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Story: Empire and Commonwealth

With Britain in time of war

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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.

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Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Reference: 31615

Image: Alexander Turnbull Library, C. A. Jeffery Collection, 1/2-051739-F

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How to cite this page

W. David McIntyre, Empire and Commonwealth – War and empire, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/speech/33231/with-britain-in-time-of-war (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by W. David McIntyre, published 16 April 2012.