New Zealand's France

New Zealand's France
Author: Alistair Watts
Publisher: Aykay Publishing
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2021-04-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 0473560364

In New Zealand’s France, Dr Alistair Watts investigates the origins of the New Zealand nation state from a fresh perspective — one that moves beyond the traditional bicultural view prevalent in the current New Zealand historiography. That New Zealand became British in the 1840s owes much, Dr Watts contends, to that other great colonial power of the time, France. The rich history of British antagonism towards the French was transported to New Zealand in the 1830s and 1840s as part of the British colonists’ cultural baggage, to be used in creating an old identity in a new land. Even as the British colonists sought a new beginning, this defining anti-French characteristic caused them to override the existing Māori culture with their own constructs of time and place. Leaving their signature names in the cities of Wellington and Nelson and naming their streets after Waterloo and Collingwood, the British colonisers attempted to establish a local antithesis of France through a bucolic Little Britain in the South Pacific. It was this legacy, as much as the assumed bicultural origins of modern New Zealand, that produced a Pacific country that still relies on the symbolism of the Union Jack embedded in the national flag and the totemic constitutional presence of the British Crown to maintain its national identity. This is the story of how this came about.

French Akaroa

French Akaroa
Author: Peter Tremewan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN:

This book looks at the elaborate French government-backed plans to settle and annex 'Southern New Zealand' - and at what the French did when they found the British had got there first. The lives of the French (and German) men, women and children who ended up creating little settlements in Akaroa Harbour is a major focus of this fascinating book, which also explains some of the French heritage that attracts so many tourists to the Banks Peninsula town of Akaroa today.

Bombing the Rainbow Warrior

Bombing the Rainbow Warrior
Author: Michael King
Publisher: Bridget Williams Books
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2014-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 192727785X

They seemed like a nice enough French couple, touring New Zealand in a campervan in 1985. But Auckland police suspected they were in fact experienced French agents Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, part of a dozen-strong team behind the bombing of the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior. This fascinating BWB Text presents in startling detail the careful interrogation of the couple by detectives, leading to their arrest and conviction.

New Zealand and the Vietnam War

New Zealand and the Vietnam War
Author: Roberto Rabel
Publisher: Auckland University Press
Total Pages: 554
Release: 2013-11-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1775581284

Starting with the first Indochina War in the 1950s, this historical analysis covers the story of New Zealand's relations with Vietnam up to the end of the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Exploring the diplomatic history of the engagement, which is not well known or understood, and showing that New Zealand officials and politicians in fact entered the war with extreme reluctance, this describes how the dispatch of troops to Vietnam divided the country, enraged a generation, and forced the government to publicly defend its policy. Readers quickly discover that the fallout from the Vietnam conflict still affects New Zealand's position today—from its well-known antinuclear stance to its position over the recent Iraq conflict.

New Zealand's Vietnam War

New Zealand's Vietnam War
Author: Ian McGibbon
Publisher: Exisle Publishing
Total Pages: 706
Release: 2014-06-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1877568538

This landmark publication provides a comprehensive and authoritative account of New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War, and will remain the standard reference work on the subject for decades. Its publication completes the programme of official war histories that began in 1945. Ian McGibbon's primary focus is what New Zealand did in South Vietnam. He traces in detail the operations carried out by New Zealand forces and seeks to illuminate the experience of New Zealand soldiers fighting in a guerrilla war. The command structure, logistic support and operational context of fighting within a primarily Australian framework are all covered. He addresses controversial aspects such as friendly fire incidents, atrocity allegations and veterans' grievances, including over Agent Orange. Maori participation in V Force was substantial and its impact is assessed. Although the book is inevitably weighted towards the military, the efforts of civilians in South Vietnam are also covered in depth. The surgical team operated from 1963 until their evacuation from Qui Nhon just days before North Vietnamese columns entered the city. Not forgotten are the efforts of courageous civilians like Sister Mary Laurence and of Red Cross volunteers to alleviate misery among refugees. The book also describes the dramatic end of New Zealand's involvement in South Vietnam – with the surgical team and the New Zealand Embassy evacuated by RNZAF Bristol Freighters just before the communist victory. Finally, McGibbon surveys the war's troubled aftermath, culminating in the Prime Minister's apology to veterans in 2008.

Son of France

Son of France
Author: Geoff Cush
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1775531813

With a hint of philosophy, a dash of insanity, and a woman who could make Gauguin's mouth water, this novel takes the usual ingredients of history and tosses them into the air. Welcome to the beautiful French colony of New Zealand! OK, so it never happened. But it nearly did . . . Welcome to beautiful French New Zealand - a paradise of vineyards, cafes and forest conservation. The year is 1930. Lieutenant Verdier is travelling from Sainte Chapelle in the south to New Lyon in the north to take up a new posting as chauffeur to the Resident Governor. The sun is shining, the war in Morocco is just a distant memory, and although he has doubts about his new employer, at least Verdier can look forward to driving the latest Citroen. The only problem is Wellington, where a few disgruntled English still remain, grumbling that the colony should have been theirs, and charging everyone a fortune for insurance. As soon as Verdier can, he escapes to the glorious scenery and welcoming people of the National Park. Then someone steals his car. And instead of passing through the park, Verdier embarks on a journey up its winding rivers and tortuous tracks to where Titoko and Marama are waiting, as if they always knew he would come. The French language edition of Son of France was awarded the Prix Popai for best foreign novel at the Salon International du Livre Océanien, New Caledonia, in 2005.