Tag Archives: World War II

February 1943: This month last century

28 February 2013 – 3.37pm

70 years ago, 48 Japanese prisoners of war are killed during a riot at the Featherston prisoner of war camp (25 February 1943)

From 1942, Japanese prisoners of war were brought to New Zealand and interned at the camp at Featherston, in the Wairarapa. This camp had previously been used as a military training camp during WWI.

Carved and painted wooden model of an alligator. 1945, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Purchased 2012. Te Papa

Carved and painted wooden model of an alligator. 1945, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Purchased 2012. Te Papa

The carved alligator (above) was made by an unknown prisoner at one of the camp’s so-called ‘hobby huts’. The other item (shown below) is an example of one of the tokens used at the camp. These tokens, plus craftwork made and bartered by the prisoners, were used to procure goods, as legal currency was not permitted in the camp.

Internment Camp token, Five Shillings. 1941 - 1945, Australia. R. Arendeen & Sons Pty Ltd. Gift of the New Zealand Army, 1946. Te Papa

Internment Camp token, Five Shillings. 1941 – 1945, Australia. R. Arendeen & Sons Pty Ltd. Gift of the New Zealand Army, 1946. Te Papa

The Japanese prisoners also had to work for ‘the enemy’ while they were incarcerated. This included vegetable-growing, furniture-making and shifting rocks. This work caused some prisoners considerable shame. On 25 February 1943, around 240 of them staged a sit down strike to protest against being made to work.

In the confusion and rioting that followed, prisoners began throwing stones and guards opened fire. As a result 48 Japanese prisoners and a New Zealand guard were killed. The other New Zealand guards were absolved of any wrong-doing at a military enquiry the following month. The court’s finding were not accepted by the Japanese Government.

This fatal event occurred when Japan was depicted as a threatening enemy in popular culture and print media (see poster below). However, war-time censorship and fears of retaliation helped to keep news of the clash from being widely circulated in the press.

Poster, ’The Rising Sun Must Set’, 1942, Wellington. New Zealand National Savings Committee. Gift of Mr C H Andrews, 1967. Te Papa

Poster, ’The Rising Sun Must Set’, 1942, Wellington. New Zealand National Savings Committee. Gift of Mr C H Andrews, 1967. Te Papa

Go to Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand for further details about the 1943 incident at Featherston

Read more about the New Zealand home front during World War Two on the Slice of Heaven website

By Kirstie Ross | Posted in Collections Online, Exhibitions, History, Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (5)

Upcoming lecture: War Brides

11 April 2012 – 11.15am

In conjunction with the exhibition Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria & Albert Museum, Dr Gabrielle Fortune will present an illustrated lecture on how wartime austerity impacted on wedding fashion at Te Papa this Sunday at 2pm.

Specifically, she will be looking at the  wedding dresses of women who married New Zealand servicemen and travelled to the far side of the world to set up home. Between 1942 and 1950, Kiwi servicemen returning from Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific, and Canada brought home thousands of new brides, representing dozens of nationalities.

Claire Dunlop and Pilot Officer Allen Dunlop on their wedding day, 16 September 1944. Image courtesy of Claire Dunlop.

Although these women from different countries had quite different wartime experiences, most had a story to tell about their wedding dress: how they made the best of available clothing, and how they incorporated national icons or symbols into their dress, cake decorations, or bouquets.

Fortune explores an era when clothing coupons dictated fashion – brides had to choose whether to borrow an outfit, wear military uniform, or splurge precious coupons on a dress.

Gabrielle Fortune is a Research Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Auckland. Her research interests include the war service of New Zealanders in the 20th century, veterans, and war commemoration. Her PhD thesis examined the history of war brides coming to New Zealand.

Lecture: Soundings Theatre, Level 2, Te Papa, 2-3pm Sunday 15 April. Admission free.

1946 Wedding dress from the exhibition Unveiled. This dress was made by Ella Dolling from a light weight upholstery fabric for Elizabeth King. Elizabeth did not have enough coupons to purchase dress fabric, so opted for a suitable alternative. Collection of Victoria and Albert Museum, Given by Mrs Gay Oliver Barrett.

