The First Ascent Of Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, And A Holiday Jaunt To Mounts Ruapehu, Tongariro, And Ngauruhoe

[Beetham, George]

Published by Harrison and Sons, London, 1926

About this Item

Some rubbing to spine. Some foxing. A few ripples to cloth at lower margin of rear board. Two newspaper clippings from 1931 pasted to front free endpaper, on "First Ascent of Ruapehu" and "Pioneers of Ruapehu". A nice copy of this title, with the compliments slip of Mrs Geoge Beetham (Frances A. Beetham), who was the wife of George Beetham and also the instigator for and a contributor to this volume.; This copy with compliments slip pasted to front pastedown endpaper: "With the compliments of / Mrs. George Beetham. / 7. Wetherby Gardens, / London, S.W. 5." 40 pages + frontispiece + 1 plate. Original grey-green cloth boards with black lettering on front board. Page dimensions: 209mm x 161mm. "Privately Printed." Mountaineering, New Zealand. Account of the first ascent of Ruapehu, in 1879, by George Beetham, M.H.R., and J. P. Maxwell. Also an account by Frances A. Beetham (wife of George Beetham) of an 1892 trip by their party to the three peaks, taken from a letter to her father. This account includes a description of canoeing on the Wanganui River. With an Introduction by T. E. Donne. "Of this exploration Mr. Beetham left some notes, and his widow, having found these and realising the imporatnce of recording pioneer work in a new country, has decided to print them - primarily for the information of their relatives and friends. In 1879, Mr. George Beetham, accompanied by Mr. Joseph Prime Maxwell, Civil Engineer, of Wellington, made a complete ascent of Mount Ruapehu, and, reaching its summit, crossed the large southern glacier, and made a close examination of the hot lake that is in the great ice plateau, the existence of which had not been previously recorded." - from the Preface. "These two mountains [Tongariro and Ngauruhoe] were regarded by the Maori as being particularly sacred, and access to them was denied to the white man for many years after his advent to New Zealand. The late J. C. Bidwill is said to have been the first European to ascend Ngauruhoe, on the second of March, 1839. He was accompanied by two Maoris who had come with him from Tauranga; the mountain was alive, and they were terrified at the rumblings and noises, but more particularly of its evil reputation, anddeclined to go nearer than a mile from its summit." - from the Introduction, page 5. "The Rhine, taking away its castles, is not to be compared for beauty with the Wanganui and its wooded heights and tree ferns coming down to the water's edge, the high gorges and steep rocky slopes clothed in ferns and mosses. We went to see our canoe next morning and found Hakiaha dead drunk under the trees at 8 a.m." - page 36. [Bibliographical references: Bagnall B571; Neate B75 - "Ascents of volcanoes in North Island."].

Seller Inventory # 22173

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The First Ascent Of Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, And A Holiday Jaunt To Mounts Ruapehu, Tongariro, And Ngauruhoe
• Publisher: Harrison and Sons, London
• Publication Date: 1926
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket