This collection of Primary Sources is from our Kippenberger Military Archive and is targeted at Secondary School students who are studying History and events of significance to New Zealanders. It includes excerpts from the diaries of soldiers serving in WWI and WWII (including recollections of soldiers from the 28th Māori Battalion), and interviews with soldiers who served in Vietnam.
National Library definition of Primary Sources:
Primary sources are original, first-hand records about people, places, taonga and events. They capture a moment in time and are created as people record what they see, hear and feel.
Primary Sources can be objects, documents, diaries, manuscripts, autobiographies, taonga, or any other source of information that was created at the time.
This resource supports the following NCEA History Achievement Standards:
We recommend you start with A Brief History of the Māori Battalion before moving on to more specific topics.
We have recorded and produced two interviews with soldiers that served in Vietnam who share their recollections and experiences.
They were recorded at the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa in 2024.
In this recorded lecture, Warrant Officer Class One (Retired) Dave Hayward MBE, MSM, RNZIR, (4th Sergeant Major of the New Zealand Army), shares his recollections from his military career and service to New Zealand in Vietnam. Mr Hayward completed seven tours of duty in Malaya/Malaysia, Borneo, Singapore, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, his role was Assault Pioneer Detachment Commander of Victor 2 Company.
In recent years, Mr Hayward turned his love of storytelling into a full time ‘hobby’ writing novels based on the fictional Barr family. The fictional characters move through historically accurate times and events.
We are grateful to Mr Hayward for his time, and for sharing his recollections with us to use as a Primary Source resource for Secondary School students.
In this recorded interview, Colonel (Retired) Ray Seymour shares his experiences of Vietnam during his service with the New Zealand Army. As well as completing his officer training in Australia, Mr Seymour did eight tours of duty in Malaya/Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, Mr Seymour was an Infantry Rifle Section Commander, responsible for the command, control, care, well-being, and morale of soldiers 24 hours a day. Mr Seymour was part of Victor 1 Company and then a short time with Whiskey Company before being wounded in action and sent home.
Mr Seymour was later based in Wellington as Director of Infantry and Special Air Service from 1986 to 1989. He then lectured at Massey University on the Vietnam War.
From 2007 to 2013, Mr Seymour was the director of the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa, and then continued to hold an honorary role with the New Zealand Army until May 2024.
We are grateful to Mr Seymour for his time, and for sharing his experiences with us to use as a Primary Source resource for Secondary School students.
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