Reconstructing James Bertram

Seminar Series: “How to write about a life: current (auto)biography and memoir in Aotearoa New Zealand”

Presenter: Chris Lipscombe

In his book Dance of the Peacocks (Vintage, 2003), James MacNeish tells the story of five Rhodes scholars—James Bertram, John Mulgan, Dan Davin, Geoffrey Cox, and Ian Milner—and how James (commonly known as Jim) was the only one who returned to New Zealand. It wasn’t all roses for Jim on his return.

After reading Jim’s memoir Capes of China Slide Away (AUP, 1993), I found myself questioning his motivations for going to China and then giving away China for a career in academia. I wanted to know more about Jim’s search for who he was, what was important to him. I thought, “there’s a book in here.”

So I decided to write it.  One year on and many volumes of papers and correspondence later, I have a much better appreciation of the task involved in piecing together a life. I look forward to sharing some of the things I’ve discovered about Jim and some of the lessons I’ve learned.

As a freshly minted history graduate Chris worked as a research assistant for an American university professor, interviewing people in New Zealand and Australia who had met Paul Robeson during his Australasian tour in 1960. His previous writing experience includes co-authoring a book on early development of the Internet in New Zealand for Reed Publishing and contributing to a history of the Wellington Media Collective published by Victoria University Press.

Chris has tertiary qualifications in history, business and international relations and since 2025 has been a visiting scholar at the Stout Research Centre, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.