Activities & Projects
Marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele. 12 October 2017, Ypres, Belgium.
Marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba. 31 October 2017, Beersheba (Be’er Sheva), Israel.
A remembrance ceremony at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington at 11 am on 7 June 2017 to mark the centenary of the Battle of Messines.
The history of the Pacific Islanders who served in the New Zealand Army in the First World War. Written by Howard Weddell, and published in 2016.
A march and series of ceremonies at parliament to remember the contribution that Cook Island soldiers made to the First World War. In Wellington on 16 November 2016.
A service to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, at Timaru Botanic Gardens on 18 September 2016.
This presentation at the Marlborough Convention Centre on 25 September 2016 will be given by New Zealand Defence Force historian Matthew Buck.
A ceremony of remembrance will be held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on the centenary of New Zealand's entry to the battle: 15 September.
A remembrance ceremony at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington on 18 September 2016.
Under the French city of Arras, New Zealand and French surveyors are using laser scanning technology to capture, honour, and preserve the incredible work of the NZ Engineers Tunnelling Company.
A commemorative service to mark the centenary of the opening of New Zealand No.1 Hospital at Brockenhurst, held at All Saints Garrison Church, Burnham Military Camp, on 29 June 2016.
A service will be held to remember the first Returned Servicemen who took up sections in the Mangapurua Soldiers Settlement. A monument, flagpole & location map will be placed at the site.
The New Zealand Branch of the Western Front Association's talk on 26 June 2016 looks at Armentieres one hundred years ago. Held at the Observation Post in Castor Bay, Auckland.
In the spirit of Matariki, the Great War Exhibition in Wellington offers guided tours to tell the story of Māori in the First World War. Held on weekends between 18-26 June 2016.
Share stories of soldiers who fought in the First World War in the #wellynextdoor recording caravan. Civic Square, Wellington, 21 April 2016.
The Linking Bridges project aims to build links between two bridges and their communities: Kaiparoro war memorial bridge, Wairarapa and the Bridge Creek memorial bridge at Brooweena, Queensland.
Learn how to search for and download New Zealand's First World War soldier records from Archives NZ at Papakura's Sir Edmund Hillary Library on 22 April 2016.
Discover how to access and interpret First World War records at these hands-on workshops at various Lower Hutt libraries between 19-29 April 2016.
CHB Settlers Museum's 2016 exhibition focuses on 100 years since the Battle of the Somme, and the 42 local boys lost in 1916. The exhibition runs from 13 March 2016 - 13 March 2017.
The role of Tairāwhiti women who served overseas in the First World War is the focus of this public lecture at the Tairāwhiti Museum on 25 April 2016.
Chinese Anzacs: Australians of Chinese Descent in the Defence Forces 1885-1919 - Second Edition revised to include New Zealand-born Chinese of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force 1914-1919.
On 25 April each year New Zealand commemorates the landings of the Anzacs on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey.
This exhibition has a focus on the men from Blenheim who served in the First World War, and local Marlborough context of the day. Held at Bookworld, Blenheim, 12-14 February 2016.
This book records, for the first time, biographies and stories about the nurses (both registered and unregistered) and chaplains with a Nelson/Tasman connection, who served in the First World War.
A programme of commemorative events surround the unveiling of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company memorial dedication in Waihi's Gilmour Reserve on 22 January 2015.
Head to Auckland's Central City Library on 20 April 2016 to learn about resources and genealogical research about Pacific Islanders who served in the First World War.
He Pou Aroha Community Cenotaph provides portable digital access to Online Cenotaph using innovative purpose-built digitisation kiosks at a range of locations throughout New Zealand.
The Nelson Branch of the NZ Society of Genealogists has indexed the names of people cited in the Nelson Anglican archives who were associated with First World War activities.
An Armistice Day commemorative service at the Cenotaph, followed by the launch of the street-naming initiative 'Poppy Places' at the Central Library on 11 November 2015.
