Name: Our First Foreign War
Brand: Massey University Press
SKU: 9780995140707
Price: 42.99 GBP
Availability: InStock

Our First Foreign War

The impact of the South African War 18991902 on New Zealand

By (author): Nigel Robson

Published by Massey University Press

In Stock

£42.99

Format: Paperback
Pages: 416
Illustrations: 50 b/w & 20 colour illus
ISBN: 9780995140707
Publication Date: 08-Apr-2021

Subjects:
Australasian & Pacific history
20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000

Quantity

"When war broke out between the British Empire and the Boer republics in 1899, New Zealand was among Britains most enthusiastic supporters. Many welcomed the opportunity to prove their nations military capabilities and its loyalty to the Empire. Although the numbers sent to South Africa were small, the response at home was on a grander scale. Contributions to the war effort flooded in and New Zealanders closely followed the fortunes of their contingents in the field and the drama of the sieges of Mafeking, Kimberley and Ladysmith. Patriotic men, women and children packed fund-raising events and joined military volunteer and school cadet corps. This is the first book to examine a phenomenon that has few parallels in New Zealand history. It offers a finely grained analysis of the nations response to the South African War, and the conflicts enduring impact on New Zealand."

Nigel Robson is a senior historian at the Office of Māori Crown Relations Te Arawhiti. This, his first book, comes out of his masters thesis (2013) supervised by Associate Professor James Watson, Massey University. Robson has contributed articles to journals, including A Warrior Chief: Tuta Nihoniho, Porourangi and Māori in the Second Boer War 18991902, The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society (2012), and presented conference papers, including Chinaman and Trooper, a paper examining the impact of the South African War on New Zealands Chinese community (2019 Dragon Tails Transformation and Transformation conference held at Victoria University) and What a Trophy for one Christian to loot from another!, at the New Zealand Historians Association conference (2019), a paper which examined the looting of religious items by New Zealand soldiers in South Africa during the South African War.