Events on this Day – 15 December

In a well-planned operation which contrasted sharply with those mounted earlier in the Gallipoli campaign, Allied troops were successfully withdrawn from Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay between 15 and 20 December.

The Finance Act (No. 3) 1944 abolished the poll tax introduced in 1881, which was described by Minister of Finance Walter Nash as a 'blot on our legislation'.

The 38-m-high railway viaduct, near Johnsonville, Wellington, was built in 1885 and had not been used since 1937. It was demolished by army engineers as a training exercise.

It may have been the mariachi trumpets, the gently rapped lyrics or that ‘making-me-crazy’ chorus, but whatever the reason, ‘How bizarre’ by the South Auckland group Otara Millionaires Club (OMC) became one of the most successful songs ever recorded in New Zealand.