Two a penny

.After 94 years of research and historical writing, you might expect that we would know everything there is to know about the Gallipoli landings.
But the State Library of New South Wales has just proven that there is more to learn, especially on a personal level.
He describes his predicament as hell on earth but he also takes time to poke some fun and get in strife.
The library took possession of a digger’s diary, largely penned in the trenches by a young soldier from Sydney called Charles Hardy. If killed, please inform my sister, Mrs M Lawson, Newtown, Sydney,” an excerpt from the diary reads.
- ‘No toy soldier’ -
Private Charles Hardy it seems was a character, one with a gift for telling it like it was:
“Landed at Anzac 21st of August 1915 at rear of firing line. No more a toy soldier.
“Ammunition was issued today. Corporal Wilson got his head blown off. 18th Battalion got cut up.
Keeping diaries was forbidden but he did it anyway in a pocket-sized book, mostly written at Anzac Cove.”
The 21-year-old blacksmith served with the 19th Battalion in France, Egypt and Gallipoli. I waited for about 10 minutes before I fired at an old Turk to make sure of him.
“November 16. I sneaked out at night time and cut one of his Turkish buttons off,” another excerpt reads. I took deliberate aim and then bang! Over he went and never moved on.
The library’s manuscript curator, Tracy Bradford, says it is the personal, uncensored nature of the diary that makes it so valuable.
- Uncensored memories -
The 90-page tome was in private hands for decades but was just bought by the State Library of New South Wales for $5,000.
Charles Hardy was not an angel.
“His diary is very matter of fact, it’s very poignant in places, it gives a real honest view of what life was like,” Ms Bradford said.
In his diary he teaches himself French and Greek and enjoys observing the foreigners around him:
“The French troops are very funny. He describes spending three days in the clink as he calls it, for going AWOL in Cairo. I don’t care for it. They don’t get any jam so they come up and say ‘jam Johnnie jam’.
“Visited the Indian camp.
“Visited the Indian camp. Had some chap patty and curry. They think terrible lot of the Australian soldiers.
“Greeks are kicking up the devil because they are going to war soon. I think they talk too much.”
“I think that really speaks to people because it’s the unofficial history, it’s not glossed over, it’s sort of bureau speak, it’s very, very personal,” Tracy Bradford said.
“The Turks are very cheeky. We threw them some bully beef and they returned it full of slops. .
“Shooting Turks is fun to the boys but it’s death and sorrow on the Turks’ side today. In all, thousands of them killed.”
- War-inspired wordsmith -
Amid the horror, Charles Hardy tried some poetry:
“A flash and the sudden whistle of a cordite-driven ball. A sob in the clinging darkness and Private’s dead, that’s all.”
The burden of war can be felt growing heavier as the diary goes on:
“May 15. Hell on earth. My nerves are shattered. Just about dead with thirst and hunger, my God I will never forget the flies and the sand.
“November 20: I’m 22 years old and have never had such a miserable birthday. It’s terrible cold and windy. I’d sooner sell peanuts than be a soldier again.
“August 16: Went and looked at Graveyard at Lemnos Island. Was surprised to see so many poor chaps buried without any names. Nobody knows who they are. Mostly all Australians.”
Somehow Charles Hardy avoided that fate. He was injured in France and discharged.
He returned to Sydney where he married.
Government records show he was still alive in the late 60s, but little else is known.

.

LATEST:
Faces covered with jerseys, the schoolboys who worshipped Nazi memorabilia have arrived at the Auckland War Memorial Museum to apologise.

The pupils admitted taking photos of themselves in school uniform kissing a swastika, making a Nazi salute, and kneeling in homage before a Nazi flag on a visit to the museum.

The images appeared on social networking site Facebook, but were laterremoved.30am accompanied by a teacher.

The students arrived at the museum about 9. They refused to speak to the media and covered their faces with their jerseys. They will apologise to museum staff and meet with war veterans to explain their actions.

Earlier this month, Lincoln University fined 15 students $200, made them write an essay on the Holocaust and visit the Holocaust Centre and the German embassy, both in Wellington, at their own expense. The students were scheduled to visit the Holocaust Centre today. .

Auckland Grammar principal John Morris said the incident happened at the beginning of the year, although the school first learned of the photos on Friday after a former pupil viewed them on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said he was ashamed to be an old boy of Auckland Grammar after the actions of the schoolboys.

