Matthew Wright was born and bred in Napier and is an internationally published and multi-award-winning historian with over 40 years professional experience in the field. He has been extensively published and has written more than 60 books along with many academic papers, feature articles and other material. He holds multiple post-graduate degrees in history and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society at University College, London, on merit of his scholarship at global level. His books have been used as university texts, and his general history of New Zealand recently entered its third edition after 20 years in print.