1878: Russian Scare
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
A Victorian gentleman surveys Auckland Harbor from the top of Mt Victoria in 1878. Devonport, below, already very established. It was the time of our second ‘Russian Scare’. The reason for the photo may be a propagandistic one, a fantasy war- George Grey vs Tsar Alexander of Russia! Our Premier (facing an election the […]
Read more..July 16, 2021
1966: Kaipara Nuclear Power Station
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
The National 2.0 Government (Dec 1960–Dec 1972) certainly were an energetic gang when it came to Statist projects! They gave us decimal coins, Rotorua Museum, and the aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point. All of these things are living history and have been topical this week; I wrote about them all. Did you know they were […]
Read more..July 15, 2021
1905: Murchison Madmen
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Today in history, 14 July, 1905, a frustrated South-Nelson settler ignited his dynamite vest. For Joseph Sewell it was instakill but everyone else gathered around Murchison Courthouse survived. The Sewell family had been going tough on their block since the 1880s. Migrating to New Zealand was no sweet deal and the life ended up killing […]
Read more..July 14, 2021
1934: Death of Kate Sheppard
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Today in history, 13 July, 1934, Kate Sheppard died in her Christchurch home aged 86. By this time she was Katherine Lovell-Smith. Kate is remembered for being the poster woman of the successful campaign to give women the ability to vote in New Zealand central government elections. In actual fact, these women were re-gaining an […]
Read more..July 13, 2021
1860: Kohimarama Conference
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Today in New Zealand history, 10 July, 1860, the Treaty of Waitangi was ratified at the Kohimarama Conference in Auckland. Chiefs from all over New Zealand came to discuss and debate and reflect. How was this whole Colonisation thing working out anyway, these past 20 years? The conference went on for a month and served […]
Read more..July 9, 2021
1855: The Mackenzie Country Heist
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Jock Mackenzie migrated to New Zealand via Australia in 1847 where he became a freelance shepherd. Getting his own block of land wasn’t so hard but the terms required he stock it if he was to keep it. So, the wily Scotsman drew on his heritage: He rustled someone else’s sheep. Mackenzie had a cunning […]
Read more..July 8, 2021
1959: Keith Trek
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Keith Trek, 1959, was a successful attempt to start campaigning early for the General Election of 1960. “In the next two months I will trek through every part of New Zealand,” said Keith Holyoake, the once and future Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Labour 2.0 Prime Minister Walter Nash was lying and committing crimes in Nelson (Walter’s […]
Read more..July 5, 2021
