> Skip to content
Dick Scott
Photo Credit: Photo: Dick Scott, CC-BY-SA-4.0


Dick Scott (1923-2020) was an historian and journalist whose writing 'uncovered the darker side of colonialism and the treatment of Maori' (NZ Herald). Ask That Mountain, his iconic work correcting the record of events at Parihaka, was published in 1975, and was later described by Dr Jock Phillips as 'the moment when the scales fell from the eyes and we [...] began to see Maori and New Zealand history afresh'. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark called Ask That Mountain 'one of New Zealand's most influential books'. Scott became an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit in 2002, and in 2007 received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement (Non-fiction). He received an Honorary Doctorate from Massey University in 2016.

Books by Dick Scott

Ask That Mountain: The Story of Parihaka

A fearless and ground-breaking investigation of the government-sanctioned land grab at Parihaka, and one of New Zealand's most influential, must-read histories.

Read more