"It was awful because my Chinese friends were involved. I knew a few people who were killed," he said. "There was no indication that it would get as bad as it eventually did."
There was no mention of the massacre in the days that followed, however.
"Radio Beijing had no 7am news bulletin, just Beethoven's Fifth playing," he said.
"As a journalist I chose to observe, not participate. I figured I'd be safe, as I was working for China, but my heart was with the students. They were brave but nave. That was their downfall I think. They had the best of ideas, they wanted democracy but didn't really know what it was. I do think the Chinese government overreacted."
His closest link to what happened was provided by a friend, Alex Young, born in China to Chinese parents but who grew up in New Zealand. He had returned at the behest of the government, which had called on expatriates to help build the 'new China'.
On the night of the massacre hotel staff delivered a note from him to Mr Cull, saying he had gone to help the wounded. St John-trained, he took sheets, which he used for bandages, and drugs from the hotel before setting off on his bike, returning next morning a deeply disillusioned man.
As rioting continued the Chinese government began blaming foreigners, Mr Cull added, and the New Zealand embassy advised him and his wife Ann (who was there to celebrate his birthday, which fell once again yesterday) to leave. They did so on June 7.
Mr Cull said the massacre did not change his opinion of China or its people. He and his wife had twice returned to the country since 1989. He also wrote a book, The Foreign Expert, about his experiences as a New Zealand journalist living in China. He had often been asked why he didn't angle the entire book around Tiananmen Square.
"It's an awful thing to have happened, and it should never have happened, but in the context of Chinese history, and my time spent living in the country, it's just a comma. Those two years spent in China were the happiest of my working life," he said.
Excerpts from Mr Cull's diary at the time speak volumes about what was unfolding in the city:
June 3 1989: In afternoon cycled towards Tiananmen Square. At one corner students were mounted on a disabled trolley-bus. Near it was a minibus with a student on the roof displaying army helmets and lengths of plastic hose which he said were to go round necks of demonstrators to haul them away.
June 4 1989: Alex came back, obviously shocked by what he had seen. Couldn't believe own people would slaughter one another so callously. Broke down over lunch as we talked of killings.
June 6, 1989: We took a back route to the airport, passing many burnt vehicles on the way. Near the airport the driver said 'If we see any soldiers, don't look them in the eye. And if they start shooting, lie on the floor.'
******
The student-led Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were triggered by the death of former Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang, a liberal reformer, who was deposed after losing a power struggle with hardliners over the direction of political and economic reform. At the height of the protests about a million people assembled in the Square.
Beijing's official verdict is that the protesters were aiming to topple the ruling Communist Party and plunge China into chaos. Protest leaders said they were merely seeking greater democracy and freedom, along with an end to corruption and favouritism within the party.
China has never allowed public discussion of the events of June 1989. Mr Cull believes a good estimate would be around 6000 killed.
