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Dunedin City Council

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is universally associated with the remembrance of those who died in the First World War.

The date marks the moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front in 1918, with the signing of the Armistice.

From October to March 2009, the return of soldiers to New Zealand is commemorated in a series of events, talks, movie showings, exhibitions and recitals throughout the country.

Forty-page journal written and illustrated aboard the S.S. Paparoa, and published in Auckland by Business Printing Works.

Digital New Zealand is working with National Digital Forum partner organisations and other content providers to make available unique pictures, sound, text and moving images in commemoration of Coming Home: the 90th Anniversary of the end of World War I.

Dunedin Public Libraries contributed ten cover images from the Troopships Collection as part of the project.

These journals were written by New Zealand soldiers being transported either to of from various wars. Many are wonderfully illustrated, and a number of them were printed at sea as well.

The collection numbers over 350 items ranging in date from the time of the Boer War to the Second World War. All were received as donations, many initially in response to an appeal by then City Librarian W.B. McEwan.

The collection is held among the Third Floor Heritage Collections of the City Library.

The overall scope of Coming Home content is as follows:

  • Journeying: How do those who go away to war get home again - both from overseas, and within New Zealand? What is the journey like, and the arrival? What about those who do not return - what journeys in their place?
  • Meeting: How is the homecoming commemorated? A special dinner? A parade? A memorial opening?
  • Carrying: What do those who go away to war bring back with them? Souvenirs? Stories? Wives? Wounds? Diseases? Silences? Memories of new experiences?
  • Transitioning: How do New Zealand service personnel transition back into civilian life? What is the role of organisations such the RSA, or the family, church, state, pubs, and clubs?

Take some time to remember the return of troops and the impact of war on this country, through New Zealand digital content.
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