John Dunmore (born 6 August 1923)
is a New Zealand academic, historian, author, playwright, and publisher.
Biography
Dunmore was born in
Trouville-sur-Mer
Trouville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Trouville on Sea''), commonly referred to as Trouville, is a city of 4,603 inhabitants in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Trouville-sur-Mer borders Deauville across the Ri ...
, France, lived in
Jersey under German Occupation during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and then in England, where he received a BA from the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1950. He completed a PhD under historian
J. C. Beaglehole at
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well know ...
in 1962, studying the
French contribution to the exploration of the Pacific Ocean in the 18th century. He was Professor of French, Head of the Department of Modern Languages, and
Dean of Humanities at
Massey University
Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...
, from which he retired in 1985.
Dunmore's main field of history is the exploration of the Pacific, particularly by French navigators. He has written two major biographies of
La Pérouse, and translated and edited his journals (which he rediscovered after they had been misfiled in the
French National Archives
The Archives nationales (, "National Archives" in English; abbreviated AN) are the national archives of France. They preserve the archives of the French state, apart from the archives of the Ministry of Armed Forces and Ministry of Foreign Aff ...
). In addition, he has written biographies and edited the journals of both
Surville and of
Bougainville. His biography of de Surville, ''The fateful voyage of the St. Jean Baptiste'', won the
Wattie Book of the Year award in 1970.
[Massey News Article – Champion of the Humanities]
His work is highly regarded by scholars as well as by the public:
* "John Dunmore has done more than anyone to bring our attention to the achievements of eighteenth and nineteenth century French explorers of the Pacific"
* "cette étonnante biographie, élégamment écrite (this stunning and elegantly written biography (of Bougainville))"
* "The succinct and perceptive evaluation of the voyages and the
Anglo-French rivalry is of great use"
Dunmore has written a variety of other books, including a series of thrillers under the pseudonym "Jason Calder". He has produced a book of 18th-century recipes, ''Mrs
Cook
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* ...
's book of recipes for mariners in distant seas''. Some of the recipes were derived from the logs of explorers of the day. He has also written plays, held office in the Playwrights Association of New Zealand, and written a history of the association.
In his capacity as professor of French, Dunmore was president of the New Zealand Federation des
Alliances Francaises.
He established two separate publishing firms, the Dunmore Press (1969–1984) and Heritage Press (1985–2004). The Dunmore Press, a substantial New Zealand publisher of academic books, eventually became part of the
Thomson publishing group, in 2004.
Honours and awards
In 1990, Dunmore was awarded the
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal
The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people.
Background
The New Zea ...
.
In the
2001 Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours 2001 was announced on 16 June 2001 for the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland), New Zealand (4 June), Australia (11 June), Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sai ...
, he was appointed a
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...
, for services to literature and historical research.
The French Government appointed Dunmore as a Chevalier dans la
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
(Knight of the Legion of Honor) in 1976, and an Officier dans l'Ordre des
Palmes académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician
*Sir Guy Palmes, English politician
* Brian Palmes MP
*Lieutenant General Francis Palmes
Lieutenant-General Francis Palmes MP ( ...
(Officer of the Academic Palms) in 1986. He was promoted to Officier de la
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
(Officer of the Legion of Honor) in 2007, becoming only the tenth New Zealander to hold this level of the order and the third New Zealander to be promoted to the superior rank of Officer after
Lieutenant Colonel James Waddell
James Waddell (11 October 1873 – 18 February 1954) was one of New Zealand's most highly decorated soldiers of the First World War. Waddell was received in the French Legion of Honour and promoted twice. He was also awarded the French Croix de G ...
and
Nancy Wake.
Massey University awarded Dunmore an
honorary DLitt degree in 2006.
Fellow Pacific scholars honoured him with a
Festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
:
The Dunmore Medal for research into French achievements and development in the Pacific is named after him.
[Award of the Dunmore Medal ]
See also
List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur
List of Foreign recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Books
This list of books by Dunmore is representative but by no means complete. He has also written many articles, book chapters, reviews, plays and other items. A list of his scholarly writings to 2005 is included in ''Pacific Journeys'' at pp. 15–19.
Biographies
*
*
* Published also by ABC Books, Sydney, Australia.
* Published also by ABC Books, Sydney, Australia &
University of Alaska Press, 2007,
*
* Translation of ''Pacific Explorer''.
*
*
Translated and edited journals of explorers
*
*
*
*
Other historical works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Fiction
"Jason Calder" is a pseudonym for John Dunmore.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Other
* Also published by the
Australian National Maritime Museum.
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Dunmore Press('' the site still exists and is being updated'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunmore, John
1923 births
Living people
People from Trouville-sur-Mer
Alumni of the University of London
Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Academic staff of the Massey University
New Zealand biographers
Male biographers
New Zealand crime fiction writers
20th-century New Zealand historians
New Zealand male novelists
Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
New Zealand recipients of the Légion d'honneur
Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Victoria University of Wellington alumni
20th-century New Zealand novelists
20th-century biographers
20th-century New Zealand male writers
New Zealand justices of the peace
21st-century New Zealand historians