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Three cheers for the Prince!
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A camera positioned opposite Australia House on The Strand in London, captures Australian troops on parade for Anzac Day, 1919. The vast number of Australian troops is some indication of the scale of Australia's contribution to the war effort.
The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) stands on the raised platform, taking the salute. With him are Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig to the right and HRH Prince Albert (later King George VI) further back, next to Lieutenant General Sir William R Birdwood (left). Also featured on the stand are Billy Hughes (Prime Minister of Australia); Andrew Fisher (Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom); Sir Thomas McKenzie (New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom); Sir Joseph Cook and Senator Pearce (the Australian Minister for Defence).
The parade ends with Australian and New Zealand troops and British citizens pushing forward and mobbing the Prince of Wales with three cheers!
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In Memory of the Unreturning Brave
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Otago Boys’ High School celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in August 1923 – the 75th anniversary was a huge celebration over several days. Activities included rugby matches, a parade, a ball and, most importantly, the dedication of the memorial gates commemorating ex-pupils who fought and died in World War One.
The Otago Daily Times reported that the “school gave freely of her best sons in that great conflict, and of these nearly 200 are numbered with ‘the unreturning brave’. It was fitting, therefore, that first of all the functions at this Diamond Jubilee should be the dedication of the beautiful memorial archway, which records in letters of brass the glorious roll call of those who thus gave their all”.
Watch as the Mayor, Mr HL Tapley and officials lead a parade of guests through the archway and into the college grounds, cadets then form a guard of honour and the flag blows patriotically! A parade of cadets march into the school.
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Peace Day Parade
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A Peace Day Parade at Woonona in New South Wales on 19 July 1919, claimed to be the best procession in the state outside of Sydney.
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Invested at Buckingham Palace
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London – 3 May 1919 – crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace in London for an investiture by his Majesty King George V. Among the nurses and soldiers receiving awards and honours is a smartly dressed New Zealand officer in his lemon squeezer hat.
On the dais are Queen Mary and members of the royal household. In front stand Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig and his Generals – Plumer and Sir William Birdwood. Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for War, stands proudly in morning suit and top hat.
After the ceremony, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) Depot Band march past, followed by the New Zealand Parade Commander. Behind them are the New Zealand Field Artillery – note the infantry with their rifles and bayonets. Next, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) march past. Mounted officers of the AIF and the Australian Light Horse trot by, and the crowd cheers and waves, then the AIF band march past – they are marching easy – and are followed by the Australian infantry.
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Tonight at O’Brien’s
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Savvy theatre operators were quick to recognise the power of the local when it came to filling the house. Many cinemas employed cameramen to record local events, rapidly processed the films, which were then on the cinema screen within days – and people flocked to see themselves.
In this case O’Brien’s Empire Theatre, Dunedin’s De Luxe Picture House, filmed the 1921 Anzac Day Parade (25 April) and the unveiling of the North East Valley Memorial. By 28 April the Otago Daily Times carried the advertisement “Special Announcement Re Anzac Day. Pictures of the unveiling, the wreaths, the children, the parade of Anzacs, the councillors and the crowds etc would be shown that night at O’Brien’s”.
This was a remarkable achievement when you consider the necessary developing, printing, processing, editing and delivery that had to occur to make these events happen so quickly.
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Marching in Dunedin
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Following an ANZAC Day ceremony at the Cenotaph in Queen's Garden, Dunedin, hundreds of veterans march down Princes Street. The sheer number of marchers reflects the fact that the Otago and Southland regions provided the largest number of soldiers for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) per head of population. On parade are the 4th Otago Hussars; the 5th Otago Mounted Rifles and marines from a Royal Navy ship. The Battalion Band is followed by officers on horseback and soldiers of the Territorial Regiment. Each company is led by the company commander on horseback, all of whom wear medal ribbons indicating they are World War One veterans.
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Sydney Marches to Remember
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With their white, starched uniforms and red crosses on their foreheads, 2000 members of the Junior Red Cross make a startling presence at the eleventh anniversary of Anzac Day in Sydney.
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Early newsreels: A 1915 Pathé Animated Gazette
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People went to cinemas during the war to be entertained, but moving-pictures also played an important role in providing cinema-goers with news and information from abroad. Early newsreels, or topical films, were an important part of the typical cinema programme of the time.
This film is an example of a full-length Pathé Animated Gazette newsreel that was shown during the war. It demonstrates the contents of these types of films and how they mixed serious topics with more light-hearted footage: scenes of the Algerian Native Cavalry in Flanders, a brief glimpse of King George V and Queen Mary making their way through packed London Streets to a service at St Paul’s Cathedral, the opening of a New Zealand military hospital, and Zouaves (Algerian French Infantry).
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Bringing the audience into the picture
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The experience of the cinema-going public remains perhaps the most challenging aspect of understanding film and audiences in New Zealand and Australia during the Great War. This image, taken circa 1910 in an unknown New Zealand cinema, is a rare glimpse back at a packed house.
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‘Great soldiers, good fellows’
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The Victoria College Officers’ Training Corps was formed in Wellington in 1910. It was established partly by the need to train a new generation of officers to lead and fight in the New Zealand militia. Charles Treadwell was an original member of the Corps and in this talk he recalls its founding, the different forms that their training took, and the men he served with.
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Wrestling on deck
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This film was made during the New Zealand convoy’s 1915 journey from Wellington to Egypt, via Hobart and Colombo. On long voyages like this, an especially popular way for soldiers to spend their free time was watching wrestling bouts. Here the crowd watches intently as two soldiers, possibly former professional wrestlers, come to grips on the deck of the troopship. This appears to be a “worked”, or staged, bout, rather than a genuine contest. Gambling was prohibited on board troopships, but it seems highly likely that money changed hands on this occasion.
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Penny trails and white feathers
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During WW1, those at home were encouraged to support the men at the front by donating money or goods to the war effort. Colin Franklin-Browne recalls watching fundraising parades and penny trails (lines of coins which the public were encouraged to add to) on Wellington’s streets in 1914-15. He also remembers the dark side of this patriotic fervor. Women’s patriotic groups sent white feathers, symbols of cowardice, to men who had not enlisted. The women targeted pacifists, men not yet in uniform and even those unable to enlist for medical reasons.