James Belich (historian)

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James Belich, 2008

Professor James Belich ONZM (born 1956) is a New Zealand historian, known for his work on the New Zealand Wars.

Of Yugoslav descent, he was born in Wellington in 1956, the son of Sir James Belich, who later became the Labour Mayor of Wellington.

He gained an M.A. in history at Victoria University before travelling to Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship to complete his D.Phil. He lectured at Victoria University for several years before moving to the University of Auckland, where he is currently a Professor.

The New Zealand Wars (1987) was based on his DPhil thesis, and won the international Trevor Reese Memorial Prize. It was later turned into a major documentary series for Television New Zealand.

'I Shall Not Die A Virgin': Titokowaru's War (1990), based on his MA thesis, was also highly praised, winning the Adam Award for New Zealand literature.

Belich has written a two volume work A History of the New Zealanders, consisting of Making Peoples (1996) and Paradise Reforged (2001).

Belich was made and Officer of New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours List for service to historic research.