The tale of St John

BY SARAH MOYES

Graeme Hunt loves history.

In fact he loves it so much, his career is fuelled by what he can find out about the past.

He then translates the information into something bright, interesting and easy to read.

Mr Hunt's 10th book First to Care, an account of the St John emergency service in New Zealand, was launched last month.

It covers 125 years of the Order of St John from 1885 to 2010.

Mr Hunt spent two years compiling the book with images and stories about the not-for-profit organisation's colourful history.

"St John has a great history. I really enjoyed it.

"History has to be exciting, with a bit of an edge to it," he says.

He spent a lot of time and effort researching museums and archives within New Zealand and from around the world.

At first he found St John hard to understand because it is such a complex organisation.

He visited the St John archives every week, and by the end he felt as if he was part of the unique and vital service.

"I get a real buzz out of it. I get to recons-
truct people's lives."

The book goes right back to when St John was founded in New Zealand.

Colour photos and images are displayed throughout the book, making it a lot more interesting than your average history book.

"I have told the truth as I see it," Mr Hunt says.

Mr Hunt is an author and journalist who specialises in New Zealand business, history and politics.

First to Care was launched on October 23 in Christchurch, just metres away from where St John first started in New Zealand.

- © Fairfax NZ News