1942: Kelly’s Canter
October 20, 2019
By AHNZ
Defending New Zealand during World War II was a serious business. Not only did we have expeditionary forces but many patrols and a defence network looking out guarding our territory. Almost all of these measures are disbanded, many derelict remains dot the landscape and our shores in particular. From December 8th, 1941, New Zealand was at war with Japan and watched with a sober eye for potential invasion. What is remarkable is that, 80 years on, one of these routines of coast-watch endures still!
“A field of 54 runners starts the 48th Kelly’s Canter, which takes competitors from the Palmerston railway station to the 393m summit of Puketapu and back again.”- Good news as Kelly’s Canter again fails to spot an invasion; ODT
From c.1942 (perhaps weeks earlier even) the approach to Otago was screened daily by Constable Albert ‘Bert’ Kelly. This involved the New Zealand Police Officer jogging, in uniform, to the top of Puketapu Hill (“Sacred Hill”) above Palmerston. In peace time the serious act was revived as a recreational ritual but kept¹ the name ‘Kelly’s Canter’. “Const Kelly acted as starter for the early Kelly’s Canter races in 1970 and 1971,” reports Stuff. (Puketapu Hill’s summit also has the monument to that odious pickle-head Jock McKenzie.) The race will be run again at 2:00pm today.
New Zealand coastwatchers executed by the Japanese
Nobody on the mainland was slain in the line of duty but Kiwis further out certainly were. Seventeen New Zealand coastwatchers and five civilians captured in the Gilbert Islands/Kiribati were captured and killed- beheaded. I told you, defending New Zealand was taken seriously back then…
“During August and September 1942, 17 military coastwatchers (seven Post and Telegraph Department radio operators and 10 soldiers), and five civilians were captured as Japanese forces overran the Gilbert Islands. Imprisoned on Tarawa atoll, they were all beheaded following an American air raid on the island.”- New Zealand coastwatchers executed by the Japanese, 15 October 1942; NZ History.govt
Two years after the Tarawa Massacre, US Marines erected a memorial to the dead Kiwis once they had control of those islands again. The above image is what it looked like at first but there is a better one there today. Thanks to New Zealand being successfully defended we can afford the leisure of not taking New Zealand’s defence seriously anymore.
Who’s Doing Kelly’s Job Now?
I wonder if anyone jogging up the sacred hill today will take a moment to reflect on the significance of what they’re doing? To some Christmas is about eating and presents, to others Jesus is the reason for the season. To some ANZAC Day is just another statuary day off work, others remember the war dead. Kelly’s Canter actually has deep roots and provides an occasion for us to reflect on our nation’s security. Look around- are we still free and free from invasion?
“New Zealanders may well wake up one day to find a military dictator riding them and wonder how he got there…. You can’t inherit freedom; yet most of our institutions are inherited and there is no common understanding that they were born of struggle.”- Bill Pearson
New Zealand is being invaded. Asians are colonising us after all but arrive at our airports and we let them without suspecting a thing. Pacific Islanders continue to flood in, especially to Auckland. The population of Muslims rises and rises, triggering the Christchurch Massacre as a reaction earlier this year. This month, Labour 6.0 opened the gates to African and Middle Eastern refugees to come here too now. “Mr Lees-Galloway said it would mean more refugees with priority needs from Africa and the Middle East could resettle in New Zealand,” reports One News.
I used to wonder about the start of World War II and the Anschluss. Did the Austrians really let the Germans just walk in and take over their country? Now I get it.
Changing Auckland. Presbertarians are out, Hindus are in at the old Balmoral Church. The building dates from the 1880s when the area was called Edendale.
Back then our Christian Empire ruled India. Now our sacred places give ground to thriving and growing Hindu presence on our soil. The death of The West?- AHNZ
Maybe this can work, maybe we can all live together and share New Zealand without trying to colonise each other by fighting for political power. Has anyone even put any thought into this? Is it racist or politically incorrect to contemplate?
Who’s running Kelly’s Canter for New Zealand today?
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1 Assuming the policeman’s regular recon jog was called that by locals back in the day
Image ref. On Guard; A still from Weekly Review No. 69 (1942); Archives NZ; Youtube
Image ref. What New Zealand Could Afford if We Didn’t Take in Refugees; VJM
See also: 1928: Another Liberal Monument; AHNZ
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