Author(s): Doug Munro

New Zealand Non-fiction

'John Beaglehole (1901-1971) made his mark on New Zealand life, and not just as the academic historian of world acclaim who was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1970, eight years after turning down the offer of the Beit Professorship of Imperial History at Oxford University. He was also an advocate, activist and cultural critic who embraced public causes as varied as civil liberties, social justice, academic freedom in the political sphere, the proper preservation and management of archives, the protection of historical sites, and artistic endeavour generally. In his own parlance, he sought to contribute to a more 'civilised' national life, and he was made to suffer for it in the earlier years of his career.'