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NEW ZEALAND IS DIFFERENT: CHEMICAL MILESTONES IN NEW ZEALAND HISTORY, edited by Denis Hogan & Bryce Williamson; Clerestory Press, Christchurch, 1999; pp 308, $50.00

Reviewed by Dr Michael Winter

This fascinating book is written for two audiences. One consists of general readers interested in the history of applied chemistry in New Zealand. The second group is more interested in the technical details involved in the chemical processes which have contributed to the development of New Zealand.

The book caters for both audiences by relegating much of the technical detail to "information boxes" which support the historical text. The 26 contributions that make up the substance of the book are written by 30 different authors, each an expert in his or her field. The articles are well complemented by diagrams and photographs.

The book is dedicated to the late John Pollard, who died in June 1999, as the project was nearing completion. Pollard's article New Zealand is Different sets the scene by outlining some of the ways in which the New Zealand geography, geology, climate and resources differ from those found elsewhere in the world. These differences produce their own unique technical challenges which cannot always be solved by applying solutions which have been developed overseas. Pollard cites many examples to illustrate this point -- from the collapse of the Christchurch Gas Company's No 6 gasholder during a storm in 1975, to the modification of the Stelco-Lurgi steelmaking process to suit New Zealand ironsands.

Pollard's article is followed by essays by Denis Hogan and Gordon Leary. These describe the role of government research institutions in New Zealand, and the fate of some promising research initiatives involving the DSIR. Leary's article briefly traces the development of 10 such promising ideas. Only four of them produced a net financial return, one was abandoned and six others are in abeyance.

There are many potential opportunities for New Zealand technology in a global economy, but profiting from these opportunities is severely limited by the lack of investment in local innovation. Leary, himself a scientific migrant to Canada after the dissolution of the DSIR, also points out the problems that our country has both in retaining and competing for the brains needed to create novel products and processes.

The remaining 23 contributions deal with the land, agriculture, its products and byproducts, natural products and minerals. Every article is a mine of historical, biographical and technical detail. I especially appreciated the chapters by Norman Clare and Owen Clinton. Clare's article describes the chemical detective work involved in solving the enigma of bush sickness in cattle and sheep, while Clinton's chapter details the development of atomic absorption spectroscopy and its application to trace element analysis.

Ian Miller's article Towards a Seaweed Industry is an intriguing discussion of the potential of industries based on seaweed. Seaweed products are valuable food additives. They are to be found as thickeners in a range of foods, including instant desserts. Much higher value seaweed products include the specialised derivatives of seaweed polymers, such as agarose, which are indispensable in biochemical and genetic research. Agarose currently fetches about $US200 per kilogram. One of its uses is in gel electrophoresis, a central component in the technique of DNA fingerprinting.

In a brief review such as this, it is impossible to do full justice to this book. It is a volume that will be an invaluable reference work for those interested in the history of New Zealand innovations and industries. It is a good complement to the more technically focused Chemical Processes in New Zealand compiled by John Packer and collaborators and published in 1998.

New Zealand is Different should also be a key resource for chemical educators in this country. Chemistry teachers' hearts sink in response to the perennial student query "What's the point of learning all this stuff?". The book provides a wide range of practical examples to demonstrate that "all this stuff" is vitally important to New Zealand's prosperity.

If you experience difficulty locating this book, you can contact the publishers at PO Box 21-120, Christchurch, or email young.writers@xtra.co.nz