Seventy-five years ago the largest seaborne invasion in history was underway in Normandy, France. In the early hours of the morning, airbourne troops landed behind enemy lines and fought their way to strategic objectives and then just before dawn an opening bombardment roared along the coast – followed […]
This is the story behind a remarkable collection of photographs that remained hidden for over a century. Glass plate negatives with forgotten scenes of everyday life in Edwardian New Zealand. It is also the story of my personal quest to discover who was behind the lens – the […]
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 […]
It’s only been a few weeks since I shared a postcard from my collection but I felt that this one was too important not to share as well. The image on the front is unremarkable, so much so I haven’t bothered to scan it, a view of tree […]
I was browsing through my First World War postcard collection the other day and was prompted to share this one when I noticed the date. The message on the back of this card was written exactly one hundred years ago – on 18 October 1918. It gives us […]
2 August 1918 – This isn’t an average Friday afternoon. Workers down their tools and diners abandon their lunch to rush to the waterfront and see what all the fuss is about. Motorists and cyclists stop along the Hutt Road. There is a commotion in the harbour – […]
Happy New Year! Anniversaries give us a chance to reflect and remember how our yesterday shaped our today. Here are some historical anniversaries to watch out for this year – as usual I’ve included a mix of local and international, some well-known and others that are likely to […]
12 October 1917 – Machine guns poked over the parapets and bayonets were at the ready. Soldiers in khaki approached tentatively, but this wasn’t a battlefield – it was a military-themed ballroom. This is the little-known story of a grand ball that was held in Wellington at the […]
It isn’t often that one gets the opportunity to solve a secret message written over a century ago. I’ve been collecting vintage postcards for more than twenty years and this is the only one I’ve personally come across that has a message on the back actually written in […]
These previously unpublished photographs of the Home Guard offer a rare candid view of an often-overlooked part of New Zealand’s experience during the Second World War. Far from being a safe sideshow, with limited resources these men bravely faced a genuine threat and were prepared to defend their […]
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