Defending the home front

In the 19th century, fears of a phantom foe sparked a frenzy of coastal fortifications across the country.
The Star reporter Sam Henderson, 140 years later, finds out how a string of defences were installed across Dunedin's coastline to fight an enemy that never emerged.
Nineteenth-century clashes between Britain and Russia led many in New Zealand to regard Russia as a looming threat.
In the aftermath of the 1850s Crimean War, unheralded Russian warships in South Pacific waters sparked alarm across the country.
Some of these reports were clearly a hoax, such as the 1873 Daily Southern Cross report of Russian invasion by the ironclad cruiser Kaskowiski , or "cask of whisky".
But later scares prompted the government to order guns to be distributed across the colony to create a string of coastal defences.
Archivist Michael Biggs, of Feilding, created a website outlining New Zealand's coastal defences as a teenager.
Now in his 40s he has continued to periodically update it.
"The British Empire was quite concerned about Russia at the time expanding out into other areas."
In 1878, there was a war scare and the New Zealand government bought "a whole bunch of guns" to install across the colony.
"But then the war scare sort of died down and so rather than spend the money they quietly stored the guns away.
"But as so often with these things, in 1885, another war scare happens, so they pull out the old guns, which are now somewhat obsolete.
"So they immediately install those around pretty much Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin and quickly buy more."
A series of emplacements were built in Dunedin.
Up to six gun batteries were built at Taiaroa Head between 1885 and 1905, ranging from hastily raised earthworks to a six-inch disappearing gun at the Lighthouse Battery.
There was an earthwork and timber battery at Lawyers Head and defending from the St Clair battery at Forbury Head was a seven-tonne gun.
The fortifications were intended chiefly to repel raiders.
"They are not trying to stop a huge invasion fleet or anything like that.
"It is about stopping cruisers from raiding the ports, shelling the city, destroying the port facilities and things like that," Mr Biggs said.
They were largely manned by volunteers who lived near the batteries.
Defences continued to be installed, adapted and upgraded until about 1906.
Taiaroa Head, Ocean Beach and Harington Point batteries were used during World War 1.
The defences were then abandoned in the 1920s and left idle.
A new sense of fear emerged at the onset of World War 2 and Taiaroa Head and Harington Point were reactivated.
Nothing new was built until 1941.
A battery of six-inch guns was then constructed at Rerewahine, near Taiaroa Head, and above Tomahawk Beach.
Tomahawk Battery was abandoned about 1944, while Rerewahine lasted until 1945.
How genuine those fears were is up for debate, and no shot was ever fired in anger.
"There were Russian ships that did visit New Zealand in the late 19th century, so they could certainly come here if they wanted to," Mr Biggs said.
While some defences continued to be used for training into the 1950s, eventually the defences outlived their usefulness, even as a deterrent.
"It just got to the point where, you know, if somebody can load a missile from 100 miles away, then a gun that can shoot out to 10 miles is not much use."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Otago Daily Times