The pupils’ families were told yesterday and the boys will face unspecified disciplinary action. Mr Morris said there was “absolutely no justification for the immature and unthinking actions of the boys”.

This is the second high-profile embarrassment for Auckland Grammar this year.

This is the second high-profile embarrassment for Auckland Grammar this year.

“It might seem a long time [ago] to them, but it’s still in the lifetime of young survivors.

Holocaust Museum director Inge Woolf wants a meeting between the pupils and Holocaust survivors such as herself.

“It’s very upsetting for anyone that understands how terrible the Nazis were.”

Ms Woolf fled from Vienna when the Nazis invaded, and came to New Zealand in 1958 after her family were killed in the Holocaust.

. We certainly don’t want that here in New Zealand – it’s not the way the New Zealand society behaves,” she said

.

Auckland should be largely run by community councils with powers to set rates and compete for ratepayers and each others businesses, ACT MP Sir Roger Douglas said today. .

He suggested the single council board should be made up of a mayor and eight councillors elected at large and responsible for setting policy, and looking after region-wide issues such as roading and water.

Groups of ratepayers who lived next to another community council should also be able to opt out and join another council.

The former Labour finance minister said under the single council there should be a flexible community council structure with ratepayers able to decide its size and even set up their own councils.

Rates demands should set out where the money was being spent and ratepayers should be able to decide whether they preferred to get services such as rubbish collection and recycling from the private sector.

“The capacity to change council will create competition for ratepayers, which is likely to see value for money being delivered by local government,” Sir Roger said.

“The golden rule is that decisions must be made by those closest to the action.

“Unless they are required to raise the revenue, community councils will join the queue of special interests which advocate increased spending. Capability to make decisions also necessitates responsibility for revenue to pay it,” Sir Roger said.

Ms Kedgley said the bill as drafted gave too much power to the Auckland mayor and believed there needed to more councillors on the single council elected from wards

She was concerned that the single council could become a “bloated, inaccessible, remote monolith.”

Green MP Sue Kedgley also called for the role of community boards, as proposed in the bill, to be expanded to that of community councils with responsibility to deliver all local services within a fixed budget set by the wider single regional council. . .there is a real risk, in other words, that it will end up a super tanker, rather than a super city council”.there is a real risk, in other words, that it will end up a super tanker, rather than a super city council”

.

A child is the latest victim of swine flu as New Zealand’s death toll has climbed to 11 and the flu season peak is yet to come.

There are now a total of 2443 confirmed cases of swine flu, or influenza A (H1N1), up from 2368 yesterday. .

No further details about the victim have been released, at the request of the family.

The child died within the past week in the Mid Central District Health Board region, and had underlying medical conditions.

New Zealand’s health services were still feeling the pressure from both seasonal and non-seasonal influenza this winter, but were coping well, said Health Minister Tony Ryall.

An eight-year-old girl also died from the virus in Wellington Hospital earlier this month.

Some hospitals were postponing elective surgery and were at full capacity in their intensive care units but were still on top of things, he said.

“What this surveillance data shows us is that we have not yet reached a peak in the number of people who will experience influenza this year.

“Latest data from ESR’s GP sentinel surveillance system shows a sharp spike in the number of consultations for influenza-like illnesses,” Mr Ryall said.”

Healthline continued to receive a large number of calls from people with influenza-like symptoms, although the volume of calls had dropped in the past week. We anticipate that our health services will continue to be under pressure for some time yet.

So far, the highest consultation rates have been reported among children and teenagers aged from birth to 19 years.

There was a continuing sharp increase in consultations for influenza like illnesses through ESR’s GP sentinel surveillance system since last week, said deputy director of public health Fran McGrath.

The highest weekly influenza consultation rates have been reported from South Auckland, Wellington and South Canterbury health districts.

The highest weekly influenza consultation rates have been reported from South Auckland, Wellington and South Canterbury health districts

.

The readers of have spoken and it appears the All Blacks have listened. They say they are ready to sing their national anthem loud and proud tomorrow night against Italy.

After a resounding response to an opinion column this week imploring the All Blacks to belt out their anthem with the same gusto and pride that they show for their haka, it appears that the subject has hit home.

“I haven’t instructed them to sing the anthem.

With over 1000 comments posted on the original story and a poll revealing emphatically that New Zealanders would like to see their All Blacks treat their anthem with more respect, both coach and captain today confirmed the topic had been discussed within the team… yet,” said Henry at today’s captain’s press conference..

