Dominion Day, 26 September, never really took hold in New Zealand. Wellington was one of the few places that kept up ceremonies after 1907.
In 1908 over 20,000 people went to the Wellington suburb of Newtown to watch a parade and see 5000 children form a living flag. Parliament Buildings were lit up as they had been the previous year.
‘Massey’s Cossacks’, mounted special constables, guard strike-breakers working Shaw Savill & Albion’s Home boat Athenic in 1913. The great waterfront strike that year left a legacy of bitterness that lingered during the war years. While most maritime workers supported the war effort, serving in the merchant marine or volunteering for military service, many remained critical of the Reform government and its war policies.
'Massey's Cossacks' guarding the Athenic
Head and shoulders portrait of William Massey (1856-1925), circa 1920.
Prime Minister William Massey addresses soldiers of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company near Arras, France, on 2 July 1918. Immediately behind him is his deputy, Sir Joseph Ward.
Prime Minister William Massey and Joseph Ward inspect the New Zealand Cyclist Corps.
The New Zealand Cyclist Corps, part of the 2nd Anzac Cyclist Battalion, was heavily involved in the Belgian offensives of 1917. Bicycles were useful for transporting men and light equipment over large distances in much less time than it would take troops on foot – despite often being hampered by the terrain and muddy conditions, they could easily cover 60 kilometres a day. Cyclists also performed tasks such as traffic control, tree felling, cable laying, trench repairs and reconnaissance.
At Messines the battalion prepared an 1800-metre track from the Allies’ reserve line across the former no-man’s land and through abandoned German trenches to a point called Middlefarm to enable the mounted troops to get through. Several members of the battalion were killed, and 19 were wounded carrying out this dangerous work.
Violent clashes between unionised waterside workers and non-union labour had erupted two days after Wellington watersiders held a stopwork meeting in support of a small group of striking shipwrights. Employers claimed the stopwork meeting breached the watersiders’ agreement and replaced the men who attended with other (union) workers. The union responded by refusing to work until the dismissed men were reinstated. The employers declared that the wharfies were on strike; the wharfies claimed they had been locked out.
