In 1916 the Military Service Act introduced conscription to New Zealand society initially for Pakeha only, then extended conscription to Maori in June 1917.
All eligible men for conscription were forced to participate in military life, no matter what their religion, political view or moral reasons against the war was. Only members of selective religious bodies were pardoned from conscription. Most members of New Zealand society supported the war, however there was a small proportion of New Zealand society who objected to the ideas behind war,
The consequences and punishments faced by those select few were harsh, because military officials wanted to break their will.
In 1917 fourteen conscientious objectors from New Zealand were sent to the Western Front where they were subjected to pressure and punishment in order to force them to agree to fight in WWI. Those objectors in New Zealand not sent to France were imprisoned, the most notorious prison being the Wanganui Detention Barracks where they were subjected to many brutalities. The conscientious objectors refusal to fight did not only impact on the objectors live, it also altered New Zealand’s society’s views on conscription and refusal to fight.
All eligible men for conscription were forced to participate in military life, no matter what their religion, political view or moral reasons against the war was. Only members of selective religious bodies were pardoned from conscription. Most members of New Zealand society supported the war, however there was a small proportion of New Zealand society who objected to the ideas behind war,
The consequences and punishments faced by those select few were harsh, because military officials wanted to break their will.
In 1917 fourteen conscientious objectors from New Zealand were sent to the Western Front where they were subjected to pressure and punishment in order to force them to agree to fight in WWI. Those objectors in New Zealand not sent to France were imprisoned, the most notorious prison being the Wanganui Detention Barracks where they were subjected to many brutalities. The conscientious objectors refusal to fight did not only impact on the objectors live, it also altered New Zealand’s society’s views on conscription and refusal to fight.
