Lyttleton Gaol
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
One of my awakening moments of Anarchist History was this realisation that early New Zealanders so swiftly adopted the recourse to incarcerating those deemed criminal or insane. The speed and ostentation with which this was done is staggering and the priority outranks other public buildings you’d think would come first. (Michelle Foucout for the win, […]
Read more..October 11, 2018
Firemen, 1932
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Christchurch fire fighter drill, 1932. Illustrating the social and physical fact that men are better suited to this job! In 2018, and for a few years either side, our society entertains the social fiction that women are as capable of being a ‘fire person’ as this crew… “The photo showing fire fighters becoming proficient in […]
Read more..October 10, 2018
Israel attacked NZ to get to Lorde?
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
A bit of populist SJW signalling is part of what celebrities do when their star is falling. This week it has been Taylor Swift desperately seeking a bump from some political signalling… Taylor Swift has spoken out politically for the first time, publicly endorsing two Democrats for the upcoming US mid-term elections. The 28-year-old says […]
Read more..October 10, 2018
Bluff Courthouse
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Probably this is the building Joseph Ward opened in 1900 as the new Customs House and Court House combined. The Liberals, especially Ward, loved creating fancy buildings to their own honour (eg consider Dunedin’s Railway Station.) And this was his home town and his triumphant return to parliament. However, by 1938 there was an unsuccessful […]
Read more..October 9, 2018
Report With Soundings
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Malborough celebrated her centenary in on 1 November 1959. On that day this historic documentary, Report With Soundings, was aired on all the NZBC radio stations nationally. Later, it was released on this LP which History Always Repeats noticed listed on Trade Me this week. Old NZBC staple, Basil Clarke, the creator, may have been on […]
Read more..October 8, 2018
Lola Ridge
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Lola Ridge: A New Zealand Anarchist, but the wrong sort. These lines remind me of nothing so much as Pink Floyd’s lyrics about, and called, ‘Mother’… “When you tell mama You are going to do something great She looks at you As though you were a window She were trying to see through, And say […]
Read more..October 7, 2018
Ripped off in Rotorua
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Rotorua Museum to consign closure to history by 2021 – Stuff; Benn Bathgate, Sep 27 2018 Jokes! In 2006-2011 Rotorua Museum sucked in $$ to extend the building (‘Centennial project’) over 5 years and then…oh-oh…we’re closing it all down because we just remembered earthquakes were a thing! The above article by Benn Bathgate highly resembles the […]
Read more..October 6, 2018
Timaru’s Nazi Tree
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
The ‘Hitler Oak’, aka Lovelock Oak, stands at Timaru Boys’ High School. It was gifted as a sapling to, old boy of the school, running champion Jack Lovelock by Nazi Germany. After the 1936 National Socialist Olympic Games in Berlin, Jack came back (see previous post) for a visit bringing the oak. Surprisingly, the tree […]
Read more..October 6, 2018
Oamaru Courthouse
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Reopening of courthouse ‘a great day’ The 1883 Thames St courthouse was closed in late 2011 after being classed as earthquake-prone…A close to $900,000 project to earthquake-strengthen and refurbish the courthouse and its surroundings started in February and was completed this week”- ODT It’s a good question from a commenter on Facebook… Why do the […]
Read more..October 5, 2018
Termination of Westland Hospital
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Day of Shame protest, 1985, Hokitika The end of Westland Hospital. Continuation of yesterday’s post about Reefton Hospital… On this day, Hokitika closes down as a town for half a day to protest the effective closure of their own hospital. As discussed in my previous post, technically the ‘hospital’ would limp along as and old folks […]
Read more..October 5, 2018
Termination of Reefton Hospital
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
c.6 October, 1988: Reefton citizens form a human chain around their hospital. I would love to read more about this whole phenomena of towns being assimilated. And, to write about it too. Regions absorbed into the megalopolis, refusing to be assimilated. A continuation of the Abolition of the Provinces battle from 1876. New Zealand certainly started […]
Read more..October 4, 2018
What More Could Poor Split Enz Do?
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Split Enz was a great New Zealand band with a catalogue of many brilliant rock pop songs everyone likes. Along with finding international success they have been a great influence to other major musicians, the arts, and culture of The West. No doubt about it! How to process, then, the fact that in 1978 they […]
Read more..October 3, 2018