Come to Auckland War Memorial Museum on 11 november 2015 and take time to remember those who served, those who are currently serving and those who have given their lives in military service.
A digital roll sourced from the Online Cenotaph containing the names and details of Māori and Pacific Islanders who served in the First World War.
A collection of stories about men from Porirua district who served overseas. There will be 200 First World War stories, including men who enlisted from the Porirua Mental Hospital.
Commemorative ceremonies and the unveiling of two new cenotaphs on Niue to mark the island's contribution to New Zealand's war effort.
Taki Rua Productions presents the world premiere of All Our Sons, a ground-breaking First World War play by Witi Ihimaera, at Circa Theatre, Wellington, between 6-14 November 2015.
A self-drive guide available in Christchurch on 24 October 2015 locates memorials commemorating the nurses who drowned on the Marquette in 1915.
A display of photographs, mementos and copies of military histories of the men from the Pukekohe East School and District who fought in the First World War. In Pukekohe from 10-11 October 2015.
Author Phil Beattie will talk about the Onward Project and how he has obtained photographs and information about First World War soldiers. At the West Auckland Research Center, 8 September 2015.
An exhibition featuring photos and brief histories of Marton's local soldiers who served in the First World War. On at Vahalla Cinema Complex from 18-29 August 2015.
Join the Wellington City Council and the Wellington RSA to pay tribute to the many soldiers that lost their lives on 8 August 1915 with a dawn service at the Cenotaph one hundred years on.
Anna Rogers will talk about the New Zealand's military nurses and their involvement in conflicts in the early half of the twentieth century at the South Christchurch Library on 25 July 2015.
A ticker tape at the bottom of the WW100 website displayed the names of New Zealand's Gallipoli fatalities on the centenary of their death during the campaign.
The South Canterbury WWOne Centenary Committee are holding a service to commemorate the battle for Hill 60 in Gallipoli at Timaru's Botanical Gardens on 23 August 2015.
Thames-Coromandel District Council is developing a conservation plan for the Thames Monument, an early 1920s memorial which commemorates local soldiers who were lost in the First World War.
The national ceremony to mark the centenary of the battle for Chunuk Bair during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign will take place on 8 August 2015 at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington.
This exhibition at St Michael's Church School Hall, Christchurch, on 24 October 2015 commemorates the centenary of the sinking of the Troopship Marquette, in which ten NZ nurses perished.
Display of photographs of local servicemen and adding of two flagpoles to RSA premises.
This year's New Zealand Post Kaumātua Kapa Haka – at Te Papa on 3-5 July 2015 – has a special focus to commemorate the centenary of the landing of the Maori Contingent at Gallipoli.
Graeme Wilson will review where New Zealand forces served in both World Wars and will show you how to access and interpret military records. At Waitakere Central Library, 9 June 2015.
Come and listen to this informative and interesting presentation by Lieutenant Colonel Cliff Simons, PhD, at the Palmerston North Central Library on 25 June 2015.
A 300 page publication listing all the fallen mentioned on memorials in the area.
A parade and dawn service to commemorate Anzac Day on this special anniversary. The service will be held outside the Upper Hutt Civic Centre, 25 April 2015.
Artist Connah Podmore facilitates two workshops in and around Eketahuna as part of a community-based Anzac commemorative project on 17 & 18 April 2015.
The Pukekohe East Hall Committee extends an invitation to families of men and women who have gone off to war from the Pukekohe East district. Reflect, remember and share on 26 April 2015.
A Fields of Remembrance installation in the Botanic Gardens featuring 866 white crosses to commemorate the Wellingtonians who lost their lives during the war. Running from 10-28 April 2015.
You can help grow the biggest poppy in the world for Anzac Day! Head to Auckland Domain between 16-24 April 2015, donate, and place a red metal petal with your personal message.
Offering a free service to descendants where I lay a poppy or card at New Zealand memorials or ancestors' graves during a trip to Gallipoli around Anzac Day 2015.
