Today in NZ history- 24/01/1865 - British troops invade south Taranaki Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron set out on what was to prove to be his final campaign in New Zealand with more than a thousand troops under his command.
- 24/01/1980 - Soviet ambassador expelledThe New Zealand government ordered the Soviet Union‘s ambassador, Vsevolod Sofinsky, to leave the country within 72 hours after he allegedly delivered money to the pro-Soviet Socialist Unity Party.
- 25/01/1974 - First day of competition at Christchurch Commonwealth GamesThe opening ceremony of the ‘Friendly Games’ had featured performances by schoolchildren and a Māori concert party. Next day, Canterbury runner Dick Tayler ensured the success of the Games with a surprise victory for the host nation in the 10,000 m track race.
- 26/01/1844 - Governor FitzRoy arrives in Wellington to investigate Wairau incidentFaced with demands for revenge after 22 settlers were killed in an incident in the Wairau Valley, Governor Robert FitzRoy decided that Māori had been provoked by the unreasonable actions of the Europeans.
- 24/01/1865 - British troops invade south Taranaki
Category Archives: Music
Spotify – love them, though they’re slippery
Some of my own music is on Spotify – anyone can exhume recordings my old band Aardvark made for Tree Records in 1973. We were never asked if we wanted to be on Spotify – not that I would have … Continue reading
From Fugues to Finales
Today we went to a very pleasant afternoon of chamber music, titled From Fugues to Finales. It was organised by the Greytown Music Group as part of the town’s weekend arts festival. This scratch group, tongue-in-cheek-named The Ultimates, was made … Continue reading
Maori Battalion Marching Song a cultural ripoff?
Back in the 1960s when I realised there was money to be made from my modest talents at the piano, I still needed a repertoire that would let me play at social events – 21sts, wedding celebrations, dances etc. I … Continue reading
End of an era
I never owned one of those wind-up 78rpm record players with disposable steel needles (and nor did my parents), but from about 1962 I was into long playing records (LPs) and their 45rpm offspring. I had them for about a … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz, Music
Tagged Bud Shank, Jazz, Jazz singer, LP records, LPs, Miles Davis, Peter Fountain
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A little jazz is a dangerous thing
A couple of days ago I came across an interesting web item that reproduced rules for dance band musicians in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The rules were aimed at limiting infection by jazz. I emailed the rules to Bob Barcham, Wellington’s … Continue reading
