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Kōrero: First World War

The chalk kiwi at Sling camp

The chalk kiwi at Sling camp

This huge kiwi was carved in the chalk hillside above Sling camp, near Salisbury in England, while New Zealand troops were awaiting shipment back home. Delays in repatriation had sparked several riots in the camps, so the officers set the men to work carving this kiwi. The figure is now maintained by the British Ministry of Defence.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library, Margaret Johnson Collection (PAColl-6129)

Reference: PAColl-6129-02

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Ian McGibbon, First World War – Western Front, 1918, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/34138/the-chalk-kiwi-at-sling-camp (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Ian McGibbon, i tāngia i te 16 April 2012.

Comments

Neville Higgison
25 July 2013
My grandfather, Private Thomas George Townley, was at Sling Camp during the 1st World War. He did not see active service other than that, but from what I can piece together he was involved in the clean up in Europe after the war. He sent a postcard home which I have which shows the barracks for the 2nd Otagos in Cologne, Germany. I have numerous other postcards he sent home of Sling Camp and the surrounds. I also have his pay books, which give an outline as to how he got to Sling via Jamaica.