Family History Librarian Seonaid Lewis looks at the different types of First World War documents available for family research. At Titirangi Library, 22 April 2015.
The 2015 edition of Opera in the Pa will honour the brave men of the famous First World War Māori Pioneer Battalion. Held at Te Puia, in Rototua, on 21 March 2015.
A special church service to commemorate the fallen New Zealand Chaplains to the Forces by those who follow in their footsteps. At Wellington's Cathedral of St Paul on 28 August 2015.
Through new art works, the Cook Island creative community pay tribute to the 500 First World War soldiers who came from Rarotonga. At Auckland's Depot Artspace, 11 April-6 May 2015.
Come to a vigil at Wellington's Cathedral of St Paul on Friday 24 April 2015 to remember those who have died in war, and give thanks for those who served.
The WW100 website displayed the names of all those who departed with the Main Body and 1st Reinforcements from Wellington on 16 October 1914 around the centenary of the event.
Research into the men and women listed as "killed in action" during the First World War on war memorials in Upper Clutha, published into a book titled Courageous and Free in November 2016.
Marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle for Chunuk Bair. 8 August 2015, New Zealand Memorial at Chunuk Bair, Gallipoli Historical National Park, Turkey.
Marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. 15 September 2016, Longueval, France.
Marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Messines. 7 June 2017, New Zealand Memorial, Mesen, Belgium.
Marking the 100th anniversay of the Liberation of Le Quesnoy. 4 November 2018, Le Quesnoy, France.
To create a white cross with name/rank/serial number of every man and women from South Canterbury who died in the First World War.
On August 16th 2014 we will unveil a plaque commemorating the 8th (South Canterbury) Regiment of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles who left for the First World War exactly 100 years earlier.
The personal album and autograph book of Sgt Charles Nelson who served as an infantryman in France and Belgium 1917 - 1918. Published with other information on a blog by his great grandson.
Creating a white crosses field of remembrance in Tokoroa.
Exhibition at Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, featuring books, manuscripts, maps, photographs and ephemera from 1914-1918. 9 July-12 October 2014. Now archived online.
Restoration of First World War memorials throughout the Rangitikei District.
First World War memorial plaque for a marae complex in Kennedy Bay, Coromandel.
Construction of crosses for a Hamilton field of remembrance.
Restoring the Gore war memorial.
This exhibition tells of a province at war and will trace the deep and lasting impact of the First World War on the region. Opens at New Plymouth's Puke Ariki 17 April 2015.
A three-week exhibition and installation project at Depot Artspace, focusing on the impact of the First World War on the Devonport community. Opens March 2015.
The Home Front aims to show what the soldiers left behind and what life was like in the Taupo District during the years of the First World War.
An invitation to members of the Taupo District community to digitally share your memorabilia relating to the First World War, or tell the story of how the First World War impacted your family.
Construction of a new memorial to New Zealand First World War Tunnellers in Waihi. Officially dedicated by the Governor-General on 22 January 2016.
Salute Wairoa creates a digital, multi-media, touch table record of First World War Wairoa stories, including rediscovered memories. Unveiled at Wairoa Museum in July 2018.
A service at Lyttelton commemorating the troopship embarkation (24 May 1914) of the Canterbury Infantry Regiment and Mounted Rifles to join the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. 24 September 2014.
Restoration and conservation of Paraparaumu and Ōtaki war memorials.
Upgrading the Mt Roskill war memorial area in Auckland to add a Roll of Honour, make the parade ground larger and more accessible, and generally improve this important local landmark.
Immerse yourself in this First World War photographic display, of the man who gifted Kemp House to the nation. Also help us identify photographs of unknown soldiers found in Kemp House.
A dawn service will be held this Anzac Day 25 April 2014 at the First World War cenotaph in Cass Square Hokitika, with 183 white crosses for the members of this area lost during the war.
Researching the lives of 100 men listed on five Wellington war memorials as "killed" during the First World War, on behalf of the Wellington Branch, New Zealand Society of Genealogists.
