels and other fish. However, it wasn’t long before nature ‘exacted its revenge’ erosion scarred the hillsides, floods ravaged farms and towns. This book tells the story of the Manawatu’s environmental history, drawn from a rich array of sources, maps and historical images