Parliamentary Witch Hunt Captures Itself!
By NZB3
The Government, specifically the Speaker of the House, Trevor Mallard, has given himself a traffic ticket. For what? Calling someone a rapist and it costing them their job. Who’s paying for his infringement ticket? You are. How much? None of your business. “We’re talking about serious sexual assault. Well that, for me, […]
Read more..December 9, 2020
1916: Peter Fraser Incarcerated
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
On 23 December, 1916, future Labour 1.0 Prime Minister Peter Fraser was in the Wellington Magistrates’ Court for sedition. He was sentenced to a year in jail, which he served. Later, Fraser became a Minister and then Prime Minister for Labour 1.0. New Zealand has a long history, far from over, of new immigrants refusing […]
Read more..December 9, 2020
1936: Cotton Reel Tanks
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Home-made tanks, early Baby Boomer toy. Cotton reel, candle, matchstick, and a bit of candle for friction to slow down the unwinding. Most of these 4 common household objects are very unlikely to be found in a 2018 home but for most of the C20th, all. According to Adkins History… “…by the 1960s, growing affluence […]
Read more..December 9, 2020
1946: Don’t Spit
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Labour 1.0 Government public notice, c.1946 Indications are that New Zealand was, during this r-selected time period, not internalising hygiene and health. Certain moral cultures think of their fellow man more than at other times and the idea of not polluting their home range for the common good is too abstract. Such obligations are cognitively […]
Read more..December 8, 2020
1896: Brunner Mine Disaster
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
On 26 March, 1896, a great and deadly explosion occurred at the Brunner Mine along the Grey River in Westland. This was the mine that first kicked off the coal industry so vital to the West Coast. At one point it was producing 1/3 of all the coal in New Zealand. Brunner was shut down […]
Read more..December 7, 2020
The Becroft Tapestry
By NZB3
The Children’s Commission, headed by Andrew Becroft currently have a bizarre Public Service Announcement scroll on their home website. It’s something like a cross between an in-flight safety card and the Bayeux Tapestry. Instead of William the Conqueror killing the English and putting arrows into their King, Becroft’s tapestry illustrates the battle to overthrow poverty […]
Read more..December 5, 2020
1921: Jellicoe Hall
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
On August 10th, 1921, the Christchurch Returned Soldiers Club opened up their new HQ: Jellico Hall. It was, of course, named for New Zealand’s next Governor General, Lord Jellico, who was there to open the new building. Admiral Lord Jellicoe was also there in September 1919 to lay the foundation stone at the beginning of the […]
Read more..December 4, 2020
1970: The Southerner
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Today in New Zealand history, 1 December, 1970, The Southerner opened for business. The Southerner, between 1970 and 2002, was a passenger express train, Christchurch to Invercargill. In particular, this marked the ending of steam-powered trains being relied upon in New Zealand. Steam was out, diesel was in! “Perhaps the real symbol of Christchurch is […]
Read more..December 1, 2020
2006: The Upham Boomers
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Captain Charles Upham (died today, 22 Nov, 1994) was survived by his children, Baby Boomers. The way the Boomers treated the memory of the ‘Greatest Generation’ who came before them is instructive. A story from 2006 re-told…. The main street in Amberley, North Canterbury, is a big wide straight and flat affair with…I dunno, tractor […]
Read more..November 22, 2020
Beyond Learned Helplessness
By NZB3
Anarchists are opposed to the Noble Lie (Plato,) the treating of people as Means to an End (Kant.) We want people to be actors in their own lives, creators of their own character, masters of their own destiny. We don’t want you to be People Farmed by rulers who think they know what’s best for […]
Read more..November 21, 2020
1982: Jean Batten: Bit by a dog with a rabid tooth
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
By the age of 57 Jean Batten (died 22 November, 1982) had lived with her mother all her life. Like Rapunzel in ‘Tangled,’ Jean failed to launch as an independent adult because her mother kept her locked up for herself- warding off would-be suitors. Unlike the fairytale version, Batten never did escape. There were plenty […]
Read more..November 20, 2020
1948:
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
Today in history, 20 November, 1948, Dr Geoffrey Orbell set out on a private expedition to find the notornis (takehe) presumed extinct since 1898. By finding two near Lake Te Anau¹, he proved they were still very much alive. “”It’s either a damn big swampy [pukeko], or it’s it” whispered Dr Geoffrey Orbell as one […]
Read more..November 17, 2020
