Register for Monthly Updates about Kiwis Rocking the World
War & Peace
Peter Jackson and Paul Allen Dogfight over Warbirds
Filmmaker Peter Jackson, who has amassed more than 40 flyable World War I warbirds – the planet’s largest collection – and Microsoft Corp. billionaire Paul Allen are vying to…
Nonviolent Peaceforce Worker Maria Duncan Flies into S Sudan
Christchurch woman Maria Duncan, 27, who works for Brussels-based organization Nonviolent Peaceforce, has flown into war-torn Bentiu, South Sudan to help protect some 25,000 refugees in a UN camp.
Almost…
Sir Harold Gillies the Man Who Mended Broken Soldiers
In October, the handiwork of New Zealand-born otolaryngologist Sir Harold Gillies, widely considered the father of plastic surgery, can be seen at the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College…
War-Gamer Robert Dunlop Recreates WWI Battle in Miniature
Inspired by the war stories of his grandfather, war-gaming enthusiast Robert Dunlop, a New Zealander living in Britain, has collected thousands of miniature soldiers to recreate the Battle of…
New Zealand: the Other Half of the Anzac Legend
As the centenary of the Gallipoli landings approaches Australians need to consider the other half of the ANZAC acronym, University of Sydney history professor Mark McKenna writes for the…
NZ Security Expert – ISIS Positioned to Develop Chemical Weapons
In the course of its Blitzkrieg in northern Iraq, ISIS captured the Al Muthanna complex, which contains remnants of Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons stock, buried in underground concrete bunkers…
Princess Anne Unveils Archie McIndoe Statue
A bronze statue of plastic surgeon pioneer, New Zealander Sir Archibald McIndoe, has been unveiled by Princess Anne in East Grinstead, West Sussex, a short drive from Queen Victoria…
One Summer This Fearless Man Drove off the Luftwaffe
Keith Park was one of the great heroes of World War II, yet years later, when Peter Robb came across the laconic New Zealander, his contributions had still to…
Frigate Deployed for Anti-Piracy Exercise in Gulf of Aden
New Zealand will become the second non-member state to join a NATO anti-piracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden, with navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana participating in Operation Ocean…
Sir Keith’s Locomotive Rededicated in Worcestershire
A locomotive renovated after 20 years in a scrapyard has been rededicated to the Battle of Britain legend New Zealander Keith Park it was first named after in 1947….
Centenarian Joins Sydney Reunion of WW2 Veterans
New Zealand World War II veteran Frank Harlow, 100, joined fellow New Zealanders living in Australia at their first ever reunion at the Sydney Maori Anglican Fellowship Church of…
Convoluted Defence History with US Vestige of the Past
The difficult period of New Zealand-US defence relations “is now seen as a relic” according to American Thawley Scholar Jack Georgieff, with “the best in bilateral defense relations” yet…
New Zealand Sailors Dominate Rugby Field
Crew from the Royal New Zealand Navy Frigate Te Mana took on sailors from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier near Yokusuka Naval Base, Japan, in the final of…
Les Munroe, ‘Dambuster’ Pilot Marks 70 Years Since Daring WW2 Raid
‘Older people still recall the grim days of 1943 and remember the good news – when that was a rare commodity – that Germany’s massive dams were breached by…
Bamiyan Fears for Future with NZ Troops Gone
‘There are New Zealand soldiers, so there is no Taliban. When they leave, the Taliban for sure will return,’ Ibrahim Chaman, a resident of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, told reporter Emma…
NZ Veterans Visit Korea for Armistice Commemorations
Hundreds of Korean War veterans, and bereaved families of fallen soldiers arrived in South Korea to attend commemorative events marking the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the…
Tomb of biscuits
Wellington artist Kingsley Baird is building a tomb of Anzac biscuits depicting World War I soldiers to be exhibited in Europe. Baird, an associate professor at Massey University’s College…
NZ Stays in Afghanistan
New Zealand will keep a small team of military personnel in Afghanistan to help coalition forces after it formally withdraws in April 2013, according to The Washington Post. The…
From the Streets of Aleppo
Cairo-based New Zealand journalist Glen Johnson writes from the Free Syrian Army-occupied streets of Aleppo. “What began as a series of protests early 2011, demanding human…
Anniversary of Loss
Twenty-one New Zealand veterans, aged between 88 and 96, attended a service in Egypt at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on 19 October to mark the
Farewell to the Brave
“Portraits of the three soldiers killed 19 August in a massive blast from a roadside bomb in northeastern Bamiyan gazed out from the front pages of virtually every…
Reuniting Families with Sons
Bronte artist Darryl Robertson has dedicated the past few years to helping the Dutch town of Markelo track down the families of three RAF airmen who were killed when…
What Better Role Model
Corporal Willie Apiata, 40, the only living New Zealander to hold the country’s top award for battlefield gallantry, the Victoria Cross, is quitting the military to work with vulnerable…
Veterans Remember their Friends
New Zealand World War II airmen were among 800 veterans present at Green Park, London for the Queen’s unveiling of a memorial sculpted by Scotsman Philip Jackson. New Zealand…
In Memory and For the Future
Several hundred people attended the unveiling of a new memorial in Paekakariki to commemorate the lives of 10 American servicemen who died at the town’s beach when a landing…
Time to Pause for Thought
An estimated 15,000 flocked to this year’s dawn service ceremony at the War Memorial Museum in Auckland to mark the 97th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli and to…
Warriors Rewarded
New Zealand intelligence expert Upper Hutt resident Major Rory McGregor was among 25 New Zealand Defence Force personnel to receive US military medals from visiting Major General Peter Talleri,…
