Local secrets and mysteries are revealed in a new book by Ruapehu-based writer Hazel Phillips, who spent two years combing archives and tramping in Tongariro National Park to uncover the backcountry histories of the maunga.
The result is Fire & Ice, published by Massey University Press and available in bookstores and online from 8 May (www.masseypress.ac.nz/books/fire-and-ice). Fire & Ice is Phillips' fourth book, including Solo: Backcountry adventuring in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Phillips told the Ruapehu Bulletin the book had little-known stories to offer readers and armchair mountaineers. 'One of my favourite yarns is about Les and Merv Bergensen, an uncle and nephew who build and lived in huts on the southern side of Ruapehy during World War Two to avoid conscription,' Phillips says.
'They hid out at separate times, but both lived through floods, snowstorms, droughts and, of course, separation from their families.'
Fire & Ice also reveals the truth about a memorial plaque on Girdlestone that was found broken in 2021, and tells the story of Ohakune's sly grogging history, including its infamous 'cordial shops'.
The term 'cordial shops' is really just another way of saying “secret grog shop”,’ Phillips says. ‘Ohakune had at least one policeman who was hot on the trail of sly groggers and intent on bringing them to justice. The area was dry until 1953 and people went to great lengths to smuggle bootleg on and around the mountains.'
Phillips paid tribute to the research help from organisations such as Archives NZ and the Department of Conservation's Wellington archives, which were instrumental in finding answers to her backcountry research questions. She thanked readers who contributed to her crowdfunding campaign in 2024, which helped to cover the book's publication costs. Fire & Ice was also supported by grants from Tūpiki Trust, New Zealand Alpine Club and Ruapehu District Council.
'I hope Fire & Ice will inspire readers to go out and explore our wilderness spaces for the themselves, and I hope it's as entertaining for people to read as it was for me to write.
'Most of all, I hope it goes some way towards recording the impact of the human footprint on Tongariro National Park in advance of cultural redress. These mountains are real treasures — they need to be looked after.'
