Peace celebration committees, Christchurch

Members of the joint committees that organised Christchurch’s peace celebrations, photographed with the Minister of Internal Affairs, George Russell. Christchurch had six committees tasked with organising the procession, the programme, the decorations, the thanksgiving service, schools and catering.

The committees

Who made up the committees that organised the peace celebrations in local communities? Surviving records suggest that most were chaired by the local mayor, with support from the deputy mayor, other councillors and the town clerk. Returned soldiers and the army were commonly represented, while the minutes of Wellington’s Peace Celebration Committee suggest that in some cases employers and unions were also represented. Though the committees were dominated by men, the mayoress was often involved, alongside one or two other women with responsibility for areas such as catering, music and education.