5 days ago

• Otago Daily Times

Volunteer urges others to give it a go

To celebrate National Volunteer Week, The Star highlights one of Dunedin's unsung heroes — Otago Community Hospice and Christmas can collection stalwart Aimee Taylor. Brenda Harwood reports. In typical fashion, stalwart Dunedin volunteer Aimee Taylor was a little reluctant to step into the limelight and be celebrated for her efforts. But the chance to highlight the immense benefits of volunteering for individuals and organisations alike, and to encourage others to become volunteers, convinced her that it was worth it. Alongside her busy role as a career firefighter, based at the Dunedin Central Fire Station, Ms Taylor is also a stalwart volunteer — doing regular shifts in the Otago Community Hospice kitchen and stepping up to organise the annual Combined Dunedin Foodbanks Christmas Can Collection. Ms Taylor started volunteering at the hospice several years ago, after witnessing the excellent supportive care given to family members and friends and deciding to give back. "Because I do shift work as a firefighter, I am able to slot into kitchen shifts around what is needed, including lunch service and dinner service," she said. Working alongside hospice head chef Rose Tamplin, Ms Taylor helps to create tempting individual meals for in-patients, as well as catering for community support groups, training sessions and meetings. "It's great to be involved in helping to care for patients at the hospice, as well as providing for some of the many other people who provide and receive support there," she said. Otago Community Hospice has about 400 volunteers, who tackle a broad range of important tasks that help keep the facility running, including reception, cleaning, kitchen work, gardening and working in the hospice shops. "There is a constant rotation of people coming through to do those vital volunteer jobs, it's quite amazing," Ms Taylor said. However, more volunteers were always needed at the hospice, and she urged anyone interested to give it a go. "It is a very satisfying thing to do, and the hospice is great at looking after and celebrating their volunteers." As a firefighter, Ms Taylor had been involved in the Christmas can collection, which is supported by local emergency services, for a few years before stepping up to become organiser of the event. "It is such an important support for our local major foodbanks, so I wanted to do all I could to help. "And having formerly worked as an event organiser, it is something I enjoy doing and have the skills for," she said. The Christmas can collection helps to fill up the shelves at Dunedin's Presbyterian Support Otago Family Works foodbank, the Salvation Army foodbank and the St Vincent de Paul foodbank at what is a difficult time of year for many families. "Last Christmas, we had more than 200 volunteers for the collection, including drivers of appliances and collection vehicles, runners and packers. "It was so much fun, and a really rewarding thing to do — the community really supports it generously." Describing volunteering as her "happy place", Ms Taylor urged others to give it a go. "It's a great feeling to be involved in something like that."

The Spinoff

6 days ago

• The Spinoff

A cheapskate's guide to drying your washing in winter

Enough staring at the clothes horse, wishing things were dry. It's with the best intentions that we wash and hang up our clothes in June (and July and August). But intentions are not enough to make it work. For weeks now, everyone without a dryer or a nice big dry home has been smelling funny because our washing never quite dried, got rained on and then never quite dried again. It's time to enlist more strategies in our laundry routines. Here are my top tips. Does it really need to get wet? Don't come at me with labels like stinky malinki, but it needs to be said. Apart from undies, you don't need to wash your clothes every time you wear them – especially the ones that don't touch your skin. Levi's recommends washing jeans every 10 wears, and I think other clothes only need to be washed if you spill food on them or if they smell. I'd venture to say woollen jumpers almost never need to be washed, especially if they are actually wool. Sheep make an excrement called lanolin, which coats wool and is anti-microbial. There's huge power in simply airing clothes out. If there's a day you're 100% sure it's not going to rain, you could put them outside, but usually I prefer to drape them artfully over every piece of furniture in my lounge. Vodka babyyyyyyy My T-shirt fucking stinks, you might say – maybe you had a meeting with your boss and that anxiety super-stench came pouring out of your pores. Well, might I suggest vodka. The Russian ballet costume department's secret does not need to stay in the ballet world. Simply fill up a spray bottle of vodka and spray the stink away. It really works, and on shoes too. Whip out the synthetics Now I would never suggest buying clothes made out of plastic – it is bad for the number of microplastics in your home and therefore you, bad for the environment, bad bad bad. But let's be real, we don't need to buy them, they're already in the drawers. Synthetic clothing dries WAY faster than some natural fabrics like cotton, due to the fact you might crudely describe it as plastic, a non-absorbent material. Now is the time to wear all your polyester, polar fleece and polyprops. Spin out OK you've worn your synthetics until they've acquired a little patina of life on them, perhaps you've oversprayed the vodka and friends are worried about your drinking habits. It is time to wash now. Let the machine do its thing, and then make it do another thing. Pop on an extra spin cycle. Centrifugal force really does separate liquid from solid, water from clothes. Spread out Like a man on the subway, your washing needs air inbetween its bits. Spread it out over the rack and try to minimise any fabric doubling up. You might even consider doing small loads or buying an extra rack so that there's plenty of space. Forget the outside world Perhaps you have been extremely diligent and checked not only the weather forecast for the day you put your washing out, but also the two following days. The weather app may have shown a sun, or just a little cloud so you think you're safe. This is not so. Rain will come. Or even if rain does not come, the washing will not dry because it's too cold. In my experience you should only leave washing outside for the first drying day. When the sun is about to set, that's as much as you're going to get out there. Sacrifice your interior design, bring the rack in. The sauna Put your washing in the smallest room of the house – ideally this will be a bathroom with an extraction fan – and lock it in there with a dehumidifier on a warming high setting. Then set aside 40-50% of your paycheck to pay for the power bill. If you need to relax you could hang out in there too. Utilise hour of power, power shout and off-peak rates If you're with Electric Kiwi or Genesis Energy, you get one free off-peak hour of power each day. Other providers usually have lower rates at off-peak times (overnight). Obviously this is the time you will be turning on your washing machine, dishwasher and heated towel rack. It is also the time that your heat pump can turn whatever room it's in into a dryer. Ramp up the heat and put your rack of washing underneath. If you don't have a heat pump, a hairdryer or fan heater will work about 20% as well. Make sure you set an alarm on your phone for the END of the free hour of power because boy oh boy, we do not want to be paying for the 30-degree breeze. The impossibles For bedding, towels and hoodies there's no alternative in winter. You need a dryer. The best thing to do is wash a few loads of the impossibles at home, gather them all up and head to the giant dryers at the local self-service laundromat. It might cost you $10, but it will be worth it. Some things I do not endorse To finish, a series of warnings. Firstly, wrapping your washing in a dry towel (if you have one) results in your towel getting wet. Secondly, yes laundromats can be good. But if you can wash at home and only dry there you will save yourself time and money. Good luck, friends.

