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Rene Shadbolt

René Shadbolt led the only New Zealand contingent to the Spanish Civil War. She and fellow nurse, Isobel Dodds, cared for wounded soldiers, particularly those from the International Brigades, from July 1937 to November 1938.

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Today in History

2 October

1986 'Slice of Heaven' hits No. 1

Written for the movie Footrot Flats, which was based on the iconic New Zealand cartoon series, Dave Dobbyn's hit single featured reggae band Herbs singing a cappella. It topped the charts for eight weeks.

Released two months before the film, 'Slice of Heaven' became synonymous with it and was named Song of the Year at the 1986 New Zealand Music Awards. In 2001 the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) invited its members and an academy to vote for what they believed to be New Zealand's top songs of all time. 'Slice of Heaven' was voted number seven on this list. That same year Dave Dobbyn received a rare lifetime achievement award from the New Zealand recording industry recognising almost 30 years as a musician and songwriter with bands such as Th'Dudes and DD Smash.

Footrot Flats was the work of cartoonist Murray Ball. The popular newspaper cartoon series featured the daily adventures of typical New Zealand farm characters, including Dog the sheepdog, his owner Wal Footrot, and their neighbour, Cooch Windgrass. Footrot Flats was New Zealand’s first full-length animated feature film.