Your last book was on the meaning of trees, how did you pivot from the land to the sea?
The idea for this book came while I was part of a research expedition to the Poor Knights Islands – one of the best dive sites in the world. While camping out on the islands I got the opportunity to explore this underwater world and it completely blew me away. It’s like getting a glimpse of what New Zealand’s oceans looked like before people arrived. I left the islands inspired to learn everything I could about these incredible creatures.
What do you hope people will take away from the book?
We have so many fascinating and unique native species in our oceans, but because they are hidden underwater they are often out of sight and out of mind. I wanted to find a way to reveal these amazing creatures and share some of their stories. My goal for the book is to show that even though these species live in a different world to us, they have had a profound impact on our lives on land.
Did Museum collections help in your research and stories in the book?
I was lucky to be able to explore the Museum collection while researching the book and was able to feature some of the artworks of sea creatures from former Museum curator Arthur Powell. A massive highlight for me was being able to see a specimen of the extinct Upokororo or New Zealand grayling (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus). This was a fish that was beloved by both Māori and Pākehā and once found in almost every river in the country, but it rapidly went extinct and hasn’t been seen alive for around a hundred years.
Do you have a favourite species in the book and why is it your favourite?
I really enjoyed learning about the history of the Octopus in New Zealand. Today they are seen as incredibly intelligent and beautiful creatures, and even star in Netflix documentaries. But back in the day, many New Zealanders were terrified of them. They were called the “devil fish” and people were scared to swim in areas with octopuses. In the same way we have news stories about shark attacks today, there used to be lots of sensational news articles about octopuses attacking people at the beach.