The author, the exhibitions officer at the Wellington Maritime Museum since 1986, set out to give these individuals their much deserved place in the nation's heritage. This first volume of the resulting trilogy of books, among other episodes from the story, recounts the early fishermen of Island Bay, blue cod and cray fishing in the Chatham Islands, fishing vessels at war, and the story of Ivan Tally, the founder of Tally's Fisheries. The text is complemented by over 100 photographs.