Barry Brailsford, MBE, beloved New Zealand author and storyteller, is a visionary who opens doors for our individual and collective journeys. He guides us to discover the magic within our personal story, and shares ways to walk our story each day in the power of enduring wisdom.

As an archaeologist, historian, and novelist, he has authored many books, including Song of Waitaha, Song of the Stone, The Chronicles of the Stone (5 vols), and Wisdom of the Four Winds. He is available as an inspiring speaker and storyteller for your gathering, conference, or special event. For futher details, please see www.stoneprint.co.nz

Barry says his love of the land, and the mystery of the past, is his birthright. Born in Mawhera, the ancient anchorage of the great navigator and stone worker Poutini, and nurtured by the wild coastlines and forested mountains of Westland, New Zealand, he knew a childhood where the spirit soared.

He graduated MA (Hons) from Canterbury University, was a member of the NZ Archaeology Association Council and a Principal Lecturer at the Christchurch College of Education. In 1990 he was awarded an MBE for his contribution to education and Maori scholarship.

In 1988 Barry was taken into the realms of the ancient and sacred knowledge when the elders of the oldest of the tribes of Aotearoa asked him to tell their story and gift their lore to the world.

This was an unprecedented event in the history of Maori, an amazing moment in the relationship of the indigenous people and the nation. It was highly significant on two counts:

First, the sacred knowledge they proposed to share had never before been revealed outside the closed doors of the Whare Wananga, the inner school of learning.

Second, they had asked a Pakeha, a white person, and a teacher within the academic world, to become the custodian of their greatest treasure.

When asked about his own ancestry, he smiles and says, "In the Derbyshire part of the Doomsday book of 1086, in the fortieth entry, you will find 'Elfin of Brailsford.' I am a dancing leprechaun."