Back ../images/stories/usforces/usforces-010-tn.gif Listen now to Roy Murphy talk to New Zealanders who married American servicemen, at a reunion in New York: meeting US servicemen; going to dances.
New Zealand women actively supported their country's participation in the war, which gave women, recently enfranchised, an opportunity to move into the public arena. A small number who voiced an anti-war attitude were labeled pro-Boer, and received little support even from groups known for their anti-military position.
New Zealand played a small but useful part in the British Empire's war effort, and its essential war aim was achieved with the defeat of Germany and its allies in late 1918. New Zealand's security, both physical and economic, was ensured by the victory.
Particularly in its early stages, New Zealand's involvement in the war enjoyed overwhelming public support in New Zealand. Opposition was confined to a small group of radical members of Parliament, religious leaders, and others who condemned the war as an aggressive act of imperialism designed to seize control of the Transvaal's gold mines.
Thousands of women across New Zealand supported the war effort in more than 900 patriotic and fund-raising organisations, which raised nearly £5 million for Belgian and French relief funds.
This shop window display encourages the purchase of Liberty Bonds to support the war effort in the Pacific. A poster proclaims 'The Jap shoots to kill! Your Armour is Liberty Bonds'
