Dr Monty Soutar’s Kāwai series captivates New Zealand readers with history

Author and historian Monty Soutar starts a short speaking and book signing tour in Te Puke. Photo / Melka Oakley TAAH Photography
Dr Monty Soutar’s first fiction work was expected to meet with some success, but neither he nor his publishers were ready for its popularity.
A respected Māori historian, Soutar (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Kahungunu) turned to fiction writing with Kāwai: For Such A Time As This.
The book, the first part of the Kāwai trilogy, has been reprinted four times, was the No 1 bestselling New Zealand fiction title for 26 consecutive weeks and has been among the top 10 bestselling New Zealand fiction titles for well over a year.
New Zealanders were clearly ready for an epic saga about the history of Aotearoa, written from a Māori perspective, before the arrival of Europeans.
The eagerly awaited second book in the series, Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment, was published last month and Soutar next week sets off on a short speaking and signing tour of the Bay of Plenty.
“I didn’t realise how hungry certain portions of the population were for this sort of material,” he says.
“I knew there would be a market out there and I would be filling a gap, but I didn’t realise it was going to be as big as it was.”
He was personally only aware of one other work of fiction that was set in pre-colonial New Zealand – Behind the Tattooed Face by Heretaunga Pat Baker.
“I read it back in school, but that was in the 70s. I don’t know of anything since.”
Although something of a surprise, the success was welcome.
“It was pleasing because you put a lot of hard work into it.”
The second book went straight to the top of the bestsellers’ list “which I’m rapt about”.
“I guess with the huge audience that read book No 1, we kind of had to expect that, and we’ve got quite a following for the Kāwai series now.”
He feels he has tapped into a new appetite from people wanting to know more about the country’s history.
“I think it’s that interest that was out there, which I don’t think was there 20 years ago. I think something’s happened in the country, we are on the cusp of change and that is why it’s called for at such a time as this, it’s just so relevant right now.”
Monty always planned a series of books.
“It was proposed as a trilogy to my publisher, so when I signed the contract with Bateman Books, it was to produce a trilogy.
“I am trying to tell the history of this country through the eyes of this family, so I was never going to be able to do that in one book. I’m struggling to do it in three.”
He says he believes people are receptive to the use of fiction as a vehicle to make history more accessible.
“I came to that conclusion in 2019 when I finished my last major non-fiction book which was on the First World War and I realised then that I believed I was going to have a greater reach if I switched to fiction.
“My target audience really was the next generation. I could see in my own children they didn’t know much about New Zealand’s past. I thought to reach them, ultimately I had to get the story to the big screen, so that’s where I’m headed.
“If I can get it to the screen I’ll reach a greater young population because they are not reading in the way we did when we were teenagers.”
He has had three approaches from people wanting to buy the rights, but so far, he has knocked all three back.
“I really want whoever I hand this over to to understand the whole story that I’m trying to tell. They can’t just make one movie, have to tell this whole saga.”
Fiction writing has also given him more freedom.
“You are not as constrained as a historian to keep to the facts. That was always difficult in research for non-fiction books. Basically, every sentence you’ve got to back up with a source. You don’t have to do that in fiction, you can actually embellish things and create characters.
“That was hard to do at first as a historian, but after a year at it, I realised that was the way I had to go.”
He has evidence to suggest he has done a good job.
“I understand that my relatives think the characters in book one are all real and they all did what I said they did – I take that as a compliment.”
Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment begins in 1818 on the East Coast of Te Ika-a-Māui, Aotearoa. Hine-aute, granddaughter of the legendary warrior Kaitanga, is fleeing through the bush, a precious yet gruesome memento contained in her fishing net.
The Europeans have arrived, and they’ve brought muskets and foreign diseases, ushering in a whole new world of terror. But they’ve also brought a new religion, which will cause Māori to question everything they believe in. Hine and her sons Ipumare and Uha are caught in the crossfire of change that is creating fractures in their close familial bonds and undermining everything they hold dear.
Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment delves into the profound impact of early colonisation, from raids by musket-wielding war parties to heightened internal warfare; from the influx of whalers, traders and Christian missionaries to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
“My hope is that through this series, our nation will be better informed as we navigate decisions for our future. In the past, I believe we have done a disservice to the country by limiting the perspectives on our history. Additionally, the prevalence of misinformation about Aotearoa’s history on social media is concerning. I wanted to make my small contribution to a better Aotearoa by sharing the knowledge I have.”
Soutar has been awarded the Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer’s Fellowship to write this series. He has worked widely with iwi and Māori communities, in particular while writing Nga Tama Toa, which told the story of C Company 28 (Māori) Battalion in World War II.
He has held a number of appointments on national advisory boards, including the Archives NZ Council, the Guardians of the Alexander Turnbull Library, the First World War Centenary Panel, and the Waitangi Tribunal. Until very recently, Monty held the position of senior historian for the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and continues to serve on the Waitangi Tribunal.
Itinerary
● Monday, November 11
5pm: Paper Plus, 71 Jellicoe St Te Puke
● Tuesday, November 13
Noon: Paper Plus Whakatāne, 170 The Strand, Whakatāne
6pm: Paper Plus Ōpōtiki, 108 Church St, Ōpōtiki
● Thursday, November 14
6pm: Rotorua Library, 1127 Haupapa St
● Friday, November 15
6pm: Taupō, Paper Plus 41-43 Te Heuheu St