Even if you aren’t familiar with Bernard Freyberg’s story, most New Zealanders will recongise the name. Streets, swimming pools, sports awards, buildings are all named after him – if I recall correctly a house at a primary school I attended was named after him too, a popular choice. […]
When my copy of Matthew Wright’s expanded and updated edition of ‘Living on Shaky Ground: The science and story behind New Zealand’s earthquakes’ arrived I was looking forward to learning about the latest advances in seismology; slow-slip earthquakes, the complex multi-fault Kaikōura quake and how seismic events previously […]
The 28th (Māori) Battalion is one of New Zealand’s most well-known military units to have served during the Second World War. Their heroism on battlefields in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy is the stuff of legends. Sadly there are only a couple of veterans from this unit […]
This week marked one hundred and seventy-nine years since New Zealand’s foundational document was signed on Busby’s lawn at Waitangi. It was peddled by a frail Royal Navy officer, influenced and interpreted by other Europeans, each with their own agendas, and the signatories also had their own individual […]
I’ve recently enjoyed reading the latest New Zealand history book to hit the shelves, Matthew Wright’s ‘Bateman Illustrated History of New Zealand’. You should grab it too! Here is why… In the twenty-first century information on topics like history is more accessible than ever before but what is […]
