Scorpio Books

Scorpio Books
Established1976
TypeBookstore
Websitescorpiobooks.co.nz

Scorpio Books is an independent bookstore in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1976 by David Cameron, who changed the name of Pisces Books to match his and his wife Jane's astrological sign. Scorpio Books is one of the longest-running independent bookstores in New Zealand.

History

David Cameron, founder of Scorpio Books, was born in Roslyn, Dunedin in 1948.[1] An avid reader, he started an after-school job at the University Book Shop a few weeks before his 17th birthday, working under manager John Griffin.[2] He left school at 1965 to work there full time.[3] In 1974, when he had risen to acting manager of the shop at the age of 24, he moved to Christchurch and worked for the University Book Shop at the University of Canterbury ordering textbooks.[3] As a young man who had not been in business before, and associated with a university, Cameron had difficulty finding premises for his own bookstore, with one landlord assuming his customers would be prone to "peeing in the doorway".[4] After a year, his wife Jane heard from her hairdresser that the small specialist bookstore Pisces Bookshop was for sale, and in 1975 Cameron bought it.[3]

Pisces Bookshop was near the university's Ilam campus, at 203 Fendalton Road on the corner of Clyde Road. It was started by Val Minifie, who had worked for three years for the counterculture bookseller and publisher Watkins Books and returned to New Zealand in the early 1970s. She opened Pisces in October 1972 with her husband, naming it after her astrological birth sign.[5] The shop opened in the afternoons five days a week and stocked mostly New Age, occult, and spiritualist literature—"from Acupuncture to Zen".[2][6] After having her second child Minifie sold the business to Cameron and his wife and became a book distributor.[7]

David Cameron, founder

In 1979 Cameron moved the bookshop to Phoenix House, on the corner of Oxford Terrace and Hereford Street, and renamed it Scorpio Books after his and his wife's astrological sign.[7] It opened on that site on Monday 12 February 1979.[8] The stock was unconventional, encompassing Eastern religion, tarot, palmistry, UFOs, Montessori education, organic gardening, self-sufficiency, reincarnation, dreams, and yoga.[7] A noticeboard in the shop advertised spiritual and religious meetings, astrology courses, and discussion groups.[9]

Cameron was opposed to censorship, and Scorpio Books stocked controversial publications, including a selection of books on queer topics well before New Zealand's homosexual law reform decriminalised gay sex in 1986. Several titles on cannabis cultivation were reported by an undercover police officer, and the books were eventually banned by the Indecent Publications Tribunal, although Scorpio was not prosecuted for selling them.[2] Another book on euthanasia was banned by the Tribunal in 1992, and cleared for sale after nine months; Scorpio was the only bookstore to immediately stock copies.[10] It also stocked Madonna's book Sex in 1992 when chain bookstores refused.[11]

In 1988 Scorpio became the first New Zealand bookstore to move from a card catalogue and computerise its inventory, which required a two-hour nightly backup onto 30 floppy disks.[4]

Writer and journalist Steve Braunias in 2022 described Scorpio as "just about the classiest bookstore in either island".[12] In 2026 Scorpio Books celebrated its 50th anniversary, with David Cameron thought to be New Zealand’s longest-serving independent bookshop owner still actively working.[2][4]

Premises

Scorpio was the first business to open in Phoenix House, originally in 90 m² of floor space, twice the area of Pisces Books, and gradually expanding into neighbouring premises.[9] The move to a larger space enabled an increase of less esoteric stock, including science fiction. Over half the books sold were imported paperbacks, mostly from the United States, rather than hardbacks printed in New Zealand or Britain—a novelty at the time.[9]

Scorpio Books remained in Phoenix House for 18 years, but a bidding war with the corporate landlord forced them to move on 13 Jan 1997 to new premises nearby at 79 Hereford Street,[13] where they remained until the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.[3] The building was rendered unsafe by the earthquake, and staff were not able to re-enter until 11 May; they packed up 18,000 books, some damaged by damp and dust, and moved them to a new store at 113 Riccarton Road shop, near Westfield Mall.[14][15] When the Re:START container mall was set up, Scorpio was invited to open a second shop there, which it maintained from October 2011 until 2016. It reopened on Friday 19 February 2016 in Five Lanes in the new BNZ Centre at 120 Hereford Street; it was one of the first tenants, in premised six times the size of those in the container mall, chosen because they faced south and protected the books from sunlight.[16] Scorpio consolidated its Riccarton shop into the BNZ Centre premises in March 2017.[17]

Cameron's partner Jo Hewitson, who left a career in early childhood education to become co-owner, built the main store shelving from recycled earthquake timber from the old Odeon Theatre and a demolished coolstore.[4][16] In its Five Lanes site Scorpio established three separate shops, eventually employing 31 people: as well as its main location and an outlet selling travel and natural history books (Scorpio Books Next Door), in September 2021 it opened the children's bookshop Telling Tales.[4][17]

  • BNZ Centre stores
  • Main store
    Main store
  • Scorpio Books Next Door
    Scorpio Books Next Door
  • Telling Tales
    Telling Tales

References

  1. ^ Darling, Stan (11 June 2001). "Scorpio rising". The Press. pp. 24, 23.
  2. ^ a b c d "Scorpio Books celebrates 50 years of fearless bookselling". Booksellers NZ. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d "Meet David Cameron of Scorpio Books in Christchurch". Kete Books. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e Meakin, Victoria (23 May 2026). "Christchurch institution Scorpio Books celebrates 50 years". The Press. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  5. ^ "Fine catch at Pisces". The Press. 8 December 1977. p. 12 – via Papers Past.
  6. ^ "Advertisements Column 4". The Press. 22 February 1975. p. 47 – via Papers Past.
  7. ^ a b c "Pisces Bookshop changes over". The Press. 14 February 1979. p. 10 – via Papers Past.
  8. ^ "Advertisements Column 1". The Press. 14 February 1979. p. 10 – via Papers Past.
  9. ^ a b c "Imported paperbacks aim to stimulate consciousness". The Press. 14 February 1979. p. 10 – via Papers Past.
  10. ^ "Tribunal clears euthanasia book after 9 months". The Press. 1 August 1992. p. 2 – via Papers Past.
  11. ^ "Book too hot for some to handle". The Press. 10 October 1992. p. 1 – via Papers Past.
  12. ^ Braunias, Steve (20 October 2022). "Best-selling books at Labour Weekend". Newsroom. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  13. ^ "Scorpio Books move". The Press. 11 January 1997. p. 2.
  14. ^ Moyle, Wayne (13 May 2011). "Scorpio Books". The Press. p. A15.
  15. ^ Gates, Charlie (12 May 2011). "Scorpio gets books out of CBD red zone". The Press. p. A5.
  16. ^ a b McDonald, Liz (18 February 2016). "Scorpio Books to open new city shop Friday morning". Stuff. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  17. ^ a b "Information and About Us". Scorpio Books. Retrieved 29 May 2026.

Further reading

  • Ussher, Jane; Moreira, Jemma; Coddington, Deborah (2024). Bold Types: indie bookstores of Aotearoa New Zealand. Karāpiro: Ugly Hill Press. ISBN 978-1-738-58363-8.
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