New Zealand Listener – August 10, 2019

AUGUST 10 2019 LISTENER 47

July 1965. New Zealand, with Australia and Korea,

went to war in Vietnam as an American ally. In the

Battle of Long Tan, on August 18, 1966, the bloodiest

clash involving New Zealand and Australian soldiers

in the war – 18 were killed and 24 wounded – the

heroic actions of New Zealand gunners were instru-

mental in preventing a massacre of almost 100 Anzac

troops.

In 1972, tens of thousands of New Zealanders dem-

onstrated against the war in the four main cities.

Anti-Vietnam War sentiment pushed Labour towards

a more independent foreign policy. It also taught a

nation how to protest.

When the Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, 37

New Zealanders had been killed and 187 injured from

a force that peaked at 543 and involved 3890 men

and women in total.

In February 2019, 30 men who were mentioned in

despatches during the war for their bravery or excep-

tional service had their efforts acknowledged by the

Governor-General.

jokes. But there is no doubt

that New Zealanders in 2019

see city life as an attractive and

significant part of the nation’s

identity, one that gives them

pride. It is a major transforma-

tion from 80 years before.

MUM, DAD AND THE KIDS

In late 1939, one of the talking

points of the Centennial Exhi-

bition was a walking-talking

robot, Dr Well-and-Strong,

who performed in the Gov-

ernment Court. The final

scene in his performance was

“the healthy family in the

happy home”, with “Dad”

out front mowing the lawn

and “Mother” on the veranda

serving afternoon tea. Women

received plenty of public atten-

tion in 1939.

The Listener, as with the

nation’s newspapers, had a

substantial women’s page,

but its content was useful

hints on housekeeping. By

the late 30s, almost all New

Zealanders lived in a family

April 10, 1968. It was Giselle

that did it. Few people know

the name of the cyclone

that caused the country’s

worst marine disaster in

living memory, but every-

one remembers its principal

victim: the inter-island ferry

Wahine. Carrying 610 pas-

sengers and 123 crew, the

ship ran into the storm from

hell as it approached Wel-

lington Harbour at dawn

on April 10, 1968. Battered

by winds of up to 160km/h,

the vessel was driven onto

Barrett Reef and eventually

capsized. Fifty-one people

died, and two more later.

NZ sends troops

to Vietnam

Sinking of the Wahine

Only 3.7% of

married women

were in paid

employment in

1936, significantly

lower than in

the UK and US.

Anzac soldiers

commemorate

the Battle of Long

Tan in 1969 with

the dedication of a

memorial cross on

the site.

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