David Bateman Ltd

The New Zealand book industry was sad to learn of the death of David Laurance Bateman, who died on December 23 in Auckland of complications following a major stroke. David was the chairman and founder of publishers David Bateman Ltd, and a life member of the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ).

Born in Plymouth, UK, 80 years ago, David did his National Service after leaving Tippins Grammar and then spent time in Kenya and Egypt before joining Collins Publishers on returning home. He married Janet in August 1954.

Working for Collins, David was in Johannesburg for three years and seven in Southern Rhodesia (as it was at that time.)

Booksellers NZ pay respects to David Bateman who passed away this week.  David was the founder of the publishing company that bears his name, David Bateman Ltd.   David identified the requirement for New Zealand stories and alongside publishing houses such as Reeds and Whitcombe and Tombs, published strong titles that reflected our desire to read and learn about our history and culture.  David also led the export drive for New Zealand titles through the 1970's and 80's.  Present at many book fairs around the  world, David was a pioneer for the publishing trade exporting many of our titles to overseas markets. 

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