The first Wairarapa volunteers left from Masterton on August 13 1914, an event that will be re-enacted 100 years later. Masterton Town Square, Masterton, 13 August 2014.
Centrepoint Theatre premieres The War Artist, a play based on the painting "Burial Party at Bellevue near Solesme" by war artist George Butler. On from 15 March-12 April 2014.
An invitation to email me messages for placement on the graves of New Zealand casualties at five French cemeteries in the Somme and Nord departments in May 2015.
Throughout the First World War Centenary, the University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services will add stories of its Collegians to a specially created website.
A beautiful book and online publication to record the stories of the 32 Audit Department staff who served during the First World War. Launched August 2014.
Anzac Day commemorations in Geraldine, April 25-26 2014.
Re-engraving commemorative plaques with the names of remembered soldiers, and erecting information panels at each of five North Otago war memorial oak tree groves.
Restoring and improving the Queens Gardens (including the Cenotaph) in preparation for First World War commemorative events.
Restoring the First World War memorial to Maori soldiers in Moutoa Gardens (Pakaitore) Historic Reserve.
The Last Maopo, a book to be officially launched on Anzac Day 2014, provides insight into the Māori experience of the First World War by retelling the life of Ngāi Tahu soldier Wiremu Maopo.
In this 6-week course you will learn about the causes, course and consequences of the conflict and examine major aspects of the world that entered and fought the First World War.
Digitising First World War related records and the creation of a commemorative DVD. These records include; photos of soldiers and armaments, letters, postcards, and stories of soldiers who served.
This September 2015 voyage – Athens to Istanbul – remembers New Zealand nurses lost on the Marquette and Australian nurses on Lemnos treating the casualties of the battles of August 1915.
The New Zealand War Graves Trust, in association with the Auckland War Memorial Museum are creating a photographic archive of the war graves of all New Zealanders from 1899 to the present day.
The Methodist Church of New Zealand Archives is compiling an index of names recorded on rolls of honour and memorial plaques in New Zealand Methodist churches.
Finding First World War rolls of honour in Point Chevalier, Avondale and New Lynn, researching the names, and those not included on honour boards within the areas, with view to publication.
A visual arts exhibition by artist Rebecca Holden acknowledging the role of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles in the Middle East.
Creating a website on the 'Fallen’ named on the Mt Hutt District Memorial Arch, Methven, and ‘The Survivors’ who returned to live in Methven area.
Quick March was the official monthly publication of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association between 1918 and 1923. Auckland Libraries are digitising it to make it available online.
Developing short publicly-accessible biographies of all South Cantabrians who served their country during the First World War, in order to record local stories and support commemorations.
Researching and documenting local involvement in the First World War to enrich the Coromandel Heritage Trust's existing website.
Publication of a local history book recording stories of soldiers listed on the new Te Puke First World War memorial. The book will be launched on Anzac Day 2014.
A Field of Remembrance will be established on Windsor Reserve in Devonport - initially for Armistice Day 2013, and subsequently for major commemorative activities.
For the centenary, the Wellington Quarry Museum in Arras is looking for photographs of the 450 New Zealand tunnellers who worked in the underground quarries during the First World War.
The North Otago First World War Roll of Honour has been professionally conserved to ensure that it is available for research use.
Discover how the First World War changed life for people in the Waitaki District in an exhibition at North Otago Museum, from 13 September 2014 and 29 March 2015.
The North Otago Museum is developing an online resource linking information on North Otago Memorial Oaks with the Cenotaph database and information from the Waitaki District Archives.
Restoring the Kaitaia First World War memorial for the centenary commemorations.
An organisational history of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force covering its formation, initial structure, development and changes.
The redeveloped Cenotaph database, Online Cenotaph, includes a page about every New Zealand soldier who served in the First World War.
An online resource telling a modern and accessible story about the New Zealand Division's role at the Western Front.
