New Zealand Map 1938 Tourist Print - Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Rotorua

E. V. Paul published this scarce Map of New Zealand Showing Tourist Attractions in Wellington in 1938, a sheet that highlights the tourist activities available in the 1930s. It is a separately issued promotional map rather than part of an atlas, and its reference key gives it the feel of a sportsman's and traveler's guide. The sheet locates the Thermal Wonderland, hot and cold springs, sanatoria, railways, roads, big game fishing for king and swordfish and shark, deer and pig country, wapiti and moose, and duck and swan shooting. It is a thematic tourist map made in 1938, a year when New Zealand's Labour government was introducing its social security scheme and the country was preparing to celebrate its centennial in 1940.

A further note says that trout, quail, rabbits, hares and pheasants are universally distributed, which is a reminder of how thoroughly acclimatization societies had transformed the country's wildlife. The Thermal Wonderland is the volcanic country of the central North Island around Rotorua and Lake Taupo, famous for its geysers, mud pools and hot springs. Wapiti and moose had been released in Fiordland in the early twentieth century, and big-game anglers came to the Bay of Islands for marlin and swordfish. The railways and roads linked these places to the main cities, and sanatoria offered cures at the springs. The key turns the map into a shopping list for a visitor.

An angler, a deer stalker, a honeymooner or anyone who has soaked in the Rotorua springs will find a distinctive gift here, and it also suits a retirement present for a New Zealander. TheMapVault's other New Zealand maps are earlier and more formal: Stanford's 1896 sheet is colored by counties, Hunt and Eaton's 1893 map shows the numbered counties, and Tallis's 1851 sheet is decorative. Paul's 1938 sheet is the only one drawn for the visitor, with its list of fishing, shooting and hot springs. Like every print in the collection, it ships unframed and is available in a full range of sizes, from a compact desk piece to a large-format statement print.