By Claire Regnault | Posted in Events, Exhibitions, Fashion, History | Also tagged , , , | Comments (3)

August 1945 – This month last century

16 August 2011 – 9.53am

56 years ago New Zealanders celebrate victory over Japan (15 August 1945)

The photo below shows people celebrating VJ (Victory over Japan) Day in Wellington. It was taken by John Pascoe, who was employed by the government to photograph life in New Zealand during World War Two.

Canadian sailors, VJ (Victory over Japan) day, Wellington, 15 August 1945, 15 August 1945, Pascoe, John (1908–1972), Wellington. Te Papa

Canadian sailors, VJ (Victory over Japan) day, Wellington, 15 August 1945, 15 August 1945, Pascoe, John (1908–1972), Wellington. Te Papa

The day marked the official end of the Second World War in the Pacific. It came after two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945. Japan called a ceasefire on 15 August (VJ Day) and officially surrendered on 2 September.

The Allied victory in the Pacific came at a cost.  The bombs caused unprecedented devastation. They obliterated their targets and killed at least 200,000 people, most of them civilians.

The bombing triggered anxieties about humankind’s potential to destroy itself. In time, this led to calls for nuclear disarmament and saw the start of the modern peace movement.

The Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park, which opened in Hiroshima in 1954, was one such response. It was dedicated to the victims of the bomb and to promote world peace.

Japan Series: Hiroshima Peace Park, circa 1964, Brake, Brian (1927–1988), Chugoku. Gift of Mr Raymond Wai-Man Lau, 2001. Te Papa
Japan Series: Hiroshima Peace Park, circa 1964, Brake, Brian (1927–1988), Chugoku. Gift of Mr Raymond Wai-Man Lau, 2001. Te Papa

New Zealand photographer Brian Brake took this photograph (above) at the park, possibly while he was on assignment for Life magazine.

In the distance is the A-Bomb Dome, the ruins of the former Industrial Promotion Hall and the building closest to the epicentre of the bomb to survive the blast.

The couple in the photo are posing in front of the Memorial Cenotaph. The cenotaph features the names of all those killed by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Built in 1952, it epitaph reads: ‘Rest in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated’.

See other Brian Brake photographs of the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park in Te Papa’s collections

Go to the Slice of Heaven website to see an object that survived the Hiroshima bomb 

By Kirstie Ross | Posted in Collections Online, Exhibitions, History, Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Family at war – Slice of Heaven exhibition

15 October 2010 – 3.33pm

It’s just 2 weeks now since Slice of Heaven opened and the word from Te Papa’s hosts is that it’s “what New Zealanders have been waiting for!”  This is my first blog – ever.

I was one of the team working behind the scenes to bring the stories from 20th Century Aotearoa into the museum.  After 2 years of intense work, I’m excited to be able to record my own impressions of this amazing journey.

Today, I took a moment to stand on the bridge and watch visitors explore things below.  It’s a fantastic feeling to see everything come to life, observing people from different backgrounds, different generations, really engaged with the displays, absorbed in reading or watching, talking to each other about things familiar, a memory recalled, an experience shared – things that connect us all together.  

Revisiting World War II.
Revisiting World War II. Copyright Te Papa, 2010.

 I find myself returning to the World War II section, to the exquisite recreation of a scene depicting a New Zealand family in their living room in the winter of 1942, when American Forces arrived to protect us from the threat of Japanese invasion. 

Every detail is considered, from the wallpaper to the gas mask.  The mother holds a ration book in hand as her daughter appears to be ready to go out to a dance, and the young son in his pyjamas plays with a jigsaw puzzle.  Dad is due at Home Guard practice.  For me, imagining the lives of these lifelike mannequins is not the only thing pulling me back there, though.

On the wall of their room is a framed photograph of a handsome, smiling young man in his early twenties.  He wears a Royal Navy uniform confirming his recent commission.  He’s there to represent all New Zealand men and women who left home to serve overseas during the war. 

 

Bruce Donald, 1945

Bruce Donald, 1945 Courtesy the Donald Family archives.

His name is Bruce Reginald Donald.   I am so proud to be his daughter.

I can’t wait to hear Alison Parr talking about the experiences of New Zealanders on the home front during WWII.  Alison is a senior historian with the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and her wonderful book, Home, is based on interviews with many men and women who kept the home fires burning.  It’s a powerful read.

Alison Parr gives a floortalk in Slice of Heaven tomorrow, Saturday, 16 October at 12.15pm. Don’t miss it!

By Prue Donald | Posted in Exhibitions, Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (7)
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