1930: The Sugarbag Years
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
The Great Depression in NZ is called The Slump or The Sugarbag Years¹. The later refers to the common practice of re-using sugar bags as clothing material. Flour bags too. “When everyone needs a bailout, and government is broke, who does the bailing?” We start eating our seed crop. We lower our standard of living. […]
Read more..April 28, 2022
1863: Do We Need A 3rd Rangiriri Pa?
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
The first Rangariri Pa was the second great stand of the retreating side in the Waikato War. This earth fortress of South Auckland was put to siege on 20 November 1863 was surrendered the very next morning. In all fairness, there’s another side to the surrender that has been creeping into the revisionist history books […]
Read more..April 27, 2022
1860s: Did ANZACs Fight The Waikato War?
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Scott Hamilton could probably run circles around anyone when it comes to Waikato War knowledge. It’s all he seems to ever write about and here we go again. In this article he hangs his theme on the idea that there was an Australia New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in the 1860s. This is anachronistic and […]
Read more..April 26, 2022
2022: ANZAC Day Dimming
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
I’ve attended ANZAC Dawn Service at numerious towns in Australia and New Zealand but this year, once again, there are none within reach. This year the Returned Services Associations are really phoning it in quite literally. It’s as if they were all getting government grants for AV equipment and large screens (perhaps with the requirement […]
Read more..April 25, 2022
1941: Intelligent Cereal Boxes
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
I’ve been thinking about the picture cards that used to come in Sanitarium Weetbix cereal boxes. They were part of the ‘internet’ of their day. I think every digital application we use today has an analogue equivalent in the past. Much of the spam and many of the very same jokes that pass around were […]
Read more..April 22, 2022
Ashley Bloomfield to Retire
By NZB3
The medical theatre part of the Cinders and Ash duo, Ashley Bloomfield, is to “retire” according to headlines. That word, retire, conjures up an image of an old man literally retiring to his rocking chair in the provinces leaving politics alone. Perhaps he’ll just put on an apron for the local school PTA not to […]
Read more..April 20, 2022
1950s: Free Gift Inside
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
The decline of civilisation can be traced back to when they stopped putting toys in cereal boxes. If a society decides to carry a large underclass of low-IQ people then it requires breakfast cereals to match. Part of that product, from the 1950s to 2000, included the Free-Gift-Inside and Collect-The-Whole-Set! toy of the moment. From […]
Read more..April 18, 2022
1929: One Day Flight
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
New Zealand was excited to participate in the new age of aviation. If only the Government would get out of the way! Today in history, 15 April, 1929, history was made when two men flew from Christchurch to Auckland in a single day. Auckland Aero Club committee member Spencer Mason and club instructor Major Gerald […]
Read more..April 15, 2022
Another Police Virtue Signal on Wheels
By NZB3
Again? Gay car, farmer car, Pacificar, Maori car and now this. Urban cancer virtue signal police wheels….”A desire to support a good cause and a love of motorbikes has a West Coast Road Policing Officer taking on the Southern Alps on two ‘very small wheels’ in support of the Cancer Society….an endurance event which is […]
Read more..April 15, 2022
Nationalisation of Tar
By NZB3
Government has decided to take over the bitumen import business in New Zealand because it doesn’t trust private enterprise. Z Energy is backing off and wishing them luck. Because New Zealand can’t make its own oil-infested rocks now we must ship in the expensive and heavy stuff. Because Labour 6.0 had Marsden Point oil refinery […]
Read more..April 13, 2022
The Three Rules of Believing
By NZB3
“Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours.” Hermann Hesse, in this quote, didn’t need to tell us that the most trivial-fool-business-gold-pleasure-world is that of the politician. Prime among politicians in […]
Read more..April 12, 2022
1898: Easter Encampment at Westport
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Today in history, 11 April, 1898, a great gathering of Nelson Defense District volunteers were camped at Westport. A sort of scouting jamboree but not for kids, for adult men. And not just scouting, but all aspects of kicking arse and defending our nation. Similar encampments were simultaneously occurring at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. […]
Read more..April 11, 2022
