Taonga

Last week some moron ignored a fence and stepped on a Fairy Tern chick at Mangawhai Spit, north Of Auckland, New Zealand. As there are only 40 of these birds (39 now) known to exist in the entire world this event goes beyond the tragic. Meanwhile Aussie brothers, Ashish and Akshay Miranda, died when... Sign in to see full entry.

Garth George has a weekly column in the NZ Herald. Last week his burning question ws “Why are the products of the booze barons not required to carry labls such as: alcohol can kill; alcohol can cause you to stop breathing or stop your heart; alcohol can destroy your brain, destroy your liver, damage... Sign in to see full entry.

March "Two months later Robbie recorded a rather insulting sermon which certainly did not make him sleepy: ‘We were told it was perhaps a good thing for Australia and New Zealand that we failed on the Peninsula, otherwise we were in danger of becoming vain and glorious and suffering from swelled... Sign in to see full entry.

The news of the campaign has been so heavily censored in NZ that the first casualty lists are only just beginning to be published. The campaign is presented in the Press as a victory and this perception provides the basis of the Gallipoli myth. "The great Gallipoli misadventure was over. Two... Sign in to see full entry.

It’s -10 degrees in Hanover, Germany. Six year old Mika and his seven year old girlfriend decided to elope to Africa last week and get married in the sun. They were stopped by railway officials and convinced by two policewoman to put their plans on hold. Sign in to see full entry.

How I’ve longed to hear those words... but today it’s a reference to the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Astronomers at the Havard-Smithonian Centre for Astrophysics have been able, at last, to accurately calibrate our galaxy. They discovered it is 15% broader than previously imagined, spins 15% faster... Sign in to see full entry.

British researchers have discovered the way to reduce the incidence of suicide is to increase the number of suicides. Apparently large scale traumatic events help people contemplating suicide to feel more connected to their community. They also noted extensive use of this technique reduces the... Sign in to see full entry.

The Greeks seem to have finally got the bee out of their butt only to have the Palestinians and the Israeli’s grab it and shove it where the sun don’t shine. Back in New Zealand Father Gerard Burns, parish priest of Te Ngakau Tapu in Porirua, smeared a memorial to former Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin... Sign in to see full entry.

January, 1916 6 Two Keeps are built on Gully and W Beach for any stragglers. 600 men, called the Die-Hards are assigned to man the last trenches. Staff of the 17 th Stationary Hospital remain until the last to care for any wounded should the evacuation be discovered. They carry cards printed in... Sign in to see full entry.

December 1915 - January 1916 29 Tuesday: "On Christmas Day we catapulted over a tin of bully beef for a bit of fun. Three or four days later it came back to us. It was weighted with mud and stones. Inside there was a message written in good English: We are sorry you are leaving, we ’ll meet you... Sign in to see full entry.