Award-winning WWI author to present at Upper Hutt Central Library
An event called ‘From ‘Our Boys’ to Tough Men’ will see award-winning World War I biography author Jane Tolerton present
at the Upper Hutt Central Library on Saturday 21 June at 2.00 pm, as part of the WW100 Centenary Speaker Series.
UPPER HUTT, Wellington NZ, 12 JUN 2014—Award winning author, Jane Tolerton will share some of the many poignant stories
about the reality of life at the front and some of the private moments of the veterans from her book ‘An Awfully Big Adventure: New Zealand World War One Veterans tell their stories’. The book is the result of Jane revisiting the collection of oral histories of 80 veterans she recorded 33 years ago
for the Stout Collection at Victoria University and the Turnbull Archive.
Jane has won a number of awards including the Dulux News Award and the Crown Prize for Historical Journalism. In 1993,
her book ‘Ettie: A Life of Ettie Rout’ won the New Zealand Book Award for Non-Fiction. Currently, Jane is writing a book about New Zealand women who played a
role in the war overseas. Her presentation will also include content from this book as well as extracts from veteran’s
interviews from the World War I Oral History archive.
“This is a fabulous opportunity for the community to hear such a renowned author speak about a subject that is close to
the heart of so many,” says, Council’s Community Services Manager, Debbie Duncan.
With the WW100 centenary beginning this year, Erica Herron, Community Programmes Coordinator at the Library, believes
that this timely, free event will be popular and suggests people register early. Registrations may be made at the
Library or on the Library website: www.upperhuttlibrary.co.nz
About Upper Hutt City Council
Upper Hutt City Council is the steward and custodian of Upper Hutt City, providing governance, infrastructure, and
community services and resources, and promoting opportunity in the city for business, recreation, lifestyle, and
leisure. Upper Hutt City is located 30 km north-east of Wellington City (41°07'34" S, 175°04'06" E) and boasts 70% of
the region’s parks and reserves, along with state-of-the-art entertainment and leisure facilities.
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