William Hosking Oliver (14 May 1925 – 16 September 2015), commonly known as W. H. Oliver but also known as Bill Oliver, was an eminent New Zealand historian and a poet. From 1983, Oliver led the development of the ''

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online ...

''.

Life

Oliver was born in

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has ...

in 1925 to Ethel Amelia Oliver and her husband, William Henry Oliver, both Cornish immigrants. His father was a member of the Labour Party and stood in the electorate in the , and the electorate in . During his youth, the family moved to Dannevirke, where he received his schooling at Dannevirke High School. Upon leaving school at 18, he moved to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

where he studied 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 kno ...

(MA), followed by three years of lecturing at that institution. He married Dorothy Nielsen, whom he had met at a Christian conference in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, and had five sons and one daughter with her. In 1951, the Olivers moved to the United Kingdom, where he completed a PhD at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1953. They returned to New Zealand and he lectured at University of Canterbury and Victoria, before becoming inaugural professor of history at Massey University in 1965, where he later served as Dean of Humanities. He was made emeritus professor on leaving Massey in 1983 to become general editor of the ''

'' (DNZB). He wrote extensively on New Zealand history and published several volumes of poetry. In the 1990 New Year Honours, he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, for services to historical research, and also in 1990 he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, and an honorary

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

from Victoria University of Wellington in recognition of his services to history. In 2008, he was honoured in the

Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement is a New Zealand literary award established in 2003 by the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand), the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government. Each ...

in the non-fiction genre. Oliver died in

on 16 September 2015. His wife had died of pancreatic cancer during the time that he worked on the DNZB.

Works

History and biography

* 1954: ''Organizations and ideas behind the efforts to achieve a general union of the working classes in the early 1830's''

PhD thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

, Faculty of Social Studies,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. * 1960: ''The Story of New Zealand'', London: Faber * 1960: ''Poetry in New Zealand'', Wellington: School Publications * 1964: ''Problems and prospects of conservatism in New Zealand'', Wellington: New Zealand National Party * 1968: ''Further steps towards a welfare state since 1935'', Auckland: Heinemann Educational Books * 1971: ''Challenge and response: a study of the development of the Gisborne East Coast region'', Gisborne: East Coast Development Research Association * 1978: ''Prophets and Millennialists'', Auckland: Auckland University Press * 1981: ''The Oxford History of New Zealand'', co-edited with Bridget Williams, Wellington: Oxford University Press * 1983: '' James K. Baxter: A Portrait'', Wellington: Port Nicholson Press. . * 1990: ''

, volume one, 1769–1869'', (ed.), Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Department of Internal Affairs * 1991: ''Claims to the Waitangi Tribunal'', Wellington: Waitangi Tribunal * 1996: ''The certainty of doubt: tributes to Peter Munz'', (co-edited with Miles Fairburn), Wellington: Victoria University Press * 1997: ''The social and economic situation of Hauraki Maori after colonisation'', Paeroa: Hauraki Maori Trust Board * 2002: ''Looking for the Phoenix: A Memoir'', Wellington: Bridget Williams Books

Poetry

Books of poetry: *

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

: ''Fire Without Phoenix: Poems 1946–1954'', Christchurch: Caxton Press * 1980: ''Out of Season: Poems'', Wellington; New York: Oxford University Press * 1982: ''Poor Richard: Poems'', Wellington: Port Nicholson Press *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

: ''Bodily Presence: Words, Paintings'', co-author: Anne Munz; Wellington: BlackBerry Press * 2005: ''Selected Poems'', Wellington: Victoria University Press

References

External links

The Phoenix Project
– collected poetic works
Obituary: William Hosking Oliver 1925–2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, W.H. 1925 births 2015 deaths People from Feilding People educated at Dannevirke High School Massey University faculty 20th-century New Zealand historians New Zealand poets New Zealand male poets University of Canterbury faculty Victoria University of Wellington faculty New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand Victoria University of Wellington alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford