SITE MAP
5th Otago
7th Southland
12th Otago
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The Otago Mounted Rifles |
The men from Otago saw action in Gallipoli and on the Western Front in WWI.
Here a group of Otago MR sit for a photgraph in 1917.
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On the left the three hat badges of the squadrons of the Otago Mounted Rifles. The Otago men fought with the rest of the NZMR Brigade as infantry during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915. When the troops were withdrawn from the peninsular in late December 1915 back to Egypt, the Regiment was detailed onto the European front - while the remainder of the NZMR were held in Egypt for the defense of the Suez Canal.
The Otago men were destined to fight the rest of the war as infantrymen in the trenches of France and Belgium. |
Sir Henry Kelliher - the Otago Mounted Rifle's favourite son.
Sir Henry was New Zealand's most respected philanthropist and businessman of the 20th Century.
Henry Joseph Kelliher was born at Waikerikeri, near Clyde in Central Otago in 1896, the son of a pioneering farming family of Irish ancestry.
At the outbreak of the First World War he enlisted with the Otago Mounted Rifles.He travelled overseas with the main contingent in 1914, and served the regiment for three and a half years - celebrating his 18th birthday in Egypt, seeing action at Gallipoli. Later on the Somme he was both gassed and wounded before returning home.
Henry's long and highly sucessful business career began when he purchased the wine and spirit business, Levers & Company Limited which, following a merger with Waitemata Breweries, was the driving force behind a successful flotation of Dominion Breweries in 1929. As Managing Director, Henry was responsible for implementing significant innovations in brewing techniques and initiated many progressive ideas, introducing novel improvements in equipping, upgrading and building hotels and taverns.
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Sir Henry Kelliher
Knighted 1963.
Dominion Breweries was Sir Henry's dominant business activity. |
During the Depression, he became deeply concerned that thousands of unemployed were struggling to sustain their families and many children were suffering from malnutrition. Having established the Mirror Publishing Company in 1922, Henry commenced a crusade in The Mirror Magazine and, with the aid of others established the League of Health of New Zealand Youth, bringing about a national free milk scheme for school children. The scheme was adopted and later put into operation by the first Labour Government, continuing into 1960's. Henry had a lifelong interest in economics and published numerous books and pamphlets on the subject, including 'New Zealand at the Crossroads' in 1936, which ran to three editions. Henry also became a Director of the Bank of New Zealand that year, an appointment he chose to relinquish in 1942.
On the advice of a friend, Henry purchased Puketutu Island in the Manukau Harbour in 1938 and promptly established himself on the 500 acre property. Here Henry became a sucessful champion stud farmer. Stud production included Aberdeen Angus cattle, pedigree Ayrshire dairy cows, and Southdown, Romney and Suffolk sheep, with foundation stock purchased from overseas. He quickly gained national and international reputation for these breeds and sales at Puketutu Island were regularly attended by buyers, not only from within New Zealand but also overseas.
Established in 1956, The Kelliher Art Awards competition offered the first major and now best known art prizes in New Zealand, assisting to launch the careers of many New Zealand artists. The Awards reflected not only Henry's interest in painting, but also his admiration for this country and its richly varied scenery, reflecting the overall Kelliher philosophy of encouraging the pursuit of excellence. The Kelliher Art Trust was established in 1961 to ensure this legacy continued.
Henry received a Knighthood from the Queen in Wellington during 1963, and was also a Knight of the Order of St John. Henry established The Kelliher Economics Foundation in 1964 to encourage more widespread understanding. Each year, New Zealand university students were invited to submit an essay on a pre-determined topic, with scholarships awarded to the best entries. |
Items relating to the Otago Mounted Rifles will be loaded shortly. In the meantime perhaps we can take a look at a item of
English humour from "PUNCH" of April 11th 1917, and understand, that it is not only us Kiwis of the
21st century that are a little naive about tack and saddlery.
With a desperate shortage of manpower on the land to sow the crops, young sophisticated city girls gladly
volunteered to do their best for the "Lads at the front".
Plough Girl. "MABEL, DO GO AND ASK THE FARMER IF WE CAN HAVE A SMALLER HORSE.
THIS ONE'S TOO TALL FOR THE SHAFTS."
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