John Dunmore

File:John Dunmore 1977.jpg

Dunmore in 1977

John Dunmore CNZM JP (6 August 1923 – 1 May 2023) was a French-born New Zealand academic, historian, author, playwright, and publisher.

Biography

Dunmore was born in Trouville-sur-Mer, France, on 6 August 1923. He lived in Jersey under German occupation during World War II, and then in England, where he received a BA from the University of London. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1950. He completed a PhD under historian J. C. Beaglehole at Victoria University of Wellington in 1962, studying the French contribution to the exploration of the Pacific Ocean in the 18th century. He was professor of French, head of the Department of Modern Languages, and dean of Humanities at Massey University, from which he retired in 1985.

Dunmore's main field of history was the exploration of the Pacific, particularly by French navigators. He wrote two major biographies of La Pérouse, and translated and edited his journals (which he rediscovered after they had been misfiled in the French National Archives). In addition, he wrote biographies and edited the journals of both de Surville and of Bougainville. His biography of de Surville, The fateful voyage of the St. Jean Baptiste, won the Wattie Book of the Year award in 1970.

His work was highly regarded by scholars as well as by the public:

• "John Dunmore has done more than anyone to bring our attention to the achievements of eighteenth and nineteenth century French explorers of the Pacific"
• "cette étonnante biographie, élégamment écrite (this stunning and elegantly written biography (of Bougainville))"
• "The succinct and perceptive evaluation of the voyages and the Anglo-French rivalry is of great use"

Dunmore wrote a variety of other books, including a series of thrillers under the pseudonym "Jason Calder". He produced a book of 18th-century recipes, Mrs Cook's book of recipes for mariners in distant seas. Some of the recipes were derived from the logs of explorers of the day. He also wrote plays, held office in the Playwrights Association of New Zealand, and wrote a history of the association.

In his capacity as professor of French, Dunmore was president of the New Zealand Federation des Alliances Francaises, a post he held for twenty years.

Dunmore established two separate publishing firms, the Dunmore Press (1969–1984) and Heritage Press (1985–2004). The Dunmore Press, a substantial New Zealand publisher of academic books, eventually became part of the Thomson publishing group, in 2004.

Dunmore died on 1 May 2023, at the age of 99.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Dunmore was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature and historical research.

The French Government appointed Dunmore as a Chevalier dans la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor) in 1976, and an Officier dans l'Ordre des Palmes académiques (Officer of the Academic Palms) in 1986. He was promoted to Officier de la Légion d'honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honor) in 2007, becoming only the tenth New Zealander to hold this level of the order and the third New Zealander to be promoted to the superior rank of Officer after Lieutenant Colonel James Waddell and Nancy Wake.

Massey University awarded Dunmore an honorary DLitt degree in 2006. Fellow Pacific scholars honoured him with a Festschrift:

The Dunmore Medal for research into French achievements and development in the Pacific is named after him.

File:New Zealand Order of Merit ribbon.svg	Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (New Zealand) 2001
File:New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal ribbon.png	New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal (New Zealand) 1990
File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg	Officier de la Légion d'Honneur (France) 2007
File:Palmes academiques Officier ribbon.svg	Officier des Palmes académiques (France) 1986

Books

This list of books by Dunmore is representative but by no means complete. He also wrote many articles, book chapters, reviews, plays and other items. A list of his scholarly writings to 2005 is included in Pacific Journeys at pp. 15–19.

Biographies

• Published also by ABC Books, Sydney, Australia.
• Published also by ABC Books, Sydney, Australia & University of Alaska Press, 2007,
• Translation of Pacific Explorer.

Fiction

"Jason Calder" is a pseudonym for John Dunmore.

Other

• Also published by the Australian National Maritime Museum.

See also

• List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur
• List of Foreign recipients of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques

External links

• Dunmore Press (As of March 2023 the site still exists and is being updated)