History has repeatedly exposed the dangers of blind conformity, to which former attorney-general and Archibald Baxter Memorial trustee Chris Finlayson asks: where are the dissenters of today? There are many things I admire about Archibald Baxter but what I admire most of all was that he had the courage to dissent. Dissent is what I … Read more
Nelson writer and photographer Ian Trafford on the fraught origins of his new book, Into the Unknown. Alick survived World War I by the skin of his teeth, and thus so did his illicit diaries, and now my book. I called my grandfather Papa as a child, and by the time I was born into … Read more
To stamp out rampant rumours, we must turn to fearless and fastidious scholarship – and writers, says Jared Davidson. On a spring morning in March 1906, people making their way to work along Oxford Street in central London were alarmed to see well-built men wearing Prussian army uniforms prowling up and down the pavement. From … Read more
The WW100 centenary programme was exceedingly effective at raising awareness of New Zealand’s involvement in the First World War. But did it leave any lasting impression? At the end of April the commemorative body WW100 released its final report on New Zealand’s First World War centenary programme. Alongside the report were the results of a … Read more
As New Zealand remembers those lives lost in 20-century wars, New Zealand actor Michael Hurst reflects upon wars dating back millennia, and the role of storytelling in remembrance and resistance. Tomorrow, I begin a five day-intensive rehearsal process for An Iliad by Lisa Petersen and Denis O’Hare. I performed it a year ago in Dunedin and … Read more
One hundred years to the day from the end of WWI, Sir Peter Jackson has released They Shall Not Grow Old, a groundbreaking restoration of footage from The Great War. “The first world war is still being fought,” says Sir Peter Jackson, 100 years to the day since the closing shots on the Western Front. “It could … Read more
Today people all over the world will come together to think about World War I and those who fought in it. How could we remember better? And what can we do with remembering? An essay by Andrew Johnston 1. The driver picked me up from the station at Bailleul, a sleepy town with one of those … Read more
We take great pride in Sir Peter Jackson’s reputation as a filmmaker, but The Great War Exhibition is soaking up millions of public dollars that might have funded so much more, and not just in Wellington, writes military historian Dr Stephen Clarke. Ten years ago I drove the founding director of the new Canadian War … Read more
Two very different ANZAC commemorations took place around mid-morning at the Auckland Domain. Alex Braae went to both of them. I arrived in time for the wreath laying. There were still hundreds, if not thousands of people surrounding the cenotaph, a huge contingent on the hill in front of the looming War Memorial Museum. As … Read more
This week the All Blacks launched their ad campaign to boost the June test series with France, labelling it The Battle For The Gallaher Cup. But ‘battle’ is the wrong word for the wrong situation, writes Jamie Wall for RNZ. Dave Gallaher was the captain of the Originals, the first New Zealand rugby team to … Read more
2017 is the centennial anniversary of New Zealand’s darkest period in military history. This Anzac Day, Don Rowe looks back on 1917, a time of fleeting hopes and unprecedented human loss. While the Gallipoli campaign is rightfully remembered as both a tragedy and the birth of a national character, it’s easy to forget that almost … Read more