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Kiwis in Conflict: A History of New Zealanders at War Revised and Updated

by Christopher Pugsley

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Kiwis in Conflict is the story of New Zealand and New Zealanders at war from the mid-19th century to the present day. Originally published as Scars of the Heart, this new revised and updated edition examines the impact of war through the eyes of those involved using photographs, paintings, letters and diaries to give a glimpse of what these wars were like for the New Zealanders who fought in them. Five leading historians have contributed to this major work. BUDDY MIKAERE tells the Maori story of the New Zealand Wars, and the impact this had and is still having on Maori communities. It is a tale of bravery against overwhelming odds, betrayal and loss. NIGEL PRICKETT contrasts this with the European perceptions. It was a war for land and the rule of law on European terms, and the histories were written to justify these acts. LAURIE BARBER examines New Zealand's first experience of fighting for the Empire in the Anglo-Boer War. CHRIS PUGSLEY continues this story into the First World War. It is a tale of learning about war the hard way, by bitter and costly experience. One hundred thousand New Zealanders sailed to war and at the end of four years of conflict we had suffered 60,000 casualties, including 18,000 dead. Twenty-one years later New Zealand was at war again in the Second World War of 1939 to 1945. Chris Pugsley looks at the land, sea and air war that New Zealand fought in Europe, Africa and the Pacific and ROSE YOUNG examines the defence of New Zealand and the total mobilisation of our society to meet the Japanese threat. Chris Pugsley takes the story of conflict into the postwar years, involvement in Asia, first in Malaya, then in the Confrontation with Indonesia over Borneo and, finally, in Vietnam, also peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and the Pacific in the 2000s. The updated material also includes the military response and assistance to the Christchurch earthquakes, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

About the Author

DR LAURIE BARBER is one of the pioneers in the teaching of military history in New Zealand at university level and author of a large number of books, including 'Red Coat to Jungle Green', 'Freyberg: Churchill's Salamander' and 'War Memorial'.; BUDDY MIKAERE is a Maori historian who has specialised in the field of race relations history. He has published extensively on the subject and his books include 'Te Maiharoa: The Promised Land', 'Maori in Aotearoa' and 'Victory at Gate Pa?' His tribal affiliations are with the Hauraki and Tauranga districts, Ngati Pukenga and Ngati Ranginui.; DR NIGEL PRICKETT completed his PhD degree in 1981 on British Army and colonial fortifications in Taranaki. He was Curator of Archaeology at Auckland War Museum and has written extensively on the fortifications and archaeology of the New Zealand Wars. His books include 'Fortifications of the New Zealand Wars' and 'Landscapes of Conflict'.; DR CHRISTOPHER PUGSLEY, ONZM, is a former New Zealand Army officer. He has written extensively on New Zealand military history. His books include 'Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story', 'On the Fringe of Hell', 'Te Hokowhitu A Tu: the Maori Pioneer Battalion in the First World War', 'From Emergency to Confrontation', 'The ANZAC Experience', 'A Bloody Road Home', 'The Camera in the Crowd' and 'Le Quesnoy 1918'.; ROSE YOUNG was Curator of History at Auckland War Memorial Museum. Her interests are wide-ranging, and her research includes a major work on the life and art of Major Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky, leader of the famous Forest Rangers during the New Zealand Wars.

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