Calendar to commemorate Kiwis at war

LOGGED: A diary entry of Private Alfred Cameron, an NZ soldier who travelled up the Suez Canal. PHOTO/ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY.

THE history of World War I is being illustrated through a series of limited edition calendars produced by the Featherston Anzac Club.

The club is commemorating the centenary of the war, starting with an 18-month calendar beginning on July 2014, reflecting the start of the Great War in 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated at Sarajevo.

The Great War Centenary Calendar 1914-1918 series will tell the story of the war, through different perspectives.

Club president Solitaire Robertson said the first calendar will be from a New Zealand perspective.

Ms Robertson, Tim Watson and Dr Bernard Jervis led the project, gathering over 50 illustrations drawn from photographs, newspaper articles, poems, paintings, letters and diaries, to show the causes, course and consequences of the war.

They sourced the images from esteemed military historian Christopher Pugsly, Wairarapa Archive, the Vienna War Museum, Australian War Museum, National Library of NZ, Alexander Turnbull Library and private collections.

"It was an enormous task getting all the images together," said Ms Robertson.

Included in the calendars, are two poignant diary entries from a New Zealand soldier.

The first entry details his excitement as he sets off for the other side of the world, travelling up the Suez Canal contrasting with an entry months later, after Gallipoli when it is apparent from the handwriting alone, despair and despondency is felt by the young man.

There will be a limited edition run of 250 calendars, and the first two calendars of each year will be gifted to Queen Elizabeth the Second and Sir Jerry Mateparae, Governor General of New Zealand.

Calendars will be available for $30 from the middle of June at South Wairarapa and Carterton libraries, the Wairarapa Archive, or direct from the club.

Profits will be used for club events and to maintain the historic Anzac Hall in Featherston, built in 1916 for the 60,000 soldiers who trained at the Featherston Military Camp.

The calendars are already proving popular with 50 pre-orders.

The complete set includes 12 month calendars for 2016, 2017 and 2018. To order, contact Ms Robertson on 021 022 87955 or email featherstonanzac@gmail.com.