The first part of the film shows New Zealand soldiers being inspected by the Governor General (Lord Liverpool) at Newtown Park. They are then seen marching to the Wellington wharves and preparing to embark, along with their horses and equipment, on a troopship which was meant to depart on 25 September 1914. This attempt to leave had to be aborted because of concern about the whereabouts of German raiders.
The Main Body of the NZEF eventually left on 16 October 1914. The 8000 troops who left for the First World War on this date were the largest body of men to ever leave New Zealand.
This second part of this film, which begins with shots of the troop ship HMNZT No.28 (SS Tofua), shows the 6th Reinforcements who left on 14 August 1915.
This video Appears In 2 Articles:
Credit
Reference F18200. Video extract from Off to the Front, Syd Taylor (camera) for NZ Government, September, 1914.
Not to be reused without permission.
How to cite this page
'Film: troops departing New Zealand, 1914 and 1915', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/video/troops-departing-new-zealand-ww1, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 4-Feb-2016
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