NZHistory.net.nz, New Zealand history online - conscientious objection

Conscientious objection in the First World War

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

There are always supporters and opponents of a country fighting a war. As a nation, New Zealand took a full part in the First World War. More than 120,000 New Zealanders served overseas, and there was strong support for the war on the home front. But there were also people who opposed the war, for political, religious or moral reasons. Some of these people – conscientious objectors – paid a heavy price for their stance.

Over by Christmas

When the war broke out in 1914 men flocked in their thousands to answer the call to arms. By the end of the first week of the war 14,000 had enlisted. Few New Zealanders seemed opposed to the war.

Military Service Act - conscientious objection in the First World War

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Military Service Act

Recruitment poster

Socialist objection - conscientious objection in the First World War

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Socialist and labour opposition to conscription

'Conscript wealth as well as men'

Peter Fraser

Barrington's 'peace caravan'

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Pacifist objection - conscientious objection in the First World War

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Pacifist and Christian socialists

Some New Zealanders opposed the war on Christian or moral grounds. Others believed in peaceful methods of solving conflict.

Some Christian socialists based their opposition to the war on what they saw as the egalitarian and anti-establishment message of Jesus Christ, who spoke against the religious authorities of his time.

Maori objection - conscientious objection in the First World War

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Maori resistance to conscription

Native Contingent

Recruitment cartoon

Opposition to the war - New Zealand in the South African ('Boer') War

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The home front

Particularly in its early stages, New Zealand's involvement in the war enjoyed overwhelming public support in New Zealand. Opposition was confined to a small group of radical members of Parliament, religious leaders, and others who condemned the war as an aggressive act of imperialism designed to seize control of the Transvaal's gold mines. Such views had little impact on public opinion; New Zealand's political leaders and the community in general were rather intolerant of opposition to the war.

Wilhelmina Bain's opposition

Wilhelmina Sherriff Bain was one of those who opposed the war. She spoke to the National Council of Women's annual conference in Dunedin in April 1900 on the topic of peace and arbitration, wryly acknowledging the untimeliness of the topic. 'With all the ardour of its young, strong nationality,' she said, New Zealand

Te Puea Herangi

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This photograph of Tainui–Waikato leader Te Kirihaehae Te Puea Herangi was taken about 1938. It shows her wearing the New Year's Honours medal she received in 1938, the Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

Te Puea was a staunch opponent of conscription for Waikato. She was guided by the words of her grandfather King Tawhiao. After he had finally made his peace with the Crown in 1881, he forbade Waikato to take up arms again:

Listen, listen, the sky above, the earth below, and all the people assembled here. The killing of men must stop; the destruction of land must stop. I shall bury my patu in the earth and it shall not rise again ... Waikato, lie down. Do not allow blood to flow from this time on.

Military Service Act 1916

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 12:00:00 +1200

This poster announces the requirement to enrol in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and the consequences of failure to do so.

The Military Service Act 1916 introduced conscription, initially for Pakeha only. The act also made limited allowance for people who objected to serve. Only members of religious bodies that had, before the outbreak of war, declared military service 'contrary to divine revelation' could be exempted from service.

Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
Reference:Eph-D-WAR-WI-1916-01
Further information and copies of this image may be obtained from the Library through its Timeframes website,
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

Archibald Baxter's 'We will not cease' cover

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Cover of We will not cease: the autobiography of a conscientious objector by Archibald Baxter

First published in 1939 by Victor Gollanez, this 1968 edition is by Caxton Press, and it includes an additional foreword by the author.

See the full text on the NZ Electronic Text Centre website.