A matter of PRINCIPLE

The treatment of those whose beliefs did not allow them to fight was often just as barbaric as the war itself.

Imagery: Bob Kerr

As Britain’s most loyal colony, young New Zealand was keen to show its support for the war effort. Such was the enthusiasm that by the end of the first week of the war 14,000 had enlisted. Yet from the start there were voices of dissent, voices that grew louder as the war dragged on and the casualty list climbed.

By 1916 volunteers were drying up and the Government made the difficult decision to impose conscription to maintain New Zealand’s supply of reinforcements. The Military Service Act 1916 initially imposed conscription on Pakeha only, but this was extended to Maori in June 1917. More than 30,000 conscripts had joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force by the end of the war.

For those who objected to conscription, whether out of sheer self preservation or on principle, there was often a heavy price to pay. Conscientious objectors faced hostility from the community, imprisonment and, in some cases, state-sanctioned torture. By the end of the war a total of 2600 conscientious objectors had lost their civil rights, including being denied voting rights for 10 years. The majority of dissenters were imprisoned and then court martialled at Trentham Military Camp near Wellington and sentenced to jail terms of between 11 months and two years.

In King and Country Call: New Zealanders, Conscription and the Great War, Paul Baker says that “imprisoned objectors faced a carefully modulated plan of punishment, which did not and could not distinguish between the ‘genuine’ and the ‘defiant’. An initial short period of detention and then a month’s imprisonment were aimed at breaking the will of those of minimal resolve.” In addition, hundreds were sent overseas in non-combatant roles while, in one instance, a group of 14 was singled out for particularly harsh treatment.

In July 1917 Colonel HR Potter, the Trentham Camp Commander, decided to deal with overcrowding in the prison by sending 14 of the objectors held there to Britain aboard the troopship Waitemata. Among those sent were Archibald Baxter (father of poet James K Baxter) and socialist objector Mark Briggs. What followed has been described by historian David Grant as “the most astonishing recorded instance of statesanctioned cruelty which New Zealanders have ever inflicted upon fellow New Zealanders”. Aboard the Waitemata, and once overseas, the men were subjected to abuse, starvation and beatings. In October 1917, the 10 who remained defiant were sent to Étaples in France and warned that they would be shot if they continued to refuse to submit. Several relented and agreed to become stretcher bearers, while three were sentenced to hard labour.

The troopship Waitemata