Project Huia - Des Hunt
The Story
In 1947 Jim and his sister Mavis see something unexpected in their backyard: a magnificent female huia – a bird considered extinct for many decades. Their first thought is to get a photograph to prove the species still exists. But that soon turns into a fight for survival when others seek to kill the bird for the value of her feathers.
Seventy years later, scientists are eager to learn the fate of that last huia. Jim, now an old man fighting cancer, has never spoken about what happened, but science needs his story to unravel the mystery of the extinct species. With the help of his grandson Logan, Jim tells his tale. However, not everyone believes him. It’s up to Logan to help his grandfather prove himself, and to continue the battle to uncover the truth – to find the remains of the last huia.
Des Hunt began writing children's adventure stories which included the things that had fascinated him all his life: science, electronic technology, NZ's unique wildlife, volcanoes, earthquakes and any other natural forces that can have disastrous consequences. The result was A Friend in Paradise2002, which has now been followed by many others. Hopefully, there are still lots more to come.
His published writing career began in 1973 with a 24 page reader on the interactions of the Earth, Moon and Sun. Several textbooks followed until in the 1990's he decided he wanted to portray science in a different way.
He began writing children's adventure stories which included the things that had fascinated him all his life: science, electronic technology, NZ's unique wildlife, volcanoes, earthquakes and other natural forces that can have disastrous consequences. The result was A Friend in Paradise2002, which has now been followed by many others. Hopefully, there are still lots more to come.