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Richard John Seddon (1845-1906) was New Zealand's longest-serving prime minister from 1893 until his death. Originally intended as a collaborative effort, this work by the journalist, naturalist and author James Drummond (1869-1940) was first published in 1907 and remained until 1955 the only full biography of Seddon.

In July 1824 the king and queen of Hawaii died of measles on a state visit to England. Published in 1826, this composite work combines a brief history of Hawaii with an account of the voyage led by George Anson Byron to return the royal bodies to their native land.

Published in 1904, this authoritative two-volume history by Henry Gyles Turner (1831-1920) traces the first century of European settlement in Victoria, Australia. Volume 1 covers the period from 1803 to Victoria's establishment as an independent colony, and explores the social, political and economic effects of the discovery of gold.

Arthur S. Thomson (1816-60) was a Scottish military surgeon and medical scientist, posted to New Zealand in the late 1840s. His two-volume account of the islands' history was published in 1859. Volume 1 is divided into two parts, on the Maori and on the discovery and settlement by Europeans.

Published in 1892, this two-volume biography chronicles the remarkable life and career of Sir George Grey, the 11th premier of New Zealand. William Lee Rees describes Grey's colonial adventures and achievements, outlining how he became arguably the most influential figure during the nineteenth-century European settlement of New Zealand.

Written by one of New Zealand's first historians, this 1928 publication recounts the history of the small settlement of Akaroa in the South Island. The area was settled predominantly by the French and much of Buick's book concerns their conflict with the British over land ownership.

Timothy Coghlan was the statistician for the government of New South Wales from 1886, and is regarded as Australia's first 'mandarin'. This monumental book, first published in 1918, was the culmination of his life's work, and is a personal history of Australia embracing materials, trade, population growth and land.

This 1864 publication analyses the New Zealand Taranaki Wars of the early 1860s, probing the causes behind the deterioration of relations between Maori and Europeans. The author, a former Civil Commissioner for the Waikato region, both criticises errors by the British administration and describes political wrangling within the Maori community.

This 1876 publication, based on a series of his earlier newspaper articles by David Kennedy Jr (1849-85), is a vivid, action-packed account of a tour of Australia, New Zealand and North America between 1872 and 1876. Kennedy provides fascinating descriptions of sights and experiences from Queensland to Quebec.

In 1835 journalist Henry Saxelby Melville (1799-1873) was jailed for contempt of court over his coverage of a trial in Van Diemen's Land, Australia. He used this time to write a critical account of the colony's history and prison system, which was smuggled to England and published in 1835.

James Fenton (1820-1901), a pioneer, wrote this history of the island in 1884. It is an important work for those interested in colonialism and the history of Australia, as it documents the building of the colony (including the involvement of convicts) and the treatment of the native aborigines.

In 1879 the young journalist John Henniker Heaton (1848-1914) published this pioneering two-part dictionary. Containing biographies of notable men and women with Australian connections, and covering topics from Aboriginal cricketers to the Zig Zag railway, it remains a valuable resource for the history of European settlement in Australia.

James Tuckey (1776-1816) was the first lieutenant on H.M.S. Calcutta when it was given orders in 1802 to sail to Port Phillip, New South Wales (today's Melbourne), establish a convict colony and conduct a survey of the area. Tuckey recalls the journey in this account, published in 1805.

In 1840, a young Edward John Eyre embarked on a pioneering trek from Adelaide to Western Australia. Published in 1845, this account enables readers to 'accompany' the explorer on his harrowing expedition. Volume 1 relates some of the darkest moments he witnessed, including desperate searches for water, conflict, and murder.

A sympathetic anthropological account of the Tasmanian aborigines by non-conformist mystic James Bonwick (1817-1906), whose further work on the subject was cited by Darwin, provides important source material about this nearly extinct people and gives insights into the morally difficult subjects of nineteenth-century anthropology and colonial settlement.