The New Zealand Military History Committee will be staging its seventh conference in Wellington in February 2026. The subject is wide ranging – Crises, Characters & Controversies in New Zealand’s Military History. Speakers will include a range of leading New Zealand and overseas scholars.
Expressions of interest have already been received on topics including: the Knyvett Affair, the national debates on conscription and compulsory military training, the loss of Maleme airfield during the battle for Crete, war crimes by and against New Zealanders, and the bombing of military facilities by anti-Vietnam War activists. New Zealand’s rich military history contains many interesting potential subjects.
Since 1995 the New Zealand Military History Committee has organised major conferences on the New Zealand Wars, the South African War, the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War. For each of these conferences, the New Zealand Military History Committee has published the best of papers.
Please contact the Committee via the emails below, by 1 April 2025, with expressions of interest accompanied by a 200- to 300-word abstract and brief author’s biography.
Details of the conference dates (in February 2026), venue (Wellington, NZ) and registrations will be available shortly.
For more information please contact:
John Crawford, Chair (john.crawford@nzdf.mil.nz)
Peter Cooke, Secretary (petercooke_donz@icloud.com)