Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and

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1 Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author.

2 i THE RURAL HOME FRONT A New Zealand Region and the Great War Hall of Remembrance, Stratford, Anzac Day, early-1990s. A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University GRAHAM HUCKER 2006

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4 iii This thesis is gratefully dedicated to the memory of my grandparents, Mary Hucker (neé Steel) and Private Walter Hucker, 72660, Canterbury Infantry Regiment.

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6 v Contents Page Abbreviations Map Illustrations Tables Graphs Acknowledgements vii ix xi xv xxi xxii Introduction: A New Zealand Region and First World War Studies 1 Chapter One: Distant Crisis, Local Concerns 13 Chapter Two: Local Reactions, With Enthusiasm? 29 Chapter Three: Raising the Necessary for Defence of the Empire 49 Chapter Four: Volunteer Soldiers For the Duration 75 Chapter Five: The Perennial Quest 113 Chapter Six: Recourse to Compulsion 143 Chapter Seven: In the Absence of Heroes 181 Chapter Eight: Business as Usual? 209 Chapter Nine: War Deaths and Local Responses 241 Chapter Ten: An Ambivalent Ending 273 Chapter Eleven: Remembrance in Perpetuity 297 Conclusions: On the Impact and Effects of the Great War 329 Bibliography 333

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8 vii Abbreviations AD AJHR ANZ ATL BTWH EA HNS IRWA MSRAF MP NEB NPBC NPCC NZEF NZF NZOYB NZPD OT PWP SBC SCC SDC SEP TH Army Department Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives Archives New Zealand Alexander Turnbull Library Budget and Taranaki Weekly Herald Eltham Argus Hawera and Normanby Star Inglewood Record and Waitara Age Military Service Record and Attestation File Member of Parliament National Efficiency Board New Plymouth Borough Council New Plymouth City Council New Zealand Expeditionary Force New Zealand Farmer, Stock and Station Journal New Zealand Official Year Book New Zealand Parliamentary Debates Opunake Times Patea and Waverley Press Stratford Borough Council Stratford County Council Stratford District Council Stratford Evening Post Taranaki Herald

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10 ix Map Page Map of Taranaki Region with Place Names, North Island, New Zealand, c

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12 xi Illustrations Page Patriotic Demonstration at Stratford, 8 August Ref. No. PAColl (ATL). Lt. Col. William George Malone. 77 Ref. No. G /1 (ATL). C Company XI Regt. Major Arthur Leech. Encampment at Waiwakaiho (Wellington West Coast Regiment HQ, Wanganui). Soldiers Fare welled at Stratford Railway Station, c Collection Ref. No. PACol Ref. No. G /2 (ATL). Crowd at Stratford Railway Station, c Collection Ref. No. PAColl Ref. No. G /2 (ATL). Stratford Soldiers in Egypt. 117 (Stratford District Council Photo Index, no. 129). Recruitment Poster Reinforcements (1915). 122 Advertisement Booze in League With the Kaiser (1918). 215 Private Ernest Keightley. 249 (Puke Ariki). Lance-Corporal Wyman Coutts. 251 (Puke Ariki). Private Claude Divehall. 258 (Puke Ariki). Private Irving Blackstock. 260 (Puke Ariki). Private Francis P. McCullough. 261 (Puke Ariki). Private Leslie Lee. 262 (Puke Ariki). Private David Shewry. 265 (Puke Ariki). Sergeant Henry Dewer. 266 (Puke Ariki).

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14 xiii Stratford Peace Celebrations, Collection Ref. No. PAColl Reference No. G /1 (ATL). St. Andrew s Presbyterian Church, Stratford, Roll of Honour, Collection Ref. No. PAColl Reference No. G /1 (ATL). Hall of Remembrance on Anzac Day, early 1990s 302 Crowd on Broadway at the Unveiling of Stratford s Hall of Remembrance. 304 Private Charles Rowson. 308 (Puke Ariki). Malone s Gates, early 1990s 311 Unveiling of the Cardiff War Memorial, Collection Reference No. F /2 (ATL). Stratford War Memorial, King Edward Park, Collection Ref. No. PAColl Reference No. G /2 (ATL).

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16 xv Tables Page 1: Summary of Subscriptions to the Belgian Relief Fund Raised in Selected Central Taranaki Towns in : Summary of Patriotic Funds Raised in Selected Taranaki Towns in : Patriotic Fund Subscriptions (Numerical Totals and Proportions) Raised in Selected Taranaki Towns in : Total Amounts Collected By Patriotic Societies in Taranaki, : Summary of Taranaki s Patriotic Fund Raising and Expenditure From March 1918 to March : Number of Recruits from Taranaki Who Embarked With the NZEF During the Pre-Gallipoli Period. 79 7: Age Upon Enlistment in August-October 1914 of Taranaki Recruits in the Main Body, NZEF. 86 8: Birthplaces of Males Living in Taranaki During the Pre-War Period and a Sample of Recruits from the Region in the Main Body, NZEF. 87 9: Location of Next-of-Kin Belonging to Taranaki Recruits in the Main Body, NZEF : Religious Affiliations of Taranaki Recruits in the Main Body, NZEF : Soldiers from Taranaki Who Embarked With the NZEF During the Pre-Gallipoli Period (inc. Maori) : Comparative Weekly Wages for Selected Occupations in Taranaki, : War Census Results Showing Numbers and Proportions of Males of Military Age. 146

