First, a quick note to my regular readers – thanks so much for all your support and encouragement over the past year. I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season and are ready to make the most of 2014. To get things started here is a short list […]
As a collector of interesting old things it is natural that Christmas related items frequently fall into my hands. I often find examples that fit well in my collections of maritime, military and New Zealand historical ephemera, photos and postcards. This Christmas postcard happens to also be from […]
It is that silly time of year again, so I thought I’d do my bit to spread a little Christmas cheer courtesy of some vintage postcards from my collection. I’ve uploaded these images at a higher resolution than usual on the off-chance that anyone wants to use them […]
The centenary of the First World War is rapidly approaching and it is exciting to see the many different ways that the ‘war to end all wars’ will be remembered. Museum exhibitions, memorials, books, television shows, digitization projects, social media campaigns and much more. Importantly, many of these […]
Today marks an important date in New Zealand history. One hundred and fifty years ago one of the bloodiest battles of the New Zealand Wars took place between British troops and Māori warriors at their defensive earthworks at Rangiriri. By the time the battle was over early the […]
On 3 December, 1917 the men of the 1st Canterbury and 1st Otago battalions assembled along the front line opposite a German strongpoint that was backed with pillboxes, machine-guns, trenches; and at the heart of the position, the ruins of Polderhoek Chateau. At midday the whistles blew and […]
It is hard to believe that New Zealand’s longest river was once patrolled by naval vessels equipped with cutting edge weaponry – but that is exactly what happened one hundred and fifty years ago. It was the spring of 1863 and the British invasion of the Waikato had […]
