'Luca Antara is a book-lover's book, a graceful and mesmerizing blend of history, autobiography, travel and romance.' - JM CoetzeePart memoir, travelogue, history and part detective story, Luca Antara is a rich tapestry of history and the present. It parallels the life of the author, an émigré to Sydney, and the life of an historical figure, António da Nova, the servant of a Portuguese explorer who in the 1600s sends him to find out more about Luca Antara (now Australia).New to Sydney, Martin Edmond finds himself impoverished and displaced. He earns money as a taxi driver but spends his spare time frequenting second hand bookshops trying to learn more about the history of Australia and the wider region. The people Edmond encounters in his taxi and in his search for rare books are varied and strange, offering the reader a voyeuristic glimpse into Sydney's sub-culture.Sent to discover more about Luca Antara, António da Nova's crew mutiny and dump him on the West Australian coast. He is found by Aborigines, who take him on an epic walk across northern Australia. Eventually he manages to return to his master in Portugal who awaits news of his explorations.Edmond's reading centres upon da Nova, but each book he reads leads to another and the subject becomes broader and increasingly fascinating. The lives of the two men and the strange customs and unique social mores of each man's culture and time intertwine throughout the book, ending with Edmond literally walking in the footsteps of da Nova across northern Australia.

This lively and compelling story of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery begins before Henry Sarjeant had even dreamed of a ‘ fine art gallery’ for the burgeoning small town of Whanganui.It reveals the Sarjeant Gallery’ s early years and its development as a collecting and exhibiting institution that is now recognised as one of New Zealand’ s finest.Generously illustrated with many works from the Sarjeant’ s rich, varied and important collection, this book places the gallery at the heart of the story of Whanganui and marks its triumphal reopening in 2024.

'Luca Antara is a book-lover's book, a graceful and mesmerizing blend of history, autobiography, travel and romance.' - JM CoetzeePart memoir, travelogue, history and part detective story, Luca Antara is a rich tapestry of history and the present. It parallels the life of the author, an émigré to Sydney, and the life of an historical figure, António da Nova, the servant of a Portuguese explorer who in the 1600s sends him to find out more about Luca Antara (now Australia).New to Sydney, Martin Edmond finds himself impoverished and displaced. He earns money as a taxi driver but spends his spare time frequenting second hand bookshops trying to learn more about the history of Australia and the wider region. The people Edmond encounters in his taxi and in his search for rare books are varied and strange, offering the reader a voyeuristic glimpse into Sydney's sub-culture.Sent to discover more about Luca Antara, António da Nova's crew mutiny and dump him on the West Australian coast. He is found by Aborigines, who take him on an epic walk across northern Australia. Eventually he manages to return to his master in Portugal who awaits news of his explorations.Edmond's reading centres upon da Nova, but each book he reads leads to another and the subject becomes broader and increasingly fascinating. The lives of the two men and the strange customs and unique social mores of each man's culture and time intertwine throughout the book, ending with Edmond literally walking in the footsteps of da Nova across northern Australia.

This lively and compelling story of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery begins before Henry Sarjeant had even dreamed of a ‘ fine art gallery’ for the burgeoning small town of Whanganui.It reveals the Sarjeant Gallery’ s early years and its development as a collecting and exhibiting institution that is now recognised as one of New Zealand’ s finest.Generously illustrated with many works from the Sarjeant’ s rich, varied and important collection, this book places the gallery at the heart of the story of Whanganui and marks its triumphal reopening in 2024.