Enlisting Memories
Christchurch war historian Dr Frank Glen is searching for letters, documents and medals from the war fought by Bendigo volunteer soldiers between 1860 and 1872 across the Tasman against…
Aim and Fire Over Canada
A sniper cell from New Zealand was one of 27 teams taking part in the annual Canadian International Sniper Concentration at Canadian Forces Base in Gagetown. Captain John Bourgeois,…
Understanding Diversity
The Wellington Holocaust Research and Education Centre has won a national award from the Human Rights Commission. The Centre, founded in 26, received one of 12 New Zealand Diversity…
Back to the Island of Crete
No guns were firing when the New Zealand Herald’s Jim Eagles assembled quietly at the bottom of the steep road to the hilltop village of Galatas on the storied…
Return to Kapiti
Sixty-nine years after he survived a fatal landing exercise off Paekakariki Beach, former marine American Frank Zalot plans to travel to New Zealand in 212 for a commemoration of…
Deployment to Timor-Leste
A 62-strong New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contingent has left for a six-month deployment to Timor-Leste to support the Australian-led International Stabilization Force (ISF) in the country. The NZDF…
Peacekeepers a Symbol of Success
Former deputy prime minister Jim McLay, now New Zealand’s ambassador to the United Nations, writes an opinion piece for The Kansas City Star about May 29 — International Day…
Enduring Legacy
This year marks the 96th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli and to commemorate the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who fell in 1915 the annual Anzac…
Medal of Honour for Doctor
Aucklander Dr Alan Kerr (left) has received Palestine’s highest honour, the “Medal of Honour”, from PNA President Mahmoud Abbas for saving more than 6 children’s lives in…
Return of One Precious Book
The bible of New Zealand World War One soldier Private Richard Cook, which he dropped as he came under heavy fire during the Battle of Messines in Belgium in…
Commanding changes
The leaders of New Zealand’s military commitment in East Timor have changed with Wing Commander Sam Leske RNZAF (left) taking over from Commander Tony Millar RNZN. Held at Kiwi…
If only in Afghanistan
Hamilton doctor Marc Shaw is the first civilian doctor to be deployed with the New Zealand Defence Force in Afghanistan, recently donning a red suit to play Father Christmas…
Gallantry Cross awarded
Wellington-born Rifleman James McKie, 29, a member of the British Forces, has been presented with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross at Buckingham Palace. McKie was providing security for a new…
Long Tan hero dies
Former New Zealand Vietnam war hero Morrie Stanley from Campbells Bay in Auckland, who was recently presented with an Australian Unit Citation for Gallantry, 44 years after the renowned…
London to Gaza
Six New Zealanders, calling themselves the “Kia Ora Gaza” team, will make up part of an aid convoy taking humanitarian assistance to Gaza departing from London on September 18….
UN Confirms Palmer
With Israel agreeing to participate in a UN investigation of its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla earlier this year, former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer will chair the…
WW2 Pilot Laid to Rest
The puzzle of New Zealand pilot officer W. Stuart Beattie who was killed 69 years ago has finally been laid to rest. Torquay Royal British Legion secretary Ena Pethick…
Anniversary of sinking
Twenty-five years ago two French agents coordinated the bombing of the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior in Waitemata Harbour, a tragedy in which Portuguese-Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira drowned. The attack…
Against the grain
“An act of real political courage by the National Party would be to increase its commitment in the dangerous areas of Afghanistan and to announce that New Zealand was…
Suitcase treasures
New Zealand descendants of a British officer stationed on St Helena, from 1815 to 1821, have sold a number of his collection of Napoleon Bonaparte mementoes at an auction…
Commission Speculation
Former Labour Prime Minister and maritime law expert Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 68, is UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s preferred choice to head a planned international enquiry into Israel’s raid on…
Peacekeepers halved
The New Zealand Defence Force is reducing the number of its military deployment in East Timor to six-monthly rotations of 74 personnel. Because of the improved security environment in…
Together in Song
New Zealand’s national anthem could soon be played alongside the Australian during Anzac Day ceremonies at Queensland schools. Premier Anna Bligh, who is chairwoman of the Anzac Day Commemoration…
Banning the Bomb
New Zealand has voted to unanimously to ban cluster munitions. New Zealand’s Cluster Munitions Prohibition Bill bans the use, development, production and stockpiling of cluster munitions in the country…
Park’s Plinth a Triumph
A statue of revered New Zealand airman and Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park has been unveiled on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. The unveiling was a…
Quietly Heralded
Tauranga-born peace campaigner Alyn Ware, 47, has been awarded what is commonly known as “the alternative Nobel prize” for “his effective and creative advocacy and initiatives over two decades…
Leading from the Front
Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Ramsden, has become the first New Zealander to be awarded the NATO Meritorious Service Medal at a special ceremony recently in Brussels, Belgium. The award was…
With Gratitude
Thanks be to New Zealand for giving the UK butter and for the might of Sir Keith Park writes The Financial Times’ Miss Moneypenny. “New Zealand’s dairy farmers deserve…
Small But Mighty
The New Zealand Defence Force is reviewed by military publication Jane’s which describes the Force as “always attempting to perform on the world stage at a level that belies…
