Settlers' Creek

by Carl Nixon

Box Saxton just wants to bury his teenage stepson's body in the churchyard near the farm where Box grew up. What happens, though, when the boy's biological father, a Maori leader, unexpectedly turns up in the days before the funeral and forcibly takes the boy's body? According to Maori custom the boy must be buried in the tribe's ancestral cemetery at the small coastal town of Kaipuna. According to the law there is very little Box can do. With no plan and little hope, Box gets in his old truck and drives north, desperate and heartbroken.

Settlers'' Creek explores the claims of both indigenous people and more recent settlers to have a spiritual link to the land.

(From Publisher).

Carl Nixon is a short-story writer, novelist and playwright. His first book, Fish 'n' Chip Shop Song and other stories went to number one on the New Zealand bestselling fiction list and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best First Book. His debut novel Rocking Horse Road saw him described as 'a major talent' by North & South and was long-listed for the Dublin IMPAC Awards 2009. His writing for theatre includes The Birthday Boy and The Raft.

Settler's Creek examines an issue at the heart of relations between the indigenous people of New Zealand and more recent settlers, in a way that informs thinking. It is skilfully handled and opens minds.