“I think that’s a decision they will come to.”

In other words, the All Blacks have been made aware that the mixture of stony silence and self-conscious mumbling that the majority of them seem to favour is not reflecting well on the team..

Skipper Mils Muliaina admitted some players were probably less emphatic in their delivery than they should be - a situation he put down to the conservatism of Kiwis in general.

“I think they should sing the anthem, sure,” added Henry when asked for his view on the topic.

“We’ve had a brief discussion as players,” he said.

“We’ve had a brief discussion as players,” he said. If you look at the French and compare them to us, we probably just open our lips a little bit. We’re probably conservative people as Kiwis. “We’re very passionate about being All Blacks and also the national anthem.

“Perhaps there’s a couple of guys in the team that don’t sing, but the majority of the group do,” added Muliaina. . We don’t I suppose jump up and down about it. we’re pretty conservative people..”

A bit of levity was then restored when the subject of whether certain All Blacks actually shouldn’t sing the anthem, given their vocal prowess.

“But we are making a conscious effort to do that, and we are very proud of it. “There’s some not very good singers in this team. “There’s some not very good singers in this team. Jimmy Cowan doesn’t sing it and I’ve just realised why - because he can’t sing.”

Of course Henry then had the last word: “We’ll have to get them a singing coach,” barked the coach.

Not such a bad idea if it gets these guys belting out their anthem with the gusto it deserves.

.
Where’s your reindeer?

The Monday, 22 December 2008

/The
BLOW ME! This Father Christmas took advantage of a gusty Wellington southerly to try a new form of transport.

He usually travels by sleigh, but this Father Christmas took advantage of a gusty Wellington southerly to try a new form of transport.
Chris Hourigan, 34, of Petone, was one of six Santas and a Rudolph who took to the surf and the skies at Lyall Bay yesterday.95 Santa costumes and stashed them in their cars weeks ago, Mr Hourigan said.
The group of mates got the idea from another kitesurfer last year, and had picked out their $8..
"All the guys had been looking forward to it for weeks .. . It's becoming a bit of an annual tradition. It was a bit warmer than usual at the start, but that didn't last .
"It's heaps heavier… Most of the boys lost their hats and their beards and their pants eventually. Most of the boys lost their hats and their beards and their pants eventually.
Spring was the best time of year to kitesurf in Wellington, Mr Hourigan said.
About 50 people belong to a local kitesurfing group, making Wellington slow to warm to the sport, despite the city's reputation for wind."

. "Everyone else complains about the wind but we absolutely love it

.
Touching service for families of crash victims

, in Perpignan - Friday, 05 December 2008

/
MOMENT: New Zealand families who lost relatives in last week’s Air New Zealand Airbus crash gather for a service on the beach.

All five New Zealand families who lost relatives in the Air New Zealand Airbus crash marked the moment today, a week on, with a touching service on the beach near the where the plane went into the Mediterranean Sea.
Seven people died when the A320 went into the Mediterranean Sea seven kilometres off this South of France beach.46pm local time, the families and Air New Zealand officials, led by CEO Rob Fyfe, stood in silence on the beach.
As the moment of the smash, 4. Today it was calm and overcast.
It was a moment of complete contrast to last week when the weather was grim.
Earlier in the week the first of the families here had gone out in local rescue boats to the scene where the French Navy is continuing to search for wreckage and five missing bodies.
French locals stood a respectful distance watching the brief service. .
Meanwhile Air New Zealand is running full page advertisements this weekend in the local newspapers.
Although Air New Zealand has made no announcement of when they are pulling out of the area, it is likely to coincide with the scaling down of the military recovery over the weekend.
"From the initial courageous efforts of the search and rescue crews and the huge continuing effort to locate our boys, through to the dignity, respect and warmth of the welcome we have received in this beautiful corner of France we could not have asked more from you.
"On behalf of the families of the missing crew, the 11,000 people of Air New Zealand and the four million people of New Zealand, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for what you have done in the search for our missing loved ones, colleagues and countrymen and the two German pilots who perished one week ago," Mr Fyfe says in the ad."
"We journeyed here in the hope of taking our boys home with us but we know the memory of them will always be here with you," he said."
"We journeyed here in the hope of taking our boys home with us but we know the memory of them will always be here with you," he said."
Meanwhile, around the world, Air New Zealand staff observed a minute of silence at 9am today.
"Thank you with all our hearts.