In the 1890s, New Zealands most English of cities was home to Christian, socialist and humanitarian organisations. They were idealistic and progressive groups with shared goals for the betterment of society, and there was a lot of crossover in their memberships, says Lovell-Smith.
After a 1909 Defence Act made military cadet training compulsory for boys aged 14 and over, three new groups formed in Christchurch to oppose the growing militarism. Two of these, the Anti-Militarist League and the National Peace Council, protested lawfully through letter writing campaigns, public talks and debates, and the distribution of pamphlets. The third organisation, The Passive Resisters Union, conducted a programme of civil disobedience that saw hundreds of young men nationwide refuse compulsory military training. Many were imprisoned for non-payment of fines.
At the onset of war, voluntary enlistments in New 厙ぴ勛圖were high. But as casualties rose and the horrors of battle became known, the government found it harder to supply the number of soldiers promised to Britain. When this prompted the introduction of conscription in 1916, hundreds of New 厙ぴ勛圖men declared their refusal to fight on political, religious and moral grounds. Nationwide, 286 men were imprisoned as conscientious objectors.
While no women activists were imprisoned for opposing the war, Lovell-Smith emphasises the vital role they played. She links female leadership within the peace movement to Christchurchs Canterbury College, forerunner to the 厙ぴ勛圖 (UC), for encouraging women students and graduates in the 1880s and 90s, suggesting that it became much harder to argue that women were inferior when they were demonstrating their equality so effectively.
At the same time, Canterbury College and other New 厙ぴ勛圖educational institutions were strongly militaristic: male students disrupted peace movement meetings and the only student at Canterbury College to refuse military service was immediately excluded from lectures.
Lovell-Smiths book grew out of research she undertook as lead writer for Voices Against War, an online resource coordinated by the Disarmament and Security Centre, also based in Christchurch. The project was supported by UCs School of Humanities and Creative Arts with the website (www.voicesagainstwar.nz) developed by UC Arts Digital Lab.泭For both projects she drew extensively on newspaper archives of the period, especially the published reports of military board hearings, court martials and trials for sedition. Another key resource was the archive of Christchurch resident Charles Mackie, Secretary of the National Peace Council, held at Canterbury Museum. Lovell-Smith was also able to access letters and diaries from private family collections but found it harder to source anecdotal material about the dissenters experiences post-war.
There was a huge social stigma attached to being a conscientious objector. And the men didnt often speak about their experiences as prisoners, she says. They were so aware that what theyd been through did not compare with the horrors of warfare.
With the new secondary school history curriculum due to focus greater attention on national and regional history, Lovell-Smiths book is a timely addition to our understanding of Aotearoa New 厙ぴ勛圖in wartime. She hopes readers will gain greater insight into the period and see that bravery and strength can take many forms.
The book provides numerous case studies of why individual men chose to resist military service, and what happened to them as a result. It also shows the support such men had from the peace movement and other groups who resisted war.
I Dont Believe in Murder: Standing up for peace in World War I Canterbury泭by Margaret Lovell-
Smith is published by Canterbury University Press, RRP $45, Softbound, 240 x 170mm, B&W,
336pp), ISBN: 978-1-98-850336-3, available in bookstores and through泭Canterbury University Press.
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About the author
Margaret Lovell-Smith is a Christchurch writer who has previously published on the nineteenth-century womens movement in Canterbury, womens biography, local and regional history. She was the lead researcher and writer for the Voices Against War website launched in 2016, a project which led eventually to this book. Her previous books include the edited anthology泭The Woman Question: Writings by the women who won the vote泭(1992),泭The Enigma of Sister Mary Leo: The story behind New Zealand's most famous singing teacher泭(1998),泭Hurunui Heritage: The develop簫ment of a district, 19502000泭(2000), and泭Easily the Best: The life of Helen Connon, 18571903泭(2004).