Otago Daily Times

14-06-2025

• Otago Daily Times

Knitting project chance to honour veterans

Dellwyn Moylan is rallying the knitting troops in a community scarf-making project to honour and remember war veterans. "Operation Wrapped in Remembrance" was initiated to encourage people to knit, weave or crochet a scarf for a veteran to honour their service. This year marks 80 years since the end of World War 2, 75 years since the beginning of the Korean War, 65 years since the end of the Malayan Emergency conflict, and 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War. Based in Ashburton, Miss Moylan wanted to organise a project to honour those still living who had served our country in these wars. "By picking up the needles, loom or crochet hook and creating a scarf, we are showing their service, even if long ago, hasn't been forgotten," she said. The project launched last month in South Canterbury, but due to "lots of interest from knitters around the country", has now expanded to include North and Central Otago, she said. The Oamaru RSA Hub and New Zealand Remembrance Army (NZRA) Waitaki were thankful to Miss Moylan for her "heartfelt support of veterans". Oamaru RSA Hub local support adviser and NZRA Waitaki member Barry Gamble said it was encouraging to see individuals take initiative to honour and uphold the spirit of "We will remember them". "Dellwyn's efforts are a meaningful tribute to those who have served," he said. Miss Moylan said she started knitting for the first time last year with "Gallipoli Wool", an Anzac-inspired wool that is made in collaboration between New Zealand and Turkey, to make a scarf for a friend who is serving with the New Zealand Army. It got her thinking about a project for veterans that would also be in memory of and honour her parents. "During World War 2 my Dad, Des, and my uncles who served, would have appreciated the knitted goods they received from home. "My mum, Ruby, talked about walking to school knitting goods for the troops overseas during that war," she said. Miss Moylan's mother, who died in 2009, was among the hundred's of New Zealand women who knitted for the troops in WW2. By May 1945, 1,168,963 items had been knitted in New Zealand. Miss Moylan said the project was an opportunity to remember those who had served "that signed a blank cheque for their country". "For some returning there were no street parades, no hero welcome home — the price they paid is still appreciated because we have the country we live in and the freedom to enjoy it thanks to their service," she said. The project finishes on November 11. Waitaki residents can drop off completed scarfs at Stitchcraft Corner, 119 Thames St, Oamaru. For more information on the project: