Could this be this country’s finest map?

16/11/2025 16 min
Could this be this country’s finest map?

Listen "Could this be this country’s finest map?"

Episode Synopsis


There is much joy to be had poring over a great map. And this particular map may be the finest in New Zealand to pore over of them all. It's a map of Wellington city first made in 1891 by surveyor Thomas Ward. Obsessive in its detail, it's thought to be unique as a record of a New Zealand city for its time, and provides the visual structure for a very handsome new book, Mr Ward's Map by Elizabeth Cox, published by Massey University Press.