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18 xvii 14: A Sample of Reasons From the War Census Indicating Why Some Males in New Zealand Were Not Willing to Serve in Any Capacity : Infantry Shortages in New Zealand s Military Districts, April : Number of Voluntary Registrations Required and Available for the Infantry, 16 th Reinforcements, Wellington Military District, April : Number of Reservists from Taranaki Balloted Under the Military Service Act, November 1916 to October : Number of Males Employed in Each Occupation Classification in Taranaki, : Number of Females Employed in Each Occupation Classification in Taranaki, : Farm Employees (Female) in Taranaki, : Total Number of Marriages Registered in Central and Eastern Taranaki, : Total Number of Petitions Filed for Divorce in New Zealand and New Plymouth, : Stratford Racing Club Totalisator and Gate Receipts, : Proportional Changes in Retail Prices for Selected Items in New Plymouth, : Average Weekly House Rents in New Plymouth, : Wartime Shopping Lists of Sarah and Fritz Lund : Numerical Chronology of When Soldiers from the Stratford District Died During the Great War : Casualty Rates for Selected Taranaki Settlements During The Great War : Numbers of Men from Taranaki Who Died in the Great War. 244

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20 xix 30: Age and Sex of Influenza Deaths Registered in Stratford and Whangamomona Districts in : Number of Soldiers From Taranaki in the Main Body, NZEF, Discharged from Service During the Period 1915 to : Numbers of Males in Taranaki in Selected Age Groups, : Numbers of Males in New Plymouth in Selected Age Groups, : Numbers of Males in Hawera in Selected Age Groups, : Manner of Death During the Great War of Soldiers from Stratford and the Surrounding Districts Whose Portraits Hang in the Hall of Remembrance : Where Soldiers From Stratford and the Surrounding Districts Whose Portraits Hang in the Hall of Remembrance Lost Their Lives During the Great War : Types of Memorials from the Great War, a Comparison. 323

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22 xxi Graphs Page 1. Number of Enlistments in the NZEF From 5 June to 17 December Total Number of Marriages Registered in New Zealand, Total Number of Marriages Registered in Taranaki, Total Number of Marriages Registered in St. Mary s Church, New Plymouth, Total Number of Births Registered in New Zealand, Total Number of Births Registered in Taranaki, Total Number of Mortgages Registered in Taranaki,

23 xxii Acknowledgements Throughout the research and writing stages of this thesis I have incurred many debts of gratitude. I wish to thank my supervisors, Mr Basil Poff and Dr James Watson of Massey University for their thoughtful consideration of my work and the informative discussions we have had since year No research can function effectively without funding, and I wish to acknowledge the generosity of Massey University in providing financial assistance from the Massey University Research Fund and the Advanced Degree Award. The School of Education at Massey University has been very supportive through funding, marking and administrative assistance. In particular, I wish to acknowledge the encouragement shown by Professors James Chapman, John Codd, Wayne Edwards, colleagues and secretarial staff, namely Tracey Beattie-Pinfold, Jenny Rive, Rosie Honeyfield and Laurie Cutts. I also wish to thank the library staff at Massey University s Turitea and Hokowhitu Campus libraries for their assistance. Beyond Massey University there is another large group of people who have provided a great deal of assistance. I wish to thank the archivists and library staff at Palmerston North City Library; Archives New Zealand; the Alexander Turnbull Library; Walter Guttery at New Zealand Defence Personnel Archives; Diana Gibbons and Jennie Morgan at Puke Ariki, New Plymouth; New Plymouth Girls High School and New Plymouth Boys High School Libraries; Holy Trinity Church, Stratford; St. Mary s Church, New Plymouth; St. Andrew s Presbyterian Church, Stratford; Canterbury Museum Research Library; Wanganui Regional Museum; Wanganui-West Coast Military Regiment Head-Quarters History Room ; Kippenburger Military Archive and Research Library, Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum, Waiouru; the Auckland War Memorial Museum Library; the Anglican Diocese of Auckland; and the Mitchell Library, Sydney, NSW. Local archives are indispensable to regional studies. I wish to acknowledge the assistance of mayor Brian Jeffares, former mayor David Walter, Pauline James and Fiona Harvie at the Stratford District Council;

24 xxiii Lesley Officer at the New Plymouth City Council; the Stratford Public Library; the Stratford Branch of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists, in particular, Lesley White, who, along with the Eltham Historical Society have been most supportive and generous with their time and resources. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of friends and teaching colleagues, Rose Atkins, Tony Booker, Dominic King and Bruce Taylor, who came to the rescue with their time and expertise when I most needed their help. No acknowledgement would be complete without recognising the support and encouragement from the family. My parents, Len and Nola Hucker, always showed interest and they often carried out local research tasks for me. I would also like to thank a driving force behind completing this thesis, Angela Clay, who gave me support at home and patiently listened to my chatter about the First World War. Finally, I wish to thank the township of Stratford and my grandparents, Mary and Walter Hucker from whom my interest in the First World War largely emanates and to whose memory this thesis is gratefully dedicated. Massey University Palmerston North August 2006 Graham Hucker

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