One hundred years on from the outbreak of war

For the past few months interest in the centenary of the outbreak of World War One has been growing. This major anniversary is now upon us and over the next four or so years we have the opportunity to reflect on and discover all aspects of this global conflict at a local, national and international level.

A month after the assassination on 28th June 1914 of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Over the next few days other countries and empires declared war on each other, with Britain declaring war on Germany on 4th August. This news was received in New Zealand on 5th August. Many New Zealanders had close ties to Britain and there was strong support for the war. The conflict we now call World War One or the First World War had begun.

Before the month of August was out the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) sent to capture German Samoa had succeeded in their objective – this was the second Germany territory to fall to the Allies in the war. The main body of the NZEF set sail in October 1914, seeing service at Gallipoli, on the Western Front in France and Belgium and also in Egypt and Palestine.

In Canterbury on 12th August 1914 men started to report to the mobilisation camp at the Addington Showgrounds to establish a mounted rifle brigade. Many had brought their own horses and where suitable these animals were taken into service by the government and then re-issued for use to their former owners. Many more reported than were taken into the regiment and the medical test was a significant reason for large numbers to be turned away.

The regiment was equipped and trained at Addington and Sockburn until 23 September 1914. In the early hours of the morning the Canterbury Mounted Rifles left the mobilisation camp for the last time and rode to Lyttelton. Their route took them across the Avon where they watered their horses, on over the Heathcote Bridge, Ferry Road and through Sumner to the transport ships. They were taken first to Wellington and in October that year they sailed for Egypt via Australia and Sri Lanka.

Want to know more about the outbreak of war or about how to research those who took part?

• A guide to finding out about New Zealanders in World War One
• New Zealand History Online’s NZ goes to war pages
• Read the Canterbury Mounted Rifles and Canterbury Regiment official histories online

Want to find out about projects to commemorate the war?

• Find out about how Christchurch City Libraries will be marking WW100
• Explore Christchurch City Libraries’ WW1 digital collections
• Find out about the wider Canterbury100 project
• Find out about the national WW100 project

Te Kupu o te Wiki – The Word of the Week

Kia ora. To celebrate Te Reo Māori  we are publishing kupu (words) every week.

Kīwaha (colloquialism)

Wēkeneru
Holy moly

Kupu (word)

poitarawhiti
netball

I mātakitaki koe i te poitarawhiti ināpō?
Did you watch the netball last night?

Whakataukī (proverb)

Ki te kahore he whakakitenga ka ngaro te iwi.
Without foresight or vision the people will be lost.

Said by Kingi Tawhiao Potatau te Wherowhero, to show the urgency of unification and strong Maori leadership.

Browse our Te Reo Māori resources.

Christchurch – this week in history (4 to 10 August)

4 August 1878
Severe snowstorm over the South Island.

4 August 1914

First World War declared. Check out The Star front page for August 5 1914 on Papers Past. During the evening, The Press reported “a large number of youths, many of them members of the Territorial forces, combined in a patriotic demonstration.”

4 August 1923
Railway to the West Coast opens. The much delayed opening of the Otira tunnel on June 18, 1918, had prevented earlier completion of the line.

The Godley statue, Cathedral Square, Christchurch [192-?] CCL PhotoCD 17, IMG0014

6 August 1867
Unveiling of the Godley statue in Cathedral Square New Zealand’s first public statue. However, the statue’s inscription acclaiming him ”founder of Canterbury“ is possibly over generous. Wakefield should at least share the title.

7 August 1982
Opening of City Mall, a major new pedestrian amenity created by the closure of parts of Cashel and High Streets. The project had first been mooted in 1967.

8 August 1945
More flooding in City, worst at Shirley, Radley and Sumner.

8 August 1989
Christchurch Central MP and Deputy Prime Minister, Geoffrey Palmer appointed as Prime Minister after resignation of David Lange. See some photos from his career on DigitalNZ.

9 August 1840
Captain Langlois in the “Compte de Paris” arrives in Pigeon Bay with 63 French settlers.

10 August 1840
Captain Owen Stanley in HMS Britomart dashes to Akaroa and raises the British flag to proclaim sovereignty over the South Island. Read our digitised copy of Mission of the Britomart at Akaroa.

10 August 1932
Statue of Captain James Cook unveiled in Victoria Square.

A timeline of Christchurch events in
chronological order from pre-European times to 1989.

More August events in the Chronology.