David Barnes reviews Fire & Ice by Hazel Phillips for Otago Daily Times:
‘HAZEL Phillips - tramper, climber, skier and sometime journalist - lives in Ohakune, and so Tongariro National Park is her backyard and playground. In her latest book, she combines intriguing stories from the park's past with her own journeys to find whether any physical sign of the history still exists.
She is careful to note that, as Pākehā, the many Māori stories of the park - New Zealand's only site granted Unesco World Heritage status on cultural grounds - are not hers to tell, so she sticks to the more recent past.
Some stories are well known, notably the 1948 crash of a National Airways Corporation aircraft which killed all 13 occupants. Others were well known at the time - the 1931 search for a missing student party, known as the Stanton search after the one fatality, consumed headlines and involved over 500 searchers.
However many are delightfully obscure. These include tales as diverse as one about wartime deserters' huts and another on a 1960s documentary on skiing Mt Ngauruhoe.
Interestingly, arguably the most famous local story, the 1953 Tangiwai rail disaster, gets only a brief mention. This may be because it has been thoroughly covered elsewhere, or perhaps because the event occurred outside the park although, of course, the lahar most definitely came from within.
What sets this book apart from being just another collection of local historical tales (albeit a thoroughly researched and entertainingly written one) is the author's determination to get to the locations mentioned. In some cases, this required considerable detective work and then some arduous on-ground travel. The passage of time and the alpine environment has meant there is often little evidence of an aircraft wreck or an old hut, and it would be quite feasible to walk within a few metres of such sites, oblivious to their presence. Phillips' tenacity pays dividends, both in giving her the satisfaction of finding them and really enhancing the stories. Occasionally, a casual mention of historical vignette was enough to send Phillips into the archives and the hills.
When told of an engraved rock near the summit of the rarely visited Hauhungatahi, she had to see it for herself. While the journey was a success, this is one tale whose origin remains a mystery to her.
The book is well illustrated with historic images, interspersed with shots from the author's journeys. While it has obvious appeal to people who have wandered around the national park's volcanoes, those who have not done so should not think Fire & Ice isn't for them.
It is an eclectic mix of history, detective work, backcountry journeys and lively story telling making it a good choice for a fireside read.’
