THE TUNNELLERS FROM NEW ZEALAND
The men who volunteered for the New Zealand Tunnelling Company were
mostly miners from towns like Waihi or Reefton – or they were bushmen and labourers.
They were rough, tough men, used to working in dangerous situations and looking out
for their mates. Many belonged to trade unions and didn’t take kindly to authority, but they
soon learned to march, salute, and take orders. In December 1915, after basic military training
in Auckland, more than four hundred men left for the Western Front. Several smaller groups of
tunnellers followed later as reinforcements. The Tunnelling Company arrived in the northern
French town of Arras in the freezing winter of March 1916. Arras had once been beautiful – but
by 1916, it was in ruins. Most of the civilians had been evacuated, and British troops occupied
the shattered buildings. Every day, German artillery Ɠ red shells into the town. Other tunnelling
companies were already based near Arras, and each one was in charge of a certain area. The
New Zealanders were sent to replace French tunnellers who were digging beneath a network
of trenches named the Labyrinth. It was here – just north of Arras – that the New Zealanders
joined the war underground.
mostly miners from towns like Waihi or Reefton – or they were bushmen and labourers.
They were rough, tough men, used to working in dangerous situations and looking out
for their mates. Many belonged to trade unions and didn’t take kindly to authority, but they
soon learned to march, salute, and take orders. In December 1915, after basic military training
in Auckland, more than four hundred men left for the Western Front. Several smaller groups of
tunnellers followed later as reinforcements. The Tunnelling Company arrived in the northern
French town of Arras in the freezing winter of March 1916. Arras had once been beautiful – but
by 1916, it was in ruins. Most of the civilians had been evacuated, and British troops occupied
the shattered buildings. Every day, German artillery Ɠ red shells into the town. Other tunnelling
companies were already based near Arras, and each one was in charge of a certain area. The
New Zealanders were sent to replace French tunnellers who were digging beneath a network
of trenches named the Labyrinth. It was here – just north of Arras – that the New Zealanders
joined the war underground.
Trade unions - a group of workers who come together to fight for better working conditions
(E.g. cleaner places, better pay, better hours).
(E.g. cleaner places, better pay, better hours).
Waihi - a place in NZ - north island - where they had a big mine.
Miners - people who worked in mines
Labourers - people who had labour intensive jobs (E.g. builders, carpenters, road workers)
Ruins - a building that
Civilians - normal people, not soldiers
Evacuate - to leave
Occupied - stayed in
Labyrinth - a type of maze
Hope: There were Men who volunteered for the New Zealand tunnelling company and they were mostly miners from towns like Waihi and Reefton. In December 1915 after basic training in Auckland more than four hundred men left for the western front. Several smaller groups of men followed after as reinforcements. They had to dig under the enemy so they could throw bombs and Explode the ememies.
NZ tunnelling company
Extra resources:
Who was the Tunnelling Company?
- People that dig underground to build or explode the enemy trench.
What were their jobs before the war?
- Bushmen
- Labours
- Famers
- Miner
What were the two things they did during WW1?
- Underground caverns to hide soldiers or equipment
- To make a small tunnel to put explosives near the enemy
Allied soldiers.
Where were the men mostly from? Find these places on a map of NZ and draw arrows towards
them.
them.
- from towns like Waihi or Reefton
Counter mining is when a country explodes the other trench or tunnel.
Where did the names for the different parts of the tunnels come from?
Named after different cities in NZ - E.g. Christchurch, Auckland.
Why was it important that the men in the tunnelling company knew what they were doing?
Why did they need to be experts?
Why did they need to be experts?
So nothing worse can happen like, rocks falling. and they have to be experts so they know what
they're doing.
they're doing.
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