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Story: National Party

Sidney Holland

Audio file

Prime Minister Sidney Holland lays a wreath at the Wellington cenotaph during Anzac Day ceremonies in 1950. Holland was a staunch supporter of the British Empire, something he emphasises in this clip from his 1951 election victory speech.

Transcript

Remembering our international obligations, it will be our constant determination to do everything in our power in cooperation with the motherland to strengthen the bonds of Empire and of Commonwealth and to help, to advance still further the great power for good that the British Empire has always been. The common bonds of kinship, bind us closely together and in our trade, our culture and our way of life and the means of defending it we will at all times cooperate closely with the United Kingdom. At the same time we must develop friendly relations and understandings with those freedom-loving countries with which we have so much in common. There is nothing inconsistent or incompatible with our obligations to our own empire.

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Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Reference: 39375

Image: Alexander Turnbull Library, 1/2-020111-F

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How to cite this page

Colin James, National Party – Formation and rise, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/speech/33857/sidney-holland (accessed 10 July 2026).

Story by Colin James, published 21 March 2012, updated 1 July 2020.