New Zealand Memorial in London standards
About the memorial standards
Each of the sixteen standards of the memorial is a unique piece of sculpture with the first ten bearing patterns, words and images evoking the memorial’s overall themes – New Zealand’s national identity, the historical and ongoing relationship between New Zealand and the United Kingdom and shared wartime experiences.
Each of these standards has a major theme but may also display other images unrelated to the theme. The detail included on each standard is described below.
The six standards that make up the Southern Cross pattern feature less specific detail than the first ten and are not individually themed.
Each image links through to a full, high resolution version of the image. Note these are large files.
Standard one – the leader
Photo by Becky Masters
The ‘leader’ standard bears the dedication inscription in English and Maori. The standard also displays a carved silver fern insignia based on the badge worn by New Zealand troops.
Standard two – the flag bearer
Photo by Becky Masters
This standard functions as the flag-bearer. Each side has cropped portions of the respective flags, the Union Jack on the right and part of the stars of the Southern Cross from the New Zealand Flag on the left hand side.
Standard three – Māori at war
Photo by Becky Masters
Standard three recognises Māori contribution to the war effort. It has what are known as manaia figures carved at the bottom and features the Māori Pioneer Battalion flag at the top.
The standard also bears four texts. The first is article three of the Treaty of Waitangi (signed by Māori and the British Crown in 1840), which gave Māori the same rights as British citizens and was referred to when it was decided by Māori to participate in World War One.
The second text is a call to arms obtained from a Māori newspaper, Te Kopara, published during World War One.
The address by Henare Wepiha te Wainohu, chaplain to the Māori contingent in Gallipoli, was given to the troops before the night attack to capture Chunuk Bair on 6 August 1915.
The fourth text signals a special connection between the Māori Pioneer Battalion and the memorial itself.. The battalion was trained in Palmerston North and camped in Hyde Park before departing for the battlefields of Europe. The “Southern Stand” was created in Palmerston North and followed the same route some 90 years later.
Standard four - Army
Photo by Becky Masters
New Zealand soldiers had a reputation for hard work but had little regard for hierarchy. The Churchill quote was recorded in Taranto, Italy on 24 August 1944 when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited the New Zealand Division.
The poem ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon was published in 1914 very soon after the First World War began and is now the most common verse read at war commemorations.
The standard also displays the New Zealand Army ‘Onwards’ badge, poppies and a kowhaiwahi pattern commonly found in Māori meeting houses. This particular pattern represents the white pointer shark and refers to a Māori proverb that says it is better to die like a shark; that is, fighting to the end.
On a high shelf sits a fantail – a bird native to New Zealand. According to Māori folklore, a fantail found inside a house is a premonition of death.
The words and imagery “We are the hull of a great canoe” are replicated from a 1969 painting of the same name by Colin McCahon, one of New Zealand’s most significant artists.
Standard five - trade
Photo by Becky Masters
Standard five is dedicated to the importance of trade in the relationship between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It features a modelled cabbage tree which was one of the first plants brought back from New Zealand, by Captain James Cook. Cook’s sighting of New Zealand in 1769 is also noted.
The first shipment of frozen meat from New Zealand to Britain in 1882 marked the beginning of one of the most significant aspects of the relationship between the two countries. This is noted in text as well as symbolised by a mermaid with a sheep across her shoulders.
Standard six – war at sea and in the air
Photo by Becky Masters
Standard six serves as a tribute to those who served in the airforce, navy and merchant navy. The relief models that feature on this standard depict the actual planes and ships used by New Zealand forces.
On the other side of the standard are the formal insignia of the RNZAF, Royal Navy and Merchant Navy.
Standard seven - farming
Photo by Becky Masters
Standard seven explores New Zealand’s farming heritage and features a quote from a notebook of one of New Zealand’s best known authors, Katherine Mansfield. The quote is recreated in Mansfield’s own handwriting.
The farmer leaning on a fence represents farming’s place in New Zealand society and culture. The farmer is the quintessential ‘kiwi bloke’ and was essential to the trade aspect of the relationship between New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Standard eight – sport and the Pacific
Photo by Becky Masters
Standard eight focuses on rugby - New Zealand’s national game, introduced from Britain in the early 1870s. New Zealand’s first home test was played in 1904 with a win over the English Lions. Rugby is only one of the sports New Zealand adopted from Britain and sport continues to play an integral part in kiwi life. The rugby ball is hard to miss, but the standard also shows the silver fern emblem worn by the All Blacks.
A full side of one half of standard eight is made up of rendered tapa cloth. This demonstrates New Zealand’s position as an island in the Pacific. It recognises the large proportion of the population that are of Pacific Island origin.
Standard nine – the sea
Photo by Becky Masters
Standard nine is dedicated to New Zealanders’ love of the sea and the coast. On one side the word ‘antipodes’ is spelt out with pipi and toheroa shells.
There are three quotes on the standard which each reflect in some way on New Zealand’s relationship with the sea: John Mulgan describes sailing in Auckland, the Tiki Times pohutukawa quote describes New Zealand’s ‘Christmas tree’ and brings to mind summer holidays at the beach. Allen Curnow’s quote, from his 1943 collection, ‘Sailing or Drowning’ comments on New Zealand’s focus, at that time, of a growing sense of independence.
Standard ten – the bush
Photo by Becky Masters
Perhaps the most striking aspect of this standard are the two kereru (native wood pigeons) perched on a high shelf on one side. The standard also bears representations of some native plants of New Zealand.
William Pember Reeves’ 1898 poem, The Passing of the Forest expresses regret for the loss of New Zealand bush after large tracts of forest were cleared for farming.
‘You were English and not English…’ comes from Robin Hyde’s novel The Godwits Fly (1938). Growing up in Wellington, Hyde noticed the hunger New Zealanders had for England . She described New Zealanders as “human godwits” bearing the compulsion to make the long migration north to a land actually unknown to them.
The Southern Cross standards
Photo by Becky Masters
Standards eleven through to sixteen make up the Southern Cross constellation at the back of the main grid of the memorial. As well as having lights on the top they are wider on the sides so that the structures are shaped more like stars than crosses.
These standards are decorated with crude patterns made using welded lines. This has the effect of looking almost like tattooing and include motifs such as spirals, fish, and navigational or survey lines.
Number fourteen is the only one of the Southern Cross standards to carry substantial text and displays a list of New Zealand cities arranged in order of geographical location from north to south. It is striking how many of the names are adopted from Britain including Nelson, Christchurch, Wellington and Hastings.
For further information email londonmemorial@mch.govt.nz