by Chris Brickell

What are the historical changes through which the modern New Zealand 'gay man' has emerged? If he has not always been with us, then who preceded him?

University of Otago academic Dr Chris Brickell tells the evolving history of New Zealand gay men accessibly, through the lives of individual clerks, labourers, gardeners, soldiers, actors, writers; working class and middle class men; mostly urban but sometimes rural or small-town men. A landmark publication, this first-ever New Zealand gay male history combines lively, engaging scholarship with a remarkable collection of just under 300 images, spanning the book's period: 1830 to 1980. Written for an intelligent general, rather than an academic audience, Mates and Lovers aims to tell interesting stories along the way. The 130-odd images are integral to the stories of the text, and include several major collections: those of a homosexual Wairarapa photographer dating from c1888-1910, including pictures of his friends and lovers; a set which portrays the beachside social life of gay Christchurch men during the 1940s; an extensive collection of photos depicting the female impersonators (many of them gay) in the Kiwi Concert Party during and after WW2, and numerous images from Wellington (and some Auckland) gay social circles during the 1960s. Three of these sets are in private collections, and none have been previously published.

Large paperback, 2008, 430pages, new