Articles in ‘History’

Few New Zealanders are unmoved on April 25th, ANZAC day, by the haunting sound of the lone bugle playing the Last Post and what it represents. Steeped in history and tradition it is ingrained into every Kiwi’s heart and everyone of us can share a story of what it means to us and our families. The custom dates from the 17th century or perhaps even earlier. It is believed to have…

Under a spreading chestnut-tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands. Week in, week out, from morn till night, You can hear his bellows blow; You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, With measured beat and slow, Like a sexton ringing…

In the popular sea side town of Russell in the Bay of Islands is one of the country’s most popular and historic landmarks. Nestled amongst its prominent graveyard is home to New Zealand’s oldest surviving building, Christ Church. In the 19th century, Russell, then known as Kororareka was known as a rough sea port, popular with whalers. The land on which Christ Church sits was…

“A hundred immigrants just landed have been sent here. The Government found them lodgings and give them rations . . . till they can be sent forth to their own grants of land.”[^1] These were just some of the immigrants who had recently arrived as part of the Waikato Immigration Scheme.[^2] Between October 1864 and June 1865, thirteen ships arrived in Auckland with settlers from…

‘[This] has been the busiest, gloomiest and most exciting fortnight I have ever passed. The war has suddenly left Taranaki and broken out here.’[^1] So wrote Rev Vicesimus Lush, Anglican minister, in his journal on July 19th 1863. Only a month before, he had speculated that the fighting was not expected to ‘extend beyond the Taranaki.’ With war breaking out within his parish…

Traditions at Christmas time have a long and varied history. Many are steeped in custom and religious significance and while some vary between families, their beliefs and even between countries, others are universally celebrated in a manner recognised by all. Many a house around the world is decorated for the season with a Christmas tree laden with lights, ornaments and atop with…

Christmas Parades or Santa Parades as they’re more commonly referred to are parades held worldwide to celebrate the official opening of Christmas season with the arrival of Santa Claus. Typically, these parades include themed floats, dancing, marching groups and bands with accompanying Christmas songs. As moving floats there is usually a starting point as the parade moves…

Sitting high on a hill in the Awhitu Peninsula overlooking its dramatic backdrop of farmland, Lake Pokorua and the Tasman sea sits an iconic building dubbed by some as New Zealand’s most photogenic church. Kohekohe Church was designed in 1886 by Scottish emigrant, Captain Sir John Makgill, the founder of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Waiuku in the 19th century, and a…

Amnesty International has been called in to rule against a case involving the New Zealand government using manufactured corrupt documents to acquire freehold title land from an innocent white New Zealand farmer. This is the final part in a series on Allan Titford, claiming the farmer has been an innocent political prisoner since he opposed the Crown acquiring his freehold titled…

Around midnight on May 3rd 1916 in the pretty French village of Morbecque, Private James Stanton picked up his fountain pen and began to write on the first page of a canvas bound diary. “Now it’s my intention to keep a few notes of dates and occurrences… It’s started at a queer time in the night, but you see – my readers – I’m on guard and this is the way I’m filling in time…” …

Guns have been around for an incredibly long time, and they started with the cannon. It has been reported that the first significant use of a cannon was at around 1350 AD, making it one of the oldest pieces of modern technology still in use. Imagine our delight, when we discovered that one of these remarkable, yet destructive devices was in permitted residence; under all the…

In part three of this fascinating story we reveal how legal documents sought by Titford in a bid to retain ownership of his land were refused, but were obtained under the Official Information Act by Ross Baker of the One New Zealand Foundation Inc. “I Still Own My Land,” Says Titford, “Give It Back!” The Manuwhetai area under claim amounted to only 110 acres, about 90 of which…

This month we are observing the words of a man whose footprints across the pages of history are indelibly tattooed into the global psyche in such a manner as never before seen in modern history. That the world is still fascinated by this man’s life and compellingly by his death lies not so much within the allegory of the mythic hero being cut down in his prime on his quest for…

At the turn of the twentieth century, life was very different from what it is today, and children’s toys were no exception. Morris Mitchum produced the original Teddy Bear, and cousins Binney and Smith began manufacturing an eight pack of crayons under the brand ‘Crayola’. The box sold for a nickel and contained black, brown, blue, red, violet, orange, yellow, and green. The…

Part 1 of the Titford story set the scene for one of New Zealand’s worst cases of human rights violation. Allan Titford lost his land, two houses were burnt to the ground, animals slaughtered and a barrage of abuse engulfed Allan Titford and his family, which left Alan Titford destitute. In this edition you will see first hand the behind the scenes corruption that ultimately led…

In October 1986 a young Bohemian farmer from Puhoi, Allan Titford, entered into a contract to buy two adjoining, gently contoured freehold title farms at Maunganui Bluff, on Northland's west coast. Never in his wildest dreams did Allan Titford expect to face years of death threats, assaults, police brutality, two houses on his property razed to the ground and eventually being…

Within six minutes of arriving at the hospital Princess Diana was dead. That places her time of death very close to the time Dr Jean-Marc Martino relinquished control to Dr Bruno Riou. In other words, Martino was in control of Diana’s care for 1 hour and 26 minutes and she died 6 minutes after he passed on control. This puts the spotlight more closely on the mystery period of 5…

As World War I came to an end, a silent and deadly killer swept across the world, leaving in its wake mass devastation. This virulent assassin took a life within a matter of days, even hours. Beginning with sudden flu-like symptoms, and rapidly transforming into pneumonia, individuals literally “drowned” in the fluid which accumulated in their lungs, and their body took on a…

In the traditions of Ngāti Tūwharetoa of Taupō, Ngāti Hotu were an aboriginal people living in that area at a time when the people of Tūwharetoa i te Aupōuri came to live in the lands claimed by their ancestor Tia. It was thought the original people took the name Ngāti Hotu to be spared from being destroyed by the Tainui and Te Arawa peoples. One story among the Tainui people…

This year, between October and December, a replica of the Endeavour will sail around New Zealand to commemorate a significant event in Aotearoa New Zealand’s history: Captain James Cook’s first visit to New Zealand. While not the first European to visit New Zealand shores, Cook was the first to explore and chart both north and south islands, compiling ‘the first cartographic map’…