For most New Zealanders, commitment to Britain did not depend on their political beliefs – both conservative and reform-minded New Zealanders saw themselves as part of Britain's colonial family. In this 1939 radio broadcast, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage affirms that relationship on the outbreak of the Second World War. Saying 'Where she goes, we go, where she stands, we stand,' he assures listeners that New Zealand and Britain 'march forward to a common destiny'. The photo shows Savage on election night 1935, when he became the country's first Labour prime minister.
Transcript
Both with gratitude for the past and with confidence in the future, we arrange ourselves without fear beside Britain. Where she goes, we go. Where she stands, we stand. We're only a small and young nation, but we are one and all a band of brothers and we march forward with a union of hearts and wills to a common destiny.
Using this item
Reference: 31615
Image: Alexander Turnbull Library, C. A. Jeffery Collection, 1/2-051739-F
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